Dear Friends,
This month we embark on a 2-part series called, “Who is Jesus to you?” Over the years we tend to pick up some untruths, half-truths, and just plain errors about who Jesus is. These false images of Jesus create fear and insecurity resulting in a life of suffering rather than abundant living!
Jesus asked His disciples in Luke 9:18-20 says, “One day Jesus left the crowds to pray alone. Only his disciples were with him, and he asked them, “Who do people say I am?” “Well,” they replied, “some say John the Baptist, some say Elijah, and others say you are one of the other ancient prophets risen from the dead.” Then he asked them, “But who do you say I am?” Peter replied, “You are the Messiah sent from God!” (NLT)
Who is Jesus to you personally? Do you see Him as a vending machine where you buy what you want with your good works and in turn, He gives you what you asked for in prayer? Or do you see Him as an imaginary person like Santa Clause? If you’re good, you get gifts from Him but if you’re bad you don’t get anything. Do you see Him as a historical figure who once lived but is now dead and gone? Or maybe you think of Him as a prophet that lived long ago. Perhaps you think Jesus was a good man who performed miracles but was misunderstood, mistreated, and died on a cross.
All these descriptions of Jesus are either partial truths or just flat-out incorrect. First, Jesus was more than just a good man—He was the Son of God. And when He died on the Cross and was buried, He rose again after three days and remains very much alive today! Scripture tells us in 1 Corinthians 15:3-7: Christ died for our sins, just as the Scriptures said. He was buried, and he was raised from the dead on the third day, just as the Scriptures said. He was seen by Peter and then by the Twelve. After that, he was seen by more than 500 of his followers at one time. (NLT) Jesus established overwhelming proof of His bodily resurrection by appearing to over 500 people! Then, He physically remained on Earth for 40 days before ascending to Heaven. Afterward, He sent the Holy Spirit to Earth to open our understanding as to who Jesus is and what He accomplished for us when He died on the Cross.
The best way to know the truth about Jesus is to find out what He says about Himself in Scripture. So, let’s get started! Enjoy the Newsletter!
In His Loving Name,
Life With Father Ministries
#1 JESUS IS RELATIONAL
One of the most essential truths you need to know about Jesus is that He is a RELATIONAL God. And as a relational God, He desires honest two-way communication with us. For where there is no truthfulness, a relationship cannot succeed.
In light of this, let’s look at the description of Jesus given in James 1:18, There is nothing deceitful in God, nothing two-faced, nothing fickle. (MSG) This means that God’s unchanging character is solid and secure! Scripture also tells us in Hebrews 6:18 that …it’s impossible for God to lie! (NLT)
The Lord requires sincerity when engaging with Him in prayer as well as in our other relationships! Did you know that Jesus cares more about how we treat others than anything we could accomplish for Him? Look at what it says in 1 Peter 4:8:
Most important of all, continue to show deep love for each other, for love covers a multitude of sins. (NLT)
Why do you think this verse begins with the words “most important of all”? Because the way we treat the Lord, others, and even ourselves is the most important thing to God! Look what Jesus said in Matthew 22:37-40: ‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. A second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ Then Jesus said in verse 40 that, ‘The entire law and all the demands of the prophets are based on these two commandments.’ (NLT)
These verses give us an accurate view of God! To Jesus what matters most is not how much money we possess, the size of our house, the value of our car, or even how successful we think we are! His highest priority, which should also be ours, is to show deep, caring, and, patient love to others! Jesus said that the entire law and demands of the prophets are based on these two things: loving and obeying God and loving others!
The way we treat others significantly impacts our own quality of life. For instance, Ephesians 6:2-3 tells us to ‘Honor your father and mother.’ This is the first commandment with a promise: If you honor your father and mother, ‘things will go well for you, and you will have a long life on the earth.’ (NLT)
Did you know that Jesus felt this way about your relationships? Maybe you thought He overlooked the way you haphazardly interact with others but He doesn’t. Jesus commands us to love and honor our earthly parents (and others) regardless of whether or not we agree with them. (Matthew 5:23-24)
Seeing that our heavenly Father is a RELATIONAL God, I encourage you to make amends with people wherever needed and possible—even if it’s only one-sided. If you’ll do your part by apologizing and work on making things right with others, God will show His approval by granting you favor and causing things to go well for you!
#2 JESUS IS THE GREAT RECONCILER
The second main truth about Jesus is that He is the RECONCILER of all things. He’s the MEDIATOR or MIDDLEMAN between us and our holy heavenly Father. He also mediates in our earthly relationships. In other words, when people fail us, leaving a hole in our lives, Jesus fills the space or reconciles the situation when we allow Him to.
Here’s an example, reconciling a bank statement means balancing both the intake of funds and the withdrawal of funds. Problems occur when the outgoing money (spending) becomes greater than the incoming money (deposits)!
This kind of imbalance often occurs in life as well. Someone did us wrong. They withdrew from our emotional or mental bank account without even an “I owe you”, or an “I’m sorry” acknowledgment in return. Now there’s a hole, maybe even a gaping hole in our life account! How can our life account be reconciled or balanced now? Who will now cover that offense when the person doesn’t even acknowledge their wrong? The answer is CHRIST! Our living Lord can and will fill that hole with Himself. This is done through prayer—not just by forgiving the offender’s transgression, but by praying for that person’s wellbeing. God is not impartial and will handle the offence but we must place it into His hands and walk away. As long as we hold on to the hurt, bitterness, and pain from the offense, we tie God’s hands in reconciling the issue!
Romans 12:19-21 instructs: …Dear friends, never take revenge. Leave that to the righteous anger of God. For the Scriptures say, ‘I will take revenge; I will pay them back,’ says the Lord. Instead, ‘If your enemies are hungry, feed them. If they are thirsty, give them something to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals of shame on their heads.’ Don’t let evil conquer you, but conquer evil by doing good. (NLT)
Allow me to share a personal story of how I experienced a mental and emotional imbalance in my life and how Jesus intervened, filling the hole and resolving the issue for good. I have arthritis in my hands. And for a few years, I suffered searing, deep pain that would flare up without warning. One day the Lord showed me that bitterness was the root cause of my arthritis pain. At that time, I genuinely couldn’t recall harboring bitterness toward anyone. But as I prayed about it, and over days and weeks, the Lord revealed to me that although I had forgiven those who wronged me, I was still bitter about the incident/s. That is why when certain people came to mind, I continued to feel deep pain. I had no idea I was still hurting from the offenses of others. No wonder I was in so much mental and physical agony!
But obediently I prayed over every person the Lord brought to mind because I wanted desperately to be free from my mental and arthritic pain. And it’s the same for you—if you want healing and freedom from the pain you carry today, you must be willing to do things God’s way! Healing and freedom is a prayer process and it’s so worth the effort!
In his book, “Rejection” Dr. Henry W. Wright writes… “The greatest tragedy of your life would be not knowing the Father because all good things come from Him.
JESUS IS THE GREAT RECONCILER (CONT’D)
Your enemy—the devil—will use bitterness and rejection and envy and jealousy to keep you from the Father because when you are preoccupied with this junk and others, you will not even think about Him… Isn’t it amazing that when you are preoccupied with somebody else and what they have done to you, you do not think about the Father at all… When you are busy thinking about your enemy and how he is evil to you, you are not in conversation with God because you cannot say and think two different things at the same time…” Dr. Wright and the Bible tell us that if we harbor hate or unforgiveness toward someone, God will not listen to our prayers.
Isaiah 59:1-2 says, Surely the Lord’s power is enough to save you. He can hear you when you ask him for help. It is your evil that has separated you from your God. Your sins cause him to turn away from you, so he does not hear you. (NCV)
Jesus said in Matthew 6:14-15, ‘If you forgive those who sin against you, your heavenly Father will forgive you. But if you refuse to forgive others, your Father will not forgive your sins.’ (NLT) So, when the memory of people who have hurt you comes to mind, you must take it to the Cross rather than taking it to other people who cannot heal or make you whole!
Jesus said in Luke 6:27-28, ‘But to you who are willing to listen, I say, love your enemies! Do good to those who hate you. Bless those who curse you. Pray for those who hurt you.’ (NIV) Are you willing to LISTEN today?? Are you ready to let go of your pain by obeying Jesus’s instructions here? Maybe you are so hurt and angry with some people today that you feel you can’t forgive them. So instead you carry this pain year after agonizing year. But let me ask you, which is harder, living under the weight of your trauma every day or releasing it and allowing your soul to be truly free? It’s simply a choice you make!
As you choose to forgive and release people in prayer, your physical and mental pain will diminish and soon disappear. It has been many years since I released those who injured me and today my mind is at peace, my arthritic pain is gone and has never returned! So, settle it today! There’s no need to go another second harboring infectious inner wounds. It does absolutely nothing to bring justice to your situation but only keeps you in a self-inflicted prison of pain. Let go of any unforgiveness or bitterness you hold today and allow the Lord to heal you!
If you don’t know where you will spend eternity once your earthly life is over, I urge you to make that decision right here, right now. Below is a Prayer for Eternal Salvation. If you sincerely pray this prayer you can be born-again and receive eternal life.
PRAYER OF SALVATION
Dear Jesus, I’m so sorry for every wrong I’ve done in my life. I’m sorry for the hurt and pain I have perpetuated on innocent people. Lord, I don’t want to hurt anymore. The Bible says that the punishment for sin is death. (Romans 6:23) But you took my place and died so that I can be free from selfishness and sin and have eternal life. I acknowledge that you died for me and accept your death as payment for my sins. Please, Jesus, come into my life and make me a new person. I choose to make you my Lord and Savior. Thank you for giving me eternal life! Amen.