January 4, 2020

Christ Himself

By
Brent Hardy
Spirit

God fights for you right now. Allow God to be your strength. When we want to be the best we can be. Look to receiving God's best and greatest gift to all of us, Christ himself.

For God in all his fullness was please to live in Christ, and through him God reconciled everything to himself. Colossians 1:19-20 NLT

God has done his part to restore a relationship with him. He offers peace and life. It is our choice to choose His peace by accepting and receiving it with a joyful heart. Will you choose His peace which is Christ himself? I used to be that way and didn't understand. I used to be controlled by emotions and selfish desires every day. My joy was based on what was done to me. If I woke up in a bad mood then it was going to be a bad day. Until I realized my need to chose the peace offering God has given me. It wasn't until I learned who Jesus is that influenced my decision. If you still struggle with choosing Christ, then don't take my word for it just look to who He is.

the blind see, the lame walk, those with leprosy are cured, the deaf hear, the dead are raised to life, and the Good News is being preached to the poor. Matthew 11:5 NLT

Who is Jesus?

Jesus is described as Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace (Isaiah 9:6). He is the First and the Last, the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End (Revelation 22:13). Jesus came to earth and taught about the many lessons of Heaven. He took time to love on others especially if it was an inconvenience. He fought for what He believed in, but never harmed anyone in the process. The people he went after were sinners and people doing wrong. He wanted them to know how much God loves them individually. Jesus made time for the sick, lame, and blind. He never thought about himself, but constantly went out of his way for others. Again don't take my word for it, but read the actual word about Jesus in the four Gospels books (Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John). Read for yourself and allow His very words to pierce your soul.

What has He done?

I believe the best way to trust anyone is to look at their life and actions. People who are consistent with their character can move us to model their behavior. Another aspect to trusting someone is the ability to relate to them. Everyone suffers in some way and goes through pain of some kind. Pain is something we all can relate too. When we see others pushing through pain that we too have experienced it allows us to personally relate to them. Jesus Christ was a person who went through all the same pain we have go through and more. Jesus has gone through all the same temptations and if not more yet did not sin. He has had the same thoughts you had and walked this earth as you do, but he never gave up his rescue mission for you. There was a point in His story when he could of gave up. He asked God, if it was His will, to take away the cup of suffering Jesus was about to embark on. Jesus still lived out his life according to Gods will despite this suffering, so that he could fulfill Gods purpose to restore a personal relationship with you.

The greatest thing He ever did was willingly sacrifice himself even though He never did anything wrong. He was beaten and mocked to the point of physical death. At the end of Jesus earthly life He was crucified as a criminal. He was nailed to a cross (a brutal death back in the day). It was done so the penalty of sin could be lifted. Then three days later Jesus rose from the dead to show that He is God (read at the end of all four gospels). As Jesus followers the best example we can follow is his example. Our aim should be willing to sacrifice our selves and to love one another. Love others as he loves you. This relate-ability will give you assurance and the ability to be the best version of yourself.

This High Priest of ours understand our weaknesses, for he faced all of the same testing we do, yet he did not sin.” Hebrews 4:15 NLT
Think of all the hostility he endured from sinful people; then you won’t become weary and give up. Hebrews 12:3 NLT

Next time you face hardship and struggles. Think about all the suffering and testing he went through yet did not fall to it. Jesus took it personally upon himself to make things right. All we can do is chose to take our lives personally upon ourselves. The more we learn to personally relate to Jesus then we can truly appreciate Him in our lives.

When it comes down to it God took it personal and so did Jesus. The aim is reconciliation which is to restore friendly relations. When someone takes it personally upon themselves to make things right. It should drive us to do the same. Our God doesn’t just talk but does what he says. Let’s model the same personal interest. Take it personally upon ourselves to be take the necessary steps to transform in who we are meant to be.

Reflection Time:

- Do you recognize a need for Jesus in your life?

-Do you know who Jesus is for who He is and not what others might say?

-Are you willing to suffer as He suffered for us?

-No matter what people say, Jesus took it personally to save you.

Read the Bible Verses below:

“Just think how much more the blood of Christ will purify our consciences from sinful deeds so that we can worship the living God. For by the power of the eternal Spirit, Christ offered himself to God as a perfect sacrifice for our sins.” ‭‭Hebrews‬ ‭9:14‬ ‭NLT‬‬

“For Christ himself has brought peace to us. He united Jews and Gentiles into one person when, in his own body on the cross, he broke down the wall of hostility that separated us.” Ephesians 2:14 NLT

“Live a life filled with love, following the example of Christ. He loved us and offered himself as a sacrifice for us, a pleasing aroma to God.” ‭‭Ephesians‬ ‭5:2‬ ‭NLT‬‬

“Yet now he has reconciled you to himself through the death of Christ in his physical body. As a result, he has brought you into his own presence, and you are holy and blameless as you stand before him without a single fault.” Colossians 1:22 NLT

“I want them to be encouraged and knit together by strong ties of love. I want them to have complete confidence that they understand God’s mysterious plan, which is Christ himself.” ‭‭Colossians‬ ‭2:2‬ ‭NLT‬‬

“Since he himself has gone through suffering and testing, he is able to help us when we are being tested.” ‭‭Hebrews‬ ‭2:18‬ ‭NLT‬‬

“So now I am giving you a new commandment: Love each other. Just as I have loved you, you should love each other” John 13:34 NLT

“Now may our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God our Father, who loved us and by his grace gave us eternal comfort and a wonderful hope, comfort you and strengthen you in every good thing you do and say.” 2 Thessalonians 2:16-17

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God himself gave us the greatest gift of all, Christ himself. Similar to looking to God's character and who He is. We need to look to Christ for who He is. How Jesus lived, walked, and talked. Mainly, we should look to how Jesus chose to suffer for all of us and we can relate to that suffering cause everyone struggles in life.

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