Sunday, August 3, 2008
Speaking of Jesus - August 2008
When Jesus came He was constantly serving. I mean constantly. It is rather a remarkable and mind blowing thing to think that when God incarnated, that is became a man, He did not do so in a way to lord Himself over us. Quite the contrary. He came to serve us. He came to save us.
When you talk about Jesus with your friends, how often do you emphasize the service of Christ? I wonder if we don't try and use Jesus to fix people as opposed to proclaim what He has done to save them. Sometime I wonder if we don't think about evangelism as a means of telling people how to fix themselves so that they make themselves good enough for God. We think we are to say, "He sinner, repent (by which we mean 'fix yourself') or else you'll be in hell." But that is not how we are to speak of Jesus at all!
Rather, when we speak of Jesus, we should speak of the One who came to serve us and save us, not to condemn us unless we "fix ourselves." When we talk about Jesus, we need to be sure we are speaking of a loving God who knows our struggles and our failures. He know our hardships and our sorrows. And, yes, he knows our sins. But this is what is so wonderful about Jesus, he didn't come to fix that stuff. No, far better! He came to redeem us, to declare us righteous even when we are not. He came to conquer our struggles, He came to forgive our sins, He came to pour out all of Himself so that we can have life with Him eternally. This is how we should talk about Jesus!
Make a goal for yourself this month to sit down and read the entire Gospel of Luke. As you read, be caugh up in the wonder of this God who serves the broken, the outcast, and the marginalized. Sit in awe as you see Jesus forgiving sinners. Try to control the joy when you realize that you are among those whom Christ has redeemed and forgiven. And then go out and tell your friends that He has done the same for them. He's not waiting to do it for them, they don't have to be fixed, He has done it for them. Let this Jesus shape the way you speak of God's salvation!
When you talk about Jesus with your friends, how often do you emphasize the service of Christ? I wonder if we don't try and use Jesus to fix people as opposed to proclaim what He has done to save them. Sometime I wonder if we don't think about evangelism as a means of telling people how to fix themselves so that they make themselves good enough for God. We think we are to say, "He sinner, repent (by which we mean 'fix yourself') or else you'll be in hell." But that is not how we are to speak of Jesus at all!
Rather, when we speak of Jesus, we should speak of the One who came to serve us and save us, not to condemn us unless we "fix ourselves." When we talk about Jesus, we need to be sure we are speaking of a loving God who knows our struggles and our failures. He know our hardships and our sorrows. And, yes, he knows our sins. But this is what is so wonderful about Jesus, he didn't come to fix that stuff. No, far better! He came to redeem us, to declare us righteous even when we are not. He came to conquer our struggles, He came to forgive our sins, He came to pour out all of Himself so that we can have life with Him eternally. This is how we should talk about Jesus!
Make a goal for yourself this month to sit down and read the entire Gospel of Luke. As you read, be caugh up in the wonder of this God who serves the broken, the outcast, and the marginalized. Sit in awe as you see Jesus forgiving sinners. Try to control the joy when you realize that you are among those whom Christ has redeemed and forgiven. And then go out and tell your friends that He has done the same for them. He's not waiting to do it for them, they don't have to be fixed, He has done it for them. Let this Jesus shape the way you speak of God's salvation!
Labels: speaking-of-jesus
posted by Faith Moorpark
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1:49 PM
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