So what would I say about Jesus?

1 John 2:2 ESV / 

He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world.

 I have met a new friend here in Florida who mentioned to me that he likes the preaching
at his church because it is about," Jesus and me." That got me to thinking.... what would he say about this Jesus and his relationship with our Savior.

Well he hasn't responded yet, but it brought to mind the question...What would I say about Jesus? Until a few years ago, I would have had very little to say, and that's very
sad and frightening at the same time. I would have mentioned Christmas and probably
done what many lost folks do... called Him a great teacher and moral man.

Well, thanks be to God, I know a bit more now. So here goes, briefly.

He, Jesus, is God. That can be a bit confusing, right? I mean isn't God the Father and
Jesus the Son of God? Yes, and no. Without even trying to explain the Trinity, I'll just
say that Jesus is fully God. The relationship between He and  His Father has existed for
eternity, is never changing and as strong as ever. Jesus was God on Earth. God incarnate.
His glorious attributes are the essence of God.

He, Jesus, is Lord of Salvation! There is simply no other path to forgiveness and
acceptance by God. The actions of Jesus provided the culmination of a plan that began
before time to bring God's creation into acceptance. Jesus is the propitiation for our sins,
He has paid the debt in full, He is the Great High Priest that can walk with us into the
very presence of our God. Without our accepting Him as our Lord and Savior, we are
eternally lost and separate from God. That's simply not a good place to be!!!!

He, Jesus, is our shepherd! Without Him, we, like all sheep, will tend to wander
and get lost. He cares for us and protects us when there is no way we can contuinue to
safely exist without Him. He gathers us to Him and uses His staff and rod in the
process of bringing us to safe keeping. He is strength, gentleness, compassion and
the truth. He is our friend with a capital F. Our lives should be full of the desire to
follow Him, cherish Him, glorify Him and Trust Him!

He, Jesus, is the light of the world! He has defeated darkness. He has defeated
even death. He has dealt a death-blow to Satan. He is the final judge of this world
and, upon His return, will make all things right and just! He is warmth and hope.
He is King and Lord.

HE IS JESUS!

To love Him is to know Him

"Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in your book were written, every one of them, the days
that were formed for me, when as yet there were none of them."  Psalm 139: 16

Heaven came down to earth, and earth perceived it not. Let God be praised, those days 
are over, yet even now what we know of Jesus is small compared to what He knows of
us.  (Taken from Morning and Evening devotionals by Charles Spurgeon, revised by
Alistair Begg)

For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made...  Psalm 139

Okay, I will have to admit that the playing field is not level, here. We are starting at
a glorious disadvantage because Christ Jesus has known us... forever. We know, also,
that His being God allows Him to be omniscient right down to our every thought before
it is even spoken. 

Yet this is not a roadblock to a great desire to know Christ Jesus as thoroughly as we
can possibly know Him. It seems obvious, doesn't it, that we would strive to be aware
of Him in every way; yet, I have to admit that even in praising Him and glorifying
Him in my heart, I have been rather lazy when it comes to just getting down to
learning about Him in a useful way. In my case I cannot blame being busy, forgetful
or any other lame excuse...I just haven't put in the work. Yet, I really want to.

There are a myriad of great books available on Jesus. I will share just a couple that
I found helpful for starters:  Jesus- The Greatest Life of All by Charles Swindoll, More
Than a Carpenter by Josh Mcdowell, The Man Christ Jesus by Robert J Morgan,
Speaking of Jesus, by J Mack Stiles. Those are just the ones that I have had the privilege
to read through recently.

Obviously, The Holy Bible provides a look at our savior through His words, actions and
the words of those who shared His ministry here on earth. I know that even the gospels
and new testament books couldn't possibly exhaust the glory that is our Christ, but what
a wonderful resource they are!

So what are we waiting for? While we cannot match His supreme knowledge of ourselves,
we can earnestly work at knowing more about the God-man who came down to
this earth to provide the one possible means for we sinners to be reconciled to God,
and that way was so very costly, a lonely death like none other... hanging on a cross.

We love Him. We need to know Him! It's a natural subject matter!

Praise God!