Lent Devotional Day 29 Monday 4/7/14 John 8:23-25 (NLT) Then he said to them, “You are from below; I am from above. You are of this world; I am not. That is why I said that you will die in your sins; for unless you believe that I am who I say I am, you will die in your sins.” “Tell us who you are,” they demanded. Jesus replied, “I am the one I have always claimed to be. John 14:6 (NLT) Jesus told him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me. Matthew 16:15-16 (MSG) He pressed them, “And how about you? Who do you say I am?” Simon Peter said, “Youre the Christ, the Messiah, the Son of the living God.” Reflection: Without a doubt, the question of the ages. Who do you say I am? We can echo Peters proclamation above, but what does that mean to us now? Peter was speaking as a Jew with thousands of years of religious history behind him, and those words had deep meaning to him. His nation, his people were watching, waiting, and hoping for the Messiah to come to them. The coming of a deliverer was central to their religious culture, having been prophecied generations earlier. Those words had meaning to him, but not so much to me, or you. So, who do YOU say he is? The Bible names him with many names or labels, some religious, some not. Here are just a few: savior, deliverer, wonderful counselor, everlasting father, prince of peace, lion of the tribe of Judah, root of Jesse, alpha and omega, beginning and end, advocate, bright and morning star, shepherd, doorway, gate, the way, the truth, and the life, ... And the list goes on, and on, and on... So. Who is Jesus to you? The answer to this question has split families, and has reunited families. It has brought peace in turmoil, and turmoil where there was peace. It a question with life-changing implications to the honest of heart. See, the honest of heart will conform to whatever truth dictates; those not so will seek to shape truth into that which is convenient or comfortable for them. Who is Jesus to you? In my overly-simplistic way, Ill lay it out; we only have four basic choices: -Legend: Jesus never really existed; hes a moral or religious concept, not a real person. -Lunatic: Jesus was self-deceived; a person with a God complex. -Liar & deceiver: Jesus made promises he knew he couldnt keep. We see these type of people as evil. -Lord & ruler of all: based on what he said about himself, Jesus is God come to us as human. If we dont know what he said about himself, we cant even begin to know him in his fullness. He is not a wizard, or a realized master. Based on what he said about himself, those arent options. Dont make up your own comfortable, convenient Jesus; get to know the one who wants to rock your world! Prayer: Matchless One, I really dont have a clue. You are so far beyond the scope of my understanding, at best, I can only catch a glimpse. But that glimpse changes everything. Show me who you really are. Help me answer the most important question Ill ever face: Who are you to me? Make the answer real and deep, not trite and superficial.
Posted on: Mon, 07 Apr 2014 05:45:59 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015