Who Is Christ To You?

While the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them, “What do you think about the Christ?  Whose son is he?”  “The son of David,” they replied.  Matthew 22:41-41

Hello friends.  Prayerfully search your heart today and ask yourself this question, who is Christ to you?  Do you have head knowledge about Christ or do you have heart knowledge – a personal relationship with Christ?  I pray, if you realize you do not truly have a personal relationship with Jesus, you will acknowledge you are a sinner and invite Jesus into your heart to be your Savior and LORD. 

The religious leaders knew that the Messiah would be a descendant of David, but failed to understand in their hearts that the Messiah would be God himself.  John 10:30 reveals the deity of Christ  - I and the Father are one.  Friends, do you believe in the deity of Christ or are you like the religious leaders?  I choose to believe God’s Word.  Hebrews 1:3 – The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word.  After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in Heaven. 

The prophecy in Isaiah 53 was written nearly 700 years before Christ, the Messiah was born.  God reveals to us in His Word that He(Jesus) was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows, and familiar with suffering.  Like one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not – Isaiah 53:3.  Many still reject Jesus today.  I pray you have not rejected the gift of salvation Jesus is offering you.  John 1:10-12 – He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him.  He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him.  Yet to all who receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God. 

Isaiah 53:4-5 – Surely he took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows, yet we considered him stricken by God, smitten by him and afflicted, but he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed.  Christ died for our sins – transgressions and iniquities.  Notice dear friend that Jesus Christ carried our sorrow, he was pierced for our transgressions, and he was crushed for our iniquities.  Jesus died on the cross for you.  God reveals to us in Romans 4:25 – He was delivered over to death for our sins and was raised to life for our justification.  Friend there is nothing to be done to earn salvation.  Only through accepting Jesus as Savior and LORD can we receive God’s righteousness.  Don’t make it difficult to accept Jesus as Savior and LORD.  Accept the gift of salvation.  1 Peter 2:24 – He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; by his wound you have been healed.  I pray that you will believe in your heart that Jesus died for your sins and that if you accept the give of salvation you will become a child of God with an eternal home awaiting you.

Because of Jesus’ work on the cross, when you ask Him into your heart to become your Savior and LORD, you become righteous.  This righteousness cannot be obtained by your own works, only by the shed blood of Jesus Christ.  Isaiah 53:11 – After the suffering of his soul, he will see the light of life and be satisfied; by his knowledge my righteous servant will justify many, and he will bear their iniquities. 

Friend when you accept Jesus as your Savior and LORD you have a spiritual life that death cannot conquer.  John 11:25-26 – Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life.  He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die.  Do you believe this?” 

God reveals in His Word in Romans 3:23 – For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.  Romans 6:23 – For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.  Friend this death is eternal separation from God in an everlasting burning hell.  But the wonderful news is that God is offering us a gift.  All you must do is accept the gift of salvation.  Romans 5:8 – But God demonstrates his own love for us in this:  While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.  God sent Jesus to die for us because of His great love for us.  John 3:16 – For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.  I encourage you today to accept Jesus as your Savior and LORD.  Accept the gift of salvation.  Romans 10:13 – Everyone who calls on the name of the LORD will be saved.  That is you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is LORD,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved – Romans 10:9. 

So I end today by asking the question, who is Christ to you?  If Jesus is not your Savior and LORD, accept His gift of salvation today.  Friend, Jesus loved you enough to die for you. 

Dear Jesus, thank you for saving my soul.  Thank you for the gift of salvation.  I pray for those reading this devotion, if they do not know you as Savior and LORD that they accept your gift of salvation today.  LORD help us to never forget the sacrifice you made so that we would be made righteous in the eyes of God.  LORD I love you and give you all glory, honor, and praise.  In Jesus Precious Name I Pray…..Amen.

Identity

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation:  that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men’s sins against them.  And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation.  We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us.  We implore you on Christ’s behalf:  Be reconciled to God.  God made him who had no sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.  2 Corinthians 5:17-21

Hello friends.  I hope everyone is doing well.  I want us today to think about our identities. Identity is defined as who someone is; the qualities, beliefs, etc. that make a particular person who they are.   Where do we get our identities?  What things have you allowed to form your identity?  Have you allowed what others think of you shape your identity?  Have you based your identity on your job?  Maybe you have based your identity on the world’s standards.  I encourage you today to base your identity on who God says you are.  I pray you will come to see yourself as God sees you. 

Friend, you need to understand deep in your soul that you were never a mistake.  God created you in His image and He has a purpose and plan for you.  Psalm 139:13 – For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb.  We have been chosen by God and have a responsibility to be His representatives to a lost world.  Our value comes from being a child of God, not from our jobs, successes, wealth, and knowledge.  When we base our value on other things, our lives are often filled with futility and frustration.  A sense of continual discontentment consumes us.  But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light – 1 Peter 2:9. 

Our identity and self-worth is established in the fact that our Savior and LORD loves us and calls us His children. 1 John 3:1 – How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God.  And that is what we are!  The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him.  When we accept Jesus as our Savior and LORD, we are reborn spiritually.  We receive new life from God.  This spiritual birth changes us from the inside out.  Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God – children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God – 1 John 1:12-13. 

If you have accepted Jesus as Savior and LORD, your citizenship is in Heaven.  Earth is not your home.  A wonderful home in Heaven awaits you after your journey on this earth is done.  Read Revelation 21 and 22 and get a glimpse of your Heavenly home.  If you ever feel like you just don’t belong on this earth, it is because your true home awaits you in Heaven.  But our citizenship is in Heaven.  And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, who, by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body – Philippians 3:20-21

Friends, our bodies belong to Christ.  We were “bought at a price” – Jesus’ death on the cross.  For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life – John 3:16.   This act of love is incomprehensible.  God loves us more than we can ever truly understand.  He gave His Son for you.  You are of great value.  Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God?  You are not your own; you were bought with a price.  Therefore honor God with your body – 1 Corinthians 6:19-20.

I encourage you to base your identity on who God says you are.  Our self-worth comes from who we are in Christ Jesus, not on what we accomplish. 

Dear Heavenly Father, I pray that You will help us to believe we are who You say we are.  Father we are Your children, fearfully and wonderfully made.  Help us to live our lives in a manner that is pleasing to You.  I pray that as we live our lives, others in the world will know that we belong to You.  Thank You Jesus for saving my soul.  In Jesus Precious Name I Pray…..Amen.

Be Wise

Be very careful, then, how you live…not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil.  Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is.  Ephesians 5:15-17

Hello sweet friends.  I hope you are having a pleasant week and enjoying the cooler weather.  Today I would like us to reflect on the meaning of wisdom and the meaning of knowledge.  We live in a world where it is easy to gain knowledge, but how do we gain wisdom?  What exactly is wisdom?  Knowledge is defined as facts, information, and skills acquired by a person through experience or education.  Wisdom is the ability to discern or judge what is true, right, or lasting.  We can possess a significant amount of knowledge and not make wise decisions.  Charles Spurgeon stated, “Wisdom is the right use of knowledge.  To know is not to be wise.  Many men know a great deal, and are all the greater fools for it.  There is no fool so great a fool as a knowing fool.  But to know how to use knowledge is to have wisdom.”  Our Heavenly Father is the one who sets the standard and determines what is true, what is right, and what is lasting, therefore we must look to Him and His Word for wisdom. 

Colossians 4:5-6 – Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity.  Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone.  You and I come in contact with people every day who do not have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.  Those who never accept Jesus as their Savior and LORD will spend eternity separated from God in Hell.  Just this should propel us share the Good News – the Salvation Plan with those we come in contact with each day.  When sharing the Good News, we must always be gracious and respectful.  No one will listen to the message we desire to share if they sense disrespect in our attitude.  When we truly care about the soul of those we meet, we will respond to them with compassion and grace.  I encourage you to be aware of those you come in contact with each day.  Share the Good News – the Salvation Plan.  Proverbs 11:30 – The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life, and he who wins souls is wise.  

Many people wish to be considered important by worldly standards, but God reveals in His Word in Daniel 12:3 – Those who are wise will shine like the brightness of the heavens, and those who lead many to righteousness, like the stars for ever and ever.  Worldly importance and status are temporary, but you and I can be “eternal stars” by sharing God’s salvation plan and leading people to God’s righteousness.  Do you desire to be radiantly beautiful in God’s sight?  Do you desire to please your Savior and LORD?  Share Him with the world. 

Prayerfully examine your character.  Do you claim to be wise?   Wisdom can be determined by the depth of a person’s character.  James 3:13-17 – Who is wise and understanding among you?  Let him show it by his good life, by deeds done in the humility that comes from wisdom.  But if you harbor bitter envy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast about it or deny the truth.  Such wisdom does not come down from heaven but is earthly, unspiritual, of the devil.  For where you have envy and selfish ambition, there you find disorder and every evil practice.  But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere.  God is revealing to us in His Word that those who are wise are peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial, and sincere.  Seek God’s help to live a life pleasing to Him and a life filled with wisdom.  God tells us in His Word in James 1:5 – If any of you lack wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him. 

I encourage you to pray and ask God for wisdom in each and every situation you encounter.  Immerse yourself in God’s Word where you will find direction.  God is faithful and He will provide.  Psalm 11:10 – The fear of the LORD us the beginning of wisdom; all who follow His precepts have good understanding.  To him belongs eternal praise. 

Dear Heavenly Father… I pray today for wisdom as we live in this world that has turned from You.  LORD, as we encounter unbelievers, place a desire in our hearts to share the Salvation Plan with them with graciousness and kindness.  Help us to understand that there is a difference between knowledge and wisdom.  Place a desire in our hearts and lives for godly wisdom.  In Jesus Precious Name I Pray…..Amen

A Season of Brokenness

He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners, to proclaim the year of the LORD’s favor and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn, and provide for those who grieve in Zion – to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair.  They will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the LORD for the display of His splendor.  Isaiah 16:2-3

Hello sweet friends.  This past week I prayerfully began to seek the topic that my Savior and LORD desired for me to write about in this devotional.  God revealed to me through Bible study and pray that He wanted me to write on the topic of brokenness.  Search your heart today and consider these questions.  Are you currently in a season of brokenness?  Are you rehashing the details related to your season of brokenness instead of resting in God’s healing touch?  I pray   you will make the decision to rest in God’s presence and allow his healing touch to comfort your mind, soul, and spirit.

Many situations and circumstances can cause us to enter into a season of brokenness.  Tragedy, broken relationships, broken dreams, illness, and sin, are just a few.  When we are in a season of brokenness, Satan wants us to believe all hope is gone.  I tell you today that all hope is not gone. God is stronger than your brokenness.  Run after God for healing. 

God’s Word reveals to us in Psalm 147:3 – He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds.  Make a conscious decision to believe God’s Word.  God who is rich in mercy and grace keeps His promises.  Hold onto the belief and truth of God’s Word. 

During a season of brokenness, God promises that He is close and that He will provide us with power, courage and wisdom.  We must admit our need for God and seek Him.  Psalm 34:17-18 – The righteous cry out, and the LORD hears them; He delivers them from all their troubles. The LORD is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.   

During your season of brokenness, trust in God’s faithfulness day by day.  God loves us even more than we can imagine.  He gave His one and only Son to die on an old rugged cross for you.  Lamentations 3:21-25 – Because of the LORD’s great love we are not consumed, for His compassions never fail.  They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.  I say to myself, “The LORD is my portion; therefore I will wait for him.” The LORD is good to those whose hope is in him, to the one who seeks him.

Believe in the truth of Scripture when God reveals  - For nothing is impossible with God – Luke 1:37.  Do not allow your season of brokenness to diminish your faith in the one that can heal your broken spirit.  Hold to the truth found in 2 Corinthians 4:16-18 – Therefore we do not lose heart.  Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day.  For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all.  So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen.  For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.  Strive to take your eyes off your situation and circumstances and fix your eyes on Jesus and the eternal kingdom.  In your darkest season of brokenness, put your trust in the one that can do immeasurably more than we can imagine.  Ephesians 3:20 – Now to Him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine according to His power that is at work within us. 

Seasons of brokenness are sure to come to everyone, even the strongest person.  Just remember, our Savior and Lord’s power and strength never diminish.  He desires to be our source of strength.  He is our only hope.  Trust Him completely.  Isaiah 41:28-31 – Do you not know?  Have you not heard?  The LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth.  He will not grow tired or weary, and His understanding no one can fathom.  He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak.  Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength.  They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint. 

Dear Heavenly Father, I pray today for those who are in a season of brokenness.  I pray they will seek You for courage, strength, and wisdom.  LORD, allow them a glimpse of your mercy and grace during this season.  Help them to place their hope in You.  LORD make known to them the path of life, and fill them with joy in Your presence.  In