Who Is Jesus & Why Do We Need Him?

If there is any question or doubt about who Jesus is, Paul writes about it in Colossians 1:13-23 and gives us clear teaching on the supremacy of Christ.

God has brought us into His kingdom through the redemption of our sins through the sacrifice of Jesus, who, as Paul says is the exact image of the invisible God. Jesus looks exactly like God. Not only does Jesus look like God, He is in every way exactly like God. Jesus is not just another God separate from the Father, but the image of the invisible God. All things were created by Jesus and for Jesus, which means Jesus existed in the beginning, but came to earth at the specific time to carry out the plan of redemption for mankind. Everything is held together by Christ, who is said to be the head of the body, which is the church. He leads the church, and we make up the parts of the church body. No one but Jesus leads the church, and therefore no one is said to be the head of the body except for Jesus.

The passage says in verse 18 that Jesus was the first to be raised from the dead. This statement is confusing to many, because wasn't Lazarus was raised from the dead (John 11) as was a young boy at a funeral (Luke 7), and a young girl (Matthew 9)? Why does it say here that Jesus was the first to be raised from the dead if those others were said to be raised first? The others who were raised still died physically. They were brought back to life, but not to eternal living status. Jesus, when he was raised from the dead, is still living today, and through that resurrection we also have eternal life. Anyone can take punishment for someone else. What Jesus did was to take punishment for all mankind, and to make it legitimate, God raised Jesus to solidify that the punishment was enough. It is the proof that everyone’s sins were paid for through the punishment Jesus took on the cross. We could not have eternal life without the death and resurrection of Christ.

Paul also says that God made peace with us through the death and resurrection of Jesus. The only way we have peace in ourselves is through our peace with God, so Jesus came to live on earth and die to bring us into peace with God. We may look for peace in many things, but God is the only one who can give everlasting peace. “I give you peace, the kind of peace that only I can give. It isn’t like the peace this world can give. So don’t be worried or afraid.” -John 14:27(CEV).

Because of this peace through Jesus, God allows us to stand in His presence without blame and free from accusation of sin. Jesus paid the penalty that we deserve. For this love that God showed us, Paul tells us to remain firm in our faith. The gospel is still our best hope for an eternal connection to God.

Tough words to follow sometimes, but very true. If Jesus is who every follower of Christ says he is, we can point here in Colossians for the concrete description of who Jesus is and why we need him. Jesus is the mediator between us and God (1Timothy 2:5). Just like someone who mediates between two enemies and brings peace, Jesus mediates between us and God to bring us into God’s peace. Jesus also says, “I am the way, the truth and the life. Without me, no one can go to the Father.” (John 14:6) It's pretty clear that Jesus is the only way to connect with God, that by accepting Jesus' sacrifice for us, we can be connected to God and have God’s peace and forgiveness, which give us access to Him, and He therefore sends us the Holy Spirit to help us follow Him. God loves us, and came to us in the person of Jesus so that we could live in community with God again.

Fellowship of Believers- Acts 2:37-47

Church is not just a place to come on Sunday, listen to and sing music, listen to a message by the pastor, greet friends and leave. Church is not even a place or building the way we think of it. It is the act of the proclaimed followers of Christ and how they live their lives together.

The first Christian church in Acts 2 took off very quickly. Peter preached the gospel to many seekers, and they all asked “What shall we do?” Here is where Peter gives the best advice. Rather than tell them to come together in a building and listen and learn more, he tells them plainly to repent/turn back to God and be baptized in Jesus’ name to be forgiven of sins, and 3000 people joined God’s Kingdom that day, not just a local church. Their response was immediate. It is not said that they were instructed to come together regularly to eat, pray, worship, share all they have with each other, etc. They did this naturally from change Jesus did within them all. A genuine love from God helped them spiritually want to come together and share their lives in fellowship and community with each other. This is the natural progression of new believers when the Holy Spirit works within them, and those around are doing the same showing an example of their changed lives.

The picture of this first church is a picture of health, and due to that health the Lord added more believers daily. Jesus gets glory when His church functions in a healthy way, because when it does, people who are seeking God, even if they don’t know they are seeking God will be attracted to that health, thereby being attracted to all God has to offer.

Sin and the Fall- Genesis 3

In Genesis 2, God had given Adam instructions while he lived in Eden- that he was to take care of everything in the garden and that he could eat anything, except the fruit from the tree of knowledge which would let him know the difference between right and wrong. It was Adam’s responsibility to to communicate that to his wife, Eve. Adam was set as the spiritual leader of his family. Eve was tempted by the devil to take and eat from that tree. The father of lies, told her the lie that she would not die if she ate it, but that God had lied to Adam by saying they would not die, but God was afraid they would become like Him. Eve took it, and it wasn’t only her fault because she gave some to Adam, who was right there with her. He should have been strong enough to tell her not to take it and be the leader of the family God set him up to be. Unfortunately, he did not, and spiritual death that God told them about for their rebellion happened- they were spiritually separated from God.

God still loves his creation, but had to punish the sin. If He had let the sin go unpunished, God would be un-just. Satan was an angel who was cast out of heaven for the sin of pride and wanting to be like God- the actual first sin, so his sin was punished. Satan demands that God continue to punish sin, since he was punished himself. That is why sin is punished in the world today- God must continue to give punishment for sin, or else He will be judged un-just.

It is sad that God’s creation was cast out of communion with God, but if this had not been done, Adam and Eve would have continued to live in their sin with no way to be reconciled to God. Their offspring would have been condemned to live in their sin without hope of being re-connected with God. God not only cursed the man and woman, that their lives would be full of hardship- the woman with labor pains while she gives birth and the man would struggle to harvest enough food to eat. The curse he put on Satan was the worst of all, and God says basically that Satan had won this battle, and you have inflicted a wound, but one day, through Eve’s offspring will come a savior to strike a fatal blow to him. God already set up a reconciliation between He and His creation- through the human birth, life, death and resurrection of Jesus many generations in the future.

Praise God that although we are in sin, and separated from our Heavenly Father, He has made a way for us to be reconnected with Him. He gave us unconditional love through the sacrifice of Jesus because He didn’t wait for us to stop sinning, but while we still sin, Jesus took the punishment we deserve (Romans 5:8). And also, since sin came into the world through the act of one man, it is fitting that all sinners be made right by the act of one man's obedience (Romans 5:12-21). God is good, all the time.

Creation- Genesis 1-2

Reading through Genesis and how God created the Earth, I am reminded of how God put things in order when He created things. He didn’t just put all things on the Earth in one swipe of His hand, which He could have done. He created the Earth and prepared a perfect place for us to live. Many people argue about evolution. I believe in evolution, but I believe it was put in place by the Creator. God created things in a specific order, and placed everything to grow, mature and evolve. The creation of the Earth is a great mystery, but one where all the things God created should be marveled at. The sky, the stars, the natural world around us- He created it all so that we would know there is a creator and we would glorify Him for that creation. People grieve God when they worship created things over the creator.

In India, people worship the sun, rocks, trees and other created things. The one thing we observed while living in India was that Hindus worshiped the Ganges River. It is regarded as most Holy by Hindus. In most of Asia, people worship created things over the Creator- God. It would be the same thing as an artist who paints a masterpiece, but then people marvel and elevate the masterpiece over the artist, actually even forgetting the artist all together. The work of art did not create itself- it was created by someone. Same with the earth- it did not create itself, it was created. And if you believe it was created, you have to believe that an all powerful being created it. We can marvel at the things created by God, but when we elevate them over God and give those things our worship, we give credit to the created things over the creator.

Out of all the living things God put on the earth, His most special creation was people. He made us to think and to grow and to rule over the all the living things on the earth. He put us in charge of the place he prepared for us to live. We are the only one of His creations that God made in His image- that’s pretty special. Think about how God ordered our bodies, and how all things within work together to keep us alive. It is hard for me to think that I am an accident, and that all my parts together were thrown together and came together by chance. God created our bodies as living temples to Him. He created men and women to compliment each other. When He created Adam, God saw that He had no helper like all the other animals, so He created Eve. Isn't it nteresting that God took a rib from Adam’s side, not his head or his leg or foot, but out of his side. It symbolized the equality between men and women. He created man first, and set up that men should be leaders within the household, but men and women were created to live together as compliments- a perfect fit for each other as equals.

After God created man and woman, he blessed them and told them to go out and go to work- rule the earth and multiply. Notice that God blesses them first. It is an example that we should never go anywhere without God’s blessings. If we go out on our own, we will survive, but not thrive the way God intended.

God also set up a day of rest- the example for us that we should rest from work for at least one day of the week. Why not? God made our bodies to need rest, and when God rested, He set up that day, at least one in the week, for us to rest our bodies from work, and rejuvenate. Praise God for at least one day of rest! Then God gave Adam some instructions- not to eat from the tree of knowledge of good and evil. God basically told Adam not to rebel against Him, and if he did, he would suffer spiritual death and separation from God.

I love to read about the creation of the earth and give God glory for all He created. It’s the reason it was all created- even us. To glorify God.

Christmas Party at LifePoint Bangkok- Matthew Style

When the Apostle Matthew came to know and commit to following Jesus, he threw a large party at his house and invited Jesus to attend. He also invited all his friends and colleagues so that they could meet Jesus and have the chance to follow Him. He invited people he had influence over- people he had relationships with, and he wanted to share his new found faith in God with those relationships.

Last night, LifePoint Bangkok took the opportunity to throw a Christmas party. Recently we rented a new space in a neighborhood that God led us to. It is now a center for our work here- we started meeting for church on Sundays, and host different events to invite the people we have been investing in. Christmas gave us the opportunity to do that, and finally host our own Matthew party.

Of our team, there were 14 of us- 19 people we all have relationships with showed- Praise God! We had some great food and fellowship between us. Nobody seemed to feel left out or out of place. We had kids Christmas shows playing in the background, and also played White Elephant (Dirty Santa) gift exchange game. After the game, the party seemed to be winding down, but nobody left. People stayed late into the night enjoying more fellowship and conversation.

Our first big LifePoint Bangkok event seemed to have been a success, but not just from the pictures. We can tell it was successful because of the comments we got from all who left. The Thai people who do not celebrate Christmas got a first hand look at how we celebrate Christmas in America, and they were thrilled to be part of it. Many gave us heart-filled thanks for including them in the party, and they all said they loved it. It was a blast.

Praise God providing an opportunity for us to take a huge step in our relationships this night. Continue to pray for those we are investing in for God's glory.

The Holy Spirit's Purpose

John the Baptist was preparing the way for Jesus in the desert, and he begins to teach and speak of what the Holy Spirit is. The story is in Matthew 3:1-17.

Talking about the Holy Spirit is a difficult thing to do, and it can be easily mis-interpreted, misunderstood and miscommunicated. Especially in a culture that believes that spirits, good and bad, control what happens in a person’s life. It’s also hard to explain the Holy Spirit in a culture that has a casual belief in Jesus- to them it just sounds weird to talk about it. Then, there is the issue of people who believe in more than one God, and they are confused about Christians who talk about God the Father, God the Son (Jesus) and God the Holy Spirit. This makes people, like Hindus, think that we as Christians believe there are 3 different gods. Here is how I can best explain it the way I understand it: There is God’s essence, or His being which we call the Father. There is His human image, who came to earth to live among us in the person of Jesus. And, God has a Spirit, but God’s Spirit is something that we can carry within us. That is what John means when he says we will be baptized with the Holy Spirit. Being baptized in water is an outward symbol of us turning away from our sins and following Jesus- an outward expression of the change that happens on the inside. When we decide to follow Jesus, God’s Spirit comes into us, and we are immersed in it and the it lives within us (2 Timothy 1:14). As John was baptizing in the desert, the religious leaders came out to see what he was doing, and thought that by just being there and going through the motions, they could show that they were part of this new God movement and get some salvation also. John calls them out for their hypocrisy; that by going through the motions, you cannot just call yourself a person who follows God. You must also follow through in your heart. God is the only one who knows our heart besides us. We can fool other people, but we cannot fool God. He gives us His Spirit when we decide to really follow Him, as John says- we are baptized with the Holy Spirit. The very instant we confess and believe (Romans 10:9), we are sealed with the promised Holy Spirit of God (Ephesians 1:13), and it is what helps us do what we must do to follow God and testify and proclaim that Jesus is Lord. Acts 1:8, Jesus says that when we receive the Holy Spirit, we will have power, and have the ability to be His witnesses wherever we go, even to the ends of the earth.

Here are some examples of how the Holy Spirit within us helps us: The Spirit teaches us what to say (Luke 12:12); His Spirit speaks for us (Mark 13:11); The Spirit reminds us of Jesus’ teachings and helps us live according to it (John 14:26); Our joy comes from the Holy Spirit (Luke 10:21); it fills us with hope (Romans 15:13); The Spirit helps us pray (Jude 1:20). God’s Spirit is very important to us as believers- it’s not to be ignored or feared, but to be welcomed, released and depended upon so we as followers of Jesus can do what we have been called by God to do. We don’t do it alone- God’s Spirit helps us (John 14:16).

I struggle with talking about the Holy Spirit, and communicating clearly some of the things in the Bible about him. My main scripture study is about John the Baptist and him preaching on the Holy Spirit, but I have included many other Bible verses that explain more about the Holy Spirit and what his purpose is. Please comment and add any scripture verses as you see fit that I have probably missed that can help explain better. Thanks for reading, and God bless!

Worship- Jesus & The Woman At The Well

Today, I read through one of my favorite stories (John 4:3-42). It is inspiring for all of us, no matter our situation to worship God.

So many things in this story about Jesus and His encounter with the Samaritan woman at the well. My focus today, however is worship. Jesus’ conversation with her gets spiritual pretty quickly, and the woman, realizing Jesus as a man of God, asks about the differences between Jewish and Samaritan worship of God. Jews felt that true worship was in Jerusalem, while Samaritans believed they needed to worship the way their fathers did- in Samaria. Jesus immediately corrects her and states that the place to worship God does not matter, but that true worship is in the spirit. People who follow God must worship in Spirit and in truth, and that is not based on location. If location were an issue, everyone outside of Jerusalem would be worshiping God the wrong way. This is also the case when we say that one type of church denomination worships God wrong because of their singing, church building, day of worship, etc. There is no time constraints, no geographical boundaries, no perfect 4 walled structure, no specific church program needed to worship God in the correct way. Jesus says we must worship in Spirit and truth. Worship is showing our love to God, and we can show our love for God in everything we do, no matter where we are. Our lives are made to please God, and when we please God by showing our love for Him; with our worship. We show ourselves as followers of God to others as worshiping in Spirit and truth, not in rules and regulations according to religion and tradition. Worship God right where you are! The Samaritan woman did- she showed her love for God, not worrying about her reputation, by sharing her new found faith in Christ with all her townspeople. Many Samaritans believed in Jesus at that time because of the woman’s testimony. Can you show God that you love Him by sharing your testimony about how God loves you today? Everyday?

Praising God

Luke 17:11-19, the story is about how we should give God our worship and thank him for all that we have.

So far, our pattern of following Jesus is to abide in Christ, read and meditate on His Word and to communicate with God through prayer. In addition, we must also live in a spirit of worship. Worship is not just singing in church, it is the way we show our love to God. As Jesus met the 10 lepers, they asked for healing, but Jesus didn’t heal them on the spot. He commanded them to go show themselves to the priests, as was the custom for people with leprosy to be inspected by the priests so they could be accepted back into society. Their healing took place on the way to the priests. With their excitement, they all went back to their lives excited to pick up their lives where they left off- all except one, who realized he needed to show love back to God for his healing. Jesus commended him, even though he was a foreigner, and then asked where the others were. We need to take this example and give praise to God in all circumstances, especially when we receive great things from Jesus. The reason we should live in a constant state of worship is because we have already received the greatest gift of all- our salvation.

Prayer

Here is one area of my life that I seem to overlook, but God wants to hear from us, and Jesus gives us a great model of prayer in Luke 11:1-13 & Luke 18:1-8.

In following with the pattern of previous studies, we follow Christ by reading His word and meditating on it. We also have direct communication with the Father through prayer. In Luke, Jesus is asked to show us how to pray. He gives a structure of praise, thanksgiving, forgiveness and asking. He then goes on to say how much God would give us if we simply ask consistently. Later in Luke, he tells of the story of an unrighteous judge who relents and gives justice to a woman because she consistently begs him for help. His point is that even the unrighteous give what is needed due to persistence. Jesus shows us to pray with consistency, and not lose heart. How many times to we pray about something we need, but it is in quick passing- “Hey God, could you do me a favor?” We talk so much in our prayers, and our prayers are all about us, not God. We need to first give praise to Him- He’s our king! Let YOUR will be done God, not mine. It’s not about me. Second, we should thank Him for all we have already- that kind of puts things into perspective, and even the thing we are preparing to ask God about might not even seem that important comparatively. Third, we need to ask forgiveness for anything that might be hindering us in our conversation with God, and we must remind ourselves that since we are forgiven, we must also forgive those who have sinned against us. Deliver us from evil- ask for protection against temptations. After this part of the conversation, feel free to ask what you want. Jesus says: “You have not because you ask not.” Our earthly fathers give us good things and not bad things, and they are human and sinful. How much more will a gracious, heavenly father give us if we ask? But asking according to His will is the key. Once we put our prayer into perspective, we must ask according to what will please and glorify Him. It's not an option, it’s part of following Jesus.

Meditating on God's Word

Short thoughts on Psalm 119:1-16.

David gives us the example and the challenge to keep our ways pure by knowing the word. As stated above, we can do nothing apart from the vine, and part of that vine is The Word of God. Keep God’s statutes, and meditate or think long and hard about God’s laws and words. Blessed are those who keep his testimonies and who seek Him with their whole heart. Don’t miss this- receive God’s blessings not just by luck, but by reading and keeping His word and following the ways of those words. I was asked by one of my Thai friends if it is hard to follow all of the things in the Bible. I told him honestly that it is impossible to follow all of it, but we try. And the only way to try our best is to know what it says is by reading it, and praying and talking with God. God sets his laws up not for us to follow them all, because He knows it is impossible to do that. He set up His laws so that we can see how far separated from God we are, and nothing we do can bring us closer. God is the one who brings us closer with His word and His spirit. The work is already done, and what remains is grace. How do we know these things if we do not read, think hard on (meditate), delight in and follow His word? How do we know how to follow Jesus unless we study His Word?

The Vine and the Branches/Abiding in Christ

More thoughts from my daily time in the Word- John 15:1-11

Staying connected to the vine- Jesus and His word. When we decide to follow Jesus and be fishers of men, we must stay connected to Him. If we are apart from Jesus and His word, we can do nothing, for then we are trusting in ourselves and not God. Reading the Word and talking/praying to God daily are two ways we stay connected to the vine. When we are connected to the vine (GOD) we begin to bear fruit that God wants us to bear, and in this way we show everyone that we are Jesus’ disciples. We cannot do this by ourselves, even though we might have great knowledge of scripture and God’s law. Simple knowledge is not enough, we must listen to God and his Spirit which guides us in the ways we must go. I will bear no fruit apart from the vine. When I do not bear fruit, I am not able to show that I am a disciple of Christ. Servants do not know their master’s business. We are friends of God, and we are all about our Father’s business, and He has revealed that business to us- it's no secret! He has left it to us to carry out, and our main task is to glorify God over all things. We cannot glorify Him if we do not know His business. We do not know His business unless we trust in His spirit to guide us in carrying it out.

Fishers of Men/Following Christ

Just wanted to share some thoughts on my study of Luke 5:1-11 from the other day:

As Jesus went through the countryside preaching God's Word, he came to the sea of Galilee and saw that the crowds were getting large. He didn't retreat at this time nor did he send them away. Jesus simply used what was around him- the fishermen’s boat. Contrary to what we think about this situation, his target audience was not the huge crowd, but the fishermen. He wanted to see how he was received, so he asked to use their boat to speak to the crowd from. He then rewarded them with a huge catch of fish, and revealed to them his true nature and asked them to follow him fully. Sometimes, even when we are speaking to the large crowd, our target audience is the ones with whom we have direct influence and contact with. It is many times the ones we are developing into leaders, and those we will equip for bigger purposes, in this case Peter, James and John. Your initial audience may be large, but you will have a greater impact on those few who are closest to you in relationship.

Going to School

A student started going to school at the age of 5. Kindergarten. He was worried he had to know all that there was to know about school before he went, but his mom told him, "School is for learning. As you go, you learn, so don't worry about knowing everything first." With confidence, he went. Every day. He rarely missed a day. He was a perfect attender.

As he grew and moved into higher grades, he realized that the teacher was telling him to do things he really didn't want to do. Follow the rules, read the textbook. It wasn't fun for him, and he didn't like following all the rules, which made him not like the teacher, but he did his best to follow them because he liked to be in school. And the books were hard to read. He didn't understand them, so he didn't try. He hoped he could learn what he needed from his friends. He wasn't doing well in class.

He continued on in his school career. He made lots of friends and had a lot of fun, but continued to just show up to school with perfect attendance, making sure he followed the written rules of the school, and even volunteering for different jobs around the school. He still didn't read much of the textbooks or follow the teachers' instructions. He moved on into High School somehow, and had much social success, but still didn't listen and follow the teacher's instructions. He looked forward to the day when he would graduate and move on in his life.

When graduation came, he became excited. He felt like he had been the perfect student. Everyone liked him, and he was very popular among the other students. On the day of graduation, all of his friends received their diplomas and were ready to move on. However, he did not receive one, because he didn't graduate due to his poor grades. He went before the school faculty to find out why he could not graduate and receive a diploma like all his friends.

He argued, "I have rarely missed a day. I show up all the time to school. I dress nicely. I have lots of friends who love me. Why can't I graduate also?"

You showed up, but you did not grow. You were here, but you did not read or study. You sat in the chairs and looked like the perfect student, but you did not listen to the teachers lessons. Just showing up to school is not enough. You must also listen to the teacher, read the textbook and do what they tell you. That is how you can graduate.

How often does this story play out in churches all across America, and even the world? Christians think they can show up to church, have perfect attendance, make lots of friends and have good fellowship, volunteer in the church- but never open the bible (textbook) and apply it; never pray to God (the teacher) and listen and do what He says. Church is not there to go and check the box, and in the end think that we can have salvation. Jesus says on that day, he will tell those people, "I never knew you."

Does the fault for that go with the people, or the church? The church's responsibility is to educate and equip the people within the church, much like a school's responsibility is to educate and equip young people for their future. The church has to be truthful, and not just tell people to come in and be comfortable, and live your best life now.

Don't get me wrong- the local church is important, and it's important for followers of Christ to attend, receive teaching, have fellowship, give, pray. But the main thing they are to do is grow in Christ, in order to grow God's kingdom through listening and obeying. The church is not just there for us, it's there to glorify God.