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Sunday, September 5 |
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| So I say, live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature. (Gal. 5:16) | |||
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Do You Need Jesus?
"Do you need Jesus?" That's an interesting question. Of course, the answer is that we all need Jesus. Jesus Himself says,
We can only come to God through Jesus Christ so of course we all need Jesus.
Let's look at the question from a different angle, though. For all of us who have trusted Jesus Christ as our Savior, do we need Jesus? Is Jesus at the core and heart of our life, or is He more at the periphery of our experience? Is He the most important thing or is He our everything? Is He in the foreground or in the background of our lives?
My observation of many believers today in relation to Christ is as follows. They know Jesus is their Savior. They know He is the only way to God. They know they come to God in prayer through Jesus. They know they have cleansing and forgiveness through Christ. They see Him as the foundation of the church and the theme of all the ministries of the church. They know all are saved through Christ and that we as His followers should be about the business of sharing Christ with those who don't know Him. They know He is worthy of all worship, honor and praise.
Is this list complete? This list looks long, but it is missing one crucial element. Where is the life? Who is our life? Christ is our life. Christ is not the most important thing in our life. He is our very life. He is not number one on our priority list. He permeates the entire list. He is our life.
O, brother and sister in Christ, it is so important that you grasp this essential truth. Your full and complete understanding of Jesus is of vital importance. If we continue to live our lives just trying to "do the right thing" with Jesus as our helper and advisor, we are almost like the walking dead, even as believers. We are completely missing out on our life in Christ. Our lives will be so shallow and virtually hollow. We can only be filled with Christ and there are no substitutes.
I can see the hollowness in many believers with whom I speak. They are always ready to talk about the latest Christian book they are reading, some lesson they learned at church, some struggle they are going through in life or some way they are trying to improve. They talk about God in their conversation as well, but I rarely hear anyone talk about Jesus. It is perfectly fine to talk about any subject, but how can we never talk about Christ? I don't hear anyone speak of loving Him and how He is their very life and breath. All I hear is talk about ministries at church and doing things. I don't hear about Jesus. I am not saying we need to simply start talking about Jesus more. I am saying we talk about what is on our minds and Jesus doesn't make it very high on many believer's lists.
Does this describe you? When you look at your life, is Jesus more of the foundation of your faith rather than the essence of your life? Is He talked about in sermons and at Bible studies, but never really enters into the mainstream of our lives? Do you really need Jesus to live or do you just need Him when you pray (so you can pray in Jesus' name). When you think of sharing Christ with non-believers, are you thinking about something the non-believer must do (accept Christ) rather than sharing with the non-believer the reality of someone you dearly love and who is everything to you?
We must see the truth that Jesus is our life. Apart from Him we have no life. He is the vine and we are the branches. All of who we are is in Him. Somehow, so many believers cannot see the forest because of the trees. We look at scriptures and we see principles for living and miss out completely on the living Christ. We see words to live by and miss out on the Word of life. Jesus permeates Scripture. He is the Word. Christ rebuked the Jews because they didn't understand the Old Testament speaks of Him
How much more is the New Testament completely filled with Christ and is about nothing else.
I could write more, but nothing which I or anyone else writes can change your heart or your life. It is only as we submit to the work and leading of the Holy Spirit that we can know the truth. It is not by our own wisdom and strength. Turn away from all the substitutes, spiritual things, books and all the other stuff and turn your eyes on Christ and Christ alone. Look for and find Christ in Scripture and reject any and all things which distract your heart from Him.
It is my earnest desire and prayer that Jesus Christ would indeed be your life.
January 2004
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