Know Him. . . and Make Him Known

"You see, we don't go around preaching about ourselves.

We preach that Jesus Christ is Lord,

and we ourselves are your servants for Jesus' sake.

For God, who said, "Let there be light in the darkness,"

has made this light shine in our hearts 

so we could know the glory of God 

that is seen in the face of Jesus Christ."

2 Corinthians 4:5-6

Mother Teresa, a woman who gave her life to the poor and unwanted in the slums of Calcutta, India is known to have said the following:

"I follow Christ: Jesus is my God, Jesus is my Spouse, Jesus is my Life, Jesus is my only Love, Jesus is my All in All, Jesus is my Everything."  All she did was for the sake of Jesus and out of her love for Him.  

If I held that same passion and all-consuming love, how would my life change?

Motives

I have always been curious as to what drives people to do the things they do, whether they be serial killers or missionaries.  One thing every person has in common is motivation.  Our motivation differs, but we each do things for a reason, whether it be good or bad, noble or low, selfless or selfish.  All action is as a result of some belief, emotion, or reaction. 

If Jesus were my only motivation for choosing which activities, work and amusement I take part in each day, what would remain from my current schedule?  Would I still be so adamant about daily exercise?  Would checking my Facebook be a priority?  How important would maintaining a clean house fall in the scheme of things?  

In the light of Jesus, would I still decide to work overtime in order to earn a little extra money, or would I spend time with my children?  If Jesus were my everything, would I stick to my schedule or would I welcome the interruption of someone stopping by to chat?   If Jesus was the only fuel that fired my engine, would I still place so much emphasis on success?

I don't have the answers, but I know where to find them.  God's Word has much to say about what drives me as a follower of Christ.  In Philippians 3:8-9a I find Paul saying that, "everything else is worthless when compared with the infinite value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord.  For his sake I have discarded everything else, counting it all as garbage, so that I could gain Christ and become one with him."  (NLT)

If my love for Jesus drove me, He would be the only thing in my vision.  Jesus would be the glasses I look through, tainting the landscape with His love.  I would no longer be concerned about my safety, my comfort, my welfare or my accomplishments.  Instead, I would only be concerned with whoever He places in my path and how I can point her to Jesus.  My primary motive would be to love those around me as a tiny example of how Jesus loves me.  My attitude would be one of humility as I desire to make Jesus known.

Action driven by a love for Jesus brings glory to Him.

Mind

My brain is filled with many things; annoying jingles, mindless trivia, scheduling details, things to do, problems to solve. . . oh yes, and the occasional thought about God and His Word.

God has made Himself known to me through faith in Jesus Christ.  It is possible to grow closer to my Creator and to fill my mind with His Word.  Because of this, I have the option to worship Him in all I do.

My mind could be filled with other things besides the trivial, seemingly-important things of this world.  As Thomas R. Kelly said, "Walk and talk and work and laugh with your friends, but behind the scenes, keep up the life of simple prayer and inward worship."  

How would my life change is my mind were to be preoccupied with thoughts of Jesus, thanks to Jesus and adoration of Jesus?  As it says in 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18, "Always be joyful.  Never stop praying.  Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you who belong to Christ Jesus." (NLT)

If my mind were absorbed in Jesus, all other things would take their rightful place as insignificant.  

Jesus has a way of putting things in perspective; transforming my mind to His point-of-view.

Light

When God created the world, the first thing He created was light.  It shone into the darkness, illuminating what was once formless and empty.  After light was created, there was possibility. There was day.  There was hope.  

Jesus also claimed to be the Light.  He said, "I am the light of the world.  If you follow me, you won't have to walk in darkness, because you will have the light that leads to life." (John 18:12 NLT)  Jesus truly gives me hope because if I follow Him, I will inherit eternal life.  

Now the One who first created light and sent His Son, who is Himself Light, has placed this light within me.  The light of Jesus shines within my heart, illuminating things that should not be there, and piercing through the darkness that is all around me.  Because of this great light, I have the hope of heaven, but also the joy of knowing a bit about the glory of God.

Moses wanted to see God's glory, but God said he'd only be able to tolerate seeing the backside of his goodness for no one could look upon the face of God and live.  But we have the opportunity to experience the glory of God in the face of Jesus.  His light lives within us waiting to shine out upon all with whom we come in contact.  

As John the Baptist said, "He must become greater, I must become less." (John 3:30) John's mission was to direct attention to the coming Messiah.  My mission is similar; to point to the risen Savior, Jesus Christ my Lord.    

The light of Jesus that is within me shines out to the world around me, as long as I am not in the way.  

Mother Teresa is a great inspiration.  The secret of her amazing life is found in her motives, her mind and the Light that was within her.  The same can be with me, if I will only give Jesus His rightful place as Lord of my life.

As I begin this day, it is my prayer that I will consciously make Jesus Lord.

What other things, people or activities are lord in some areas of my life?

How can Jesus be my Everything today?

The Salvation of God

"Sing to the LORD a new song,
   for he has done marvelous things;
his right hand and his holy arm
   have worked salvation for him.
The LORD has made his salvation known
   and revealed his righteousness to the nations.
He has remembered his love
   and his faithfulness to Israel;
all the ends of the earth have seen
   the salvation of our God."

Psalm 98:1-3

As I sat in the dentist chair enduring my 6-month cleaning, the hygienist chattered about the possible reasons for the pain and sensitivity in one of my molars.  "It could be the filling.  You might want to get that redone because they don't last forever.  I don't see a fracture in any of those teeth which would explain the pain.  Even your x-rays look good."  She spent 35 minutes cleaning my teeth and performing her duties, becoming pretty well acquainted with my teeth.  Still, she could not see any problems that could be responsible for the pain I'd been experiencing.  Then the dentist entered the exam room.  He spent a total of 10 seconds looking at the the x-rays, peered into my mouth and proclaimed, "Tooth number 31 is fractured.  You need a crown to protect it from splitting all the way in two." 

To the untrained eye, my tooth looked fine, but for the more experienced expert, it only took a glance to see the trouble.  This is like my sin.  To my human way of thinking, I look pretty good.  But God's ways are higher than my ways (Isaiah 55:9), and he sees how far I fall short.  Christmas is all about celebrating the birth of Jesus, but why did Jesus come?

Redeem us  Before we can be saved, we have to know and recognize our need for a Savior.  Sin, simply put, is how we fall short of God's standard.  God expects perfect adherence to his law, which includes the ten commandments.  But none of us are perfect!  (Romans 3:23)  When we realize this, Jesus can save us from our state of sinfulness and the consequences that God requires for breaking His commandments, which is death!  (Romans 6:23)  "For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him." (John 3:17)  Jesus paid the price we were meant to pay!

Cleanse us  The sin which is in us makes us unholy before a holy God.  "If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness." (I John 3:8-9)  This does not mean confession is necessary for forgiveness.  Forgiveness was already given when Jesus died on the cross and He said, "it is finished."  But in order to receive that forgiveness, we must admit our guilt.  Then He cleanses us.  From then on,  instead of seeing an unholy sinner, God looks at us and sees the perfection of Jesus!  Jesus makes us holy!

Give us Hope  When our four daughters were younger, I remember saving for a trip to Disney World.  During that year, we often talked about the upcoming trip with excited anticipation, looking forward to the appointed day when we would visit the so-called  "Happiest Place on Earth."  We looked forward to this trip because we were certain it would come to pass and we knew a little something about the destination.  It is the same with us and heaven.  Jesus paid the penalty for our sins and made us perfect so we can look forward to an eternity in a place Jesus has prepared for us.  It will be much better than anything we can imagine and this gives us hope.  ". . .having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life." (Titus 3:7)  Jesus gives us the hope of heaven!

This Christmas, I resolve to celebrate all that Jesus has done for me.  He has redeemed me, cleansed me from my sin, and given me the hope of heaven!  Have you asked Him to do the same for you?  That gives us all reason to rejoice!

As I begin this day, it is my prayer that my thoughts will be centered on Jesus.

How do I live my life in a way that shows gratitude to God for this gift of salvation?

Do I fail to extend this gift to others?

Give a Gift

"On coming to the house,

 they saw the child with his mother Mary,

and they bowed down and worshiped him.

Then they opened their treasures and

presented him with gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh."

Matthew 2:11

The news of the shootings, stabbings, pepper spray attacks and brawls circulated across the country.  Was this some kind of demonstration gone bad, or a prison riot?  No, these were incidents that happened on Black Friday, the first official shopping day of the Christmas season.

Gift giving is a big part of the American holiday experience, leading some to resort to violence in an effort to snag the best possible gifts.  But why do we give?  On, or shortly after, that first Christmas over 2000 years ago, a group of magi from the east appeared to worship the Messiah.  The gifts they presented were chosen carefully and not the result of a frenzied shopping spree.  Rather, they were symbols of who they believed this child to be.

Gold  The first gift was to show their respect for the King of kings.  According to the prophecy found in Isaiah 9:7, "He will reign on David’s throne and over his kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever."  That's like no king we've ever seen before!  Gold is given not because a king needs it, but because a reigning king is worthy of the finest gift that can be found.  Am I giving my very best to Jesus, my King?

Frankincense  When the Israelites made sacrifices to the Lord, an offering of grain could be chosen as a memorial, or remembrance, offering.  "And when any will offer a meat offering unto the LORD, his offering shall be of fine flour; and he shall pour oil upon it, and put frankincense thereon:  And he shall bring it to Aaron's sons the priests: and he shall take thereout his handful of the flour thereof, and of the oil thereof, with all the frankincense thereof; and the priest shall burn the memorial of it upon the altar, to be an offering made by fire, of a sweet savour unto the LORD." (Leviticus 2:1-2  KJV)  This offering, given freely as a way to demonstrate to God the giver's attention to God's commandments, is received by God as an aroma pleasing to Him.  The wise men gave the gift of Frankincense as a show of worship and devotion to the living God.  Am I living my life out of worship of, devotion to and reverence for God and His commandments?

Myrrh  This aromatic resin harvested from certain trees was an ingredient utilized in fragrant perfumes and was often used as an embalming agent.  This gift was symbolic of the sacrifice Jesus was making in entering into His own creation and ultimately laying down his life.  "For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” (Mark 10:45)    The purpose for Jesus' birth into a sinful world is clear.  "For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him." (John 3:17)   The gift of myrrh was given as a reminder of the redemptive sacrifice of Jesus.  Do I keep my Savior's unspeakable sacrifice at the forefront of my thoughts?

It is easy to get caught up in the materialism of the American Christmas.  But my prayer is that this Christmas, every activity I choose, every cookie I bake, every carol I sing, will be done with a purpose in mind.  Just as the wise men brought gifts which symbolized the position, power and purpose of Jesus, let me live my life in such a way that brings honor to Him.  

As I begin this day, it is my prayer that this Christmas season will be a time used to honor the sacrifice Jesus made in coming down into a sinful world in order to save me from that sin.

How am I holding a low view of Christmas, allowing it to become only about the presents, parties and decorations?

Where am I demeaning the memory of the birth of Christ?