Part One
“…looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.” (Hebrews 12:2)
It all starts with Jesus
Jesus is the glorious beginning of everything. In Him we live and move and have our being. All things were created for Him and by Him. It is by having a close relationship with Jesus that the purpose and direction of our life can be found. Without Him we are nothing. Our lives will never be ‘complete’ in the truest sense of the word apart from His presence in our lives. When we first accepted the Lord Jesus Christ and surrendered our lives over to His competent care, we embarked on a journey that would have its destination in His glorious Kingdom of Light. Journeying with Jesus is the best journey you can ever take!
As all creation has started with Jesus, all history will come to its Grand Finale in Christ Jesus. Our birth, and even more so, conception, was through Christ Jesus. Jesus is the one who planted the seed of the life of faith in our hearts. It was when we saw Him, by faith, crucified on that horrendous cross that we were born again. We were justified when we spoke the words of faith that Jesus is Lord, the Lamb of God slain for our sins and saved when we believed in our hearts that God raised Him from the dead (Rom 10:9-10; John 1:12,29). It is His love, protection, guidance and nurturing that enables us to grow and mature as Christians. As the Good shepherd, He guides us by still waters to lie down in green pastures. But like sheep we stray and go our own way, and do our own thing.
The Power of Decisions
When our own decisions become the undoing of us, we scurry back to the Good Shepherd’s protection. When we cry out in anguish and despair because our decisions have put us into a position of fear in which we have become too petrified to run back to Christ, the Good Shepherd will find us and carry us back to the flock of His pasture. Sometimes God will guide us back to green pastures with a heavy hand by using the rod in His hand. At other times He will softly whisper to us and gently guide us with the staff in His hand. (Ps. 23) In either case, we can always be certain of the fact that God’s love is never-failing and that He will always deal with us out of the abundance of His love.
So how shall we go about our journey towards Heaven? How shall we live our lives here on Earth? As we have all figured out, our pilgrimage, however short it may be, is toilsome and filled with many trials. We can at least keep three facts in mind as we live daily for the glory of Christ. Come back again next week and let’s hear God’s voice together! However, if you can’t wait till next week, here’s a sneak peek: Jesus in the beginning, Jesus in the Middle and Jesus in the end! Amen!
Indeed Jesus is every thing! and we need Him every second. God bless
you
Amen! God bless you too!