WHO IS JESUS?
The questions we like to ask about God are endless: “Is God real?” “Is what we know about Him really true?” and “what does He have to do with my life?” just to list a few.
The Bible may not answer every question about God and will often lead us to ask more, but one of the areas in which the Bible is clear, is the answer to the question: who is Jesus? C.S Lewis, a well-known Christian author wrote of Jesus, “Either this man was, and is, the Son of God, or else a madman or something worse. You can shut him up for a fool, you can spit at him and kill him as a demon or you can fall at his feet and call Him Lord and God, but let us not come with any patronizing nonsense about his being a great human teacher. He has not left that open to us. He did not intend to.”
Jesus commends the Apostle Peter’s confession of Him as “the Messiah, the Son of the Living God” (Matthew 16:16) because Jesus knew that who He has the power to change our lives. Jesus is so unique because two worlds collide in him: Heaven and Earth, the Divine and the human.
God created us, to be in perfect relationship with Him. John 17:3 says “And this is eternal life, that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.” (English Standard Version)
For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him would not perish but have eternal life. John 3:16 (English Standard Version)
THE LOVE OF CHRIST
The Lord loves and cares for you! Often we disqualify ourselves from God’s love because we feel guilt, shame, or condemnation because of things we have done. Sin has separated us from God and we can never make up for our sin through any of our own actions. The Bible says that nothing in all of creation can separate us from the Love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. And to accept God’s love is to trust His patient, forgiving and gracious stance towards us. Only He has the power to free us from guilt, shame, and condemnation to give us a life of wholeness. All we have to do is turn to Him. We call this repentance. “better think this one through from the beginning. God is kind, but he`s not soft. In kindness, he takes us firmly by the hand and leads us into a radical life change.
A New Beginning
To follow Jesus is to submit to God and His plan and purpose for our lives. It is a turning from our old ways and turning to Jesus, to ask Him for forgiveness from our sins and to live our lives with a new life in Him. Romans 10:9 says that “If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.”
Salvation is God’s free gift to us and we become His children. It is acceptance into the family of God and it is an empowerment to live life with the purpose of reflecting God to the rest of His creation and to know Him.
If you are not sure whether you are right with God or you know in fact that you need Jesus in your life, you can choose to follow Him right now by praying a prayer of surrender to Jesus.
Dear Jesus, I’m praying this prayer because I know that I have done wrong by living without You. I am sorry and I trust that You will forgive me. I accept Your love and grace for me and ask that You would be my Lord. Help me believe in You and know You more every day, and help me to show the world what You are like and how great Your love is.
In Jesus Name. Amen.
Congratulations! To pray with a surrendered heart to Jesus is the beginning of the most important voyage you will ever embark on: the journey to follow Jesus. If you have made the decision to follow Jesus or have questions about what following Jesus means for your life, please let us know.