Jesus Came to Save Sinners

 1 Tim 1:15
 This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief.

Jesus came to earth for many reasons. He came to show us how to live and love. He was the supreme example, showing us how we should treat our neighbors and even our enemies. His message of the Sermon on the Mount, found in Matthew chapters 5-7, is a call to a higher righteousness and a life of love, compassion, and selflessness, emphasizing humility, forgiveness, and living according to God's kingdom rather than worldly concerns. Many religious leaders and founders of various religions have also proclaimed this message. There is no doubt the centrality of human desire to those who want to live in peace on this earth is to follow this teaching. But man is born in sin and no amount of good works can alter the fate of man’s condition and ultimate fate.  For all have sinned and are eternally lost without God’s forgiveness. Christ came to earth to be the supreme sacrifice for the sins of humanity. He came into the world to save sinners. We may see ourselves as good people who desire to live in harmony with others. We may have lived respectable lives, keeping the law and doing good.  Surely, this is what it takes to enter eternal life with God after death.  Compared to the “chief of sinners” who surely desire eternal punishment, we would not commit such hideous acts. The reality is that without Christ and His death on the cross we would all be lost and are the “chief of sinners” in the sight of God.  Jesus, the greatest man to ever walk the earth, died to bridge the gap between man and God.  Yes, He came and preached love and forgiveness, but greater than all that, He came to the world to save sinners. I am glad He included me and you!

To Whom Shall We Go

 John 6:68
Lord, to whom shall we go? thou hast the words of eternal life.

This verse reminds me of the old gospel song, “Where can I go but to the Lord.” We live in a mixed-up sinful world. A world looking for answers to the meaning of life. What is my purpose of existence? The world is full of seekers who desire love and happiness, but many are going to the wrong place to find it. Some seek it in the pleasures of sin, others in their work, and others in relationships. We are all born to this earth, but our journeys in life are not the same. The faithfulness of the Father calls all of us to Himself. He sent His Son to make it possible for all who desire to find their purpose in life. Like the disciples, we look all around us and see that the only answer to a fulfilled life is to give ourselves to Jesus. He not only has the words of life, but He is the Word of life. In Him all things are created and in Him all things exist. When we get to the end of our human resources, when life becomes overwhelmed with the cares of life, we have but one place to go. He is the answer to all of life’s problems, and in Him, we can rest assured that all will be well. Love and happiness on earth is found in Christ, and He alone can fill and meet our every need.

The Holy Scriptures

 2 Tim 3:15,16
 And that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus…All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:

As a child, the Bible sat in a special place in our home, a sacred decoration that indicated that we were a home that believed in God, an emblem of faith in the church I attended for most of my early childhood. It contained the teachings that were held sacred to the church. Personally, I had very little knowledge of the words that were written between the cover of that book. I was taught the doctrine of the church through the catechism of classes I attended, and not by the investigation of holy scripture. I was ignorant of scripture and had no idea of the deep truths that this book contained. I was 15 years old when I came to the knowledge that this Bible contained the life-giving words of God. From Genesis to Revelation, God revealed the holy scriptures to me. I was like a little bird with my mouth wide open, taking in everything that the Bible contained. It was amazing to learn that Jesus Christ was revealed in both the New and Old Testament. The word became my spiritual life source. Over the 50-plus years of my spiritual journey, I have read it from the beginning to the end several times, not only becoming a student of the word, but a Bible teacher. Teaching others what scripture says about Christ, and how we should be living as Christians. The word is quick and powerful, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing the hearts of men, revealing man’s sin and his redemption through Christ. I don’t claim to know all the answers, but I have experience that God’s word will guide us to truth if we have an open heart to the light He sheds in our path. Like Timothy, I want to study, to do my best to learn the holy scriptures, that I may be approved of by God, rightly dividing the word of truth. (2 Tim 2:15)

Seek Him with all your Heart

 Jer 29:13

And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart.

Every year this day holds special meaning for me. It is the day that I found the Lord to be real to me. It was a turning point in my life that I still hold as the most important day of my life. It was a Thursday evening in a small church in Cucamonga, California. I don’t remember the message that Rev. J.E. Cook preached that revival night. I just remember seeking to find forgiveness and acceptance. 51 years ago, I knelt at an altar of prayer as these strangers gathered around me praying that God would save me from a life lived in sin to a new life in Christ. The journey since that day remains the same. I still seek and search for Him with all my heart. He has never failed me, and is always there when I need Him. It has been a life of seeking, a desire to know the will of God. “Seeking first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you.” Matt. 6:33 has been the journey and destination theme of my life. The path to my eternal destination is filled with failures, disappointments, and unwanted circumstances, but through it all He has never been a disappointment or led me astray. As I continue this journey, I pray that the Lord will let me see my kids and grandkids come to Him as I have known Him. He is everything to me and each day, I will seek Him with all my heart, and will be found by Him.

God's Love

 1 Corinth 13:13
And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity.

Valentine’s Day is a special day when love is expressed to someone special in your life. It is a day to celebrate the commitment to a shared relationship, or desire for one. This is love that is based on human emotions and feelings toward someone. It is an affection that is sought by all human beings, because everyone desires to find this kind of love in life. But such love is not everlasting and is known to turn into hate given the right circumstances. This is not the kind of love that is spoken here in scripture. This charity (love) comes from above and sent from God and is sealed in the hearts of Christians who have totally given their lives to Christ. “If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father's commandments, and abide in his love.” (John 15:10). The manifestation of this love is made possible by the power of the Holy Spirit, which makes His home in the heart of the believer. The list of what this looks like is found here in 1 Corinthian 13, but is also demonstrated through the fruits of the Spirit and Christians living out their walk before the world and other believers. We live in a world of sin and living for self. Self is grounded not in love for others, but in self-gratification, desire and preeminence over all others. Let love rule in your heart, to live in the vine, to allow God to be in you and work through you to accomplish His love to the world that others may come to love and serve Him.

Fishers of Men

 Matt 4:19,20
 And he saith unto them, Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men. And they straightway left their nets, and followed him.

The TV series, The Chosen, on Amazon Prime takes the liberty to fill in a lot of what might have taken place when Jesus encountered Simon-Peter, Andrew, James, and John. The two sets of brothers that would become 4 of the 12 Apostles who were called out of the world to begin a journey that would turn the world upside down. Scripture does not give us a lot of background information about these 4 men when Jesus called them to follow Him. But, we know that they were fishermen and making a living catching fish was not a lucrative career. It paid the bills, but their lives were simple and ordinary. They were ordinary Jews that lived day by day with the cares of life. They lived under Roman rule and were suppressed in spirit. They were governed spiritually by the Pharisees and High Priests, who were more concerned about their reputation than showing love and grace to their people. John the Baptist had already been preaching and paving the way for Jesus. The word was spreading that the Messiah would soon appear and would save the Jews from the bondage and tyranny of the Roman Empire. These fishermen would soon find out that this conquest to set the captive free was not from Roman rule, but from sin that ruled in the hearts of men. Their willingness to drop what they were doing and follow Jesus may not have been done with the right motives, but they knew there was something different about this man called Jesus. The love of God compelled these men to drop their fishing nets, leave the world they knew behind, and become fishers of men. Time will tell that these men would cast their net across Judea and many would be caught for Jesus..   

Interest of Others

 Philip 2:5
 Look not every man on his own things, but every man also on the things of others.

Another way to say this is, ”not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interest of others.” This is the mind of Christ that He wants to stamp on each one of our lives. The world philosophy is to look out for self, because no one else will. When James says, The wisdom of this world is not from above, but is earthly and full of strife. Looking out for self and self-interest is contrary to the way God wants Christians to live. This applies to individual lives as we interact daily with people around us. We are aware that if we don’t take care of ourselves, we are no good at helping others. This is why, on the airlines, they tell you in an emergency to make sure you put your mask on yourself first before helping children. The interest in self is motivated by being the best we can so that we can effectively help others in need. Our self-interest is to be strong in our faith, be secured in our conviction of God’s word, and be filled with His Spirit. This will allow us to reach out in love and humility to help others who need a helping hand. In our daily lives, this will require that we sacrifice our own desires so that others can be helped. Paul says it this way, ”Be kindly affectionate one to another with brotherly love; in honor preferring one another.” (Roman 12:10). Putting this into practice is done as we open our heart to the Holy Spirit and ask Him to lead us and open the opportunities to put the interest of others first.

Seeing What is Eternal

 2 Corinth 4:18
While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal.

The Scriptures say that life on earth is like a vapor. Vapor quickly dissipates into the air. We look at a pot of water that is boiling and see that as the water heats up, it evaporates. It turns into steam. We temporally see it move in the air, then it is gone. Like vapor, our life on earth is much the same, we are tempted to fix our eyes on earthly things. We work hard to build wealth and security. We desire things in this world that bring a sense of satisfaction. The temporal things of this life have their attractions. But for the person who has been born again, and experiences the eternal forgiveness of Christ, we set our affections on things above and not on things of this world. True contentment does not come from the earthly treasures of life, for they are short-lived and will fade away in the light of eternity. The saying that, “Seeing is believing” is flawed by the reality that there is more to life than what is seen with the naked eye. “For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as I am also known.” (1 Corinth 13:12). Life on earth happens, and in this world we will have tribulations. But be of good cheer, for we live not for this world, but for a better world whose builder and maker is God.

God Hears Our SOS

 Psalm 118:5,6
I called upon the Lord in distress: the Lord answered me, and set me in a large place. The Lord is on my side; I will not fear: what can man do unto me?

In the early 1900’s, the letters SOS were used to signal that someone was in distress or in need of saving. The distress was given out in Morse code and later became the standard signal to let others know that help was needed. Even though the signal has been replaced with other forms of technology, it is still used to communicate that someone is in distress, someone is in trouble and their life is in danger. When we cry out to the Lord in distress, He sees our SOS. Distress is an emotional, social, spiritual, or physical pain or suffering that may cause a person to feel sad, afraid, depressed, anxious, or lonely. Like David, we face situations in our lives that we don’t have control over. We become anxious when we find ourselves without answers to problems that we are not able to solve. The Lord will sometimes let us get to the end of resources, so that we can turn to Him. He is there ready and desiring to answer our distress call. In prayer, we signal to the Lord our SOS, and He is there to meet our every need. We need not fear evil, for He is with us. We need not fear the circumstances that come our way because He knows what we are facing and going through. Distress is a human emotion, but it does not have to rule over us. In times of distress, He can give us peace that passes understanding, and contentment in knowing that the Lord is in control, and He will come to our rescue at the right time.

Never Alone

 

John 16:32  Behold, the hour cometh, yea, is now come, that ye shall be scattered, every man to his own, and shall leave me alone: and yet I am not alone, because the Father is with me.

There are times when we just want to be alone. Pull away from the noise of the world and the distraction to focus and contemplate on life. Time to examine who we are and where we are going. Time to reflect on where we have been and what our next steps will be moving forward. Being alone is often necessary in order to muse over our relationship with God and others. Being alone on purpose is not the same as being lonely. Loneliness is an emotion that is triggered when we feel no one cares, the absence of feeling we are not loved. It often leads to depression and lack of self-worth. Even though born in sin, we are made in the image of God. We are His creation, therefore the Father values who we are. We may find ourselves in a state of loneliness, but we truly are never alone. Others may scatter about, giving no attention to our presence, but the Father will never leave us alone. He loves the sinner, and He loves those who believe. To the sinner, God seeks to have a relationship. The Holy Spirit works in the life of a sinner to reveal their sinfulness, and bring them into fellowship with his creator, never to be lonely again. To the believer, Satan will discourage us into thinking that we are all alone. Tribulations come, and it seems that we are facing them alone. This is the feeling the disciples had when they were out to sea and the storm came. They cried out, “Master, don’t you care that we perish.” (Mark 4:8). In other words, “Why have you left us alone to die?” Jesus warns us that we will face hard and difficult times in this life, and times when we will feel that we are all alone. He reminded his disciples that even though others may scatter, and hard times come, that the Father will never leave us. When Jesus left this world, He promised us the Holy Spirit, the comforter, that would go with us and be with us in every trial and tribulation we face. No matter what Satan says, we are never alone.

Looking to Jesus

 Isaiah 51:1
 Hearken to me, ye that follow after righteousness, ye that seek the Lord: look unto the rock whence ye are hewn, and to the hole of the pit whence you dug. 

The start of a new year is always a good time to reflect on the previous year. The events we experience in 2024 no doubt shaped us and molded us in some way. Hopefully, it was for the good. Personally, it was a very stressful year. Dealing with the health decline of my mother and her passing was tough. Through it all, I was reminded that life is but a vapor. We enter into this world, find our purpose, live our destiny, and leave a legacy behind us. My purpose was to live for Jesus, to follow after righteousness, and daily seek His face. To always remember that He brought me out of sin, gave me a new life, and to live a life that would bring glory to His name. We do not want to live in the past, but looking back to see how God has worked in our lives can help our faith to believe that He is still able to do great things in the future. What the future holds, God only knows. Life is uncertain as to the days we have left, but we are to be vessels, ready and willing to be used by God for as long as He gives us breath. In 2025, let us look to Jesus. He is our help and refuge, our Rock of salvation. In every situation, He will bring us out and save us in times of trouble.