There is much else that Jesus taught during the three short years of His public ministry. But Jesus was more than a great teacher. Who was this man Jesus, who never traveled outside his native Palestine and yet changed the entire course of human history? (Google image, The Jesus I know book)
Some have said that Jesus' main role was as a social reformer, coming to change society and liberate people who were bound by injustice and oppression.
Others have said He came merely as an example, showing us by His acts of love how we should live. Still others have dismissed Him as a misguided religious reformer with no relevance to a modern, scientific age.
But none of these are adequate to explain Jesus Christ as we see Him clearly pictured in the New Testament. The Bible, in fact, makes a startling assertion: Jesus was not only a man, but He was God Himself, come down from the glory of Heaven to walk on this earth and show us what God is like.
Christ "is the image of the invisible God" (Co. 1:15). More than that, He is the divinely appointed Savior who died for sinners, bearing their transgressions upon the cross. He died to save all who had disobeyed God and who were slandering Him in their unregenerate natures.
And He demonstrated beyond all doubt that He was the divine Savior and Lord by being raised from the dead. The gospel is the good news of God "concerning his Son Jesus Christ our Lord, which was made of the seed of David according to the flesh; and declared to be the Son of God with power, according to the spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead" (Romans 1:3-4).
The best modern scholarship is discovering once again that even the Sermon on the Mount, and the Beatitudes as well, cannot be isolated from the fact of Jesus' saviorhood.
The Old Testament had taught that the Christ was to be meek. He was to turn mourning into joy; righteousness was to be His meat and drink; even upon the cross it was His deepest hunger and thirst.
He also was the One who would show God's mercy to those who were separated from God and in need. He likewise would be pure and without sin. Most of all, He would not flee the persecution that would come His way but would bring peace—peace with God, peace within the human heart, and peace on earth.
This is another way of saying that, in reality, Jesus Christ is the perfect fulfillment, example, and demonstration of the Beatitudes. He alone, in the history of the human race, experience fully what he tells us about the happiness and blessedness of life.
What He tells us, He tells us as the Savior who has redeemed us and who is teaching His followers. But more than that, He is the One who gives us the power to live according to His teaching.
Christ's message when He was upon the earth was revolutionizing and understandable. His words were simple yet profound. And they shook people. His words provoked either happy acceptance or violent rejection.
People were never the same after listening to Him. They were invariably better or worse—better if they accepted Him, worse if they rejected Him.
They either followed Him in love or turned away in anger and indignation. There was a magic in His gospel which promoted men and women to decisive action. As He clearly said, "He that is not with Me is against Me."
(Chapter one , pp. 10-11)
By Billy Graham
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Copy right 2011 by Billy Graham
Used by permission of
Thomas Nelson
Let's pray-
Father, some have said that Jesus' main role was just a social reformer, having come to change society and to liberate people who were bound by injustice and oppression.
Others have said He was a good teacher, and had come merely as an example, showing us by His acts of love how we should live. Still others have dismissed Him as a misguided religious reformer with no relevance to a modern, scientific age.
None of these opinions of Jesus explain adequately just Who He was. We find in Your Word, the Bible, that He was not only a man, but He embodied You. He came down from Heaven and walked with man to show us what You are like.
When Christ Jesus rose from the dead, He demonstrated beyond all doubt that He was our divine Savior and Lord. His words were simple yet profound.
People were shook and either they were happy and accepted what He said, or became violent and rejected Him. The people were never the same after listening to Him, and became better or worse, depending upon their acceptance or rejection of His teaching.
Father, our desire is to accept Jesus for Who He is, and to welcome Him into our thoughts, prayers and actions, that we would be like Him, doing His will for us.
Enable us by the power of Your Spirit, to believe what we read in the Bible, and to listen to instructive messages of godly men and women in Bible-believing churches.
Help us find faith-filled Christian friends to fellowship with, and also to read helpful material written by born again Christians to encourage our faith.
We ask this in Jesus' name. Amen
Today's Bible verses-
in them you think you have eternal life; and these
are they which testify of Me."
John 6:63 (NKJV) "It is the Spirit who gives life;
the flesh profits nothing. The words that I speak
to you are spirit, and they are life."
Romans 10:9-10, (NLT) “If you openly declare that
Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God
raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it
is by believing in your heart that you are made right
with God, and it is by openly declaring your faith that
you are saved.”
Today's quote-
Gwen Ford Faulkenberry- "There are times when I think I have Jesus somewhat figured out. I sing about Him at church, tell stories about His miracles to my five-year-old, and write devotions that make people feel good. I understand His mercy. His kindness and compassion are things I crave, and I know being a Christian means I imitate Him and show His love to others.
But then there are these moments when I see through a new lens—moments like reading Colossians I—and I am painfully aware of my ignorance, my inability to comprehend Who this "person" is. I've made him my friend. I know this is real, and I'm thankful for our relationship. Yet He's so much more. And if I don't see that, don't live with awareness and respect and awe, then I'm missing a lot of the picture.
It's like standing up to your knees in the ocean and saying you've plumbed its depths." (Taken from MORNINGS with JESUS, Sunday, 8/25/19)
Words of wisdom-
~ Our saying "Jesus" is powerful. It blesses us and God beyond our understanding. It soothes our aching souls as well as His ears.
~ Our never-ending desire to understand problems the world gives us, cannot be satisfied without God's help. As we look to Him, we gain awareness of His Peace.
Today's guest post-
The Cure for Weak Faith
Desemond Mbantoh-
"He did wonders no one had ever heard of or done before.
The world saw Him raising the dead, giving sight to the blind, and feeding 5,000 men—plus women and children—with five loaves of bread and two fish. The hungry crowd ate to satisfaction, and twelve full baskets of bread were left over. He exhibited supernatural powers over all evil principalities in the heavenly places. Such deeds kept His followers wondering and marveling among themselves."
10 more things
God Is
Jesus of Nazareth John 19:19
The Door of the Sheep John 10
The Way, Truth & Life John 14:6
The Prince of Peace Is. 9:6
The King of Kings & Lord of Lords Rev. 17:14
The Lamb of God Rev. 5:6
The Bread of Life John 6:48-58
The Bright & Morning Star Rev. 22:16
The Light of the World John 8:12
Immanuel Is. 7:14
List of recent sermons of CFC ministers. CFC Potsdam NY church has a live service at 10 am Sunday's for shut-ins. If for some reason you can't make it to the church you usually attend, click on the above link, and still get fed!
Jean's blog (Click to see snippets of the 7 recent posts)
Helpful ways the Lord helped me in my marriage
Upcoming posts-
Brokenness: The Heart God Revives
21st- Saturday's post by Nancy DeMoss Wolgemuth#7 Men Right Side Up in an Upside-Down World
24th- Tuesday's post by Billy Graham
#8 The Impact of Christ-Like Living
26th- Thursday's post by Billy Graham (Last one)
On What Do We Depend?
28th- Saturday's post by Lee Forbes
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