-Jesus is the Word of God, Jesus was with God, Jesus is God, Jesus was already there at “the beginning.”  Jesus brought all things into being-nothing exists that He did not create.  He is life, He is the Light of men who shines in the darkness.

There was the true Light which, coming into the world, enlightens every man. He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him. 11 He came to His own, and those who were His own did not receive Him. But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.  (John 1:9-13)

-Jesus is the true Light which enlightens every person.  Jesus came into the world; the world that He created.  Through Jesus we are given the right to become children of God.

And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth.  John testified about Him and cried out, saying, “This was He of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me has a higher rank than I, for He existed before me.’”  For of His fullness we have all received, and grace upon grace.  For the Law was given through Moses; grace and truth were realized through Jesus Christ. No one has seen God at any time; the only begotten God who is in the bosom of the Father, He has explained Him. (John 1:14-18)

-Jesus became flesh and blood, He lived on earth for a time.  Jesus is God’s unique, one-of-a-kind Son.  Jesus has a higher “rank” that John; John was created, Jesus is the Creator who existed before John. (And remember: John was born before Jesus so this would be a very odd thing to say.)  Grace and Truth come through Jesus.  Jesus is the not only the “only begotten” from God the Father, He is also the “only begotten God”--a unique, one-of-a-kind God as part of the Trinity. (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit) Jesus has a unique perspective on God.  He had an intimate knowledge of God, which neither Moses nor any of the ancient prophets had possessed. Jesus knew God intimately and completely, and was therefore able to make God more completely known to us. This passage is not meant to deny that men had witnessed manifestations of God, such as when He appeared to Moses and the prophets but rather that no one has seen the essence of God, or has “fully known God.” The prophets delivered what they heard God speak; Jesus delivered what He knew of God as His equal, and since He understands the nature of God the Father in a way we never have Jesus is able to give us a deeper understanding of God.

And behold, you (Mary) will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall name Him Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David; and He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and His kingdom will have no end.” Mary said to the angel, “How [a]can this be, since I [b]am a virgin?”  The angel answered and said to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; and for that reason the holy Child shall be called the Son of God. (Luke 1:31-35)

-Jesus is great and the Son of the Most High God.  He is of the lineage of David.  Why is that so important?  I share this quote from a sermon delivered by John MacArthur (you can read it here: The Messiah’s Royal Lineage)
“Now the ancestry of Jesus is important, as I said, because it proves that He is not merely a self-appointed Messiah, as some like Hugh Schonfield in The Passover Plot and all their ilk would want us to believe.  He is not a misguided reformer.  He is not a self-appointed Savior.  He is not a would-be, want-to-be Savior of the...of the nation Israel from their terrible stress under their Roman occupation.  He is not a man caught up in a popular acclaim.  He is not a sort of magician who drew crowds after Himself and developed a Messiah illusion or a Messiah complex.  The genealogy goes back to David and then it goes back to Abraham and then it goes back to Adam and then it goes back to God finally.  This is the culmination of all redemptive history in this person Jesus. It starts with God through Adam, through Abraham, through David and right down to Jesus Himself.  He is not just a good teacher, He is not just a great man, He is not an isolated prophet, He is not an isolated preacher. This is the culmination of all the history of humanity from God, from Adam, through Abraham, through David down to Jesus.  He is the culmination of human history as well as Israel's history.  He is the fulfillment of God's redemptive purpose.  He is the culmination of all who ever lived.  He is the hope of all humanity and all humanity is inseparably and eternally connected to Him.  The fate of everyone who ever lives is linked to Jesus.”

-Jesus rules a kingdom that will never end!
​
Pretty good start for getting to know Jesus more.

Grace and Peace, ​

Grace and Mercy,

Summer vacation ended for us on Monday.  Ken is back teaching classes and life is starting to fall into a routine.  I managed to keep up with my chronological reading schedule, though I did have to play catch up a few times along the way.  Here it is October and I am still in the Old Testament.  Look how much of the Bible we would miss if we never venture out of the New Testament.

Our church does a fall focus series, and this week the conversation is about suicide.  My thoughts have been running to trying to understand what my role should be.  It is closely tied to depression, which I have struggled with in the course of my life.  I have friends and family members who have committed suicide and others who have attempted to.  Most often we do not see it coming and that is where I find myself coming to the conclusion that I need to respond readily to those nudgings from the Holy Spirit to reach out and be there for others.  It is easier to stay in the shelter of our safe place.  We are uncomfortable with the uncomfortable; and being the person who is “there” for another can be really uncomfortable at times.  Life can get messy and it does not always turn out the way we would like.  But again, if we are to be salt and light…

And so this section of Isaiah rather jumped off the page at me today.  The nation of Israel was fasting in ways that did not please God.  Instead He tells the people about the fast He desires.  I don’t know about you, but I would not have even considered this fasting.  It is so much easier to just give up food than what God lays out here.  But this is what it looks like to be a light to the world. 
 
Isaiah 58:6-11 New American Standard Bible (NASB)
6 “Is this not the fast which I choose,
To loosen the bonds of wickedness,
To undo the bands of the yoke,
And to let the oppressed go free
And break every yoke?
7 “Is it not to divide your bread with the hungry
And bring the homeless poor into the house;
When you see the naked, to cover him;
And not to hide yourself from your own flesh?
8 “Then your light will break out like the dawn,
And your recovery will speedily spring forth;
And your righteousness will go before you;
The glory of the Lord will be your rear guard.
9 “Then you will call, and the Lord will answer;
You will cry, and He will say, ‘Here I am.’
If you remove the yoke from your midst,
The pointing of the finger and speaking wickedness,
10 And if you give yourself to the hungry
And satisfy the desire of the afflicted,
Then your light will rise in darkness
And your gloom will become like midday.
11 “And the Lord will continually guide you,
And satisfy your desire in scorched places,
And give strength to your bones;
And you will be like a watered garden,
And like a spring of water whose waters do not fail.

Grace and Peace,