Tag: Jesus

He is our Teacher

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Mary turned toward him and cried out in Aramaic,

 “Rabboni!” (which means “Teacher”).

John 20:16

            Mary used a Galilean term of respect toward Jesus which meant “Master.” She humbly respected Jesus as her master and teacher. What a beautiful place to be, looking to Jesus as his student, recognizing that He had the words of life. Who is your master teacher? Often we get distracted and try to forge our way on our own, forgetting our master and teacher lovingly instructs those who have ears to hear.

            As a follower of Christ, we learn from Him. We learn from His word and we learn from His example as we study both in scripture. As His disciples or students we follow in His footsteps. My fellow student, are you hungry to learn from Him? Do you look to Him for instruction and guidance each day? He is not just a man we learn about in church; He is our teacher, our master, our instructor for life.

Light of the World

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Many years ago when I taught science, I enjoyed teaching my students about the spectrum of light and the rainbow of colors that appear when light is refracted.  Whether it is a rainbow, a sunset, a prism or cut glass, refracted light always reveals the same order of colors: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, violet (Roy G. Biv). It’s unchangeable and consistent.

Isn’t it interesting how many of the characteristics of light seem to reflect certain attributes of God?  Just as the spectrum of light is unchangeable, so our glorious God is immutable and unchangeable. The Bible says, “Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.” It’s no wonder that the beloved disciple John uses the metaphor of light to describe God.

 

God is light and in Him is no darkness at all.

 

Darkness can’t overtake the light, but light drives out or dispels the darkness. Throughout scripture, light refers to holiness, purity and truth, while darkness is compared to evil and sin. God is completely holy and represents absolute purity. There is no sin in Him, not even the smallest portion. Darkness is a place where things are hidden, but when God shines His light in our lives, He not only reveals sin, but He also offers forgiveness through Jesus. He opens our eyes to see things we may have never seen before and guides us down a new path.

 

He lights up our spiritual eyes to see.

 

May we bask in the radiance of His love, as He lights our paths and guides our way through this dark world. This Holy season points us to Jesus – the Light of the World. As we enjoy the lights and splendor of Christmas let us joyfully reflect on the One True Light and turn our hearts toward Him.

 

Praise you Light of the World. Thank you for the warmth of your love and the light of your wisdom. Continue to lead us and guide us along Your path. Shine your light on the dark corners of our lives. Help us to shine your light so that others may know your love.

 

Photo by Charlotte Coneybeer on Unsplash

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A portion of this blog is an excerpt from my book Unfailing Love.

Love Came Down at Christmas   

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Untouchable – that’s how we could describe many of the  lives of the  rich, famous and powerful people in our culture today, whether we are talking about notable athletes, popular Hollywood celebrities or important politicians. With prominence comes isolation from the public, and a guarded distance from “normal people” – and understandably so. But that is not how God is toward us. He deliberately allowed Himself to be approachable, knowable and touchable.

Christmas reminds us that God is relatable. He didn’t choose to enter the world with pomp, popularity or great riches. He came as a humble baby, born in a stable and placed in a manger. He who was from the beginning, came to this earth as a touchable human being. The beloved disciple, John, so eloquently described the relatability of Jesus in the opening lines of his first epistle.

 

That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touched—this we proclaim concerning the Word of life. The life appeared; we have seen it and testify to it, and we proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and has appeared to us.

 I John 1:1-2

 

Oh the beauty of the Christmas story! Jesus chose to be seen, heard and touched. I love how John described Jesus as the Word of Life. Think about the power of our words. They reveal our thoughts and let people know what is going on inside of our hearts. Our words communicate the very essence of who we are. In a similar way, Jesus revealed who God is. Jesus communicated God to the world. Just as God used words to speak all of creation into existence, Jesus (the Word) brought salvation into existence. Jesus is the Word of Life. He was there at the creation of life and through Him we have eternal life.

This week, I want to encourage you to reflect on I John 1:1-2. Think about the love God communicated to the world through His Son Jesus (the Word of Life). Perhaps you are familiar with the words of the old hymn first published in 1885 (written by Christina G Rossetti.

 

 

Love came down at Christmas,
Love all lovely, Love divine;
Love was born at Christmas,
Star and angels gave the sign.

Worship we the Godhead,
Love incarnate, Love divine;
Worship we our Jesus:
But wherewith for sacred sign?

Love shall be our token,
Love be yours and love be mine,
Love to God and all men,
Love for plea and gift and sign.

 

For the next few weeks, I want to continue to focus on the theme, “Love Came Down at Christmas.” How joyful to fill our hearts and minds with the love of God and to allow His love to flow through us during the Holiday season and throughout the year!

 

A portion of this article is an except from my book, Unfailing Love.

 

Photo by Roberto Nickson (@g) on Unsplash

Jesus – 25 Positive Words, Day 25

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Day 25

Today we celebrate Jesus. He is the Word made flesh. He is the Word of Life. He is my redeemer, my savior, my victor, my friend. In Colossians 1, we read a beautiful declaration of who Jesus is:

 Christ is the visible image of the invisible God.
He existed before anything was created and is supreme over all creation,
for through him God created everything
in the heavenly realms and on earth.
He made the things we can see
and the things we can’t see—
such as thrones, kingdoms, rulers, and authorities in the unseen world.
Everything was created through him and for him.
He existed before anything else,
and he holds all creation together.
Christ is also the head of the church,
which is his body.
He is the beginning,
supreme over all who rise from the dead.
So he is first in everything.
 For God in all his fullness
was pleased to live in Christ,
and through him God reconciled
everything to himself.
He made peace with everything in heaven and on earth
by means of Christ’s blood on the cross.

Colossians 1:15-20

He who knew no sin, came to this earth in human form, and gave His life for us so that we might have a relationship with God. Because of the cross we live in victory in both this life and eternity. Let us celebrate Jesus every day of the year. Merry Christmas to all!

 

Believe – 25 Positive Words, Day 19

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You’ve heard it said, “Seeing is believing,” but Jesus said, “Blessed are those who have not seen and still believe.” God is not asking us to have a blind faith, for He has revealed himself through His creation, in His word and most importantly, in Jesus. May our love grow deeper and our faith stronger as we worship Him this holiday season.

“Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved.”  Acts 16:31