Reflections

“Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men.  Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.  For this reason also, God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus EVERY KNEE WILL BOW, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” Philippians 2:5-11

This passage is one of the best descriptions of Jesus Christ.  He is fully God, but laid aside His glory, humbled Himself and became a man.  He became a servant to us and came to this earth to serve us.  He walked with us and lived with us.  He demonstrated obedience by obeying the Father’s command and gave His life for us.  He died the most horrible death on the cross and shed His blood for us so that we might live forever with Him.

God the Father raised Jesus from the dead and exalted Him, and He is now the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords.  Everyone in heaven, on earth and under the earth will bow their knee and will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord.

In essence, our God in heaven lowered Himself and took on our flesh.  The one who created us became like us and walked with us.  He then took our sin and He Himself died to fulfill His law in regards to sin – that blood must be shed for the atonement of sin.  He saved us from the curse of sin and death.  We now can take on God’s righteousness and be like Him and walk with Him because of what He did for us.  This is why Jesus is worthy of all glory and honor.  Let us PRAISE His Holy name. 

Let us now serve the ONE who served us.

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“If possible, so far as it depends on you, be at peace with all men.”Romans 12:18

Many of us have people in our lives that make it difficult to be in a relationship.  We may have a boss we cannot stand, a co-worker we do not get along with, a crazy relative, or know someone who is just vindictive.  We are told in this scripture, if possible, to live at peace with all men.  This may seem impossible especially when you are dealing with someone who refuses to live at peace with you.

By the grace of God we can learn to live at peace with people.  It is something that cannot be achieved by our own merit but can be achieved by the power of the Holy Spirit.  We need to see people the way God sees them.  So next time you encounter a boss who makes your life difficult ask God for wisdom in how to remain at peace.  Treat that person the way you want to be treated.  They may not treat you in kind, but God will repay you.  God will give you the peace that surpasses all understanding.  Peace!

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“In everything give thanks; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.”  1 Thessalonians 5:18

Today, I bought my five year old son a pair of new pajamas.  When he came home from school, I showed him the pajamas and he was so excited.  For the rest of the day he kept talking about his new pajamas.  When he finally put on his new pajamas, he kept thanking me and telling me he liked his pajamas.  He did not ask me to buy pajamas; I got them because he needed them. 

Every good thing is from God.  We must learn to be thankful in everything.  It is very easy to look at what we do not have and complain.  Instead we must count our blessings and thank God for everything.  When we learn to recognize God in the details of our lives and develop a thankful heart, God will gladly give us good gifts.  It is God who supplies all of our needs and gives us the desires of our hearts.  So let us thank God in everything that He does for us.  Most of all let us thank God for loving us.

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“But what does it say? ‘The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart’—that is, the word of faith in which we are preaching, that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation.” Romans 10:8-10

God so loved the world that He gave His only Son Jesus and whoever believes in Him will not die but will have eternal life. (John 3:16)  Jesus came to this earth and lived amongst us.  He died for our sins and was raised from the dead.  Paul teaches us that salvation comes by believing in our hearts that God raised Jesus from the dead and by confessing with our mouth Jesus is our Lord.

Salvation is for anyone.  It is not only for a select few.  Jesus died for all of us, all we have to do is believe and make the confession that Jesus is Lord.  Jesus is the Alpha and Omega (the beginning and the end).  He is the King of Kings and Lord of Lords.  There is nobody like Jesus.

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