Tag: Jesus

Acts Articles – Jesus 01

On By BrianIn Book of Acts

According to Acts 1:1, the gospel of Luke told what Jesus began to do and teach.  That word “began” is emphatic.  The clear implication we are to draw is that the book of Acts is about what Jesus continued to do and teach.  In other words, Jesus did not ascend into heaven to twiddle his thumbs until his return.  He is still acting and teaching…through us.

If you have a job, your employer undoubtedly has certain goals that he or she wants to accomplish.  Your job, and the tasks that make up that job, fit within those goals.  We might say that your employer is working through you to accomplish his goals.  In the same way, Jesus is working through us to accomplish his goals, his mission, his purpose.  He acts and teaches today through his church.  He is the head, and we are his body.

As such, we must live as his hands and his tongue.  We must do his work.  We must speak his words.  We must allow ourselves to be used by Jesus to care for the hurting and serve his people and encourage the weary and teach his church and witness to the lost.  What a privilege!  What a responsibility!  We must allow ourselves to be guided by his Word, prayer, and the Holy Spirit so that we live as his hands and tongue to accomplish his purpose for his glory.  May God’s grace help us to live like this!

Passion Points

On By BrianIn Idolatry, PASSION Points

I was gone the past week to attend the RHMA Small Town Pastor/Wife Conference with my wife.  I hope to share some highlights next week.  In the meantime, here are some good posts for your weekend reading:

When I Am God – Tim Challies
How life changes when we try to make ourselves God instead of acknowledging the one true God.

Praying Past Our Preferred Outcomes – Nancy Guthrie (via Gospel Coalition)
Related to the post before, am I willing to pray for God’s will in my concerns?

Christ-Centered Accountability – Jared Wilson
A good consideration of helpful and not-so-helpful accountability.

Keep Looking Unto Jesus – J. C. Ryle Quotes
Keep on looking unto Jesus. Faith shall soon be changed to sight, and hope to certainty.

Hope you have a great Lord’s Day with your local church celebrating the one true God!

Passion Points

On By BrianIn PASSION Points

Here are some good thoughts on our Savior for the weekend:

He is the Radiance of the Glory of God – Jared Wilson
Considering the glorious radiance of Jesus.

The Cross as the Scepter – Leo the Great (via Trevin Wax)
An interesting take on Jesus carrying his cross.

On the Third Day – Jim Hamilton (via Crossway)
And interesting look at the pattern of the third day through Scripture.

Only Christ Can Provide Real Comfort – J. C. Ryle Quotes
“There is a gulf in your heart which nothing but Christ can fill.”

Hope you have a great Lord’s Day celebrating our radiant, reigning, risen Savior!

Consider His Compassionate Care

On By BrianIn Book of Luke2 Comments

In Luke 23:26-31, Jesus is on the road to the cross.  He is bleeding from the lashes and the thorns.  He is bruised from the beatings.  He is exhausted from the torture and lack of sleep.  Every step is utter pain.  And he is too weak to carry his own cross, so the soldiers grap Simon from the crowd to do it for him. 

Here then we see the depths of his compassion, as he looks not to his own great needs but to the needs of others.  He stops to show compassionate care to a group of weeping women.  He cares enough to warn them of the coming judgment.

And does he not show this compassionate care to us?  Does he not comfort us in our weeping?  Did he not warn us of coming judgment and call us to himself?  And as we came, did he not forgive us, embrace us, and celebrate over us?  Did he not endure the cross for us?

And he calls us to follow in his steps.  He calls us to show compassionate care to others.  To comfort the weeping.  To warn the sinner.  Even in the midst of our own suffering.  In our trials, we can become so self-focused that we see only our needs.  We disolve into self-pity.  We expect others to minister to us.  And certainly we need care in our suffering.  But Jesus shows us that we can care for others even in the midst of our own suffering.  What a challenge!  And how convicting.  How often we fail in this and must run back to the one whose compassionate care provided a way to be saved at such great expense to himself.

Gospel Quotes To Ponder

On By BrianIn PASSION Quotes

Remember what the gospel says about us:
we are more sinful and flawed than we ever dared believe
but we are also more loved and welcomed than we ever dared hope.
– Elyse M. Fitzpatrick and Dennis E. Johnson

So when the devil throws your sins in your face
and declares that you deserve death and hell, tell him this:
“I admit that I deserve death and hell, what of it?
For I know One who suffered and made satisfaction on my behalf.
His name is Jesus Christ, Son of God, and where he is there I shall be also!”
– Martin Luther

I am a great sinner, but Christ is a great Savior.
– John Newton

Where Is My Worth Found?

On By BrianIn Identity

In my last post I asked whether we are really worth dying for.  I concluded that Jesus died for us not because of our own worth, but because of his love.  To go further: Christ didn’t die because of my worth; my worth is found in Christ’s death.  My worth is found not in myself but in Christ. 

Jeremy Pierre addresses this issue of worth in his post on insecurity.  Insecurity is the failure to grasp our worth, but the critical issue is where do we find our worth.  He compares our culture’s view of insecurity with God’s view:

Our cultural instructors disapprove of our insecurity because it is an offense to individual worthiness. God disapproves of our insecurity because it is an offense to his Son’s worthiness.

And it is His Son’s worth that gives us worth.  Pierre goes on to point out four reasons that insecurity is sinful:

  • Insecurity keeps us from loving God and others because we are too distracted with self.
  • Insecurity indicates a dissatisfaction with God.
  • Insecurity reveals a desire for justification from people rather than God.
  • Insecurity shows that we are still seeking justification from works.

So we need to flee insecurity, but not by clinging to some sense of our own self-worth.  Rather we need to “abandon finding our worth in anything other than Christ and his redemptive work on our behalf.” 

You can read Pierre’s entire post here.

Passion Points

On By BrianIn Holidays, PASSION Points

Here are few good posts focused on the cross, resurrection, and our salvation for your weekend reading:

Jared Wilson considers the many things Jesus accomplished on the cross for us.

Steve Dewitt writes about Jesus’ resurrection body – which points to what our resurrection bodies will one day be like.

Tullian Tchividjian reminds us that because of Christ we are already righteous – and that changes everything.

Have a great Resurrection Sunday celebrating our Risen Savior!

Resurrection Week Reflections

On By BrianIn Holidays

Last week I posted some daily Passion Week reflections.  Below are some reflections for Easter and the following week to help us ponder what Christ’s resurrection means to us:

Sunday – Rejoice: Celebrate His Resurrection

Monday – Received – Embrace the Gospel

Tuesday – Raised: Live Your New Life

Wednesday – Reigns: Submit to Your King

Thursday – Resurrected: Victory Over Death

Friday – Returning – With the Lord

Saturday – Reborn – Hope in Your Inheritance

Sunday – Ransomed: Praise to the Lamb

His Love For You

On By BrianIn Holidays, PASSION Quotes

And going a little farther he fell on his face and prayed, saying, “My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will.”
– Matthew 26:39

What is this cup?  It is clearly a reference to the wrath of God for your sins and mine….

That’s why there’s shuddering terror and deep distress for him at this moment.  In the crucible of human weakness he’s brought face to face with the abhorrent reality of bearing our iniquity and becoming the object of God’s full and furious wrath….

This is what bearing our sins means to him – utter distress of soul as he confronts total abandonment and absolute wrath from his Father on the cross, a distress and an abandonment and a rejection we cannot begin to grasp. 

In this, our Savior’s darkest hour…do you recognize his love for you?

– C. J. Mahaney