Jesus Christ: The Eternal God-Man

Jesus Christ: The Eternal God-Man

…who forever lives to love us and lead us into life.

A new year’s resolution often looks like this:  “I’m going to get closer to God this year. I’m going to do the right thing.  I’m going to let God create the priorities of my life.”

Who is this God I seek to become closer with? How do I know what is the “right thing”? How do I identify God’s priorities in my life?

Jesus Christ, the Eternal God-Man, told us if we have seen Him, we have seen God the Father. Jesus also told us He would send a Comforter, the Holy Spirit, to remind us of everything Jesus told us and to show us things to come.

This Jesus was many things to many people during His time on earth, and even now He is many things to many people. In His earthly life, He was a Master Teacher and Storyteller, a controversial rabbi, a physical and spiritual healer, an insightful and powerful prophet.  To many people, He is, even now, revered as a great teacher and spiritual guide. He is all of these things, but He is one other thing that makes Him totally unique.

He is God.

Does this sound magical and unbelievable? How can God be limited to live as a person and still be an almighty God? Why would an all-powerful God chose this way of interacting with His creatures? Why wouldn’t God remove all doubt of His existence by becoming so powerfully visible that no one could doubt?

The answer is love.

Most of us are more motivated by love than by fear. I will do more for someone I love than for someone I fear. God desires my love, even while loving me in ways that are difficult for me to understand. God chose to have a human experience in order for us to be able to say “He knows and understands me, because He has been like me, has been where I am, has lived as people live, and has experienced much that exists in the human realm: death, joy, birth, anger, friendship, work, childhood, pain, fear, happiness. And love.”

God’s human experience is love reaching out—both then and now.

Jesus Christ—the Eternal God-Man, is not only proof of God’s power and greatness, but He is Ever-Living  Proof of a love than comes close, that  cares enough to share life with us and lead us into eternal life.

If this is the God I seek to become closer to in 2012, this will be a year like none other.

  

Useless Statement #1: "I Would Never Do That!"

Many wisdom teachers of many ages have taught their students this: "you cannot impose your personal standards of behavior on others."

Jesus encouraged His disciples to "be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves." You can read many variations of this statement from Matthew 10:16 here.

As I interact with others who may or may not share my world view -- and that is their right, by the way --,  I must keep Jesus' directive in mind. When I keep His directive in mind, I never react foolishly or thoughtlessly because someone does something I would never do.

Besides, it's a challenge to say what I would "never do." How can I know this? Also,  no other person is under any obligation to do things my way. Only I am responsible to my own values. It is also my responsibility to be aware that others act from their knowledge, their priorities, and their perspectives.

I can be a person of honesty and integrity in the middle of all of this. I can remain "innocent" to evil by following God and allowing Him to create my consequences for me. I must remain shrewd and knowledgeable in understanding others who don't want or won't follow God's ways.That shrewdness is an adult responsibility. It's a spiritual principle. There's no virtue in pretending not to see evil or overlooking the misuse of people and things.

I was once told: "If someone is constantly surprising you by their words and actions, that means you really don't know that person." I accept this as true.

So, in 2012, I resolve to be innocent and shrewd. It's an interesting combination that allows me to be honest, act with integrity, and minimize those nasty, unwanted, and unpleasant surprises.

Why I Attended Church On Christmas Sunday

Now that the holidays are over and life has returned to a semblance of normality, I am reflecting upon what the holidays meant and what I can take with me into this new year.

This most recent Christmas (2011) was on a Sunday. Once again, discussions arose about what types of services should be held on "Christmas Sunday" and how many people would be likely to attend church service on Christmas morning. After all, won't everyone prefer to stay home, relax, and enjoy their  Christmas gifts and their favorite breakfast foods...and grab another cup of coffee or hot cocoa?

Some churches abbreviated their services, others combined services, and a few simply cancelled services.

I didn't have a difficult time deciding what to do on that morning. I went to church.

I am aware, even though it's seldom spoken, of how my neighbors observe my regular attendance to church on Sundays. I can be relied upon to leave home at a certain time each Sunday morning. Others, especially those who don't attend services, notice my routine. I wanted my witness to remain intact.

I am aware I have more material belongings than many people in many other parts of the world. To a large degree, this is true because I was born at a certain time to certain people who lived in North America. I had nothing to do with any of those things. There was no loss to me in waiting to open Christmas gifts until after attending a worship service.

I am grateful for what Christmas means: God loved humanity enough to become one of us. That "becoming" event deserves commemoration and it deserves my acknowledgement by attending a service dedicated to celebrating that "becoming."

I reminded myself: there are twenty-four hours in each day, including Christmas. If I take two or three of those hours off to go to worship, I still have twenty-two or twenty-three hours left to open gifts, eat, look at Christmas decorations, etc.

I was reminded by another writer--- whose name, sadly, I have forgotten!--that Christmas isn't about goodies and the sentimentality of remembering past times and singing familiar songs. Christmas is about celebrating  the chance we all have for a new beginning in God because God chose to become one of us. God's love honored us in this way, and I can return that honor by joining with others in regular worship.

Regular worship includes Christmas Sunday. Our small, sturdy gathering of true believers on Christmas Sunday was worth every minute.

2012: Year of Positive Expectation

Best wishes for good success in 2012.
This post is from one of my favorite resources, Postitive Christianity.

As Christians, we should seek the highest level of positivity!


A JOYFUL YEAR OF POSITIVE EXPECTATION



"Whatever you ask in prayer, you will receive, if you have faith."

Matthew 21:22



In my seminars on prayer, I share with people to change the word "prayer"

to "expectation." Some people's prayers are so negative, that they can do

nothing but expect the worst. They pray mainly focused on what they do not

want instead of the positive that they wish to expect. Expecting the

worst blocks God's good. Each person has free-will, and because of that,

God does not force good upon you. Many times we lock ourselves in a

self-imposed prison of concepts of doubt, worry, and limitation.



What are you expecting? The worst? The best?



I pray it is THE BEST. Placing your faith in God’s good is the key to the

good life. To pray with expectancy is to pray with an assurance that each

prayer will be answered by God in a positive way.



You pray with this expectancy this next year, knowing that all your needs will

be met in the right time and the perfect way. As Jesus assured you,

"Whatever you ask in prayer, you WILL receive, if you have faith!”



You EXPECT A MIRACLE!



Your expectation is grounded in your faith in God as the source of all

your good. You expect that you are receiving abundance in your life.

Your needs are being met.



You expect and accept that you were created to be healthy. Your mind is

alert and enthusiastic. Your body is strengthened and filled with energy.

Your joy is overflowing in your soul. The life force of God flows

through you, nourishing and revitalizing each cell. With God as the

source of your good, you expect and accept your good now.



This will be a year of joy. You expect joyful surprise. A small child looks

at his or her surroundings with the joy of seeing great adventures.

Everything is new and worthy of investigation. Nothing is too small or

insignificant to be overlooked.



In 2012, you look at your world with expectant eyes. You find joy in

the smallest task, because you delight in being a part of this great

experience called life.



Joy is more than a state of mind. It is a state of expectation. When you

are feeling the joy of spirit, it comes from deep within you and fills

every part of you. Your inner joy is unshakable because it is founded in God.



Your joy comes from knowing that you are a child of God. You are

connected, needed, loved. You are heir to all the beauty and wonder of

God's abundance and you expect it in your life.



Truly, this is reason enough to be joy-filled and expectant this next year.



POSITIVE DAILY PRAYER:



Christ is shepherd over you,

Enfolding you on every side.

Christ will not forsake you, hand or foot,

Nor let darkness come near you.

Entering the Ark, Entering the Rest of God

“Can I say I have been warned of God, and moved with fear, to fly to this Ark? Have I discovered my shelter-less state by nature, the waves and billows of wrath rising and rolling against me? Have I seen my own inability to provide an Ark for myself, and the excellency and fitness of the Ark of God’s providing?

Have I been made willing to abandon all false arks, and [made] inquisitive [of] how to get into the true Ark? Have I been made willing to use all appointed means for this end, to read, hear, meditate, pray, repent, believe, essay [try] to climb up the sides of the Ark, and press to get in at the door thereof?

Have I been willing to venture my all in the Ark, like Noah, notwithstanding the discouragements, scoffs, and hatred of the world for so doing? Have I willingly acquiesced, sheltered, and lodged my soul in God’s Ark, and been made to say, “This is my rest for ever, here will I dwell? Come what floods will, Christ shall be my Ark, His righteousness alone my refuge and hiding place.”

From: Sacramental Meditations and Advices, by Rev. John Willison, 1821. Full-text is available on Google Books.

Published nearly 200 years ago, Willison’s words are a real challenge to anyone seeking to closely follow Jesus Christ in 2012 and beyond.

I discovered Willison’s book while browsing for devotional materials on The Internet Archive, a resource you should experience. Written in the 1740s and published in 1821, Sacramental Meditations and Advices is an inspirational source for knowing God more fully.

The world, as it is and has been since Noah’s time, requires us to seek the protection and safety of God’s Ark—Jesus Christ. No one who is honestly aware of the world’s condition truly believes she or he can meet the world on the world’s terms and experience lasting peace and purpose.

I must be willing to abandon all false arks---worldly priorities (reasoning apart from God), rule and ritual following, “good” behavior—and embrace the shelter Christ offers. He is The Ark.

How teachable am I in learning and knowing God’s will for me? Do I want what God has for me, or do I want God to endorse, support, and bless what I (or others) have chosen? Do I earnestly accept there may be conflicts between what I want and what God wants? Am I still debating within myself about whose preference will prevail? Why do I sometimes trust the world more than I trust the world’s Creator and Sustainer?

Moved by fear, Noah built an ark before it rained. Fear can be a good motivator if I am honest enough to admit there are some situations I should not face because God has warned me away from them. Noah believed God’s warning: the rains will come; destruction will follow. Noah did not want to die in the flood, nor did God want him to die in the flood. Noah followed God’s directions and built the ark as instructed. Noah’s ark preserved his life, the lives of his family, and the lives of all creatures entering the ark. Finally, God Himself shut the door to the ark, guaranteeing the safety of those inside. The seventh chapter of the Book of Genesis describes these events.

FEAR has been called False Evidence Appearing Real. Not so. I don’t want to fear every unknown circumstance, but there are some things that are truly dangerous and very real and should be feared because of what those things will do to us. We are eternal creatures, but we are not unlimited creatures. Have no doubt: we are damageable.

If I rest in God’s way and will, I will experience some fear, but I will not have to live under the blinding power of constant fear. I can live securely in the Ark of God’s Safety, watch the rain, and ride out the storm. Having been warned of God, and moved by fear, I can enter God’s rest.

“Come what floods will, Christ shall be my Ark, His righteousness alone my refuge and hiding place.”

"Fullness of God in helpless babe..."

This post's title is a line from one of my favorite hymns, In Christ Alone, by Keith Getty and Stuart Townend.

Why would God choose to become an infant, a "helpless person", totally dependent upon others in His human experience?

God with us.

Human experiences of weakness, pain, vulnerability, and sadness are not foreign to God. It was God's choice to know what we feel by personally experiencing life as we experience it.

Some may say God would never "lower Himself" to live life as we live it, and to directly and personally experience so much of what we know.

God's sovereign and  willing choice to know much of human  life, ---without sin--, to know what we know, feel, and experience is an ultimate expression of love, caring concern, and direct involvement.

God is love.

This is what we celebrate and remember during Advent: a God who loves enough to come close, a God who chooses to experience human frailties without the blinding limitations of  human sin.

You can trust what you hear when God's Spirit speaks to your heart and says, "I feel your pain. If you wish to release that pain, take my hand and follow me. I have been where you are. I know the way forward. "

This is the message of Christmas.

Foodie Escapade #1: Remembering Summer Just Before Winter

Good food is a gift from a good God.


Now that the growing season and the farmer’s market season have ended in the Great Lakes region of North America, I have had to resort to reading food magazines, cookbooks, and roving on food sites to see fresh food growing. Two of my favorites are yougrowgirl.com and  noteatingoutinny.com.

In Michigan, the mornings are getting colder and snowier. I am burying myself in the summer issues of Saveur and Bon Appetit, trying to recover the sense of warmth that comes from preparing, eating, and sharing summer food. In the August 2011 issue of Bon Appetit, I found an easy, yummy-sounding recipe for pickled baby squash. At this time of the year, there are no local summer squash or zucchini to pickle. I’m willing to wait until spring to buy something grown locally; something that helps support a farmer who is probably employing someone who (like the rest of us) wants and needs their job.

Lacking the fresh baby squash, I am thinking about revising the recipe to make pickled baby carrots or pickled young beets. I will probably eat them as hot pickles, rather than chilled. Still, I copied the recipe and pasted it into my custom cookbook of recipes collected from magazines and ephemeral sources.

I am looking forward to the return of the baby squash season. I am looking forward to eating the chilled squash pickles on a hot summer afternoon or  snacking on them during the early evening of a "dog day" of summer. I am looking forward to sprinkling the last remnants of pickle juice over a summer veggie salad.

I am looking forward to sunshine on my face while I shop in the farmer’s market and the coolness of the shady sports under the market's stalls. I am looking forward to asking the farmer which variety of squash she or he is selling, and picking through the offerings to make my best selections. I am looking forward a little bargaining and haggling over the best price. I am looking forward making my food dollar stretch to its maximum, to going in search of multiple ways to use a single food item. I am looking forward to answering this question: "how many ways can I cook this?”

I am looking forward to giving thanks for the food, for the people who have grown it and brought it to market.

Here is the recipe for Pickled Baby Squash:

1 pound of baby squash or zucchini

6 sprigs of fresh dill, divided

6 garlic cloves, smashed

1 cup apple cider vinegar

1 tablespoon black peppercorns

1 tablespoon kosher salt

1 teaspoon sugar

Thinly slice squash into coins. Place squash, 3 dill sprigs and garlic into a 1 quart jar. Bring vinegar, peppercorns, salt, sugar, remaining 3 dill sprigs, and 1 cup of water to boil in a saucepan, stirring to dissolve salt and sugar.


Pour into jar with squash mixture. Cover, let cool slightly, and chill.

Keep refrigerated and eat within two weeks. Makes one quart.