After posting my previous article Desperate For God, I felt that something was still missing. The next morning as I laid in bed I started thinking about it again. Then I read it again and realized it had not been finished quite the way I felt God would have it. It was like the last chapter in a book was missing or the summery in an article. Can you imagine what the Bible would be like without the last book, Revelation—the end of the story with the coronation of Jesus? That's how I felt. I needed to say more about Jesus.
So often in churches or on TV, we hear incredible sermons about the Bible characters that God and Jesus dealt with. We sometimes hear about their faith but more often about their sins and downfalls, such as Samson and Delilah, David and Bathsheba, Peter's denial of Christ, doubting Thomas and many more. (Too often ministers within Christianity focus on the sins and faults of people. Many of us are guilty of that too.) Unfortunately, by the time we leave church, all we remember are the supporting characters, their actions, and not The Star, Jesus.
So often in churches or on TV, we hear incredible sermons about the Bible characters that God and Jesus dealt with. We sometimes hear about their faith but more often about their sins and downfalls, such as Samson and Delilah, David and Bathsheba, Peter's denial of Christ, doubting Thomas and many more. (Too often ministers within Christianity focus on the sins and faults of people. Many of us are guilty of that too.) Unfortunately, by the time we leave church, all we remember are the supporting characters, their actions, and not The Star, Jesus.
However, that should not be the situation nor the norm. The Bible is not just a book of history or the stories of people. It is an incredible book that portrays the wonderful and awesome love of God and Jesus, their power and faithfulness and emotions for the human race (you and me). Frankly, I doubt if anyone will ever be able to comprehend the immensity of God's love.
In the article about the Phoenician woman, I felt something was missing. And there was. I wanted to bring people back to Jesus and his love. Jesus is the main character that I would prefer people to remember at the end of my articles. Without Him all the supporting characters mean nothing. Yes, the faith of the woman got her past the issues of pride. But, it was the incredible love of Jesus that drew the faith from her. She could not have done it without Him. Jesus might have easily have granted her request and been done with her, but he didn't. In this situation it might have even looked like Jesus was being cruel, but in reality he was demonstrating great love. He was patient and waited for her to come to the full realization of her need. He carefully chose his words to deal with the real problem: her heart. Jesus desires to do the same with each of us.
In the article about the Phoenician woman, I felt something was missing. And there was. I wanted to bring people back to Jesus and his love. Jesus is the main character that I would prefer people to remember at the end of my articles. Without Him all the supporting characters mean nothing. Yes, the faith of the woman got her past the issues of pride. But, it was the incredible love of Jesus that drew the faith from her. She could not have done it without Him. Jesus might have easily have granted her request and been done with her, but he didn't. In this situation it might have even looked like Jesus was being cruel, but in reality he was demonstrating great love. He was patient and waited for her to come to the full realization of her need. He carefully chose his words to deal with the real problem: her heart. Jesus desires to do the same with each of us.
We often want God to fix our problems quickly, and that would be the end of things. However, if Jesus were to always do that, there would still be the spiritual problems and possibly no real relationship with him. In actuality, we seldom see the power of God move in our lives until we do our part, which starts with humility, honor and/or repentance—just as this woman did. Yes, there was repentance, even with the thief on the cross hanging to the right of Jesus. Jesus saw both their hearts. His desire is for an intimate relationship with no pretenses or hindrances.
Unfortunately many people don't wait long enough for the disciplines of Jesus, or to acknowledge the possibility of sin in their own hearts. They often choose to look for help from someone else or something else that will satisfy them quickly or more comfortably. But, to the Heavenly Father his loving discipline is paramount. (Read Heb. 12:8-11) Without it, it is impossible to be his son. We need his correction, lest we wander this world aimlessly and ignorantly. He loves us so much and he doesn't want to see that happen to us.
Unfortunately many people don't wait long enough for the disciplines of Jesus, or to acknowledge the possibility of sin in their own hearts. They often choose to look for help from someone else or something else that will satisfy them quickly or more comfortably. But, to the Heavenly Father his loving discipline is paramount. (Read Heb. 12:8-11) Without it, it is impossible to be his son. We need his correction, lest we wander this world aimlessly and ignorantly. He loves us so much and he doesn't want to see that happen to us.
A true relationship between the Father and his sons and daughters is built on Jesus Christ. Discipline, obedience and trust are all parts of the building process of agape love. That relationship is held together by the blood of Jesus and a covenant, not by human emotions. This is accomplished only when we submit to his will, his disciplines, and place our focus (our desires) on him. Jesus is all we really need and he is worth all our effort—whatever it takes to get it right. Otherwise we might not become his mature sons in His Kingdom.
In the future, if I write an article and you don't see the awesome love or faithfulness of Jesus and/or God, please forgive me. Such is not my intention; after all He is the Morning Star.
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