As a Christian have you ever taken the time to really consider just who the one we call our Lord and Savior is, and what He has done for you. Pastor John Piper asks us to consider Jesus, and what this entails in this thought-provoking quote: “Consider Jesus. Know Jesus. Learn what kind of Person it is you say you trust and love and worship. Soak in the shadow of Jesus. Saturate your soul with the ways of Jesus. Watch Him. Listen to Him. Stand in awe of Him. Let Him overwhelm you with the way He is.”1
My friends, when was the last time you really saturated your soul with the ways of Jesus? And when did you last truly stand in awe of Him? Or, have you ever just spent time getting lost in His presence? I pray that the following few comments will do all three of these things – saturate your soul with Jesus, stand in awe of Him, and get lost in His presence.
Jesus died so that you might live eternally
Imagine, the Creator of the universe took on human form in order to live among His people and shower us with His amazing love. This love is so awesome in that it compelled Him to go to Calvary and die for you and me so that not only could our sins be forgiven, but that we could enter into a personal relationship with Him that He promised would last for all eternity. Imagine, God Himself, gave up His life, so that we could be reconciled back to our Heavenly Father, be declared righteous, and begin to experience the true joy of being declared a child of God! That is truly awesome!
You are now considered a joint heir with Christ
(Romans 8:16-17) shares the following: “The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified together.” In Christ we are children of God. And just as an earthly child stands to inherit possessions when their physical father dies we too are heirs of God and will inherit a myriad of blessings. For we read in (Revelation 21:7): “He that overcometh shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my son.” When we are in Christ we become joint heirs with Christ – what an amazing thought!
You, in Christ, are considered chosen, royal, holy, and special
(I Peter 2:9) tells us four amazing things about who you are in Christ: “But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light.” First, you are chosen by God to be in a personal relationship with the Creator of the universe. Second, you are royalty which means you are a child of the King. Third, you are now holy. As a result, even with all of your flaws, as a result of what God did for you, a sinner, you can now dwell in His holy presence. And fourth, you are special, beyond your wildest imagination, to God!
Jesus constantly has you on His mind and it is always to bless you
(Psalm 139:17-18) asks us to ponder this incredible thought: “How precious also are Your thoughts to me, O God! How great is the sum of them! If I should count them, they would be more in number than the sand…” When we are in Christ we have God’s promise that He has a myriad of precious thoughts toward each of us. In fact, there are so many we could never count them. And the thing that really excites me is that they are all good thoughts! (Jeremiah 29:11) says it so well: “For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope.”
May I challenge you to meditate on these above four thoughts and be prepared to use them to saturate your soul with Jesus, stand in awe of Him, and get lost in His presence!
Amen!! Best thing in the world is being a child of the most high