Four Views of Jesus

Scripture

The Son {Jesus} is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation…all things have been created through Him and for Him…He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together.

~Colossians 1 {selected}

Quote

Jesus is living proof that God can be happy with man.

~Ya’akov

I am reading the NT in the Message and I always read Dr. Peterson’s introductions. In his introduction to Colossians, he mentions three views of Christ but I have added a fourth. First there is total ignorance: these people have never heard of Jesus. Secondly; there are the Christ haters like the Sadducees. They believed that Jesus was a devil, a demagogue, a phony, a lunatic or mad man. These people tend to hate Jesus. They do not believe He was God and it makes them very angry for others to speak of Him as God. The third group is the casual admirers, or fans. These people think Jesus was a great teacher, a great example, a great inspiration and a world changer but they do not commit their lives to Him. If you ask them if they are a believer, some will probably say yes. The fourth view or group is the JESUS FREAKS. All they think about is Jesus.

To the Jesus freaks, Jesus is not a way–He is the way. He is front and center–the cosmic glue that holds everything together, even the tiny atom. Everything was created by Him and for Him–He is the first and the last and everything in between. He is more than the Captain of the ship, He is the ship, the sea, the wind, the harbor, the forerunner and the final destination. In other words: Jesus is everything. In Christ you have everything: without Him, you have nothing. Roman Noblemen traditionally chose the eldest son to be their heir but if this son did not please the father, there were cases where Roman noblemen left their estates to their most trusted slave or servant. One such slave was Aurelius, his master despised his own son and left everything to Aurelius. In the will, the father granted the son one thing: he could choose one possession from the estate. When the attorney told the son what was in the will and gave him his choice: he said, “That’s easy, I will take Aurelius the slave.” When you get Jesus, you get it all.

Bit of irony I suppose: the LORD began speaking to me on Thursday about changing my Sunday message to a patriotic theme. I made the final decision on Saturday night around 7:00. Meanwhile my son was doing the same thing and we did not discuss this with each other. He has preached two excellent sermons in a row. I don’t know if my sermon is uploaded or not but they are both on the same subject: his version is milder and gentler. Both came from the Psalms. I enjoyed his sermon until he got to the end and talked about name calling. I try hard not to make fun of liberals but I just can’t resist. I do use degrading terms in reference to them. I try not to use words like moron and idiot but they just come out. No, I don’t really expect to convert a liberal. I have tried being nice and kind, that doesn’t work either. I don’t watch any news and I do not get on Twitter or Facebook; if I do it is rare and yet I am battling discouragement. I am worried about our President. I don’t know how much more the man can take and I am afraid that he has no help. The FBI is corrupt and so in the Department of Justice. If by the grace of God we could get him four more years, he might final the handle to flush this stinking toilet. Washington D.C. is not a swamp, it a sticking toilet. It is filled with career politicians who are embedded in the bureaucracy. Even the less than Supreme Court is corrupt.

I had a good visit with Vellene yesterday. She will be moving in a couple of weeks to an assisted living facility in Priceville. I’m just thankful I got to visit with her; she looks good and sounds good. Vellene is a rock. She is strong, always has been. You never associate weakness with her. She does not complain; just take the punches and keeps on going.

Little late on the blog today, had a bad headache last night and could go to asleep. Sorry about that! I hope you have a great day and a great week.

Pray for Bill Smith and Josh’s Grand Parents. Pray for our President and our country.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *