Who do you say that He is?

"When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say the Son of Man is?

”They replied, “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets.”

“But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?” Matthew 16:13-15 (NIV)


Jesus had walked with his followers for quite some time. They spent their days with him, witnessing his ministry, his miracles, listening to his teachings and his claims about who he was.


Then Jesus asked them the all important question; "Who do you say I am?"


It was a question designed to make them examine their thoughts about him - their faith in him.

Did they believe them when He said that...

• He was God?
  "I and the Father are one" (John 10:30)
• He could forgive sin?
  “Friend, your sins are forgiven.” (Luke 5:20) 
• He was the ONLY way to experience a relationship with the God?
  “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." (John 14:6) 
• He has the power to grant eternal life to those who believe in Him?
  "I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one will snatch them out of my hand" (John 10:28) 
• He was going away to prepare a place for them in Heaven and that He was coming back to take them to be with Him there?
  "Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in me. My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am."  John 14:1-3

We all have to answer this question at some point in our lives...Who do you say that Jesus is?


Prayer,
Father, please reveal to each of us the truth about Jesus; who he was and is, what he did for each of us through his sacrifice on the cross and how we can walk in relationship with him as your child. Give each of us a hunger to read your word so that we might truly know Jesus for ourselves. Amen


*If you want to know more about Jesus, the perfect place to start is in the book of John. Here's a link to each chapter of John so that you can begin reading right now: 

John	1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21

 
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(Copyright© 2011 Jan Christiansen. All rights reserved.)

You have not because you ask not.

"You do not have because you do not ask God. " James 4:2b (NIV)

This verse makes me wonder how many blessings we miss out on because we have neglected to ask God for what we need.

Often when there's a financial need in my life, I do several things.  I try to figure out a solution, I check to see what resources are available to me, I might borrow from a friend, look for extra work to make a little money, try to cut back here and there, call in a favor, worry, wonder and stew about it or I might just push the thoughts away and tell myself I'll deal with it later.

How goofy!

God has all the resources we need and He has clearly stated in the verse above that often we don't have what we need because we have not taken the time to stop and ask Him for it.

Maybe it's because we think He already knows what we need, so why ask, maybe it's because we don't want to bother Him with our day-to-day needs, or maybe it's because we feel guilty because we know we have mismanaged  the resources He has already given us and that's why we're in the spot we're in.

Whatever the reason, He has said.."You do not have because you do not ask."  So, let's ask.  If that means we have to repent for the way we've handled things, so be it, but we need to open the lines of communication, be obedient and ASK for what we need, then keep our eyes open for the many ways He has of meeting our needs.

Prayer:

Thank you, Father for opening our eyes to the fact that we often have not because we ask not. We come to you today in repentance if need be, to admit that we have not handled our finances right. We ask you to forgive us and to help us to do that better from this point forward. But right now, Lord, we are in need and we ask you to supply our needs and we rejoice because your word is true and we can trust that our needs will be met. Thank you for the awesome privilege of knowing and serving you. Amen

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(Copyright© 2011 Jan Christiansen. All rights reserved.)

A Clean Slate

"Blessed is the one whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered. Blessed is the one whose sin the LORD does not count against them and in whose spirit is no deceit. When I kept silent, my bones wasted away  through my groaning all day long.  For day and night your hand was heavy on me;  my strength was sapped as in the heat of summer. Then I acknowledged my sin to you and did not cover up my iniquity.  I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the LORD.”  And you forgave the guilt of my sin." Psalm 32:1-5 (NIV)


There is nothing quite so exhilarating as knowing that you have been forgiven, that your sins no longer hang over your head and that you have gone from guilty to innocent in the eyes of God.

Of course, true forgiveness requires true repentance. It's not like when your child has written on the wall with a crayon for the upteenth time and upon being caught red-handed, looks at you and says, "sorry", but you know that it's just a response, not a confession and repentance moment.

God's a pretty smart parent, too. He knows when our hearts is truely sorry and when we are determined to turn from our sin and walk in line with His commands.  When that happens, we are made pure, entirely forgiven...we have a clean slate and can proceed from that moment with a new life.

What a joy it is to feel the guilt of our sins lifted from our shoulders!.

Prayer:
Thank you, Jesus, for the shedding of your blood that bought our forgiveness, our new life in you and our clean slate! Help us to drop the pretenses and to be entirely honest before you, confessing our sins, that we might receive your forgiveness. Amen

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(Copyright© 2011 Jan Christiansen. All rights reserved.)

Don't be anxious about anything!

"Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." Philippians 4:6-7 (NIV)

My friend is a worrier. In fact she is so good at it, she could be called a professional worrier.  When faced with a difficult situation or a potential problem, she can think of every bad scenario that could possibly happen.

She hears about a disagreement between two people and she imagines them fist fighting, breaking up, divorcing, never speaking to one another again.  She hears about someone who is struggling financially and she can picture them losing everything they own, walking the streets in rags and begging for food. She learns about someone with an illness and she imagines that they have contracted a deadly disease and will surely die.

All this imagining makes her a nervous wreck. She loses sleep, cries over it and is anxious on a regular basis.

The funny thing is that my friend is a believer...or maybe it's not so funny, because as believers, we are supposed to trust God to care for us.  We have been promised that when we pray, God hears us and that we can have what we ask.

"This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. And if we know that he hears us—whatever we ask—we know that we have what we asked of him."  1 John 5:14:-15  (NIV)

My friend would be so much better off if she would just take a minute to pray, with confidence that God would intercede in each situation as it arises, then relax, knowing that He has heard her prayers and that He is at work in the circumstances. Then she would be filled with the peace of God, which transcends all understanding.

That's much better than worrying and imagining and fretting and losing sleep and...and...(I could go on and on.)

Prayer:
Lord, teach us to turn to you with every concern of our heart. Teach us not to be anxious, but to come confidently to you, knowing that you hear us and that as we ask according to your will, we can be assured that we will have the things we ask of you. Help us to know your will and to examine our prayers so that they line up with your will, then, Lord, help us to relax and trust that you will take care of things. Fill us with your peace. In Jesus' Name, Amen

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(Copyright© 2011 Jan Christiansen. All rights reserved.)

2 Things

"Jesus replied: ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments'.” Matthew 22:37-40 (NIV)

Imagine that someone steps up to you and asks you what the Christian life are all about.  How would you answer them?

Before reading these verses, I might have had several answers to give them, all of which would have been long and involved.  I probably would have bored them to tears and turned them off.  I might have talked about Creation, the Fall, the Flood, Israel's trek through the wilderness, the birth of Jesus, His life, His crucifiction, His ressurection, His ascention, His promise to come again, the way of salvation, the dos and don'ts of  Christian behavior, Heaven, Hell, Amageddon or any number of other things.

Fortunately, for us, someone asked Jesus what the most important commandment is and he summed up the whole Old Testament (the law and the prophets), which was the only Bible they had back then in just two sentences, found in the passage above.

In fact, it can be boiled down even further - to just 4 words: LOVE GOD, LOVE PEOPLE.

If we work on those 2 things, everything else will take care of itself. If we love God, we will follow His commandments and walk in His ways. If we love God, we will open our hearts to receive salvation from Jesus Christ. If we love people, we will serve them, encourage them, support them, forgive them and pray for them just as Jesus instructed us to do.

So, it's simple - Love God, Love People.  Let's not complicate things so much.

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(Copyright© 2011 Jan Christiansen. All rights reserved.)

With All My Heart

"But if from there you seek the LORD your God, you will find him if you seek him with all your heart and with all your soul." Deuteronomy 4:29 (NIV)


"You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart." Jeremiah 29:13 (NIV)
 
"Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened."  Matthew 7:7-8 (NIV)

"So I say to you: Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened."  Luke 11:9-10 (NIV)

 I don't know about you, but sometimes God seems so distant. I know He's not.  The bible says over and over again that God is with us, His Spirit dwells within us, He will never leave us or forsake us, He is present everywhere at all times.  I know that, but still I go through times in my life (like today) when I can't seem to connect with Him.

So, what do I do? I begin to earnestly seek him with all my heart.  I examine myself to see if there is any sin that is standing between me and God. If there is, I confess it and turn from it.  I read the Word. I spend time in prayer. I set other things aside as much as I can and spend more time pursuing God.

Why? Because a life lived without His presence in each day is not a life worth living.

The good news is that "he rewards those who earnestly seek him." Hebrews 11:6 (NIV)

Prayer:
Father, help me to once again sense your presence. Lord, if there is anything that is standing between us, make it clear to me and help me to lay the sin aside for a better relationship with you.  I know, Lord that you are always with me, but in times like these when you seem so distant, I will seek you with my whole heart and I will find you - that's your promise. Thank you for it. In Jesus' name, Amen

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(Copyright© 2011 Jan Christiansen. All rights reserved.)

Earthquakes, tsunamis, volcanos, nuclear fallout...

"The Lord is my rock, my protection, my Savior. My God is my rock. I can run to him for safety. He is my shield and my saving strength, my defender." Psalm 18:2 (NCV)

Earthquakes, tsunamis, volcanos, nuclear fallout, economic collapse, pandemics...

The list goes on and on. One disaster after another assails us these days. It's enough to make me shake in my boots, but it doesn't have to shake my faith in God.

The most frustrating part of everything that's happening today is my inability to do anything about it. So, I can fret and worry, stress and flip out or...I can put my trust in God.  I can run to Him when I am afraid and know that He will comfort me, give me strength and protect me.

I can focus on the disasters or I can focus on God - I choose the latter.

Prayer:
Father, thank you for being our rock - the only steady and sure thing in our world.  Thank you for the assurance that we can run to you in times of trouble, knowing that you will strengthen us and protect us. Amen


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(Copyright© 2011 Jan Christiansen. All rights reserved.)