Meeting Jesus

Question: what would you do if you were walking today and met Jesus?  Would you be excited, scared, ashamed, angry or maybe sad or would you doubt?  What do you think your response would be?  I think many people would walk right by and not even recognize Him or acknowledge Him whatsoever and this may happen even to those in church today.  There were people who walked with Jesus in His time on the earth but they didn’t really know Him.  

At times they were scared for instance when they saw Him walking on the water, and other times they had doubts like doubting Thomas, and some thought He would fight against the Romans and free them from their bondage to them.  There was a time when some thought He would let them drown when He was asleep in the boat.  There was a time when they thought His teaching was too hard and some walked away from Him and walked with Him no more.  There were those that thought He was a good teacher and others that thought He was a good man.  Some thought He was mad and had an evil spirit.  Then there were others that thought He was a miracle worker and others were very jealous of Him.  Then there were those that had faith in Him, believing He could heal.  There were many different ways that people looked at Jesus and many different reactions when people saw Him. Some when they saw Him thought they were seeing a ghost, so what would you think if you saw Him today?  

On the other hand what do you think He would think of you and what do you think He would do if He saw you?  In our world today we have a problem and that is that we listen to so many voices that tell us what we should and should not believe about Jesus.  Sometimes we hear the truth and other times we hear half-truths and watered down sermons that just make us feel good about ourselves but there is no real substance in the message and we are lulled to sleep, thinking we are okay no matter what we do because God is a loving God and always forgives regardless in the end, so we skate through life doing our own thing.  There is no conviction in the message because that would make us feel bad and many people don’t want to hear and feel that way.

We have a problem that is called lack of knowledge and for the most part it is our own fault.  Many seek knowledge from other people and other sources instead of getting into the Word of God for themselves.  We live in what you might call a microwave world, where we want everything instantly because we are so impatient and we have this I want it now mentality.  What we all need to understand is that we can hear a lot of things about Jesus and not really know Him personally at all and that is not enough.  I know it takes time and even sacrifice at times to read the Word of God but that is where and how you will get to know who the Lord really is and what He expects of you and how to get to know Him on a personal level and not just to know about Him.  If you want to know Him personally, seek Him in the Word of God; His character is sprinkled throughout the whole Bible and God said in Jeremiah 29:11-14, “For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end. Then shall ye call upon me, and ye shall go and pray unto me, and I will hearken unto you. And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart. And I will be found of you, saith the Lord: and I will turn away your captivity, and I will gather you from all the nations, and from all the places whither I have driven you, saith the Lord; and I will bring you again into the place whence I caused you to be carried away captive.”

These people were captives in Babylon but we are also captive by our sins and enslaved by them.  People need to know their condition before the Lord; we were all born with a sin nature.  Just think of 2 and 3 year old kids and so on how they fight over their dolls or their others toys you will see that I want syndrome in each of them and it all started in the Garden of Eden where Adam and Eve wanted to be like God.  It wasn’t enough to fellowship with God, they wanted to be just like Him and to accomplish this they sinned by being disobedient to God.  And who was enticing them to do this?  It was the enemy of our souls, satan himself, speaking through a serpent because that was his intent, also to build his throne above God’s throne because of his pride and arrogance and because of it He was thrown out of heaven after deceiving one third of the angels to stand with him in his plot to take over heaven.  The problem with Adam and Eve was they became more like the devil then they did like God; when they disobeyed and sinned against God, instead of walking with God, they were separated from God.

We are in the same situation when we are born, yes, we were created in God’s image and likeness but because we have that sin nature from birth in our lives, we are all separated from God because God has never sinned He is so holy He cannot even look at sin and has never been tainted by it.  The Bible says we have all sinned and fell short of the glory of God and that there is none righteous no not one.  Without a personal relationship with the Lord, called being born-again, we are all doomed and totally separated from God for all eternity and end up in the lake of fire which the Bible refers to as Hell, a place of torment and pain and suffering.  

The good news is that God made a way that we can escape that and go to heaven to be with Him where all tears will be wiped away and where there will be continuous joy and happiness and where we will praise our Savior for ever and ever.  We can’t even imagine such a place where there is no sin, no temptation and no filth, but were all is beautiful and the best thing of all is our Savior will be there and His love, grace and mercy and His shekinah glory will fill the whole place.  You will never have to lock your doors, you will never get annoying phone calls, there will be no wars, no tyrants, no one trying to take advantage of you, no sexual immorality, no more babies killed or anyone else, no one will be hurt in any way.  No more polluted water, the best food, no more fighting and arguing, I guess I could go on and on but I can’t even imagine what it will be like, but I know I want to be there and you can be there also.  I believe it takes a repentant heart that is truly sorry for the sins that they have committed.  I believe that you have to believe that God sent His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ, as a sacrifice for our sins and that He was crucified, died and was buried and rose again and through His shed blood our sins are forgiven.

Read Isaiah 1:17-18, “Learn to do well; seek judgment, relieve the oppressed, judge the fatherless, plead for the widow. Come now, and let us reason together, saith the Lord: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.”

This was written to the rebellious people in Judah and Israel at the time and just as he could remove the stain of their sins, He can also do the same for us and that is what the blood of Jesus does when applied to a true repentant sinner’s heart, it cleanses the stain of sin which could be removed no other way, it is a permanent stain.

Now read John 3:16-17, “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.”

God loved His creation and He was willing to send His son to be hated, mocked and scorned, beaten and crucified for us when we were His enemies and Jesus was willing to let this all take place because no one could have done this without Him being willing; this is called  sacrificial love.  Greater love hath no man than that He would lay down His life for a friend and Jesus went the extra mile and laid down His life for His enemies!!

I have given you something to think about and I hope you make the right choice.  May the good Lord bless you and yours and may you have a super day!!  If you are a believer reading this don’t forget to thank and praise the Lord!!