Word for Today, Mon, 29 Nov 2004: Jesus Christ is Supreme
Posted by: masinick <masinick@...>
Dear friends,
Today's devotional message comes from the writings of Oswald
Chambers. Oswald has a distinctive way of cutting right through
the flashy, glossy, attractive words right to the heart of
matters. In today's message, Oswald hits it squarely: the
supremacy of Jesus Christ. So many Christian movements have
various experiences about them. Not all of what they teach is
necessarily wrong or inherently bad, but frequently they miss the
whole point. Jesus Christ is the object of our faith, He is the
One the Bible really writes about. Some people get on big kicks
about the Holy Spirit, others get into Mary, some prophet, or
some other twist. The truth is that even the Holy Spirit is
there to do one thing, and that's to point us to the truth and
the supremacy of Jesus Christ.
We have just passed the time of the year we call Thanksgiving.
To me, the number one thing we have to be thankful for is Jesus
Christ Himself. All other things, our homes, our families, our
jobs, our lives, we all owe to God. We owe a special debt of
gratitude to Jesus Christ. Were it not for Christ, our lives
would have little, if any, meaning or purpose. Because of
Christ, we know that we are deeply loved and we know that we were
created by the God of the Universe. Not only that, the God of
the Universe desires a personal relationship with each one of
us. How could we possibly know that without Jesus Christ, and
how could we possibly even dare to approach the God of the
Universe, were it not for the love and the atoning sacrifice of
His Son, God in the flesh? How could we be convicted of such
things in our hearts by the Holy Spirit of God if it were not for
the work of Jesus Christ?
Yes, Christ is supreme.
Yours in Christ,
Brian
____________________________________________________________
November 29
The Supremacy of Jesus Christ
He will glorify Me... --John 16:14
The holiness movements of today have none of the rugged reality
of the New Testament about them. There is nothing about them
that needs the death of Jesus Christ. All that is required is a
pious atmosphere, prayer, and devotion. This type of experience
is not supernatural nor miraculous. It did not cost the
sufferings of God, nor is it stained with "the blood of the Lamb"
( Revelation 12:11 ). It is not marked or sealed by the Holy
Spirit as being genuine, and it has no visual sign that causes
people to exclaim with awe and wonder, "That is the work of God
Almighty!" Yet the New Testament is about the work of God and
nothing else.
The New Testament example of the Christian experience is that of
a personal, passionate devotion to the Person of Jesus Christ.
Every other kind of so-called Christian experience is detached
from the Person of Jesus. There is no regeneration -- no being
born again into the kingdom in which Christ lives and reigns
supreme. There is only the idea that He is our pattern. In the
New Testament Jesus Christ is the Savior long before He is the
pattern. Today He is being portrayed as the figurehead of a
religion -- a mere example. He is that, but He is infinitely
more. He is salvation itself; He is the gospel of God!
Jesus said, "... when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, ... He
will glorify Me..." ( John 16:13-14 ). When I commit myself to
the revealed truth of the New Testament, I receive from God the
gift of the Holy Spirit, who then begins interpreting to me what
Jesus did. The Spirit of God does in me internally all that Jesus
Christ did for me externally.
2003 RBC Ministries-Grand Rapids MI, 49555-0001
http://www.gospelcom.net/rbc/utmost/
=====
--
Brian Masinick, mailto:masinick@yahoo.com
Home page: http://www.geocities.com/masinick/
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