Jesus Loves You

A Drifted Log Message

"Jesus loves you"

I took this photo a few months ago, when my husband and I were walking along a beach in Northern Oregon. It was a beautiful sunny day; but there was a very strong wind. We found shelter beside a makeshift driftwood structure, apparently assembled on a windy day. It was cozy to sit on this log out of the wind and warmed by the sun. I snapped the picture just before we left.

“Jesus loves you”. How could that have any meaning at all for people today? It's been so long since Jesus walked the mountains and valleys of the Holy Land of modern day Israel. How could He love you or I today? What was so extraordinary about him that we would still be talking about Him today over 2,000 years later?  Who was He? Was He born to an important family of the day? Not really. His parents were Joseph and Mary, simple people from the small village of Nazareth. Was He an important religious our political leader? Not really. Why did historians even mention Him?

Son of God

This week is the Son of God Series beginning January 12th.  This page will link all of the posts together instead of posts coming up daily:

Adam, son of God

"... Adam, the son of God."
God has two sons and one daughter that are unique among humanity. He has a son and a daughter that were not born, they were created by God Himself! (See Genesis 1 and 2). We are all sons of Adam and daughters of Eve, as the children in the Chronicles of Narnia were referred to; because we all descend from them. We have an inheritance of being made in God's image, after His likeness, with incredible potential and opportunity. Yet, all of this was marred with sin.  Read More

 
Jesus, Son of the Most High
"You will be with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give Him the name of Jesus.
He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High."
God's only begotten Son, Jesus was not created, He has always been with God, even before creation, as we can see in John 1: 1 & 2. He humbled Himself to leave the realm of glory with the Father to become human. He was begotten by the Holy Spirit in Mary, a human being. He lived a perfect sinless life, and died a terrible death to once and for all pay for the penalty of man's sin; so humanity could once again be reconciled to God. Lets read Romans 5:12-21 to see the contrast of the two son's of God. Read More

 
Jesus, Son of Abraham

"The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ,
the Son of David, the Son of Abraham."
Abraham is the father of righteousness through faith. Even though, he was 100 years old and Sarah was 90, he believed God could keep His promise. For nothing is impossible with God. What is the significance of Jesus being the Son of Abraham? Read More

Jesus, Son of David
"The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the Son of David, the Son of Abraham."

In Luke 1:31-33, Gabriel told Mary,
"... you will conceive... and bring forth a Son and shall call His name Jesus. 

He will be... called Son of the Most High; 

and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His Father David...

and of His Kingdom there will be no end."

This fulfills a promise made to King David in 2Samuel 7:11-14. David was dwelling in his beautiful house of cedar and decided to build a house for the Arc of God. He told this to Nathan the prophet who then said to do all that was in his heart for the Lord. But that night the word of the Lord came to Nathan saying,  Read More

Jesus, Son of God

"... who was, who is and who is to come, the Almighty."
With this Son of God series we looked at Jesus as the Son of the Promise. God made promises to His people of one to come as a deliverer and a Savior. These promises were made through the ages spanning from Adam and Eve, to Abraham and to King David of the coming of Christ. Where is Jesus now? What is yet to come? Read More

Sunday, January 18th we will begin in Matthew 3 with the ministry of John the Baptist, followed by the early ministry of Jesus and move into the beatitudes. 

Searching for the King

Reading:  Matthew 2:1-11 NLT & NKJ

Here we are, the Twelfth Day of Christmas, Epiphany... the revelation and worship of the King of all kings. 

Searching for the King- Michael Dudash... see below to order prints

"Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the reign of King Herod. About that time some wise men from eastern lands arrived in Jerusalem, asking, 'Where is the newborn King of the Jew's? We saw His star as it rose, and we have come to worship Him... Then Herod called for a private meeting with the wise men, and he learned from them the time when the star first appeared... the wise men went their way. And the star they had seen in the east guided them to Bethlehem. It went ahead of them and stopped over the place where the child was. They entered the house, saw the child with His mother Mary and they bowed down and worshiped Him (for whom a star was born). NLT And when they had opened their treasures, they presented to Him: gold, frankincense and myrrh."NKJ 
Matthew 2:1-11 NLT & NKJ    

The gold was fit for a king, the KING of all kings who have ever lived! He is the KING for whom the star was born. They presented Him with frankincense for a priest, Jesus our Savior, is the Priest of all Priests; the great High Priest, who is now seated at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens. (Hebrews 8:1) The myrrh, which was used for burials was perhaps offered for the sacrifice. Then God warned them in a dream not to return to Herod and they left another way to return to their own country. 

Do you ever wonder who these wise men were? They were the astronomers of their day and were sensitive to the Spirit of God. I wonder if we will get to meet them, and learn more about these kings, these mysterious Magi, the wise men from the east.
.

Oh let us seek Him and worship Him in joyous adoration!

Order prints of Searching for the King

This year I will put up weekly posts instead of daily, linking daily readings from previous posts:
This week is the son of God series beginning January 12th:

Adam, son of God

Jesus, Son of God

Jesus, Son of Abraham

Jesus, Son of David

Jesus, Son of God

Then on Sunday, January 18th we will transition from daily readings to twice weekly.
We will begin in Matthew 3 with the ministry of John the Baptist, 
then the early ministry of Jesus and move into the beatitudes. 

We hold this Treasure

Reading: 2 Corinthians 4:7, 

"But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, 

that the excellence of the power 
may be of God and not of us." 

"We now have this light shining in our hearts, 

but we ourselves are like fragile clay jars 

containing this great treasure. 

This makes it clear that our great power 
is from God, not from ourselves." 

2 Corinthians 4:7 NKJ & NLT

What treasure is this talking about? 

"For God, who said, 'Let there be light in the darkness,' 

has made this light shine in our hearts 

so we could know the glory of God 

that is seen in the face of Jesus Christ." 

4:6 NLT

This great treasure is the light that God put in our hearts allowing us "see" the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. We are like fragile clay jars that contain great treasure and great power from God! Wow amazing. Now I will tell you the Great Mystery of the ages that is found in Colossians:

"Christ in you, the hope of glory." 

Colossians 1:27 NKJ

This Great Mystery of the ages is Christ in you, the hope of glory. If Christ lives in us, it is like a guarantee that we will share in His glory some day. That's me and you, all who have Christ in their heart, we will share in His glory. The indwelling Christ is the greatest treasure in the entire Universe and to think that through His grace, we can have the privilege of Him dwelling in us, these little jars of clay, full of cracks and flaws. Even the great treasures of the world, the treasure of the Magi; can not compare to Immanuel, God with us, God within us! So much wealth has been given to us, how could we ever repay? The gift of the Magi, as impressive as it was, was just a token compared to the greatest gift ever given... God Himself as the sacrifice, to redeem and buy us back from the power of the evil one and to dwell, not in the Holy of Holies of a sacred temple, but in the hearts of those chosen by Him!

The Greatest treasure is You, Lord Jesus, 
dwelling IN me, a fragile clay jar!

Thank You, Lord

Who Purchased the Treasure?

Reading: Matt. 13:44, Acts 20:28, John 3:16, John 15:13,

"The Kingdom of Heaven is like a treasure that a man discovered hidden in a field.
In his excitement, he hid it again and sold everything he owned
to get enough money to buy the field".
Matthew 13:44 NLT

The treasure of the Kingdom is so amazing, that if we could just somehow comprehend the breadth of the wealth of the Kingdom; that we would sell every thing we have to possess the Kingdom. But there is another way to look at this. Consider that Jesus was the purchaser who gave His all to secure the Kingdom for us and to reconcile us to God. The book of Acts says  

"Feed and shepherd God's flock-His own church,  

purchased with His own blood." 

Acts 20:28 NLT  

In His own words:  

"For God loved the world so much that He gave His one and only Son,
so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life."
" There is no greater love than to lay down one's life for one's friends."
John 3:16, 15:13 NLT

Not only is the Kingdom worth all we have or could give; 

but Jesus gave His all to share the Kingdom with us. 

Thank You, Lord.

The Treasure is the Kingdom of Heaven

Sermon on the Mount = Carl Bloch

Reading: Matt. 13:44, Matt 6:19-34,
In the last post we looked at the treasure as the word of God and His treasure for us being that sense we have of "fearing" Him, being in awe of Him. As both David and Solomon said "the fear of God is the beginning of wisdom". It really is the fear of the Lord where we start in the beatitudes. In light of the glory of God, Who am I? This is what it means to be poor in spirit. It is when we consider the abundant riches of God that we recognize our own poverty and need for Him. Later in Matthew, Jesus told the following parable:

"The Kingdom of Heaven is like treasure hidden in a field,
which a man found and hid;
and for the joy over it
he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field."
Matt. 13:44 NKJ

When we put this parable on treasure with the treasure verses in the Sermon on the Mount, I believe we see what Jesus was pointing to:

"Do not lay up for yourselves treasure on earth... (which is not lasting), 

but lay up treasure in heaven... (eternal treasure) 

Wherever your treasure is, there the desires of your heart will also be...
no one can serve two masters... 

you can not serve both God and money. 

That is why I tell you not to worry about everyday life... 

Seek the Kingdom of God above all else and live righteously,
and He will give you everything you need."
Matt. 6:19-34 NKJ and NLT

Jesus' teachings are so simple in the truth they speak of and so far reaching into our lives as we seek to live them. In our American culture steeped in the material realm, it is difficult to navigate as a Christian with a love for God and a desire to live for Him. What does that mean for my life? My lifestyle? Where is my treasure? Is it centered in the eternal Kingdom of Heaven, the Kingdom of light or in the kingdom of this age, the kingdom of darkness? Ouch! The way we live our lives and our lifestyle seems so "normal". Where is my hearts desire? Is it centered directly into the Kingdom? Or is it something really good, but not best. As Olswald Chambers says in "My Utmost for His Highest" May 25:

"As soon as you begin to live the life of faith in God, fascinating and physically gratifying possibilities will open up before you. These things are yours by right, but if you are living the life of faith you will exercise your right to waive your rights, and let God make your choice for you. God sometimes allows you to get into a place of testing where your own welfare would be the appropriate thing to consider, if you were not living the life of faith. But if you are, you will joyfully waive your right and allow God to make your choice for you. This is the discipline God uses to transform the natural into the spiritual through obedience to His voice.

When ever our right becomes the guiding factor of our lives, it dulls our spiritual insight. The greatest enemy of the life of faith in God is not sin, but good choices that are not quite good enough. The good is always the enemy of the best." UT 5/25

I don't know how this plays out in your life. But I know that periodically we need to come before Him to see if we are really seeking His Kingdom first and truly living a life of faith before Him. This is such a time for me.

I hope this blesses you today. There is more treasure coming. I am in awe of the kindness of God toward us.

Searching for Treasure

Reading: Matt. 2:1-12, 6:19-24, Col. 3:1-16

As we celebrate Epiphany, let's look at the story of the Magi as they brought treasure to the baby Jesus. Here are some verses to set the stage:

Searching for the King- Michael Dudash  Click image on side bar to order

"Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem...wise men from the east came to Jerusalem, saying, 'Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we have seen His star in the east and have come to worship Him.'... And when they had come into the house, they saw the young Child with Mary His mother and fell down and worshiped Him. And when they had opened their treasures, they presented gifts to Him: gold, frankincense and myrrh." Matthew 2: 1-12 NKJ

These men brought rare, costly treasure to honor this King of the Jews that they worshiped. While this earth has beautiful, rare treasures; is there treasure that can not be seen in this realm and belongs to the Kingdom of God? When the Christ child grew up, here is what He said:

"Do not lay up for yourselves treasure on earth... but... treasures in heaven... For where your treasure is there your heart will be also." Matt. 6:21 NKJ

"Wherever your treasure is there the desires of your heart will also be." NLT

The words of Jesus are amazing, the simplest sentence can keep us intrigued for a lifetime as we grow in understanding of Him. What is this treasure in heaven that He speaks of? The Apostle Paul said to the church in Colossae:

"Since... you have been raised with Christ, set your heart on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things."  Col 3:1-4 NIV

Our focus, the desires of our heart are to be on interests of heaven. Where else can we find reference to heavenly treasure? David writes in Psalms:

"My heart stands in awe of Your word. 

I rejoice at Your word, as one who finds great treasure." 

Psalm 119:147,161 & 2, NKJ

Isaiah says:

"The fear of the Lord is His treasure."
Isa. 33:6 NKJ

Ah, here is the beginning of the treasure hunt. The search begins with fear of the Lord, awe of who He is. If we have this view of God it is treasure to behold... behold Him. We can "see" His handiwork in the created world and be amazed by Him. It is in the word of God that we find the greatest treasure of who He is and His grand design for us.

Be Blessed today and we will dig up more in the days to follow.

Beginning's

Today's Reading: John 1:1-5, Genesis 1,

Happy New Year!!! It is so nice to have a time of reflection over our life for the past year and then look forward to a brand new year... like a new journal, with blank pages just waiting to be written on. It is a time to start fresh, to consider what can be different, what can change, new hopes and new dreams. It is a time of new beginnings and I thought it fitting to just put up verses from the word of God about beginnings. Enjoy His glorious creation and our beginnings.

"In the beginning was the Word,
and the Word was with God,
and the Word was God.
He was in the beginning with God.
All things were made through Him,
and without Him nothing was made that was made.
In Him was life and the life was the light of men.
The light shines in the darkness,
and the darkness did not comprehend it."
John 1:1,2




"In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.
The earth was without form, and void;
and darkness was on the face of deep.
And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.
Then God said, 'Let there be light' and there was light.
And God saw the light, that it was good;
and God divided the light from the darkness...
Then God said, 'Let Us make man in Our image,
according to Our likeness;
let them have dominion... over all the earth...
So God created man in His own image;
in the image of God He created them."
Genesis 1:1-28

Jesus, the Word was in the beginning with God. Glory to the Majestic Creator of the Heavens and the Earth!

Earth is unique among planets in it's position with in the solar system and even the galaxy. It is the only planet known that can sustain life. It is as though God created an entire universe to place us, the humans He created after His own likeness.

So great is His love for us!

A Time of Renewal

Welcome as we begin a whole new year! 

This time of year is wonderful because it is a time of renewal... a time to set aside the mistakes of the past and look ahead to a fresh start. It is the dawn of a whole new year. Renewal is the very essence of the gospel of Christ. What Paul said to the Corinthians ine 5:17 is especially fitting:

"... if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: 

old things are passed away; behold all things are become new." KJV

The New Living Translation says it this way:

"...anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. 

The old life is gone; a new life has begun."

At the start of the new year, many people make a resolution to read their Bibles. Some commit to read the entire Bible in a year, an excellent, but very ambitious undertaking. I have found a The One Year Bible, which has the entire New Living Translation arranged in 365 Daily Readings. What is great about this is it's flexibility! Every day you read from the Old Testament, from the New, Psalms and Proverbs. You can commit to read it all or a portion, say OT one year and NT the next, etc. Plus you can break it up through out the day, depending on your schedule... say Psalms first thing in the morning, then OT or NT at Breakfast, Lunch, or evening and Proverbs for family dinner time discussion. I am hoping to get an audio Bible to listen to portions of the plan as I do my tasks through out the day.

For the Journey with Jesus blog, we will pick up where we left off with the Christmas story and begin with the ministry of John the Baptist and then the new ministry of Jesus found in chapters 3 and 4 of both Matthew and Luke. Following that we will look at the Beatitudes as a preparation for Passion Week. Blessings ~ Sheri