Tag Archives: Jesus is God

Charles Stanley – The Priority of Prayer

Read | Luke 5:15-16

Have you ever forgone your daily prayer time, thinking, I am just too busy to pray today?Whenever we surrender quiet time for something else, we are making a statement about our priorities. It is a not-so-subtle way of saying, “Jesus, my calendar is more important to me than You are today. I’ll have to catch up with You later.”

We all do this on occasion, don’t we? Skipping prayer now and then is all too easy because, since we know the Lord is always there, we figure we can make up the time later. It’s as though we have taken God’s eternal, indwelling presence for granted with the thought, The Lord will still be here tomorrow, but I’ve got to get this done today!

What we fail to realize is that our quiet time with God is what empowers us to face the challenges of the day. Therefore, the busier our day, the more time we should spend in prayer preparing for it!

The Bible clearly shows that Jesus Himself protected His private time with the Father. I cannot imagine any person having more on his mind, having more things to do, or being in greater demand than Jesus. And yet the times when He was busiest are the times we see Him pulling away from the crowds in order to pray.

Is prayer the first thing you cut from your daily agenda when the schedule fills up? Protect that time every day at all costs. Remember, Jesus is God; if He considered prayer necessary to prepare for His busiest days, then it is an absolute essential for the rest of us

Campus Crusade for Christ; Bill Bright – He’s in the Midst

dr_bright

“For where two or three gather together because they are Mine, I will be right there among them” (Matthew 18:20).

What better proof is there of the fact that Jesus is God, that He is omnipresent? As you and I gather with our little groups – whether two or three, or 200 – Jesus is there in the midst. And at the same time that wonderful promise applies to similar groups in Africa, Israel, China and anywhere else!

This general assertion is made to support the particular promise made to his apostles in verse 19. Those who meet in His name can be sure He is among them.

An omniscient, omnipotent God – and His Son Jesus Christ – are omnipresent (everywhere present at the same time)! What a glorious truth! Let your imagination soar: among the Masai tribe in Kenya, Africa, or the Quechua Indians in Ecuador – if they are meeting in that name which is above every name, even Jesus Christ our Lord, He is right there meeting with them.

Equally important, you and one or two friends meeting together in His name can have the assurance that He is right there meeting with you as well. And you can feel His presence – especially as you acknowledge the fact that He is there and begin to worship Him for who and what He is.

Joy of joys, God and Jesus Christ who meet with missionaries and national believers on the field and with church leaders in their councils also meet with you and me today.

Bible Reading: Acts 20:32-38

TODAY’S ACTION POINT: I will look for new opportunities to invoke His presence in my midst by fellowshipping with other believers in His name.

Charles Stanley – Was Jesus Christ Really God?

Charles Stanley

John 1:1-18

The divinity of Jesus Christ is one of the most controversial issues facing every human being. It is also the most critical. Our faith hangs in the balance on this question.

There are many who say they believe in Jesus and in God, but do not think that Jesus is God. They believe many good things about Him, however. They accept Him as a teacher. They marvel at Him as a healer. They revere Him as a philosopher, revolutionary, and social reformer. And yet, they cannot—or rather will not—accept Him as Lord.

I want to be crystal clear on this matter. You can believe all of these wonderful things about Jesus. You can go so far as to laud Him as a prophet sent by almighty God. But if you do not accept that He is one with God—the Savior who died for your sins—then you do not know Him at all.

Now, you may have heard people argue that Jesus Himself never actually claimed to be God. This is simply not true. Time and again in the Gospels, Jesus places Himself on equal footing with the Father and the Holy Spirit (John 10:30; 14:6-14). The truth is, if Jesus was not truly God’s Son, then as C. S. Lewis observed, He was either a lunatic or the world’s most detestable liar.

If you’re the least bit uncertain about this eternal question, don’t let another minute pass before taking steps to figure out the answer. Take the time to examine the Gospels. Talk to your pastor or believing friends. Settle for yourself the life-changing question, “Was Jesus Christ really God?”

Max Lucado – Was Jesus Christ Really God?

Max Lucado

John 1:1-18

The divinity of Jesus Christ is one of the most controversial issues facing every human being. It is also the most critical. Our faith hangs in the balance on this question.

There are many who say they believe in Jesus and in God, but do not think that Jesus is God. They believe many good things about Him, however. They accept Him as a teacher. They marvel at Him as a healer. They revere Him as a philosopher, revolutionary, and social reformer. And yet, they cannot—or rather will not—accept Him as Lord.

I want to be crystal clear on this matter. You can believe all of these wonderful things about Jesus. You can go so far as to laud Him as a prophet sent by almighty God. But if you do not accept that He is one with God—the Savior who died for your sins—then you do not know Him at all.

Now, you may have heard people argue that Jesus Himself never actually claimed to be God. This is simply not true. Time and again in the Gospels, Jesus places Himself on equal footing with the Father and the Holy Spirit (John 10:30; 14:6-14). The truth is, if Jesus was not truly God’s Son, then as C. S. Lewis observed, He was either a lunatic or the world’s most detestable liar.

If you’re the least bit uncertain about this eternal question, don’t let another minute pass before taking steps to figure out the answer. Take the time to examine the Gospels. Talk to your pastor or believing friends. Settle for yourself the life-changing question, “Was Jesus Christ really God?”

 

Greg Laurie – Tear Bottle       

greglaurie

He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away. —Revelation 21:4

Jesus is God, with all the attributes of Deity. But He is also the Son of Man, who feels our pains and our sorrows. Isaiah 53 reminds us, “He was despised and rejected . . . a Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief” (verse 3). The passage goes on to say, “Yet it was our weaknesses he carried; it was our sorrows that weighed him down” (verse 4, NLT).

He not only carried your sin, He carried your sorrow. We’re told in Psalm 56:8, “You have seen me tossing and turning through the night. You have collected all my tears and preserved them in your bottle! You have recorded every one in your book” (TLB).

On a tour of Israel a number of years ago, I was exploring the old city of Jerusalem with my sons, Christopher and Jonathan. At one point in our ramblings, we stopped at an antiquities store, and I noticed a number of little bottles in various sizes and shapes. I asked the shopkeeper, “Sir, what are these bottles for?”

“Oh,” he said, “those are Roman tear bottles.”

“What were they used for?” I asked.

“Well, the Romans believed that when a loved one dies, you need to keep your tears in a bottle. So they would store the tears in these little containers.”

I have a tear bottle now. But it isn’t on earth; it’s in heaven. And I’m not the one who has to collect my own tears because God has already said He would do that.

So why does God keep our tears in a bottle? Because He sees and cares about every one of them. He takes note of our every tear. He hears our every sigh. And the Bible says that a day is coming when God will wipe away all of the tears from all of our years.

Today’s devotional is an excerpt from Every Day with Jesus by Greg Laurie, 2013