Coming Face to Face with Jesus Christ

The apostle Paul did a 180° turn in the course of his life. He met Jesus Christ on the road to Damascus.The meeting utterly changed him. The strong, bold confrontational Saul was transformed. He had been the Hebrew of the Hebrews, learned in the scriptures of the Old Testament and a rising religious star. In a moment of time, he realized he had been so wrong. Out of his imperfection, God brought him true righteousness. He became a follower of God's son.

The birth of Christ happens over and over again in individual people's lives. It is not confined to a day.  Amidst all the hoopla and whirl of the world, there is a message to be reminded of as to what Jesus Christ means to anyones life. Jesus Christ life brings us to the true peace that can only come from God. God perfect love is manifested in his son to also draw others to Him.

14 Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men. Luke 2:14

Believing

Ephesians 3:20 is a super-charged verse!

20 Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us, Ephesians 3:20

Our minds are limited.  God's thinking is not! Believing is really not something we push our minds harder and harder to gain.  Believing is trust; it is loving God and knowing that he is with you. The grace of believing is that it is ours, to be confident that God can go way farther than our limited expectations. He is bigger than our minds; he is bigger than our works.

Believing is based on love. You just have to know how much God loves you.  'Power working in us' is energized by His love. In reality, the more I soak my head in the word especially on the topic of love, the more I can believe. I want that energy from God.  It changes the way I perceive what's going on around me. I can love so much better when I am tapped into God's love. True peace is the natural  result for all involved.

There was a time in my life that I worked so hard to please God.  It took growth and understanding to see how futile that was. When we love God, we let him work. We listen and allow him to inspire us and then carry out what he puts on our heart to do.  Keeping the trustful peace and guarding it like a great treasure is our goal.  Stress, pressure and achievement are not part of the formula.  God's ability is involved and that's a no brainer. However, we live in a world where there are forces that deny God and his love. Just as in the beginning, in the garden of Eden, the opposition to God constantly calls to question the existence of God and his promises.  God's willingness is just as real as the evidence that exists for God's ability.  God's willingness is seen throughout the Old and New Testaments!

I can do all things

There are millions of memes found throughout the pages of FaceBook. A meme to FaceBook users is like a 'quotable quote',  a seemingly wise saying that brings a quick point of inspiration to our minds. It is a good idea to think about the thought each one is transmitting. Is is really based on God's Word which will bring the effective results or is it like candy filled with sugar that seems sweet but actually promotes thinking that is empty.

As I continued to study the Word, I'm pretty sure I made memes out of key verses of the Bible. The context surrounding key verses should never be taken lightly when anyone quotes a singular verse. The context can change the whole meaning of a verse.   Philippians 4:13 is a good example.

13 I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me. Philippians 4:13

It's a magnificent verse, but it can be taken the wrong way that a believer can do anything he wants and God will empower him. When we lift verses out of context, we have to be careful.  This verse can sound like we can accomplish anything because we have Christ in us.  If we read verse 13, we need to look at the verses leading up to it.

10 But I rejoiced in the Lord greatly, that now at the last your care of me hath flourished again; wherein ye were also careful, but ye lacked opportunity.11 Not that I speak in respect of want: for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content.12 I know both how to be abased, and I know how to abound: every where and in all things I am instructed both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need. Philippians 4: 10-12

Paul made the point that that it is 'whatsoever state' a believer finds himself that he can be content. It is interesting that both sides are shown, abasing AND abounding, being full AND being hungry, abound AND suffer need. Both sides show learning, knowing how and instruction.

The greatest thing  a person can learn is to trust God in any situation. Contentment is a pretty low commodity in today's world.  We are always in a fight to root out seeds of discontentment in response to negative things that present themselves. Not only do negative things impact us but prosperity can  also affect us in the wrong way. We are challenged  in both directions. It is through the risen Christ we find true contentment in dealing with life and keeping our minds balanced.