Bible League: Living His Word "So go and make followers of all people in the world."— Matthew 28:19 ERV Jesus has a pretty good bio. I wonder if that phrase has ever been spoken. If so, whoever said it was either crazy, lacking in intelligence or was spiritually blind. Jesus doesn't have a "pretty good" bio. He has the best bio of all time... without a doubt. Jesus Christ was born in a small town named Bethlehem (not Pennsylvania). His parents, Joseph and Mary, loved and served God. A carpenter, like his dad, he liked to work with His hands and build things for people. He was a precocious child who was known, on occasion, to come across to others as a "know it all." Some say that it comes as no surprise since He really did know it all. Also known for talking about Himself quite a bit, Christ was never wrong in doing so. We often fault others for talking about themselves. But with this man, it was actually a virtue! He talked about Himself a lot and remained the most humble and kind person ever. He made many remarkable claims. One of His greatest claims was that He claimed to be God. He said things like: "I and the Father are one" (John 10:30). "I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me" (John 14:6). "Whoever has seen me has seen the Father" (John 14:9). Not just anyone can get away with making claims like that. A true people-person, Jesus loved everyone who ever lived. He has more friends than anyone who has ever walked the earth. And He is always open to more friendships with whomever would like to be His friend. He enjoys knowing anyone and everyone. He even likes to hang out with people who might be rejected by many in society... ex-cons, bikers, prostitutes, drug dealers, etc. And He loves for His friends to tell their friends about Him so He can have even more friends! He likely has the largest friend-group ever. What a man! A well-known author, Jesus is credited with the writing of the Bible, #1 best-selling book in the history of the world. No small accomplishment. Known as a man of prayer, Jesus is said to have received historical answers to prayer, and most notably, He brought a man back from the dead in answer to one of His prayers. Can you believe this guy!?! There's nobody else like Him. One of the things He is most widely known for is that He died and paid for the sins of the world, a tremendous feat which nobody else has ever been able to accomplish or ever will. A shock and a surprise to many, one day, He beat death by rising from the dead. And then, to top that, He later ascended into heaven. Remarkable! Obviously, Jesus' life is unmatched. We've only touched the surface. It would take volumes to record His innumerable accomplishments and impactful statements. Jesus has a powerful and wonderful bio with a great ending. He will live forever, as will every single one of His friends! He just wants us to help Him make more friends. Follow Him and tell others about Him. By Chaney Rader, Bible League International Staff, USA Bible in a Year Old Testament ReadingPsalm 119:105-176 Psalm 119 -- Blessed are those whose ways are blameless NIV NLT ESV NAS GWT KJV ASV ERV DRB New Testament Reading 1 Corinthians 5 1 Corinthians 5 -- Expel the Wicked Man NIV NLT ESV NAS GWT KJV ASV ERV DRB Reading Plan Courtesy of Christian Classics Etherial Library. Tyndale Life Application Daily Devotion Before the Passover celebration, Jesus knew that his hour had come to leave this world and return to his Father. He had loved his disciples during his ministry on earth, and now he loved them to the very end.Insight Jesus knew he would be betrayed by one of his disciples, disowned by another, and deserted by all of them for a time. Still, he “loved them to the very end.” God knows us completely, as Jesus knew his disciples. Challenge He knows the sins we have committed and the ones we will yet commit. Still, he loves us. How do you respond to that kind of love? Morning and Evening by Spurgeon Isaiah 65:19 The voice of weeping shall be no more heard.The glorified weep no more, for all outward causes of grief are gone. There are no broken friendships, nor blighted prospects in heaven. Poverty, famine, peril, persecution, and slander, are unknown there. No pain distresses, no thought of death or bereavement saddens. They weep no more, for they are perfectly sanctified. No "evil heart of unbelief" prompts them to depart from the living God; they are without fault before his throne, and are fully conformed to his image. Well may they cease to mourn who have ceased to sin. They weep no more, because all fear of change is past. They know that they are eternally secure. Sin is shut out, and they are shut in. They dwell within a city which shall never be stormed; they bask in a sun which shall never set; they drink of a river which shall never dry; they pluck fruit from a tree which shall never wither. Countless cycles may revolve, but eternity shall not be exhausted, and while eternity endures, their immortality and blessedness shall co-exist with it. They are forever with the Lord. They weep no more, because every desire is fulfilled. They cannot wish for anything which they have not in possession. Eye and ear, heart and hand, judgment, imagination, hope, desire, will, all the faculties, are completely satisfied; and imperfect as our present ideas are of the things which God hath prepared for them that love him, yet we know enough, by the revelation of the Spirit, that the saints above are supremely blessed. The joy of Christ, which is an infinite fulness of delight, is in them. They bathe themselves in the bottomless, shoreless sea of infinite beatitude. That same joyful rest remains for us. It may not be far distant. Ere long the weeping willow shall be exchanged for the palm-branch of victory, and sorrow's dewdrops will be transformed into the pearls of everlasting bliss. "Wherefore comfort one another with these words." Daily Light on the Daily Path Jeremiah 31:3 The LORD appeared to him from afar, saying, "I have loved you with an everlasting love; Therefore I have drawn you with lovingkindness.2 Thessalonians 2:13,14 But we should always give thanks to God for you, brethren beloved by the Lord, because God has chosen you from the beginning for salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and faith in the truth. • It was for this He called you through our gospel, that you may gain the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. 2 Timothy 1:9 who has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace which was granted us in Christ Jesus from all eternity, Psalm 139:16 Your eyes have seen my unformed substance; And in Your book were all written The days that were ordained for me, When as yet there was not one of them. John 3:16 "For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life. 1 John 4:10 In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins. New American Standard Bible Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation, La Habra, Calif. All rights reserved. For Permission to Quote Information visit http://www.lockman.org. |
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