Jesus is Active in 2020
Today I want to continue our desire to see who God is and how we are to lean upon Him. While 2020 is coming to a close, we as Christians need to recognize the need for our focus to stay on who Jesus Christ is. Who is this Jesus Christ that we have? While a simple question it is profoundly important for us who are saved to remember. Oswald Chambers in his work “My Utmost For His Highest” wrote, “Today He is being portrayed as the figurehead of a religion- mere example. He is that, but He is infinitely more. He is salvation itself; He is the gospel of God!” Today many people try to persuade us or even demand that we recognize Jesus Christ as only a religious icon. However, to the believer He is more than just a religious icon, He is the very foundation we are reliant upon. It is because of His Spirit we are able to be different today, “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.” We know that Christ came to this earth to save those who would accept Him, Paul in 1 Timothy 1:14-15 states, “and the grace of our Lord was more than abundant, with the faith and love which are found in Christ Jesus. 15 It is a trustworthy statement, deserving full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, among whom I am foremost.” Nevertheless, we see that Christ is still working in us, “For this reason He is the mediator of a new covenant, so that, since a death has taken place for the redemption of the transgressions that were committed under the first convenient, those who have been called may receive the promise of the eternal inheritance.” Hebrews 9:15.
Christ is still our mediator, He is still our protector, and He is still our Rock! This is important to understand due to the times we live in. Turning on the news you might think we have been abandoned, that we are living in the season that the Bible describes as the worst in human history. However, that couldn’t be further from the truth. For those who are found in Christ, we are neither lost nor forgotten, but rather found and held tightly in His grasp. As the season called Jacob’s trouble does show up, we must stay focused on the promises of God and know as Revelation 3:10 states, “because you have kept the word of my perseverance, I also will keep you from the hour of testing.” We who are in Christ are promised in Revelation to dine as the Bride of Christ to the groom who is Christ Himself, “will dine with him and he with Me.” Revelation 3:20.
Now what does this mean? How are we to take the “So what” factor out of knowing that Christ is still in control and active in our lives? The answer is simply stated by Henry T. Blackaby in his book “Experiencing God Day by Day,” “the fundamental premise of Christianity is that God knows what is best, better than we do. When we are experiencing God’s blessing, it is easy to believe that God knows what is best. But when God allows sickness and sorrow in our lives, we may be tempted to question His wisdom.” Today, especially during the turmoil of 2020, we might be tempted to allow mans strength to be our false sense of security, “Human strength is a strong deterrent to trusting in Christ. When we rely on our own strength, resources, and knowledge, we assume we can handle situations without help from God. We tend to divide problems into two categories: problems that we know require God’s help and problems we think we can handle on our own.” It is apparent that Christians today are falling into depression and failing to rely on Jesus Christ in mass numbers. Instead of staying true to what the Bible holds, we are taking our stance on man’s own strength. Unfortunately, this is the wrong answer to dealing with 2020, we should lean on Christ and understand that He is actively working. We must keep our actions sufficiently on Jesus and listen intently on what He has called us to do. No matter where you find yourself in this world, God has ordained us with inalienable rights to which we are to uphold. As Christians, we need to share the gospel with whomever is willing to listen and uphold what Christ has actively called us to. I would make the argument that 2020, while nearing the end, still has some surprises left for us. How exciting is it, knowing those who are in Jesus Christ can ride through any turmoil that might dare to come at us.
Hold until relieved, our Blessed Hope is coming
JL