The Man Christ Jesus
When we study Scripture, we’re not only learning about how we should act as Christians, but also how we should think. We are always learning more about God as well as the world around us.
Learning how to think well about God and others is important as we seek to live faithfully according to God’s Word. Scripture guides and orients our thinking towards God’s thoughts about us and the world.
It is common in culture to believe that all religions and paths of life lead to the same place. But, we must go to Scripture to assess all truth that we hear.
In 1 Timothy 2:5, Paul tells Timothy that there is only one mediator between God and mankind. That means that there is only one access point to beginning a relationship with God and being connected to Him. The one mediator is Jesus.
Because Jesus is the only one who is both God and man, He is the only one who can make a way for us back to God. Thus, not all religions lead to God, but only one with Jesus as the center of it all.
It is Jesus who makes the whole plan of God possible. Without Him, we are left without a mediator to bring us back to God. As Christians, we are entrusted with this truth. It is this truth that changes our lives forever.
“And there was given me a reed like unto a rod: and the angel stood, saying, Rise, and measure the temple of God, and the altar, and them that worship therein. But the court which is without the temple leave out, and measure it not; for it is given unto the Gentiles: and the holy city shall they tread under foot forty and two months. And I will give power unto my two witnesses, and they shall prophesy a thousand two hundred and threescore days, clothed in sackcloth. These are the two olive trees, and the two candlesticks standing before the God of the earth. And if any man will hurt them, fire proceedeth out of their mouth, and devoureth their enemies: and if any man will hurt them, he must in this manner be killed. These have power to shut heaven, that it rain not in the days of their prophecy: and have power over waters to turn them to blood, and to smite the earth with all plagues, as often as they will. And when they shall have finished their testimony, the beast that ascendeth out...
God’s Rhythm to Bless Us
Humans have a complicated relationship with rules. Even as small children, we struggle to understand the “why” behind them.
Consider how parents teach children to brush their teeth, reminding them morning and night. That child might only appreciate the chore years later, as they grow into adults and experience expensive and uncomfortable dental work. It’s then that a dull tooth-brushing routine feels valuable. What a shift in perspective!
We weren’t made to serve a strict toothbrushing schedule, but toothbrushing was made to serve us to help maintain healthy teeth.
Jesus brings similar wisdom and perspective to the expectation of taking a regular day of rest (Sabbath). The Jews knew that God was insistent on Sabbath observance, but they almost thought of it as if it were a chore. Jesus reminds them that people weren’t made for the Sabbath, but the Sabbath was created for people by God to provide much-needed rest.
Sabbath rest is God’s rhythm to ...