He's Been There
In the book of Hebrews, the writer paints a vivid portrait of Jesus' humanity:
“In the days of his flesh, Jesus offered up prayers and supplications, with loud cries and tears, to him who was able to save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverence” (Hebrews 5:7-8 ESV).
“In the days of His flesh …”
Picture it: Jesus, fully God and fully human in the flesh, intimately connected with human emotion and experience.
Jesus wasn’t a distant deity untouched by the struggles of human existence while on earth. He lived it. He experienced the deepest joys and sorrows of life.
Maybe today, you find yourself in the depths of sadness or in the middle of a difficult trial. Remember, Jesus has been there, too. The writer of Hebrews wrote this to remind you that Christ wept then the same as you do today and to remind you that you are not alone in your pain, sorrow, and suffering.
Your Savior, who walked the same path you do, yet without sin and with great hope, stands ready to carry your burdens.
So today, what if you allow God to hear your raw emotions, doubts, and fears that you’ve been carrying? What if you bring it all to Him? What if, like Jesus, you trust God to save your soul and tell others how to find salvation?
A Unifying Mission
Almost every successful company or group in history has shared something in common: they all had a unifying mission.
Missions are critical in not only aligning objectives, but also unifying a large group of people toward one purpose.
As Christians, we all share the same mission. We are unified in following Christ. We're saved by His blood (Romans 5:9) and we're all called to make disciples in His name (Matthew 28:19).
And yet, even among Christians, there is so much division and disunity.
Part of the division comes from our lack of clarity and commitment to the mission that is defined in Scripture. And to make it worse, we are sinful people, and sin naturally causes division in our lives and relationships.
But, the Psalmist in Psalm 133:1 reflects on how good it is when the people of God live together in unity. There is something powerful that happens among Christians when we are unified.
Unity is not putting away our differences, because there would be no need to be ...