Jesus also, that he might sanctify the people with his own blood, suffered outside the gate. Therefore, let us go forth to him outside the camp, bearing his reproach. For we have no continuing city here, but we seek one to come.
Select a thought to read by choosing a collection, the month, and then the day:
Good morning!
I just wanted to say how good the TFM is on Being Reconciled. When I was reading in Brother Oral Roberts’ autobiography last week, he made a statement toward the beginning that told as a young boy how he looked at God and Jesus. He said he always thought that God was way up high, so high he couldn’t be touched. He saw God as the one who punishes and as a hard God, and Jesus was the friend and the healer, as many people see God today. Later on, when he was almost 30 years old, in preparation for the anointing that God was getting ready to pour on him, the Spirit told him to read the 4 Gospels and the book of Acts 3 times consecutively and you will “see Jesus as I see him.” And, he did that immediately.
While I was reading about him being prepared for the anointing, I was caught up in the things God was doing with him. He began to describe how he was seeing Jesus. “Jesus enjoyed the flowers and the trees, the rivers. He loved people. He was concerned with ‘hurt things’, he responded to the tears of children and adults. He hated sin, but loved the sinner. He hated sickness, but loved the sick. He hated fear, yet loved the fearful. The Jesus he was seeing loved the sunshine, sang through the throats of birds, shouted through the happiness of whole people. He made merry with little children, healing and blessing them. He met lepers in the fields and cleansed them, touched scaly eyes of the blind and sightless eyes came open.” (And those are just a few of the things he wrote about.)
Then, I read this, “Jesus tried to show them what God is really like. He tried to explain how God wanted them to be. He brought to man the glorious personality of God translated into human terms so all could receive and understand. ‘If you have seen me, you have seen the Father’. What I am He is; what He is, I am showing you.” When I read this, “if you have seen me, you have seen the Father”, it struck my heart and the Spirit spoke to me and said, “Jesus was the mediator for God too”. I had always thought that Jesus was the mediator for us, looking up at him.
This changed my way of thinking so that I can see God as He is. He is not way up there, untouchable. He is very touchable. It brought Him down to being beside me, instead of way up there somewhere sitting on the throne and giving orders. I thought about Brother Mark’s testimony when he said that God is love. Love is a feeling that came from God. All those feelings came from God and were manifest through his Son Jesus because that is who God is. That is where they came from. Jesus was the mediator for God on this earth because God could not physically come down here and be with us. What love God has for us that he gave his only Son. And then, reading the TFM on being reconciled. . . . You can go back all through history (Old and New Testament) and see God’s love for us. He really loves us more than we know, and we are finding out! So much so that He put that love in us so He could be with us all the time. He has given everything. And, in return, he asked that we just repent and love him and turn from our evil ways. What a wonderful God!!!!
Amy B