Jesus, the Champion

“A wonder of a Counselor, a divine Hero, a Father for all time, a peaceful Prince! Great is His authority, Endless is His peace.” Isaiah 9:6-7 (Moffatt Translation)

Jesus is the Champion of all champions…no one comes close! All His titles are eternal…He has always held them, and no one in heaven or on earth has ever taken them away…no one ever will. His throne, His greatness, His glory, His dominion, His authority, and His kingdom are settled forever. Leave all with Him, place all before Him, trust all to Him.

A wonder of a Counselor: place yourself at His feet, hear His words, follow His wisdom, go with His plan, yield to His strategy. Do not set any limits upon what He can say to you.

A divine Hero: What a King! Warrior. Victor. Conqueror. Captain. Lord. Master. Without flaw or weakness. Clothed with glory. Crowned with majesty. Do not set any limits upon what He can do for you.

A Father for all time: He is the best. Kindest. Truest. He is full of compassion. Grace. Mercy. Loving kindness. Draw close to Him. Learn of Him. Walk with Him. He is always the same. Forever faithful. Do not set any limits upon what He can be to you.

A peaceful Prince: He is Peace. Perfect peace. He is the peace giver and He is the One who keeps you in perfect peace. He can use you as His peace maker in a restless and troubled world. Do not set any limits upon what He can do through you.

By Roy Lessin

 

A New Creature

“As it is written, there is none righteous, no, not one: There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God. They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one” (Romans 3:10-12, KJV).

At the conclusion of one of my messages at a pastor’s conference, a pastor stood to take issue with me concerning a statement that I had made. I had said that there is a great hunger for God throughout the world, and that more people are now hearing the gospel and receiving Christ than at any time since the Great Commission was given almost 2,000 years ago.

“How can you say that,” he objected, “when the Scripture clearly teaches that no man seeketh after God?”

“That is exactly what the Bible teaches,” I responded, “and I agree with the Word of God 100 percent, but do not forget that – though in his natural inclination man does not have a hunger for God – the Holy Spirit sends conviction and creates within the human heart a desire for the Savior.”

As Jesus put it, “No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me, draws him” (John 6:44, NAS). There are three things that we can learn about the human race from this passage. First, no one is righteous. Second, no one understands the things of God; and third, no one seeks God. What a contrast between what man is like in his natural state and what man becomes at spiritual birth when he is liberated from the darkness and gloom of Satan’s kingdom and ushered into the light of God’s glorious kingdom through Jesus Christ. That man becomes a new creature. Old things are passed away and behold all things become new.

What a contrast between the natural and the supernatural. The natural man must depend upon his own resources, his own wisdom, to find meaning and purpose in his life, inevitably resulting in a life of conflict, discord and frustration. But the one who trusts in God has the privilege of drawing upon the supernatural resources of God daily; resources of joy, peace, love; resources that provide meaning and purpose, assurance of eternal life.

Most people live lives of quiet desperation in self- imposed poverty because those of us who know the truth of the supernatural are strangely silent. God forgive us.

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Bible Reading: Romans 3:13-20

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TODAY’S ACTION POINT: With God’s help I refuse to remain silent any longer, but will seek to proclaim “the most joyful news ever announced” (Luke 2:10-11), to all who will listen in order that others may join me in living the supernatural life.

David, The Psalmist

2 Samuel 23:1

Among all the saints whose lives are recorded in Holy Scripture, David possesses an experience of the most striking, varied, and instructive character. In his history we meet with trials and temptations that are not found, as a whole, in other saints of ancient times, and as a result he provides us with a shadowy picture of our Lord. David knew the trials of all ranks and conditions of men. Kings have their troubles, and David wore a crown. The peasant has his cares, and David handled a shepherd’s crook. The wanderer has many hardships, and David hid in the caves of Engedi. The captain has his difficulties, and David found the sons of Zeruiah too hard for him.

The psalmist also faced trials from his friends; his counselor Ahithophel forsook him: “[He] who ate my bread, has lifted his heel against me.”¹ His worst foes came from his own household: His children were his greatest affliction. The temptations of poverty and wealth, of honor and reproach, of health and weakness all tried their power upon him. He had temptations from without to disturb his peace and from within to mar his joy. David no sooner escaped from one trial than he fell into another, no sooner emerged from one season of despondency and alarm than he was again brought into the lowest depths and all God’s waves and billows rolled over him. This is probably the reason that David’s psalms are so universally the delight of experienced Christians. Whatever our frame of mind, whether ecstasy or depression, David has exactly described our emotions. He was an able master of the human heart because he had been tutored in the best of all schools-the school of heartfelt, personal experience.

As we are instructed in the same school, as we grow mature in grace and in years, we increasingly appreciate David’s psalms and find them to be “green pastures.”² My soul, let David’s experience cheer and counsel you today.

¹Psalm 41:9
²Psalm 23:2

 

Family Bible reading plan

• 1 Samuel 12
• Romans 10