So that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. (Philippians 2:10-11 ESV)
Sunday we continued in week-28 of our series, The Gospel. If you missed last week’s message, you can catch up on Facebook now.
As a follower of Jesus, there are two extremes that I’ve seen people draw towards when it comes to their thinking and understanding of God. The first is an understanding that focuses on His holiness and righteousness, while neglecting the grace and mercy of God. The other is an understanding that focuses on the grace and mercy, while neglecting the perfection and justice of God. Both of these ways of understanding are incomplete and unbalanced.
The Scripture says this about Jesus: For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. (John 1:17 ESV) As we’ve made our way through chapter eight of our study in Luke, we’ve seen the power and authority of Jesus. We are reminded that nothing we face is beyond His power to deliver us from or through. We see that Jesus has authority over creation, the forces of evil, sickness, and even death. This type of authority should instill a reverential, Biblical fear of God.
Right in the midst of the incredible authority Jesus displays, His compassion and mercy shine through. Jesus showed compassion and gave attention to those in authority and those who were rejected and outcast. The authority and love of Christ changed the lives of both His disciples, and even gentiles. The life changing love and power of Christ was not (and is not) limited to a person based on their ethnicity, sex, position, background, or their past.
As we move on from chapter-8, it is my sincere hope that you would see that when Jesus shows up, everything changes. For those of us who trust and know Jesus as Lord, we should humbly remember that Jesus is present in our lives. He is aware of the trials we are facing. More than that, Jesus has compassion and cares about us in the midst of what we are facing.
The disciples frantically woke Jesus up in the midst of their storm. The demon possessed man bowed in fearful expectation before Jesus. The ruler of the synagogue threw himself at Jesus feet in desperation. The woman with the issue of blood desperately reached out to touch Jesus in faith. The bottom line is that no matter what these people were facing, they came to Jesus. When they came, they experienced both the power and compassion of God! Oh dear brothers and sisters… may we come!
“We can ignore even pleasure. But pain insists upon being attended to. God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks in our conscience, but shouts in our pains: it is his megaphone to rouse a deaf world.” -C.S. Lewis
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