The Reality of Jesus

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Scripture:

1John 1:1   We declare to you what was from the beginning, what we have heard, what we have seen with our eyes, what we have looked at and touched with our hands, concerning the word of life—  2 this life was revealed, and we have seen it and testify to it, and declare to you the eternal life that was with the Father and was revealed to us—  3 we declare to you what we have seen and heard so that you also may have fellowship with us; and truly our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ.  4 We are writing these things so that our joy may be complete.

Observation:

John was an eye-witness to the life of Jesus Christ. He had survived longer than any other disciple and had watched as the good news of Jesus had spread. The story of Jesus was not some distant message that he had heard, but rather he had experienced living life with Jesus first-hand. He understood that the good news of Jesus was to be transformative in the lives of all those who encountered him, even now, through the written gospel. And yet, the written gospel was to reveal the real Gospel. Jesus was and is real, and our lives are to be a living testimony that can be seen, heard and touched. This is the reality that touches the lives of others and produces great joy in the life of a disciple.

Application:

The reality of Jesus will only be experienced by others when our lives becoming living testimonies to the risen Lord.

I’m afraid that I rarely run into people these days who seem passionate about sharing Jesus with the world around them. There is great interest in personal spirituality but it doesn’t often seem to bring folks to a point of boiling passion for those around them that don’t know Christ. This was not true when it came to John. He loved Jesus dearly, but his love for Jesus drove him to encounters with others in which he presented his experiences with Jesus in a desire for them to know him too. This is what brought John great joy and ought to bring us great joy as well.

Today we will encounter people who may never have heard about Jesus. Only through us will they have the opportunity to see, hear and touch him. The reality of Jesus will be seen in you. Go and be a living expression of the reality of Jesus in the world today.

Prayer:

Lord, may my heart be filled with joy in serving you.  Amen.


Thank you to Nazarene Publishing House and Keri Mitchell for helping to create and publish Reflecting the Image. This is not a devotional book, but rather a collection of thoughts and stories which lead us in the direction of reflecting Christ. Click on the image to take you to the NPH bookstore.The book is also available in Kindle format on Amazon.com.



http://www.nph.com/nphweb/html/nph/itempage.jsp?itemId=9780834135277

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