“For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.” John 3:16
Why do we do what we do? Brothers and Sisters… our unfailing answer should be quite simple. JESUS. In a world of distraction and recently of constant change, it is so easy to lose our focus. It is so easy to begin feeling pulled in eight directions by a variety of obligations, but this morning, I want to encourage you to stop and prioritize. Let’s step back and reorient ourselves, as we ask these questions: where does my true obligation lie as a child of God? What is this life all about?
As I mentioned in my previous post, I recently acquired ‘The Jesus Bible’ as a new tool to study scripture. The purpose of The Jesus Bible is to help the reader see Jesus throughout the entire Bible, from beginning to end. In fact, beneath the title on the very first paper page of the book it says, “Sixty-six books. One story. All about one name” (The Jesus Bible, 2016).
Now, don’t get me wrong, that subtitle could be written beneath the title of any of our Bibles. The Jesus Bible didn’t add some content to the scriptures or contort things in a certain way to add a character named Jesus into any of the biblical stories, such as in the garden of Eden or aboard Noah’s ark. Jesus has already been written into every page of our Bibles, but just as the pushes and pulls of our own lives keep us from seeing Jesus, oftentimes, we read straight past Him in scripture too.
As I began exploring this new Bible, I quickly realized that before every new book is a stand alone page with very few words written upon it. Each one simply says “Jesus: Our…” and is followed by a new title for our Lord and Savior. I want to encourage you to take some time reading through the list below.
Jesus: Our Glorious Creator (Genesis)
Jesus: Our Miraculous Deliverer (Exodus)
Jesus: Our Sacrificial Substitute (Leviticus)
Jesus: Our Gracious Provision (Numbers)
Jesus: Our Promised Hope (Deuteronomy)
Jesus: Our Perfect Leader (Joshua)
Jesus: Our Righteous Ruler (Judges)
Jesus: Our Guardian-Redeemer (Ruth)
Jesus: Our True King (1 Samuel)
Jesus: Our Eternal One (2 Samuel)
Jesus: Our Only Hope (1 Kings)
Jesus: Our Perfect Prophet (2 Kings)
Jesus: Our Perfect Restorer (1 Chronicles)
Jesus: Our True Worship (2 Chronicles)
Jesus: Our Hope for Return (Ezra)
Jesus: Our Rebuilder of the Broken (Nehemiah)
Jesus: Our Divine Advocate (Esther)
Jesus: Our Suffering Savior (Job)
Jesus: Our Praise-Worthy King (Psalms)
Jesus: Our Divine Wisdom (Proverbs)
Jesus: Our True Hope (Ecclesiastes)
Jesus: Our Deepest Companion (Song of Songs)
Jesus: Our Sovereign Savior (Isaiah)
Jesus: Our New Covenant (Jeremiah)
Jesus: Our Faithful Lord (Lamentations)
Jesus: Our True Temple (Ezekiel)
Jesus: Our Great King (Daniel)
Jesus: Our Pursuing Spouse (Hosea)
Jesus: Our Blessed Hope (Joel)
Jesus: Our Justice Bearer (Amos)
Jesus: Our Righteous Judge (Obadiah)
Jesus: Our Missionary God (Jonah)
Jesus: Our Compassionate King (Micah)
Jesus: Our Wrath Bearer (Nahum)
Jesus: Our Joyful Salvation (Habakkuk)
Jesus: Our Mighty One(Zephaniah)
Jesus: Our Main Priority (Haggai)
Jesus: Our Humble King (Zechariah)
Jesus: Our Coming Messiah (Malachi)
Jesus: Our Promised King (Matthew)
Jesus: Our True God (Mark)
Jesus: Our Gracious Savior (Luke)
Jesus: Our Great I Am (John)
Jesus: Our Continued Mission (Acts)
Jesus: Our Eternal Salvation (Romans)
Jesus: Our Hope for Change (1 Corinthians)
Jesus: Our Invitation to Repentance (2 Corinthians)
Jesus: Our Justification by Faith (Galatians)
Jesus: Our Peace with God (Ephesians)
Jesus: Our Joy in Suffering (Philippians)
Jesus: Our Head of All Things (Colossians)
Jesus: Our Source of Comfort (1 Thessalonians)
Jesus: Our Coming King (2 Thessalonians)
Jesus: Our One Mediator (1 Timothy)
Jesus: Our Source of Strength (2 Timothy)
Jesus: Our Great God and Savior (Titus)
Jesus: Our Source of Reconciliation (Philemon)
Jesus: Our Greater Sacrifice (Hebrews)
Jesus: Our Perfect Example (James)
Jesus: Our Eternal Reward (1 Peter)
Jesus: Our Lord of Salvation (2 Peter)
Jesus: Our Word of Life and Love (1 John)
Jesus: Our God in the Flesh (2 John)
Jesus: Our Bond of Fellowship (3 John)
Jesus: Our Sustaining Grace (Jude)
Jesus: Our Worship Forever (Revelation)
Did you notice how each title is intertwined with the characteristics of God that we can see in reading the correlating book of the Bible? What incredible revelation the Lord gives us through His word! How amazing that every page of this book tells us more of who Christ is. And how much more beautiful it is to know that even though these titles were each written in correlation with the books of the Bible that took place long before our time, that there is not a single name on that list that does not pertain to who Christ is to us right here and now!
Dear child of God, Jesus is:
YOUR Glorious Creator.
YOUR Guardian-Redeemer.
YOUR Divine Advocate.
YOUR Sovereign Savior.
YOUR Wrath Bearer.
YOUR Continued Mission.
YOUR peace with God and YOUR joy in suffering.
YOUR Eternal Reward.
YOUR Worship Forever.
The very name that persists through all sixty-six books of the Bible, is the same name that threads your life into the same story today. Within those pages of your life, Jesus is not only wearing all of these titles that we see listed above, but He is personally revealing more of Himself to you with every step of your journey. Delight in knowing Him and stand in awe of who He is to you today!
I want to leave you with this to meditate upon. Last week, I attended church in another new town and was blessed in hearing a young gentleman preach his very first sermon. He shared the following quote from John Piper.
"The critical question for our generation - and for every generation - is this: If you could have heaven, with no sickness, and with all the friends you ever had on earth, and all the food you ever liked, and all the leisure activities you ever enjoyed, and all the natural beauties you ever saw, all the physical pleasures you ever tasted, and no human conflict or any natural disasters, could you be satisfied with heaven,
if Christ were not there?"
(Piper, 2005)
Why do we do what we do? Where does our true obligation lie as children of God? What is this life all about?
JESUS. Knowing Jesus. Loving Jesus. Glorifying Jesus.
He is written into every page of our lives, from beginning to end. Let us not pass that by today.
Piper, John. God Is the Gospel: Meditations on God’s Love as the Gift of Himself. Crossway Books, 2005.
The Jesus Bible. New International Version, Zondervan Publishing House, 2016.
Jesus , Yes and Amen!!!