Act Now!

When we began this most remarkable journey with Jesus we wanted to get to know Him more. As with any journey, it should lead us closer to a destination. Our destination here on earth should be closer to Jesus to resemble Him more each day. To do that we need to Act Now!

Of course, as followers of Christ our destination is in the presence of the Living God but for now, it is studying and walking with Him. It is an awesome journey.

Studying Jesus’ life is the most significant thing we can do to dig deeper into our relationship with Him. The more time we spend in a relationship the more we become like the other person.  Our personalities and characteristics start to mesh.

So we walked beside Him. But what do we do next?

Don’t Keep Looking Up

Do you ever catch yourself looking up into the sky and thinking what if Christ returned right now? Hoping that moment would come that instant or double-checking making sure you did’t miss it. (Don’t worry you won’t!)

Maybe you have looked at the splendor He has created in the sunsets or the rays that float through the morning skies dreaming of your coming king.

After Jesus journeyed here on earth and ascended into heaven the disciples did just that. They stared intently into the clouds. As they did this two men dressed in white stood next to them and asked them why they were standing there staring into the sky.

The same Jesus who has been taken from you into heaven will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven. (Acts 1:11)

Go

Luke tells us in Acts 1:1 that in his former book (Luke) he wrote about all that Jesus began to do and to teach until the day He was taken up into heaven.

The great news is we have such an amazing blueprint for Jesus’ teachings. This is such a great reason to study His journey. We see the things He wants to teach us and we see the things He did so we, too, can emulate them.

We were not left empty-handed. Better yet, in Christ, we have the Holy Spirit. Just as the apostles had the Holy Spirit come on them and the power flow through them we have access to that same power.

But we have been directed to do something with the Holy Spirit. No, it is not staring intently at the sky and hoping for His soon return. Our job is to go and be His witness.

But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. And you will be my witnesses, telling people about me everywhere–in Jerusalem, throughout Judea, in Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” Acts 1:8 (NLT)

You Will Be Equipped

Often times we have a million and one excuses why we are not the one for the job. Just as Moses did when God gave him the job to free His people, we rattle them off one-by-one.

We are not strong enough, a good enough speaker, worthy enough, tall enough, thin enough, brave enough, educated enough, enough of this and enough of that.

I am right there beside you. I have given God my list of qualifications and I have given my list that is lacking. His response is the same today as it was then.

I AM.

We don't need to be enough when we have a God that is more than enough. We need to show up and be obedient.
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All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work. 2 Timothy 3:16-17 (NIV)

The journey begins with the Scripture. Letting it teach us, correct us, train us, and yes even rebuke us.

Why?

So we will be thoroughly equipped. 

Traveling the Road Again

Jesus’ journey as recorded in the gospels gives us such a blessed look at who He is. Let’s review some of those lessons here that we are now equipped with.  

Jesus Among Us           

            God knew when sin entered the world that He had the solution to resolve our broken relationship. So he put on flesh and made His dwelling among us so He could be like us so we could one day be like Him. 

Testimonies and Business            

          God sent people at just the right time to testify to who He was. Simeon and Anna were devout believers, who were given the divine word that Jesus was the Son of God. As Jesus grew He testified to His own identity by being about His Father’s business while in the temple. 

Lord, Have Mercy!          

          Along Jesus’ journey, we see Him heal the sick, the blind, the broken and the hopeless. One particular man, blind Bartimaeus, gives us another clue to Jesus’ identity by crying out to the Son of David. The Old Testament continually pointed to the Messiah coming from the throne of David. 

This man asked for one thing from Jesus and that was His mercy. We see time and time again people that know their true disparity know their need for mercy. Praise the Lord! He is willing to pour it out onto us.  

Who Jesus Is           

          Our next stop was the well that was not too deep to draw real perspective. We learned many things about Jesus here. He pursues us and see us for who we are and loves us anyway. Jesus was fully human and the Messiah the world was waiting for.

Jesus goes beyond the social norms for us to understand His great love and while He is there offers us life and soul restoration.

With Jesus           

        Finally, we traveled with the resurrected Jesus on the Road to Emmaus where He opened our eyes to the importance of Scripture. While being reminded that Jesus is not just the one his people had hoped would rescue them from their oppressors but the ultimate redeemer of their souls. 

Act Now!

Last week my little girl was sick and she couldn’t go to AWANAs. She loves going to church. She went and got her vest, her book, and her bag and insisted that she was going.

You know how hard it was to tell her she couldn’t go. She had been sick for several days and I wanted her to really rest before returning to school and not spread anything more.

But her sweet little heart burned to go. She loves saying her verses and listening to stories about Jesus.

And I. DON’T. WANT. THAT. TO. EVER. END.

Her passion was so great that I almost gave in. She paraded through the house declaring her stance to go until the car pulled away.

Can we be more like that?

Let our passion to pursue God and the things that are about our Father be made known. May we make declarations that we will not go unheard and our pursuit of Him will not be evaded by a temporary setback.
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May we firmly take our stance until the trumpet sounds and we are called to our heavenly home. 

Blessings to you on your journey. I am so glad that you have chosen to spend some of it here with us at Seeking God!

Dust Off Your Feet

I hope you are ready to dust of your feet because we are ready to take a break from the dirt road. The next leg of the journey is going to be face-to-face with Jesus.

I have loved this journey and am really excited for the next step. Next, here at Seeking God. we are going to study the people that Jesus had more intimate conversations with. We learn another aspect of the heart of Jesus when we get up close and intimate with Him and that is my desire for us.

There were so many people that He met along the way. Some He journeyed by on the dirt roads but some He sat with and had amazing conversations with. I am excited to explore those conversations further and I hope you will join me and we see Jesus face-to-face.

Linkup with Sitting Among Friends Blog Party 

Blog Parties are such a great place to meet people and build connections around the web. This is one reason, I love this party. Please make sure to visit another friend in the linkup!

I would love to sit down face-to-face with you but since we can’t do that I love to meet you here. I love to hear your stories and see your work.

This is a Christian based website and so is the material that I promote here. Please remember that when linking up. I do reserve the right to remove posts.

*Please take the time to visit other blogs to comment and share*

I would appreciate you linking back to Seeking God or #SittingAmongFriends somewhere on your page. 

Tag Me with Twitter Shares and I will RT them.

I will be featuring a friend during the week on my FB page!

Join us at our Sitting Among Friends Pinterest Board by following my profile and then requesting an invite.

The post The Most Remarkable Journey: Act Now! appeared first on Seeking God with Jaime Wiebel.

With Jesus On the Road

Today The Most Remarkable Journey takes us on the Road to Emmaus. The Road where two men walked along with Jesus.

Once again on this journey, Jesus reveals so much about Himself and what we are to do in response. Which is always great news for us.

After Jesus went to the cross and was in the tomb for three days, He was raised from the dead. This was something He had been telling His disciples and followers that they couldn’t quite grasp. Of course, us having hindsight it seems so clear.

Today, however, I want to journey on that road with you. Often times when reading the Bible, I imagine myself being right there in the story. Today, I am going to attempt to do that with you as we bring this story to life. We are going to have to use our imaginations a bit. Even if you have read this a thousand time, I want us to look at the perspective of being there on that road with Jesus first hand.

The Two Men

We have been followers of Jesus. We were just in Jerusalem and witnessed all that had happened. Mary returned from the empty tomb telling us that Jesus was gone. We’re a pretty tight-knit group. My friend and I stayed pretty close to Jesus and the disciples.

I’m Cleopas and this is my friend and we have to tell you about this amazing journey with Jesus.

We were traveling on the dirt road back home. Our faces barely off the dusty ground because our hearts were in turmoil. The events that had just taken place over the past three days were heavy. We are about to take that 7-mile journey back to Emmaus. We were physically, emotionally, and spiritually empty. Helplessness and hopelessness were settling in deep.

Our hope had come but now He was gone. Completely gone. Not even a body to remember Him by.

We had hoped for this Jesus to save us. To rescue us from our oppressors. We have been with Him for quite some time and we realize that He is sent from God. But then just like that, it is over. He is over and no trace of Him to be seen or heard.

On the Road to Emmaus

Our feet are heavy as we walk along this road. Leaving Jerusalem means we leave it all behind. The life we had grown to know and seemingly understand.

Then along comes a man. It is if he just crawled out from under a rock. He asked us what we’re talking about.

He asked them, “What are you discussing together as you walk along?” Luke 24:17 (NIV)

Is this man for real? How can anyone not know about this? I mean the ground shook, it grew dark in the middle of the day for hours, there was an uproar in the city. We can’t even pull our faces out of the dirt. It’s Jesus. Jesus of Nazareth.

He was well… amazing doesn’t even begin to describe it. He was a prophet. You would not believe the things He could do. The miracles were only the beginning.  And the way He talked was pure power.

But He made them nervous. Their way of life, their traditions, their religion was all put into question. So they took Him. They had Him arrested and they hung Him on the cross. Our Savior. Our Hope and Redeemer. Let’s just say, He wasn’t redeeming us from up there or so we thought.

Who is this Man?

Then this man joined us on the road and you wouldn’t believe it, He called us foolish. Then did the most remarkable thing. He opened up Scripture to us.

 And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning himself. Luke 24:27

You know I have heard this before, but never like this. I mean everything that was concerning Jesus was laid right out there in the open for us to see and understand. Yet we still didn’t notice. This man walking along the road with us. Who was this man?

We weren’t quite sure who He was but we didn’t want Him to leave. We wanted to hear more and we wanted Him to stay. Although our appetites were quite full from all that we were hearing, we asked Him to stay and eat with us.

I mean come and stay. Anything. Please just tell us more about Jesus and the prophets and the psalms. It’s getting dark. Just stay we urged Him.

He Broke Bread

He decided to stay. Oh, you wouldn’t believe our joy! We went into the house and we got Him some bread. He raised the bread into the air. Prayed to God the Father. Broke the bread and gave us a piece.

It was like our eyes were split right open. All of a sudden we saw Him. It was Jesus. As soon as we recognized Him, He was gone again. Out of our sight but not out of our minds.

We cannot tell you how excited we were. We got up. Ran that dirt road, even though it was quite late, all the way back to the disciples.

We had to tell them. We had to tell the others. He was here. And to us. I can’t believe He walked with us all that way. I can’t believe we didn’t recognize Him. We must have looked so silly. Heads down and telling Him everything about Himself.

They asked each other, “Were not our hearts burning within us while he talked with us on the road and opened the Scriptures to us?” Luke 24:39 (NIV)

Peace Be with You

He came back! We saw Him! We know He is alive! Peter had already seen Him and Mary had told us all that had happened with the angels. As we were standing in the room talking with the disciples, He appeared. Just like that. Doors locked. There He was right in the middle of us.

Peace. That is what He offered us. Peace. The Hope I thought was going to be a faded memory, well Hope showed back up. He showed us His hands and feet and He ate with us.  Now I have so many people to tell. He is here and He is alive!

Personal Reflections

1. Have you had a time in your life when Jesus was walking right beside you and you didn’t recognize Him? Maybe you only saw Him after the fact.
2. Jesus offers Peace. What do you want to trade today for the peace that He can replace it with?
3. We are told by Jesus in the story of the woman at the well that He gets His spiritual food from doing the will of His Father and sharing scripture. (John 4:34) Where do you get your hunger satisfied?
4. Does your heart burn within you when you spend time in the Scripture? Do you want to tell someone about it?
5. What has this story revealed to you about Jesus and what has it revealed about yourself?
6. Do you ever wonder if it is all really true? I think it is a common feeling but one that can be debunked by spending time with God in His Word like He did with the men on the Road to Emmaus. How do you replace doubts and uncertainty with truth?

Linkup with Sitting Among Friends Blog Party 

Blog Parties are such a great place to meet people and build connections around the web. This is one reason, I love this party.

I would love to sit down face-to-face with you but since we can’t do that I love to meet you here. I love to hear your stories and see your work.

This is a Christian based website and so is the material that I promote here. Please remember that when linking up. I do reserve the right to remove posts.

*Please take the time to visit other blogs to comment and share*

Tag Me with Twitter Shares and I will RT them.

I will be featuring a friend during the week on my FB page!

Join us at our Sitting Among Friends Pinterest Board by following my profile and then requesting an invite.

The post The Most Remarkable Journey: With Jesus! appeared first on Seeking God with Jaime Wiebel.

Who Jesus Is!

The Most Remarkable Journey continues with a woman at the side of the well. I love this story dearly. Today we are not going to focus as much on the woman as we are on the man. Today we will see who Jesus is!

I love this journey that Jesus takes us on. He lets us know His character, His desire for holiness, and lets us see into pieces of His heart.

Jesus could have come to earth in any position. After all, He is the Creator of the World, The King of Kings and Lord of Lords. But that is not what He chose to do. He chose to come to a humble obedient Jewish girl, be born in a stable, laid in a manger and became the son of a carpenter. Nothing extraordinary for an extraordinary God.

As Jesus journeyed along the road He met many people. We see the same thing along His journey. He comes to open the eyes of the blind, heal the sick, and seek and save the lost. What we see most is the common people that He stopped and spent time with. We don’t just see Him spending time in the royal courts, where He was most expected to appear and conquer.

What I love about that is it gives us hope. It gives us a sense that the reality that we are living in is not unreachable or untouchable by the Holy One of God.

John 4 tells us of a story of a woman that had an unannounced divine appointment. We are going to explore this by the responses of Jesus to this woman. Are you as excited about this journey as I am? Let’s GO!

He Pursues Us

Now He had to pass through Samaria. John 4:4

Jesus was traveling from Judea to Galilee. The shortest route was through Samaria. Even though this was the shortest route, Jews would avoid it at all cost. The relationship with the Samaritans was such a deep-seated hatred that they would even take a longer route to get around this land.

Not Jesus. Jesus had a divine appointment with a woman at the well at noon and He didn’t want to miss it.

Most women drew water at the well morning and night. This woman did more than avoid the crowds she went at the hottest part of the day to avoid the scrutiny of the other women.  Jesus, however, showed up to meet her.

Jesus was Fully Human

Since Jacob’s well was there, Jesus, weary from His journey, sat down by the well. It was about the sixth hour. John 4:6

It is vital to keep in mind that Jesus was fully human while being fully God. As a human, he came to experience life as we do. He understands our temptations and frustrations and gets how our hearts and bodies become weary. He is passionate and compassionate toward His most beloved creation.

Jesus Sees Us

When a Samaritan woman came to draw water, Jesus said to her, “Give Me a drink.” John 4:7 (BSB)

Anyone one else might have looked past this woman. He was a Jew. He was a man. They were in a public place. This woman’s reputation, which is about to be revealed, is greatly tarnished. He had no reason to talk to her except to use her vessels for gathering water. Jews didn’t associate with Samaritans, let alone use their watering cup.

Jesus overlooks these bounds to deliver a message. He not only sees her but engages in a tender conversation.

He goes beyond social, economic, political, cultural, gender, religious bounds and worldly ideas to show us who is and His great love for us.

Therefore the Samaritan woman says to Him, “How do You, being a Jew, ask drink from me, being a Samaritan woman?” For Jews have no association with Samaritans. John 4:9 (BLB)

Jesus defines His mission. It is not that He changes it, He just makes it clear. Her being a woman, a Samaritan, intermarried, married multiple times, living in sin, worshipping out of the Holy City. He doesn’t let that define the message that he had for her. The message that she needed Him.

Jesus Offers the Gift of Life and Soul Satisfaction

Jesus answered her, “If you knew the gift of God and who it is that asks you for a drink, you would have asked him and he would have given you living water.” John 4:10(NIV)

The rules seemed to change when Jesus showed up on the scene but Jesus’ offer for eternal life was beyond the bounds that were placed on it. The Jews believed it was only for them. Jesus is saying it is not defined by who the world sees you as. It is defined by your need for a Savior. What Jesus offers this woman is something she seems to be searching relentlessly for. That same offer is available to us today.

She is an outcast in her own community and Jesus says, you, outcasted, no name woman, I came to offer you a gift. This water won’t leave you searching or thirsting from an empty well. I can give you life. Not just water but the living water that can flow through your soul.

Jesus said to her, “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again. But whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a fount of water springing up to eternal life.” John 4:13-14 (BSB)

He Offers us Grace and Mercy When We Least Deserve it

This story continues with an exchange between the two. Jesus tells the woman to go get her husband. She tells Jesus she does not have a husband. This reminds me of my children. When they know I am searching for the truth they are willing to give me a half-truth in order to divert my attention from the full reality of the situation.

This may occasionally get by me but it doesn’t get by the all-knowing creator of your soul. He knows. He knows the full truth and has come to bring to light what is hid in the darkness.  I know you don’t have a husband He tells this woman. In fact, you have had five and the man you are living with now is not your husband.

What I love about this is Jesus was not afraid to call out her sin for the sake of hurting her feelings. He didn’t back away from the truth and accept a half-truth. He wanted to bear the truth so she could be set free.

Jesus was telling this woman He was willing to give her the gift of life, in spite of all that she had done. In spite of her choices, He would satisfy her true thirsts in life.

He Loves Us in Spite of Ourselves

No, she didn’t deserve this kind of grace and mercy but neither do we. Yet the offer is the same for us as it was for this woman.

Christ came to set us free from the bonds of our sin. He came to not only set us free but to refresh us with the water that flows through us and wells up like a spring to satisfy our real thirsts.
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We, too, look for things and people of this world to satisfy our every whim. And when they don’t, we feel let down and disappointed. Real satisfaction will only ever come from God. He loved us so much He sent Jesus to die for us.

Jesus is the Messiah

I can only imagine the emotions this lady was feeling. You can see this welling up inside of her as she sprinkles these moments of hope in their conversation. It is as if she wanted to believe all that He was telling her but it seemed too big to be true.

She continues to divert the conversation by talking about worship and her hopes for the coming Messiah. She expresses her hopes for Him to clear up centuries of hardships for her people.

And then it happens. For the first time, Christ declares to a Samaritan woman who He is. We went from seeing that He was fully man to now seeing His own declaration that He is the Messiah.

Jesus answered, “I who speak to you am He.”  John 4:26 (BSB)

How Should We React to this News?

I love this woman’s reaction and this part of the story because it not only tells us who Christ is but teaches us the appropriate response to the news of Jesus, the Messiah.

 Then the woman left her water jar, went back into the town, and said to the people,“Come, see a man who told me everything I ever did. Could this be the Christ?” John 4:28-29 (BSB)

She left her jar. Her thirst had been quenched and not by the water she had been dragging up from this deep well. She no longer had to hide behind her choices that she had made in life. They no longer define her. They are exposed and in the light and she is free. She has a new lease on life and she couldn’t be happier than to leave it behind and tell the Good News.

Remeber, in the beginning of the story we saw her go to the well at noon just to avoid the people. Now she is running to town to the same people she was trying to avoid. Why? Because she just received the best news she had ever heard.

Jesus, the Messiah, (Please don't miss this statement, friends) told her EVERYTHING about her. We are not defined by who we are. Our story is defined by Whose we are!
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If we are in Christ, we are a new creation. The old has passed and the new has come. (2 Corinthians 5:17) That is the best news we could receive.

Our sins were laid out in the open. They were exposed on the cross, and Christ bore them all. We don’t have to hide behind our watering jars. We can leave them at the well and go and tell the Good News that Jesus has come and He is everything that we need!

Personal Reflections:

1. This story may be familiar to you but were there any fresh thoughts that flowed out of today’s study?
2. What do you do with the Good News that Jesus tells you everything about yourself?
3. Can you share with us today a bit of your testimony? It gets easier every time we put down our jar and tell it.
4. Jesus paid for your sins and mine on the cross. Have you allowed Him to free you from the sins that were keeping you bound?

Linkup with Sitting Among Friends Blog Party 

Blog Parties are such a great place to meet people and build connections around the web. This is one reason, I love this party.

I would love to sit down face-to-face with you but since we can’t do that I love to meet you here. I love to hear your stories and see your work.

This is a Christian based website and so is the material that I promote here. Please remember that when linking up. I do reserve the right to remove posts.

*Please take the time to visit other blogs to comment and share*

Tag Me with Twitter Shares and I will RT them.

I will be featuring a friend during the week on my FB page!

Join us at our Sitting Among Friends Pinterest Board by following my profile and then requesting an invite.

The post The Most Remarkable Journey: Who Jesus Is! appeared first on Seeking God with Jaime Wiebel.