Is Jesus Relevant Today?
Good Morning Friends,
Today we continue seeking an understanding of Christ in our world with a focus on what is applicable now in our lives. Today we ask what is pertinent and what is not…what will improve our existence and what will not. So we honestly ask what is undoubtedly on the minds of many in our culture, Is Jesus Relevant Today?
Scripture: Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.
John 6:35 (NRSV)
Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness but will have the light of life.”
John 8:12 (NRSV)
I am the gate. Whoever enters by me will be saved, and will come in and go out and find pasture.
John 10:9 (NRSV)
“I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. The hired hand, who is not the shepherd and does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and runs away—and the wolf snatches them and scatters them. The hired hand runs away because a hired hand does not care for the sheep. I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me,
John 10:11-14 (NRSV)
Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Those who believe in me, even though they die, will live,
John 11:25 (NRSV)
Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.
John 14:6 (NRSV)
“I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinegrower. He removes every branch in me that bears no fruit. Every branch that bears fruit he prunes to make it bear more fruit. You have already been cleansed by the word that I have spoken to you. Abide in me as I abide in you. Just as the branch cannot bear fruit by itself unless it abides in the vine, neither can you unless you abide in me. I am the vine, you are the branches. Those who abide in me and I in them bear much fruit, because apart from me you can do nothing.
John 15:1-5 (NRSV)
“I ask not only on behalf of these, but also on behalf of those who will believe in me through their word, that they may all be one. As you, Father, are in me and I am in you, may they also be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me. The glory that you have given me I have given them, so that they may be one, as we are one, I in them and you in me, that they may become completely one, so that the world may know that you have sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me. Father, I desire that those also, whom you have given me, may be with me where I am, to see my glory, which you have given me because you loved me before the foundation of the world. “Righteous Father, the world does not know you, but I know you; and these know that you have sent me. I made your name known to them, and I will make it known, so that the love with which you have loved me may be in them, and I in them.”
John 17:20-26 (NRSV)
Message: Friends, as I get up this morning before the birds and the traffic and I sip my coffee, I am fascinated by the reality of what I am doing and how different it is from what you are doing and yet how relevant Jesus is in all of our situations. And yet from a purely practical perspective there are times of particular importance summarized in Jesus’ I am statements that help clarify them for us. As we look at this I want you to realize that there has always been universal needs that will only be answered with “I am”. It is the answer to today’s question and the answer to what I think is the most important questions we will ever ask. So know that God never goes into any elaborate detail to prove himself but as with the burning bush simply says, I am, that I am. This was God’s answer to Moses and Jesus’ answer to today’s question. And if you have ever had an inner emptiness or sense of purposelessness, or fear of death, or desire for peace, or a deep loneliness that calls out for a friend, or a lack of self-control or a need to put things together in your life for a greater purpose then you probably have sensed the relevance in a personal way. At one time or another, we all question what life is all about. Thankfully Christ not only claimed to answer all the deep questions about our existence but delivered on the claim as the perfect solution to all problems, for without Jesus our sins will separate us from God’s love. That friends is relevant.
Pray we know that God is relational and transformative in the reality that we each are part of the great I am. Pray we know that God is loving. Pray we know that God is holy. Pray we realize that we were made for a relationship with God. Pray we realize that we have a freedom to choose. Pray we rejoice in a grace that defies reason and logic. Pray we marvel at the reality of a love that interrupts the consequences of sin and substitutes the most relevant living paradox in the universe. Pray that Jesus turns the lights on. Pray that Jesus fills the void in our lives. Pray we let Jesus be our hope and guide. Pray we know where we are going. Pray Jesus puts our lives together to work for the good of a divine purpose in the love we are to share eternally.
Pray we meet the challenge of being Christians in the world. Pray we develop our relationship with God through creative acts that in partnership help us to see Christ building the Body. Pray we cultivate creative Christian culture in community. Pray we stop complaining about secular culture and start creating a Christian one, one day at a time, one family, one community, one church at a time…one by one.
Blessings,
John Lawson
Daily Devotionals 