Jesus is “the Shepherd of Israel, the Word of God, the Living One who was dead” per my pastor yesterday. The phrase, “Jesus is the Word of God” made me mindful of the Bible being referenced as the Living Word, the Truth. We need Him in life.
A story was shared in my Sunday School class about a middle-aged woman representative of this great need of Him. She was feeling down, comparing herself to the perfect world of social media (all lies). She was distressed. She was surround by “so much noise of the world.” She was distracted from following Jesus. She said she “became still”. She sat until she felt uncomfortable. This silence gave her clarity and helped her delete social comparisons and social media. The Bible tells us to go to a prayer closet. MATTHEW 6:6 KJV “But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father…”
Our pastor then talked about what happened at the cross and referenced Mark 15:33-34. He stated, “darkness was the picture of God’s judgment.” Darkness, in my mind today, can also be disconnection, comparison, sin, idolatry of things of the world and self. So much darkness. My pastor continued, “Jesus became sin for you and me, an act of substitution….He was crushed for our inequities. Isaiah 53:10 tells of the wrath of God….God consumed Jesus as a sacrifice.” The response in my mind was He (Jesus) is the only one who can take the darkness away. I need to turn to Him. I must turn FROM the world and turn TO the Word. The Word is life-giving. But I MUST BE STILL and seek to know the great I am. I must turn from the NOISE of the world. Turn from “ugly sin” as our pastor stated. Turn to Him, the only way. Believe that He is the Son of God who died for our sins.
I was mindful that we must be diligent to have hope and life. 1 Peter states “Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour: Be sober-minded; be watchful.” This verse made me think of my friend who deleted social media and further dedicated herself to the prayer closet reading her Bible and putting on His armor.
We only have hope in Jesus. Turn from the world and turn to God (the Word).
flourishings.blog 