The Good You See

On May 25, 2021   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

John 14: 7 – 10

“If you had known Me, you would have known My Father also; from now on you know Him, and have seen Him.” Philip said to Him, “Lord, show us the Father, and it is enough for us.” Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you for so long a time, and yet you have not come to know Me, Philip? The one who has seen Me has seen the Father; how can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? Do you not believe that I am in the Father, and the Father is in Me? The words that I say to you I do not speak on My own, but the Father, as He remains in Me, does His works.”

Jesus came to earth, in part, to show us the Father. He told Philip that having seen him, he had seen the Father. So, I think that begs the question, how are people supposed to see Jesus today?

Jesus was the perfect representation of the Father. He didn’t claim to do anything on his own but rather that it was the Father who did the works. By his works, Philip, and indeed everyone, was supposed to understand that he was seeing the Father. This made me think that, again, Jesus modeled something for us. In other words, perhaps Jesus is seen and known today the way God was shown then, through others. Wouldn’t it be great to say, with confidence, if you’ve seen me, you’ve seen Jesus? Wow! Imagine, people can know Jesus because they know you. That is an ambassador of the highest rank.

Jesus shows no reservation in proclaiming his authentic representation of the Father. That is remarkable. I would hate for people to see my flaws and think they are representative of Jesus. We might say, though, that any good you see in me, is Jesus. Or, to the degree you see any good in me, you have seen Jesus. That’s fair.

Maybe after meditating on this passage, I can be more kind, forgiving and considerate. And maybe like Jesus, I won’t take credit for any good you see, because it’s not me. “The good you see, is Jesus in me.” I like that. Be blessed today.

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Mirror Image

On August 7, 2019   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

Hebrews 1: 3       TPT

The Son is the dazzling radiance of God’s splendor, the exact expression of God’s true nature—his mirror image!

Jesus is the exact representation of God. You can see some great expressions of this idea by reading this verse in a variety of translations. Here are a few:

WE – He is just like God himself,
CJB – The very expression of God’s essence,
NLV – The Son is as God is in every way.

When you look at Jesus, you have seen the Father. That is such an important statement. If you love Jesus, you can feel safe with the Father too. So many people have a poor, even antagonistic relationship with the Father even though they say they love Jesus and confess him as Lord. This ought not be. I don’t know how we have gotten so brain-washed about God’s character. All we have to do is believe the Bible; well, and read it, to see that He is kind and good.

I have observed something else lately. I guess I’ve been seeing bits and pieces of this for years, but Jesus really brought it home to me over the last two weeks. Who we see and experience Father to be is greatly influenced by who we are in our inner selves.

I had noticed that God speaks to each of us in our own voice, tone and manner. When I would hear people relate things the Father spoke to them, I could hear their world view and voice. I remember Kenneth Copeland sharing something the Father communicated with him and I thought, “God, never speaks to me that way.” Later I realized it has everything to do with our different personalities. We do the same thing. We allow ourselves to reflect the communication patterns of those with whom we converse. So, when Jesus or the Father speaks with you, they will use syntax and colloquialisms that you use. That’s cool!

There is a deeper reflection on this too. It goes beyond communication to relationship. Listen to how people describe God or their communion with God. What you will hear has a lot less to do with who God is and more to do with who they are. Jesus reflected God with whom He was connected. You will find that he reflects you too. The thing that brought this into clear focus for me was when Jesus made a joke one day last week. I began speaking with him and Father about their sense of humor. They really do have quite the good sense of humor. People admit that casually and reference giraffes as their evidence. During this conversation, Father showed me that the sense of humor, the flavor of humor that I was experiencing was my own sense of humor. God was reflecting me.

How many people, though, actually know God’s sense of humor personally? You see, if you don’t have humorous nature, Jesus and God will not be able to relate to you on that level. Whatever you give to them is what they have to reflect back to you. A friend of mine caught me calling Jesus “Dude” this week. Okay, people don’t usually refer to him that way but in our closeness and the closeness of the moment, it worked. It reflects our relationship. Later in the week I was working on a Word of the Day when he quite literally made me laugh out loud. Here I was, sitting all alone, laughing aloud. It took me a moment to compose myself. Jesus is funny.

People who are afraid of God, don’t know Him. If they think He is vengeful and judgmental it is because that is what they impose on Him or carry to the meeting themselves. Those who don’t trust Him, are afraid of Him, or think He wants to take something away from them are reflecting themselves onto Him. They won’t let Him express His true nature which is love. He is love. When will we get that? His essence is kindness and gentleness. Endeavor to know God better. Get to know the many facets of who He is. To do that, begin with what you take to Him. Take a light heart and maybe He will tell you a joke too.

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Reflection

On May 21, 2018   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

Hebrews 1: 3

And He is the radiance of His glory and the exact representation of His nature, and upholds all things by the word of His power. When He had made purification of sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high.

Do you find this verse big and full? I do. We could meditate all day solely on Jesus being the radiance of God’s glory. That statement fills the mind with wonder. We are also, perhaps, intrigued by the statement about Jesus being seated at the right hand of God in that we know David prophesied this very thing a thousand years before it happened. Then there is this amazing statement that Jesus upholds all things by the word of God’s power. Ruminate on that for awhile. As if all of that is not enough to occupy our thoughts, here is a most intriguing thought. Jesus the exact reflection of who God is at the most basic level. I want to talk about that piece of this verse because I think it is a very important concept.

I mentioned, last week, that it is not uncommon for Christians to have a good relationship with Jesus but almost no relationship with Yahweh, our Father. That seems odd, doesn’t it? We read a Bible which is about God but our personal touch with the trinity sometimes does not reach beyond Jesus. I think the reason this is the case is because we have a better sense of who Jesus is. We feel we know him better because the gospels give us insight into his ways.

Take heart, you actually know God better than you think you do because Jesus is the exact reflection of God. All of the traits we appreciate about Jesus he got from his Father. Jesus’ compassion is a God thing. God is gentle and kind. So, if we want to see God, all we have to do is look at Jesus. Jesus said it this way, “He who has seen Me has seen the Father, how can you say, ‘Show us the Father’?” (John 14: 9). If you have seen Jesus, you have seen the Father. If you love Jesus, you ought to also love his Father.

I hope this brings you comfort today and encourages you to seek the Father more urgently. If you seek Him, you will find Him and, you will like what you find.

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