Make Much of Jesus

February 5, 2015

Make Much of Jesus

So the Word became human and made his home among us.

John 1:14a

I know of a minister who travels a great deal to speak at churches and conferences. He always makes the same prayer request: “Pray that I would make much of Jesus.” Amen. I find his prayer request quite refreshing because I have become so weary of church meetings and gatherings where the name of Jesus is seldom, if ever, mentioned.

The Gospels reveal Jesus as a person. Fully human, Jesus is the revelation of humanity as God intended our lives to be. Jesus in the Gospels is truthful, blunt, emotional, non-manipulative, sensitive, compassionate, and unwilling to compromise his integrity. Jesus perfectly models the life his Father is committed to transforming our lives to become. (And I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns” (Philippians 1:6); “For God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases him” (Philippians 2:13).)

Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me” (John 14:6). The New Testament church, when speaking of Jesus said, “There is salvation in no one else! God has given no other name under heaven by which we must be saved” (Acts 4:12). Not only is Jesus the perfect model for our lives, he is the center of our existence as Christians, and he is the center of the church that gathers in his name. In Colossians 1:15-20, the Apostle Paul’s prose extolling the supremacy of Christ is unparalleled.

Paul described our life in Christ as, “In him we live and move and have our being” (Acts 17:28). When this is true, we make much of Jesus. Sometimes this witness may be subtle; nevertheless Jesus is visible in our mortal flesh. At other times, we are called to boldly proclaim that the core of our identity, the ground of our hope in life is in the person of Jesus Christ.  

Sē’lah

<><  <><  <><  <><

(Selah is a word that appears in the Book of Psalms that I often use as the Complimentary Closing in my correspondence. Its meaning, as I use the word, is to pause and think about these things.)

These meditations are written by Alex M. Knight as he seeks the life in Christ as his way of life.  The meditations are published on the BLOG, http://seekingthelifeinchrist.blogspot.com/ and they are also distributed on the Constant Contact email server. You may subscribe to this email service by sending an email to: amkrom812@gmail.com. The BLOG is also available on Amazon Kindle, by subscription.

Publications by Alex M. Knight:

·        Seeking the Life in Christ, Meditations on the New Testament and Psalms is available at Amazon.com in paperback and Kindle.

·        The second edition of  First Think – Then Pray is available on Amazon Kindle.

·        Meditations on The Story of My Life as told by Jesus Christ  is available as an e-book on Amazon Kindle.

Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2007. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188.