Christophanies

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JESUS SPEAKING

‘Then He said to them, “O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe in all that the prophets have spoken!Ought not the Christ to have suffered these things and to enter into His glory?”And beginning at Moses and all the Prophets, He expounded to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning Himself. Then they drew near to the village where they were going, and He indicated that He would have gone farther. But they constrained Him, saying, “Abide with us, for it is toward evening, and the day is far spent.” And He went in to stay with them. Now it came to pass, as He sat at the table with them, that He took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to them.Then their eyes were opened and they knew Him; and He vanished from their sight.’ (Luke 24: 25 – 32)

FAITHFUL THOUGHTS

After Christ’s death, a pair of discouraged followers who had abandoned their faith were walking down a road that led out of Jerusalem. Having recently been resurrected, Jesus drew near to them in disguise and began explaining the old testament prophecies concerning Himself, His ministry, and eventual crucifixion. Upon realizing that the stranger was Christ, their faith returned and they journeyed back into Jerusalem. Any old testament scripture that describes Jesus Christ centuries before His arrival is known as a Christophany.

One notable Christophany from the old testament occurs in the book of Daniel. King Nebuchadnezzar created a statue of himself, and demanded that everyone bow down to it and worship him. Three Jewish boys named Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego refused, citing their faith in the one true and living God. As punishment, the boys were thrown into a fiery furnace to be burned alive. However, King Nebuchadnezzar soon looked into the flames and saw something quite miraculous. The king said, “Look! […] I see four men loose, walking in the midst of the fire; and they are not hurt, and the form of the fourth is like the Son of God.” (Daniel 3: 25) One might rightly infer that this fourth man is Jesus Christ. The boys are then released without further threat.

There are many Christophanies throughout the old testament, and many descriptions of Jesus written down hundreds of years before His arrival. There is only one book ever written that has predicted future events with such precision; that book is the Holy Bible. May we trust in God’s word and have great faith in what He has written.

“Lord Heavenly Father, May we honor you with our hearts and never bow down to false idols. Only You have the power to save us and the power to grant us eternal life. May we offer a portion of our day to the reading and studying of Your word, that we might grow in our knowledge of the truth. We love You Father, we praise You, and we thank You, and we ask and pray all of these things, according to Your will, in Jesus Christ’s name, amen.” God bless all of You!

The Golden Rule

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JESUS SPEAKING

“Therefore, whatever you want men to do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets.” (Matthew 7: 12)

INSPIRED THOUGHTS

In this scripture Jesus identifies a simple litmus test that can decipher what is right and wrong in almost every situation. He basically condenses Christianity into a single sentence, which when followed, accomplishes the will of God and leaves little room for selfish behaviors. Simply put, we must treat others the same way that we would like to be treated. If we encounter someone who is hungry then we must feed them; if they are thirsty then we give them something to drink; if they need to hear the gospel, we must speak the truth in love. When empathy reigns in our hearts, there is little room for ungodliness.

As the story goes, before the fall of the Soviet Union, the Russian government had written many laws relating to water pollution. One of these regulations required that every factory had to discharge their water up-stream from their own intake pipes. In this manner, a factory would get back exactly what it put out; subsequently forcing them to remove pollutants if they wished to use clean water. In essence, their comfortable existence was conditioned upon, and equivalent to, the way they treated others.

According to Jesus, doing what is right is far simpler than attempting to follow every commandment individually. As Christians we are obligated to treat others with the same measure of affection and attention we might seek from them. Using the Golden rule permits us to carry out the will of God without resorting to selfishness, deceit, or hypocrisy. This way of living isn’t always easy; because telling people the truth is difficult and uncomfortable. But no matter the consequence, we must continue to speak the Gospel and to do what is right.

“Lord Heavenly Father, may we be empathetic and sincere; shunning hypocrisy and deceitful living. Give us the wisdom necessary to practice the golden rule; and to treat others exactly how we would like to be treated. We desire for our lives to conform to your righteous standard; in everything we do, may we emulate You. We love You Father, we praise You, and we thank You, and we ask and pray all of these things, according to Your will, in Jesus Christ’s name, amen.” God bless all of you!

Need a Miracle?

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JESUS SPEAKING

“With men it is impossible, but not with God; for with God all things are possible.” (Mark 10: 27)

FAITHFUL THOUGHTS

Many people, when faced with a seemingly insurmountable obstacle, will fall into despair. But those who trust in God will always retain hope, because according to Jesus, God regularly defies human understanding and accomplishes wonderful miracles. If we truly understand how powerful God is, then we can maintain joy, even in the darkest of times.

Concerning God’s power, we read of an old testament figure named Joshua, who led the Israelites into battle against the Amorites. God struck many of them down with hailstones, and delivered the rest into Joshua’s hands. As the Jews chased the retreating Amorites, God orchestrated a powerful miracle. He made the sun stand still in the sky for an entire day; preventing the darkness of night from hindering their annihilation of the Amorites. There is nothing that is impossible for God.

As Christians, no matter what obstacles we might face, we must never lose hope, but instead, we must always remember how powerful God is. He made the heavens and the earth; He controls the natural universe and sustains all those who are weary. May we never forget that God can, and will accomplish miracles whenever necessary.

“Lord Heavenly Father, whenever something seems impossible, may we remember that you are a miracle worker. For You there is no obstacle too big, nor any problem too menacing. Strengthen us in our hour of need and help us to trust in You, even when our human reasoning falters. We love You Lord, we praise You, and we thank You, and we ask and pray all of these things, according to Your will, in Jesus Christ’s name, amen.” God bless all of you!