What Does Jesus Mean To You? part 2

You can find part 1 here: “What Does Jesus Mean To You? part 1”

Close your eyes and think to yourself: “What words come to mind when I think of Jesus?”

Do the words Lord, Master, God, Cross, Savior, Prophet come to mind?

How about Creator? Check out these verses:

John 1:¹ In the beginning the Word already existed.
The Word was with God,
and the Word was God.
² He existed in the beginning with God.
³ God created everything through him,
and nothing was created except through him.
⁴ The Word gave life to everything that was created,^[a]
and his life brought light to everyone.
⁵ The light shines in the darkness,
and the darkness can never extinguish it.
… ¹⁴ So the Word became human and made his home among us. He was full of unfailing love and faithfulness. And we have seen his glory, the glory of the Father’s one and only Son.

I just love these two passages!

Colossians 1: ¹⁵ Christ is the visible image of the invisible God.
He existed before anything was created and is supreme over all creation,
¹⁶ for through him God created everything
in the heavenly realms and on earth.
He made the things we can see
and the things we can’t see—
such as thrones, kingdoms, rulers, and authorities in the unseen world.
Everything was created through him and for him.
¹⁷ He existed before anything else,
and he holds all creation together.
¹⁸ Christ is also the head of the church,
which is his body.
He is the beginning,
supreme over all who rise from the dead.
So he is first in everything.
¹⁹ For God in all his fullness
was pleased to live in Christ,
²⁰ and through him God reconciled
everything to himself.
He made peace with everything in heaven and on earth
by means of Christ’s blood on the cross.

Here you have it folks, Jesus the Creator, from two different authors, pretty cool, huh? It’s amazing that the Creator of all things seen and unseen decided to come to this earth and live with us.

Friends of the Creator?

Now let’s read another perspective of Jesus:

John 15: ⁹ “I have loved you even as the Father has loved me. Remain in my love. ¹⁰ When you obey my commandments, you remain in my love, just as I obey my Father’s commandments and remain in his love. ¹¹ I have told you these things so thatyou will be filled with my joy. Yes, your joy will overflow! ¹² This is my commandment: Love each other in the same way I have loved you. ¹³ There is no greater love than to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. ¹⁴ You are my friends if you do what I command. ¹⁵ I no longer call you slaves, because a master doesn’t confide in his slaves. Now you are my friends, since I have told you everything the Father told me.

For those of us that trust and obey Him, He calls us His friends.

Folks, this puts us in good company, who else was considered a friend of God?:

Numbers 12: ⁶ And the Lord said to them, “Now listen to what I say:
“If there were prophets among you,
I, the Lord, would reveal myself in visions.
I would speak to them in dreams.
⁷ But not with my servant Moses.
Of all my house, he is the one I trust.
⁸ I speak to him face to face,
clearly, and not in riddles!
He sees the Lord as he is.
So why were you not afraid
to criticize my servant Moses?”

God trusted Moses, how about that!

2 Chronicles 20: ⁶ He prayed, “O Lord, God of our ancestors, you alone are the God who is in heaven. You are ruler of all the kingdoms of the earth. You are powerful and mighty; no one can stand against you! ⁷ O our God, did you not drive out those who lived in this land when your people Israel arrived? And did you not give this land forever to the descendants of your friend Abraham? ⁸ Your people settled here and built this Temple to honor your name.

Of course Abraham was a friend of God.

Psalm 25: ¹¹ For the honor of your name, O Lord,
forgive my many, many sins.
¹² Who are those who fear the Lord?
He will show them the path they should choose.
¹³ They will live in prosperity,
and their children will inherit the land.
¹⁴ The Lord is a friend to those who fear him.
He teaches them his covenant.
¹⁵ My eyes are always on the Lord,
for he rescues me from the traps of my enemies.

This Psalm was written by King David, another friend of God. But I love verse 14 which simplifies it and shows exactly how anyone can become friends, which is consistent with the words in John above.

Do you understand what I am trying to illustrate here? The Creator of heaven and Earth invites us to be His friends! Perhaps that is just the purpose for His creation to begin with. Oh how wonderful that is!

Is Jesus Your Friend?

Will you pray this prayer?

“Dear God, You are an awesome and mighty God. Big enough to create everything, yet humble enough to come to this earth to show us a visible image of you. Lord, I haven’t always been your friend. As a matter of fact I’ve been your enemy at times and rejectedyou. Please forgive me for my actions that were not pleasing to you. You know my heart Lord, let me know where I have sinned. I really want to know you more and I’d like to be your friend. Please be patient with me as I learn more about you. Thank you for leading me down your path. In Jesus name, amen”

In the spirit of this message, here is a song that was written in 1855 by Joseph M. Scriven, I’m sure some of you have heard it before. If you know the tune, go ahead and sing it:

What a Friend we have in Jesus

What a Friend we have in Jesus, all our sins and griefs to bear!
What a privilege to carry everything to God in prayer!
O what peace we often forfeit, O what needless pain we bear,
All because we do not carry everything to God in prayer.

Have we trials and temptations? Is there trouble anywhere?
We should never be discouraged; take it to the Lord in prayer.
Can we find a friend so faithful who will all our sorrows share?
Jesus knows our every weakness; take it to the Lord in prayer.

Are we weak and heavy laden, cumbered with a load of care?
Precious Savior, still our refuge, take it to the Lord in prayer.
Do your friends despise, forsake you? Take it to the Lord in prayer!
In His arms He’ll take and shield you; you will find a solace there.

Blessed Savior, Thou hast promised Thou wilt all our burdens bear
May we ever, Lord, be bringing all to Thee in earnest prayer.
Soon in glory bright unclouded there will be no need for prayer
Rapture, praise and endless worship will be our sweet portion there

Photo by Jacob Meyer on Unsplash