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Acts 2:22

Why is it significant that one of the names of God is “man”? We have spent half of the year looking at God’s character, His power, His might, His love, His Lordship,… the list is long. “Man” seems so out of character for God. “Man” is beneath God, because He is above all, knows all, sees all, is everywhere, created everything and God is our King. But it is true, God became “man” in Jesus.

God becoming “man” was completely His idea, part of His plan. He knew that the only way we could be in relationship with Him was for our sin debt to be paid, and He knew that the only way we could pay our debt would be with our lives, our own blood poured out as payment. He wanted relationship with us so deeply, He decided to make another way for our debt to be paid. He left His perfect home in heaven and came to earth so He could die in our place. His blameless perfection was the only substitute valuable enough and pure enough to take our place. There was no other option for us. Jesus lived on this earth just as you and I do, and He died a tortuous, humiliating death to cover the cost of our sin because He wanted to buy us back out of our death sentence. He chose to become man.

God becoming “man” is the best gift we have ever been given. God trading His life for mine/ours is the most meaningful, rich, costly, and selfless gift I can imagine. Never will there be another gift more valuable. It is valuable because He gave His own life for you and me, and didn’t have to do it. He could have let us live and die on our own. If He had chosen to leave us on our own, the first time we sinned, our relationship with Him would have been over. We couldn’t have been in His perfect presence again with sin separating us. Because He loves us and desires relationship with us so desperately, He gifted us a replacement for our payment of sin so we could be washed clean and still be able to commune with Him. I am amazed at His gift.

God becoming “man” is pure grace and generosity. We do not deserve His payment for our sin. No one is good enough to make the cut on our own. God’s love is different than our love. His is so enormous, so full, so rich and completely unconditional, He was willing to pay whatever it cost Him to buy us back. He knew He was the only perfect payment, the only possible replacement and He was willing to lavish us with exactly what we didn’t deserve.

 

The only reason for God to take on the name “man” was to save us and wash us clean so we could have relationship with Him. This name of God reminds me of His enormous love for us, His willingness to give up His only Son, His grace because I am so undeserving of His gift, and His perfect knowledge because He knew we would need to see His actual life on earth to be able to believe His plan. This name of God might be the most humble name He has. It stops me in my tracks to fall face down in His presence in gratitude to Him.

Today’s name of Jesus is “Magnificent“.

Isaiah 28:29 “All this also comes from the Lord Almighty, whose plan is wonderful, whose wisdom is magnificent.”

The word magnificent describes something that is extraordinarily beautiful, breathtaking, or awe inspiring.  A sunset, rolling hills, snow covered mountains, breeching whales, waterfalls, and vast oceans. The things that are larger than life and stop me in my tracks. Magnificent is the only way to describe such beauty.

Even more magnificent is the creator of all these things. He remains magnificent and unchanging in the midst of a pandemic and social unrest. He is the source of all that is good and perfect. James 1:17 says “Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.” Even though our circumstances seem to be changing daily, Jesus never changes. He remains steadfast in his plan to save us through his Son Jesus which is the most magnificent plan of all.

Today I take great comfort in the unchanging truth that Jesus is magnificent. His plan to guide and direct our paths is extraordinarily beautiful, breathtaking, and awe inspiring.

Dear Heavenly Father, Thank you for the reminder today of your magnificence in the midst of our current times. We trust that your plan is wonderful and your wisdom is magnificent. Reveal to us your wisdom as we move through today and tomorrow. Replace our fear with hope, knowing that you are fully aware of all that is happening and none of it surprises you. When we see the world around us in all of its beauty help us to remember the magnificent creator. We are in awe and wonder and who you are. Thank you for loving us enough to save us.  In Jesus name, Amen.

 

 

 

Today’s Reading : I John 4:8

Fear.  It is one of the oldest emotions that we have.  Fear is the absence of knowledge or a state of ignorance and the unknown.  Fear leads to confusion.  Fear leads to anxiety.  Fear leads to isolation. Fear leads to mistrust.  Fear leads to desperation.  Fear is a basic emotion, but it has to be taught.  The beginning of fear can be trace back to the beginning of existence in the garden.

Genesis 3: 7- 10

Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked. And they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loincloths.

⁸ And they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool^[c] of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LordGod among the trees of the garden. ⁹ But the Lord God called to the man and said to him, “Where are you?”^[d] 10 And he said, “I heard the sound of you in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked, and I hid myself.” 

 

Fear was created during the separation of us from God.  Fear allowed our minds to search and create abstract meanings for the unknown.  It replaced the knowledge and peace that God had given us during creation.  It replaced our connection with God.

But there is a remedy for Fear, and it is Love.  Love was the creating force that God used to create us in His image.  Love was and is in the fundamental foundation of everyone. It is something that cannot be erased or changed.

If we reflect on Love, it is the first emotion that many of us feel at our birth.  When we enter into this world we are surrounded by love and caring.  It is the sense of belonging and the knowledge that we will be safe.  This innocence is truly a gift that if nurtured will blossom into excellence.  Unfortunately, life will introduce fear that can be both useful and detrimental.  Fear can be useful to give children caution from harming themselves or others.  But if the fear is not tampered with love and caring, it will create destructive and more harmful repercussions.

I John 4: 7-12

⁷ Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. ⁸ Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love. ⁹ In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him. ¹⁰ In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. ¹¹ Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. ¹² No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God abides in us and his love is perfected in us.

The love that God has for us is unconditional and never-ending.  This is a hard concept for us to comprehend because the only love that we can tangibly witness is that from each other. No matter how hard we attempt to give the best love to each other, we will fail every time.  It is only when we can become aligned with God that we are able to love more and without reciprocations.  Loving each other is something that we have to be intentional and consistent.  This has to be done on a daily basis as explained by David in

Psalms 51: 10 Create in me a clean heart, O God,
and renew a right^[b] spirit within me.

One of the best examples of how Love can cancel out fear is found in our interactions with our children. On many nights since the kids were babies, there is at least one night per week that the kids will wake in the middle of the night and come to our room.  The child will tell me that something is in the room or they heard something.  I will take them in my arms or by the hand and take them back to bed.  Then I will ask them what is the thing that has cause them to be afraid.  The will tell me and I will acknowledge their fear and then I will search for the offending agent.  Sometimes it is a toy that has been left on and is making a sound.  Sometimes it is clothes or an object that is on the dresser that cast a shadow on the wall.  Sometimes it is a tree scraping the window or outside wall.  No matter what it is I will comfort them and then let show them what it is that cause this increase anxiety.  They will then proceed to return to rest and fall asleep.

This is how God works with us when we are aligned with him.  This alignment comes from regular communication with Him and acknowledging his presence in our lives and purpose for our lives.  One of the main weapons that the Adversary has is Fear.  Then the adversary wants us to attempt to banish fear and not acknowledge it.  But when we attempt to diminish the true effects that fear has on us, it actually grows when left unchecked.  When fear remains uncontrolled or hidden, when it is revealed it can be unrelenting and completely detrimental.

• We have to allow God to Love us and then we have to Love ourselves.
• We have to allow God to be our Father and comfort us in the midst of the Fear.
• We have to allow Him to reveal with Love the uncertainty and unknown that Fear attempts to give.
• Once the Fear is acknowledged and shown for its true nature, we have to rely on God to keep us safe and know that we are Loved.

May God give us Love. May we Love ourselves.  May we show Love to each other.  The only thing that conquers Fear is Love.  Be Blessed.

My daughter has asked me the same question many times in the last couple months,  “Mom, since I will be 18 soon, can I get a tattoo?”.  We have discussed all aspects of getting a tattoo.  I don’t have one myself, but I am not opposed to her getting one.  We have talked about how a tattoo might “define” you to some people.  Some people may make judgments about you because of what your tattoo says or how it looks.  I certainly have not changed her mind about her desire to get a tattoo, so we shall see in about 3 months what she decides to do with her body.  

Today we will look at a verse that some say might suggest that Jesus had a tattoo.

On his robe and on his thigh he has a name written, King of kings and Lord of lords.

Revelation 19:16

So?  If Jesus had a name written on his thigh, does that mean he had a tattoo?  Some people conclude from reading the verse above that Jesus must have had a tattoo on his thigh.  But, because Jesus was a Jew and Jewish Law warned not to put tattoo marks on yourself (Leviticus 19:28), Jesus probably did not put a mark on himself.

So, what does it mean that on Jesus’ robe and on His thigh He has “King of Kings and Lord of Lords” written?  The book of Revelation is filled with symbolism, and this description is most likely symbolic.  The mention of the name being written on Jesus’ thigh is probably figurative.  The mention of the name being written on His robe and His thigh could very well mean that the words were not on His skin at all, rather, they were written on the part of His robe that covered His thigh.

In any case, it does not seem that Jesus had an actual tattoo.  The best way to find out and confirm the truth of the matter is to declare Jesus as Lord of your life and be with Jesus when He returns to earth.

But if the title Lord of lords is so important, what does it mean?  The idea of Jesus being King of kings and Lord of lords means that there is no higher authority.  His reign over all things is absolute.  God raised Him from the dead and placed Him over all things.

21 far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come.  22 And he put all things under his feet and gave him as head over all things to the church, 23 which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all.

Ephesians 1:21-23

In the end, all other rulers will be conquered or abolished, and He alone will reign supreme as King of kings and Lord of lords of all the earth.  There is no power, no king, and no lord who can oppose Him and win.  

We have the choice to follow Him and make Him our Lord of lords.  If we make the choice we will indeed be a witness one day to see first-hand the answer of Jesus and His tattoo.