Precious!

1 Peter 2:7a - "Therefore, to you who believe, He is precious...."

Precious! Many gemstones are called precious because they cost so much to purchase. Jesus is Precious because His death cost Him everything. Many gems are precious because they are rare or only one of a kind. Jesus is also Precious because He is the only Son of God - there is no one like Him. 

Many speak of memories being Precious - they hold to them and think on them. Jesus should be Precious to us in this way. We hold Him and think about Him.

Today, muse over the thoughts of how Jesus saved you and maintained you through many trials and troubles. He should be Precious to each of us - because of His shed blood, we are going to spend our eternity with Him.

El-gibbor

Isaiah 9:6 (ESV) - "For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. (Italics added)

Do you recognize Jesus as אֵ֣ל גִּבֹּ֔ור? No, that isn't gibberish written here, it is the Hebrew for El-gibbor or as we see it in our passage - Mighty God. Wonderful things happen to those who recognize who He is. Those who refuse to recognize Him have shut the spiritual door of their life.

Jesus is the Mighty God to answer our prayers. He is the Mighty God to overcome our bad habits. He is the Mighty God to give peace in the midst of the storm you are going through. He is Mighty God to give strength to resist temptation. He is Mighty God to change us from the inside out. He is the Mighty God who takes our sins and gives us His righteousness. He is the originator of the extreme makeover - He will make us new.

Muse today over the fact that if you have received Jesus Christ as your personal savior, He has changed you from the inside out. How much of the inward change are you allowing to show on your outside? Let the Mighty God, the El-gibbor, the אֵ֣ל גִּבֹּ֔ור to shine through. Acknowledge Him as the Mighty God of your life.

Worthy!

Revelation 4:11 (HCSB) - "Our Lord and God, You are worthy to receive glory and honor and power,because You have created all things, and because of Your will they exist and were created." (Italics added)

Revelation 5:12 (HCSB) - "The Lamb who was slaughtered is worthy to receive power and riches and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and blessing!" (Italics added)

Worthy! Jesus is WORTHY!! Why? Well, He is the omnipotent Creator, the One who gave us life (John 1:3). He created us with life, purpose, and design. He is worthy to receive our praise and worship because He created, designed, and gave us the ability to live. Our life is a reason for us to give Him all the worship.

Worthy also because He is the One who sacrificed His life for me - and you. He died for all people to pardon all sin. He did not deserve to die, He did not need to die for Himself, He was not sentenced to death by God, He choose to die in my place. He choose to die in your place.

As Creator and Redeemer, the Lord Jesus Christ is the only One worthy to receive all praise and worship. Today, muse over the fact that He alone is worthy. Do you treat Him as fully worthy? Do you even acknowledge Him as worthy? In words only, or in the way that you live your life?

The Name Above All Names

"For this reason God highly exalted Him and gave Him the name that is above every name..." Philippians 2:9 (HCSB)

I was sitting here and thinking about how marvelous our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ is. The Bible teaches that He "is the same yesterday, today, and forever." (Hebrews 13:8, HCSB). What we read in the Bible about him in the New Testament holds true today - and into the future. He is unchanging and holds each of us in His hands.

The passage of Scripture above reminds us that His name is above every name, more excellent than any other name we could come up with. His name is above Abraham, Moses, Joshua, David, Paul - every prophet, priest, and king. He is the Messiah - the Anointed One. He IS the prophet, priest and king. He is the Prophet of all prophets, the Priest of all priests, and the King of all Kings. He is the one who called, empowered, commissioned, and used each of them. He is the One who defeated sin, death, and Hell. He died on the Cross so that we might live, and lives so that we never have to die. He is the Alpha and Omega, the Beginning and the End, the Lord of Lords, the King of Kings - in other words, HE IS!

His name is sweet to me because He saved me from my sins, set me free form the penalty that I faced, and keeps me in His hand.

Today, let us muse over the name above every name - focus on Jesus.