That's My King

I rejoice in my King, the Lord Jesus Christ, my God, and my Savior - To Him be the Glory!

Friends of Jesus

"No longer do I call you slaves, for the slave does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all things that I have heard from My Father I have made known to you" -  John 15:15.

Believers are called many things in Scripture.  We are called sons of God.  We are called children of God.  We are called brothers of Jesus Christ.  In one passage, we are even called the sisters, brothers, and mother of Jesus.  We are called disciples, which means we are learners.  We are called sheep, which means we are followers.

All these imply intimacy with Jesus.

Here in this verse Jesus goes from calling His followers slaves, to friends.

Think for a minute about what it meant to be a slave.  A slave had no right to enter into the presence of their master.  A slave had no right to know what his master was doing.  There was no intimacy between a slave and master.  A slave was a living tool.  A master never told the slave why, just what to do.  In a slave/master relationship, the master didn't disclose all of his goals, his passions, his loves, his purpose, or his plan to the slave.

Friends, on the other hand, reveal things to each other.  Friends care for each other's lives and have immediate access to one another.

By calling His disciples friends, Jesus is establishing a new kind of intimacy with them.  Jesus has made known to us the Father's goals, the Father's passions, the Father's loves, the Father's purpose, and the Father's plan.  Jesus, the Word, relates to us on an intimate level, coming alongside as our friend, and reveals truths to us about the Father.  As our friend, He shows us the Father.  To know Jesus is to see the Father.  We can also say, since He is the exact representation of God, He is all of God that we ever need to see.  Being a friend of Jesus is knowing and having access to the very heart of God.

Such incredible privilege we have as friends of Jesus!

Which leaves me with a couple of questions for you...

Have you spent time with your wonderful, accessible Friend today?

Who is there that you can tell about this wonderful Friend?

Refrigerator Magnet

Sometimes we need pain relief -

Sometimes we need strength to go through the pain - 

The Lord provides both - 

Living Nativity Album

Here's the album for Discovery Baptist Church's Living Nativity, enjoy...

Living Nativity

This weekend Discovery Baptist is once again having their Living Nativity.  Ben, Mai, and Charlie were one of four couples to portray Joseph, Mary, and Jesus.  This was the first time I actually drove through and took in what was going on.  Over 200 characters participated.  You truly are transported into another world. Everyone is in character, from the Roman centurion who greets your "chariot" to the inn keeper who tells you to move on because there is no room.  There is hustle and bustle at the beginning, with all of Bethlehem involved in the census, the towns people selling their wares and busily living life as you make your way through...

When you come to the manger scene however, it is very quiet.

So many missed just exactly what occurred over 2,000 years ago...God became flesh and dwelt among us.  He who knew no sin entered His creation so He could become sin for us...giving those who turn from their sin and to Him, His righteousness...truly, an incredible exchange.

I'll post a few more pictures, soon...

Having Fun in Photo Booth

Ok, so I am up and running now...this new computer is way too much fun...

Thought Provoking Questions

My son posted this question on my Facebook wall yesterday, making me chuckle:

"Did you hook up your amazingly-super-awesome-deluxe-maximized-super-duper-uber-fantasmical-ultra-double-concentrate-turbo-charged-direct-injected-intercooled-computer yet?"

I'm about to become a MAC user for the very first time, and I am pretty excited.  I haven't hooked up my "amazingly-super-awesome-deluxe-maximized-super-duper-uber-fantasmical-ultra-double-concentrate-turbo-charged-direct-injected-intercooled-computer" yet because I am going through all my old files, deleting the ones I don't want to keep and backing up the ones I wish to keep so I can put them on my new iMAC.

I came across this file with these thought provoking questions that I thought were worth passing on to you:

• Why am I doing this?
• What is my purpose in life?
• What will your children remember about you?
• What image does your family have in their minds about who you are and to what you devote your time?
• What does God's favor in your life produce?
• Who is Jesus Christ to you?

Some questions we are asked will make us chuckle and then we'll forget about them...

Some questions we are asked, how we answer them will determine how we live our lives...

That last question, how it is answered, will determine where we will spend eternity...