e-mail;
colin@cthompson.org.uk
www.cthompson.org.uk/colin.html
03/07/06
Dear
K,
It was good seeing you last weekend.
I
have to confess that I don’t know how to clearly give an account of the great
news of the kingdom of the heavens and of the Lord Jesus, the anointed saviour
sent by God to save, make complete, all those who put their entire trust in
Him.
Sadly
that which passes today for ‘the gospel’ has often become sales talk jargon
used to sell a particular religious group adherence. So I would strongly
recommend forgetting all that.
We
know that Jesus of Nazareth came into the world to save sinners.
So
we have to really see that we are sinners.
Satan
would call it something else. He is so reasonable and understanding about our
shortcomings. Not about anyone else’s, he’ll make sure we see the sins of
others alright.
Jesus
however, by His presence, allows us to see our own sin.
How
we react to this determines whether we go on to embrace Jesus or run away from
Him.
Quite
simply, Jesus has come as the answer to our sin, to my sin, to your sin. Sin
that if left ‘untreated’ would result in an eternal separation from God.
God
hates sin. With a vengeance. Sin is what separates us from Him.
We
are all made in the image of God, to be with Him, to talk with Him, to interact
with Him. God is love, and He sure loves us all.
But
He can’t look on sin. Problem.
God’s
solution was that He sent His Son, to be born a man, the man Jesus of Nazareth.
Jesus
was every bit as human as you or I, but without sin.
He
lived with a mam and dad, brothers and sisters.
He
saw his ‘father’ die, worked as a carpenter, was just one of the guys in
Nazareth. No halo.
But
He came for one thing. To die for my sin, and your sin.
This
is how God loves us, He gave up His only ‘begotten’ son to die for each of us.
So
Jesus allowed Himself to be rejected by those He came to save. To be
humiliated, spat upon, mocked publicly, stripped, whipped, beaten, paraded
though the streets to the place of His execution carrying the thing on which He
would be killed.
He
did this, the will of His Father, for me and for you, to take away our sin and
the punishment for that sin.
It
just had to be done.
The
dead body of Jesus was laid in a tomb ‘cave’ and sealed with a stone and a guard
of soldiers from the afternoon of the 6th day to the morning of the
1st day of the new week.
Death
could not hold the Son of God. He lay down His life and He took it up again.
Jesus
broke the power of death and sin in His death and resurrection to eternal life
so that we could share in this victory of His through becoming joined to Him.
This
Jesus is now available to all who will believe upon Him, throw themselves on
Him, call out to Him, fixing their eyes on Him.
When
Jesus was about to be betrayed He said to those who followed Him, I am going
away, and you will no longer behold me (as on a stage, a spectacle clearly
visible), but you will see me.
Jesus
is no longer a public spectacle for all to observe, speaking, healing, casting
out demons, drawing attention to Himself in so doing.
But
those who desire Him can see Him, if we will set ourselves to look for Him.
So,
what must we do to be saved?
Believe
on Jesus of Nazareth, that He is the Son of God, anointed with the power of the
Holy Spirit to save.
Reach
out to Him, calling on His name, and be immersed in water in the name of Jesus,
the Christ.
We
have His promise that He will immerse us in the Holy Spirit, making us new
living spirits that are compatible with Him,
Jesus
is the One who gives the Holy Spirit to those who are obedient to Him, if we
see who He is and ask Him.
The
relationship we have available to us with Jesus is that of loving Husband and
submissive, obedient wife.
We
should be aware that Jesus will not share us with others. He is a jealous
Husband.
We
have to face the fact that it is either Jesus first, or not Jesus at all.
Jesus
speaks, I listen.
Jesus
moves, I go with Him.
I
know Jesus loves me and is committed to me.
All
I may need, Jesus will provide.
Jesus
knows all that He is about to do, and I can relax.
Jesus
asks us to follow Him, to ‘stick with’ Him.
If
we put Jesus ‘on’, like a garment, daily, we’ll know His company and effect.
This we do by asking Him for more of the Holy Spirit, daily.
K,
it is possible for you to know Jesus.
This
is the will of God for you, so that you are not lost, but be found in Jesus.
With love.