Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near.

Do You Believe in Jesus?

John 1

Faith Family,

Greetings in the name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. I continue to give thanks to our gracious God for allowing me the privilege of serving as your Senior Pastor. Your faithfulness and your enthusiasm fill my heart with joy and help complete my hope in Christ. Every day I look forward to serving our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ alongside each of you and growing in our discipleship journey together. I pray as God has continued blessings us, may we continue to be a blessing to others.

We continue with the Catechism teaching that is in our Weekly Newsletter. We are on question #7. This week’s question is “Do You Believe in Jesus?” The Answer, according to the Catechism, is, “Yes, I believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ, the only Son of God.” There are several passages both in the Old and New Testaments that allude to this truth.  

The one I want to share with you is from John 1:1-5, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was with God in the beginning. 3 Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. 4 In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. 5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.”

The Author of John’s Gospel reminds us that Jesus was not created by God but was of God and is God. He also shares that Jesus was a part of creating the Universe and all that it entails. There is no other reference in either Old or New Testaments about another virgin birth, or another incarnation. Jesus is the one and only. Therefore, He is God’s Only Son.

One of the things I remind folks about is that Christ is not Jesus’ name, but a title given to Jesus. Jesus is the Christ or the Anointed One. The Anointed One of God, one with God. That part of the statement is easy to accept and live out. Living as Jesus is the Anointed One, the Messiah, the Savior of the World is the easy part. The more difficult part is understanding and living out the meaning of Jesus is Lord. The response to the question, “Do you believe in Jesus” begins with “Yes, I believe in One Lord, Jesus Christ." What does it mean for Jesus to be Lord? 

The title “Lord” was used to exalt royalty in Jesus’ day. In fact, the Roman Empire once recognized one Lord – Caesar. However, when the followers of Christ referred to his as Lord, they were saying that Jesus is the only Lord we recognize, which was a point of great tension.  We believe in one Lord. That simply means there is only one authority, one ruler over all things – Jesus the Christ. However, do we truly live what we believe about Jesus being the one and only Lord? 

Some questions one must ponder when answering this question are: Does Jesus have complete control over my life and everything in it? Does He control my finances, my calendar, my resources? Is He the authority over my life, my decisions, my family? If we say we believe that Jesus is the one Lord, then are lives should reflect such a belief. 

Living with Jesus as Lord of our lives isn’t easy, it takes time, it takes practice, and it takes repentance throughout the journey. Jesus isn’t just the One who saved us, He is also the One who should be leading our lives.

I am blessed to serve Jesus, the Anointed One, who is the authority of my life. I am privilege to know Jesus not just as my Savior, but my Lord as well.

Have a blessed Week!

Pastor Frank