October 7, 2012 … Lunatic, liar, or LORD?

Chronological Bible Reading - Day 281

Passage of the Day: Reference of Today’s Chronological Bible Study: John 5 … To study these chapters, go to this link - 
=============

Highlight Passage: John 5: 24 : [NLT] … {Read all of John 5; and one has to be impressed that Jesus made it very clear with His actions, especially His miracles, and His preaching, especially to the Pharisees, that He claimed oneness with God, the Father. In other words, His claims were clear that He was God in the flesh. And embedded in this claim is the most important proposition before each and every one of us; and that is: “If Jesus claimed be God, … was He a liar, a lunatic, or THE LORD?” … Certainly the biblical evidence, if believed, points to the latter; and if one chooses to believe and declare that Jesus was – in reality – the Son of God Who was sent by God, the Father, to be the Lamb of God, sacrificed to save any/all who believe in Him – His promise, in my belief and John 5: 24, is that I have “passed from death into life – eternal life.”} … 24 “I assure you, those who listen to My message and believe in God who sent Me have eternal life. They will never be condemned for their sins, but they have already passed from death into life.  
============

Cross Reference Passage: Romans 10: 9-10 : [NLT] …{The choice we all must make.} … 9 For if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For it is by believing in your heart that you are made right with God, and it is by confessing with your mouth that you are saved. 
============
Cross Reference Passage: 2nd Corinthians 5: 17 : [NLT] …{I’m the posterboy for this passage!} … What this means [i.e., believing that Jesus is The Christ Who died to save me from my sins] is that those who become Christians become new persons. They are not the same anymore, for the old life is gone. A new life has begun! 

My Journal for Today: Only one chapter today in my chronological reading assignment; but this one may be one of the most important passages in all of the New Testament. Why? … Because in John 5 we’re confronted with Jesus providing anyone who reads John’s account of Jesus healing the chronically crippled man at the well near Bethesda, as well as about His encounter with the Pharisees, who declared that Jesus was a lawbreaker for healing the man on the Sabbath, is now confronted with the outcomes of Jesus’ response to the religious leaders.

Jesus makes it very clear in John 5 that He and God, the Father, are one. In other words, Jesus, is “outed” before the people of the day, claiming to be God in the flesh; and moreover, He is teaching that anyone who believes that He is the Messiah will be changed forever, … healed, … just like the physical healing which was on display that day near the healing pool at Bethesda. But in this case, the healing is in one’s spirit so that the believer in Jesus, the Christ, will have their soul healed … FOREVER.

 And immediately my memory took me to two truths taught by the Apostle Paul in the two cross-reference verses I’ve copied above - Romans 10: 9-10 and 2nd Corinthians 5: 17, both of which describe me in my life before and after surrendering in belief to the reality of Jesus’ teaching in red above in John 5: 24).

 As I wrote above, in bold in John 5, we’re confronted with the ultimate challenge from Jesus’ life and His preaching, aren’t we? Jesus claimed to be God and our Savior? And in this claim we’re faced with the challenge of the question, Was Jesus a lunatic, a liar, or The Lord? And John 5 clearly says, if you believe and are willing to declare that HE IS LORD, you will pass from eternal death to live eternally with Jesus. … Personally, in this challenge, I’m going with this latter choice; … and I have.

And when I consider the truth of 2nd Cor. 5: 17 I know that His is my Lord, because after I truly believed and declared that He is The Messiah, my life changed … 180 degrees; … and now my pursuit – everyday - is to become more like Jesus today than yesterday; and as my Lord, tomorrow I know He’ll lead me to become more like Him than I was today … all because of the truth of Jesus and Who He showed Himself to be in John 5.

My Prayer Today: … Jesus, … You are my LORD! Amen