Passage of the Day: Philippians 2: 9, 11 [see highlight passage in bold/underlined] … 5 Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: 6 Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, 7 but made Himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. 8 And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to death — even death on a cross! 9 Therefore God exalted Him to the highest place and gave Him the Name that is above every name, 10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
My Journal for Today: What I’m about to write may not sit well with some who call themselves, “Christian.” However, today’s repeated passage again declares – for emphasis – that Jesus Christ is “LORD.” And this has a stark and powerful implication when it comes to salvation. According to John MacArthur in his entry today for Strength for Today, the truth that Jesus is LORD is affirmed over 700 times in the New Testament; and no more clearly than in Acts 2: 36, where Peter in his great evangelical sermon declared, “…let all Israel be assured of this: God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord AND Christ.“ [All caps to emphasize the conjunction “AND,” which connects Jesus as Christ AND LORD.]
It is an enigma to MacArthur, and to yours truly, that some, who think they are “Christian,” can believe - and even teach - that one can be saved by receiving and believing in Jesus, The Christ, BEFORE they receive Christ as their Lord. And I totally agree with MacArthur in today’s devotional entry when he asserts that such an assumption is “… completely unbiblical, … in effect … saying Christ isn’t Lord until we give Him permission to be so in our lives.” Looking at Acts 2: 21 and 16: 31 clearly shows, as MacArthur proclaims, “… to be saved, you must confess Jesus as LORD.
Salvation is a package deal, … acceptance of Jesus as CHRIST AND LORD. We cannot separate out Christ, the Savior, from Christ, the Lord; because without Christ’s authority as Lord of all, Jesus [whose Name means “God Who saves”] could never be the saving Christ. So, as Christians, we must realize that to be saved – i.e., truly born again as believers – Christ must be our LORD to be our Savior; and as saved Christians, Christ’s authority and Lordship will rule over our lives forever! We can only be “living sacrifices” and live transformed lives, as Paul wrote about in Romans 12: 1 – 2, if Christ is truly the LORD of our life.
Therefore, as we move through the Advent season, we need to ask ourselves, “Have I truly repented of my sin condition and confessed Christ as The LORD of my life in believing Him to be my Savior?” If not, NOW is the time do so – and be saved by the authority of Christ, as Lord AND Savior. And making Jesus “the LORD” means total submission to His Lordship with all that such surrender entails. Perhaps this year is the year that you will truly bow before God’s throne of grace and make Christ the LORD of ALL THINGS in your life.
And to that end, we will see more of our LORD this month. Stay tuned!
My Prayer Today: O, dear Jesus, You are LORD of all!! Amen
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