What a Friend...

god-look-mirror

Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us.
Romans 8:35,37 NKJV

John 1
[ The Eternal Word ] In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made.
 
"Who is Jesus and why should I believe in Him?"  "I have lived my whole life without giving Him much thought."  "My parents made me go to church but I never really took this Jesus thing too serious or to heart." "I know the Christmas Story but what else do I need? I mean, why do I need to know Jesus and try and live for him?"
 
I hear these questions and more, sometimes I even get kicked out of someone's life because I walk with Jesus the Christ.  I am not sure we have ever asked these questions.  I think we both had faith that what we were taught was real and it was lasting. 
 
I will try hard to explain who Jesus is, why we choose to follow Him and why we need to. 
 
If you decide to read the Word of God, do find a translation that fits you, NKJ is great and it isn't as watered down.  Amplified is tough to read but it great for using as a study tool.  Don't just go with the one you were given in confirmation or as a child.  Go to the bookstore and find one for you, one that when you sit down, it speaks to you.  The Bible is a living and breathing text, God is speaking to you through it.  A Bible that is falling apart usually belongs to a person that isn't.  Don't be afraid to walk into a Christian Book Store.  Lifeway, Mardels, Parables, Family Christian, and more.  They are there to walk you through the process of finding the right one. 
 
Though all the last few teachings, this should have been one of the first.  You really can't pray unless you know the Trinity- Father, Son and Holy Spirit.  You can't really read the Word of God until you have them in you either.  You can't walk with the Lord unless you know Him.  Really know Him.  You can sit in a church but you won't get to know Jesus if you haven't invited him into your heart, your life, your mind, your soul, and to become your strength.  You may listen to the sermon but you won't soak in what is being taught as well.  You won't even make your body a temple of the Most High God if you don't know Him.  You can pretend to the outside world that you do, but unless you make an inside choice to know, live, love and serve Him all your days, you won't see the blessings He has for you.  You won't see the healing He has intended for yours and His Glory. 
 
I will also include links at the bottom of this page to help you find HIM for yourself.  I can not possibly write all that has been written in studies, so I use a lot of help and find the links and put them here.  There are some great writers that most just pass by.  But I want you to know them, click on them, go find answers and see if you know Him as well as Jesus knows you.
 
From www.BibleStudyGuide.org we find this study...
 

Who is Jesus?
God
Part I of the Series. Bible study on Jesus as God.

One of the most important aspects of His identity is that He's God. Interestingly, it's the most difficult to grasp and explain, since we've never possessed the attributes of deity.
Jesus Is God
"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God" (Jn. 1:1).
In this passage, John isn't setting forth a polytheistic doctrine, that there are multiple Gods which we worship. Rather, he is stating that Jesus is divine, in perfect fellowship with Jehovah, though a separate person.
This is made clear when we understand John's use of the definite article, which identifies Jehovah apart from the Word, in John 1:1. (The definite article isn't translated in this passage relating to the word "God").
A more literal translation of John 1:1, translating the definite article with "God", would read, "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with the God. . . ." (Jn. 1:1).
In the latter part of this verse ("and the Word was God"), the absence of the definite article before "God", along with the preposition, expresses the deity of Jesus as the Word, though He's a separate person from Jehovah.
When we say "Jesus is God," we don't mean that He's the same person as the Father. Rather, we mean He's divine, possessing the same divine attributes of the Father, as one of the three persons of the Godhead.
  • "For in Him all the fullness of Deity dwells in bodily form" (Col. 2:9, NASB).
  • " For in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily" (Col. 2:9, NKJV).
Jesus: Equality With God
When writing to the Philippians, Paul addresses the divine qualities of Jesus, saying, "who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped" (Phil. 2:6).
The word translated "equality" is isos, denoting equality in quantity and quality. Therefore, Paul tells us the qualities of Jesus were equal to God. In other words, as he stated early in the verse, Jesus was "in the form of God" before His incarnation, namely that He was divine, and a member of the Godhead.
Jesus' Eternal Existence
Isaiah, prophesying of the birth of Jesus lists a number of descriptive names, one of which is "Everlasting Father" (Is. 9:6).
Then Jesus, after his birth, confessed His deity before the Jews with the phrase "I am" (Jn. 8:58), similar to the phrase used by Jehovah in Exodus 3:14, "I AM WHO I AM."
Jesus used the phrase "I Am" to express His divine quality of eternal existence.
In the context He said, "Your father Abraham rejoiced to see My day, and he saw it and was glad" (Jn. 8:56).
The Jews responded and asked, "You are not yet fifty years old, and have You seen Abraham" (Jn. 8:57)?
Jesus replied, confessing His eternal nature as deity, "Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was born, I am" (Jn. 8:58).
Jesus' Divine Power
In Isaiah 9:6, not only does the prophet foretell of Jesus' eternal existence, he also tells about His divine power as God.
  • "For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us; and the government will rest on His shoulders; and His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace" (Is. 9:6).
In the New Testament, Paul says Jesus is "the power of God and the wisdom of God" (1 Cor. 1:24), as the One who has all authority in heaven and on earth (Matt. 28:18).
As a result, "the word of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God" (1 Cor. 1:18).
Therefore, in Revelation Jesus refers to Himself as the Almighty. "'I am the Alpha and the Omega,' says the Lord God, 'who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty'" (Rev. 1:8).
Other Phrases Expressing Jesus' Deity
Although this article isn't exhaustive regarding the divine terms identifying Jesus, three others are noteworthy:
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Who is Jesus?
Creator    
Part II of the Series. Bible study on Jesus as Creator.

In Part I, we began a series on the names and phrases expressing Jesus' identity, talking about Jesus as God.
This week, we want to talk about Jesus as our creator, and the relating assurances we have from God.
Jesus is the Word
Last week we discussed in detail the fact that Jesus is the Word, and thus one of the three persons of the Godhead (Jn. 1:1; Col. 2:9).
As the Word, Jesus had a role in creating everything that was created.
  • "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being" (Jn. 1:1-3).
The Godhead at Work During Creation
The Bible begins with, "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth" (Gen. 1:1).
The word for "God" is the plural form of 'elohiym, obscurely revealing the doctrine that the three persons of the Godhead were at work during creation.
Then when it came time to create man, God said, "'Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness . . .'" (Gen. 1:26), again indicating that separate persons of the Godhead were at work.
Jesus, The Word, Creation
Genesis doesn't give specifics as to the exact part of creation performed by Jesus, but John and Paul give insight into Jesus' work as the Word.
The Bible says:
  • "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God" (Jn. 1:1).
  • "All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being" (Jn. 1:3).
  • ". . . the world was made through Him . . ." (Jn. 1:10).
  • "For by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities -- all things have been created through Him and for Him" (Col. 1:16).
So we ask ourselves, "What does the Bible tell us about the role of Jesus in creation?" I believe He was the Word.
So then, what did Jesus, as the Word, do during creation as we read the Genesis account? I believe He spoke the word of God, whereby each thing was created.
There may be other ideas regarding the role of Jesus as the Word in creation, but this point is important to understand, whereupon our hope rests today with Jesus as the Word of God.
We Can Trust Jesus' Word
The book of Hebrews begins speaking about the word of God, comparing the days in which God spoke through prophets, with the last days in which God spoke through His Son, Jesus.
  • "God, after He spoke long ago to the fathers in the prophets in many portions and in many ways, in these last days has spoken to us in His Son . . ." (Heb. 1:1-2).
To express the surpassing blessings of the word spoken by Jesus, and the resulting covenant, Paul sets forth six facts in Hebrews 1:2-4.
  • Jesus is heir of all things.
  • God made the world though Jesus.
  • Jesus is the radiance of God's glory, and the exact representation of His nature.
  • Jesus upholds all things by the word of His power.
  • Jesus is seated at the right hand of God, having made purification for sins.
  • Jesus is much better than the angels, as He has inherited a more excellent name.
Two of the above facts relate to Jesus as our creator, and the One who sustains the creation, which is our topic in this article.
With these facts, the Scriptures impress upon us that we can trust Jesus and His word for salvation.
  • "Therefore He is able also to save forever those who draw near to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them" (Heb. 7:25).
  • ". . . receive the word implanted, which is able to save your souls. But prove yourselves doers of the word . . ." (Jas. 1:21-22).
  • "He who rejects Me and does not receive My sayings, has one who judges him; the word I spoke is what will judge him at the last day" (Jn. 12:48).
Paul also uses these facts to warn us, that we carefully heed the word spoken by Jesus.
  • "For this reason we must pay much closer attention to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away from it. For if the word spoken through angels proved unalterable, and every transgression and disobedience received a just penalty, how will we escape if we neglect so great a salvation?" (Heb. 2:2-3a).
We Can Trust Jesus as Our Savior and Leader
In Colossians 1:15-20, Paul uses the fact that all things were created through and for Jesus, and that they all hold together in Him, to show His preeminence over all things.
Therefore, we can trust Jesus as our Savior.
  • "For it was the Father's good pleasure for all the fullness to dwell in Him, and through Him to reconcile all things to Himself, having made peace through the blood of His cross; through Him . . ." (Col. 1:19-20).
And, we can trust Jesus as our leader, the head of the church.
    What a prayer.❤:
  • "He is also head of the body, the church; and He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that He Himself will come to have first place in everything" (Col. 1:18).
To be continued.

Now really, if you really desire to know HIM, please follow these links and know Him. 
Once you know Him, decide if you really want to ask him into your life, your heart, your circumstances and your ways. 

Jesus: Who is Jesus?
Study God's word with these articles, by Allan McNabb.


Jesus: Who is Jesus? (series)
God (Part I )
Creator (Part II )
Word (Part III )
Son (Part IV )
Lamb of God (Part V )
Lord (Part VI )
Savior (Part VII )
Propitiation (Part VIII )
Life (Part IX )
Christ (Part X )
Light (Part XI )
Firstborn (Part XII )
Author (Part XIII )
Shepherd (Part XIV )
Head of the Church (Part XV )
High Priest and King (Part XVI )
High Priest (Part XVII )
King (Part XVIII )
Advocate and Mediator (Part XIX )
Bread of God, Bread of Life (Part XX )
Hope (Part XXI )
Alpha and Omega (Part XXII )
Judge (Part XXIII )
 
 
 
 

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