Message = Jesus

It always amazed me that so MANY things point to JESUS in the Old Testament and yet so many of US don't allow the concept to have its end - JESUS. Teachers were quick to point out the concept of Hebrews 1:1 as "God spoke to us in 'SON'" - JESUS is God's message to us. Then, they quickly got to HIS WORDS and those of His followers as THE message.

Well - I have decided (wow - I must be important !) that it is OK to stay with JESUS . . .and I do believe GOD said that to US - OUT LOUD . . ."This is my beloved Son" YES - He also said "Listen to HIM" - so what did JESUS SAY ? For our purposes HE said, "I AM The Way, The Truth, The Life - NO ONE comes to the Father BUT by ME". The message is about HIM - His identity; HIS performance; His provision of Himself as THE ultimate answer . . .and our way to Father.

It seems to me that John 14:6 may well fulfill Isaiah 42:6; 49:8 . . .where BOTH Isaiah passages indicate that Jesus would be "sent for a covenant". And - allow me to confess that when I "ran into" these verses accidentally about 30 years ago - I could scarcely breathe for several minutes - so they probably mean much more to ME than they do to you at this point ! So - get YOUR Bible and read them and see if God speaks to YOU . . .

I am not relying on a fanciful argument to make my points . . .but simply my prejudice that JESUS is EVERYTHING . . .and yes - several people have actually told me that I overemphasize Jesus. My response to that is - "Thank you ! I needed that !"

Well - I am an excitable person in one area - those great passages about Jesus in Colossians 1:15ff. and Philippians 2:5ff. 1 Timothy 6:14ff.2 Corinthians 5:17ff. - really thrill me. I am unashamedly a JESUS MAN ! So - when I see that much of our discussion is about things that are NOT JESUS - I get a little frustrated. Don't misunderstand - I believe the whole Bible . . .and I study it ALL - but "out-of-context" concepts made all important isn't my MAJOR focus. That's one reason I waited so many years to share my study on Jesus as Covenant - I didn't wish to be irresponsible with the whole Bible. AND - many have already told me they have no idea what I am trying to say - so I expect my poor communication will continue. So - let's take our time . . .

For TODAY - allow me to share one more facet - Paul uses the word "Promise" to be an undergirding principle of God's eternal purpose . . .especially Galatians 3:16ff. and that PROMISE was to Abram and TO HIS SEED - Christ. So - the question is - what is the Promise God made to Jesus and Abram at the same time ? More on that - next time . . .