False belief leads to fatigue and emptiness. Are you worn out and running on empty?

The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. Mark 1:1 (ESV)

Jesus heralds the beginning of great significance in the history of the cosmos. By leaving the throne of God and becoming the Father’s humble servant on Earth, Jesus ushers in a paradigm shift of breathtaking magnitude.  Prior to Jesus, we were eternally separated from God. Through Jesus, you and I can choose to live a life marked by the eternal truth that nothing can separate us from God, our Father.

For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Romans 8:38-39 (ESV)

By the time Mark wrote his Gospel, “Jesus Christ” had become a proper name, not a name (Jesus) and a title (Christ). However, Mark intended “Christ” to have its full meaning—Jesus, Messiah. Mark further identifies Jesus Christ as the “Son of God.” Together, “Jesus,” “Christ,” and “Son of God” present Jesus as a man who was God’s special agent but who was also fully divine. Fully Human, Fully God. Jesus took on the role of a servant of the Father to save humanity and restore our relationship with God.

Mark’s Gospel tells us about Jesus. It also mixes in stories about the religious authorities-those who stood in opposition to Christ and the disciples who sought to follow Him. God is for you not against you. Nothing can separate you from the love of the Father. Nothing.

Fellowship With God

So let me ask you: How are you and God doing? What’s the status of your relationship? How are you and God? If you updated your Facebook page to show your relationship status with God what would say? Close? Distant? Intimate? Removed? Deep and Wide? Broken and in need of repair? Unwound?

Maybe your reeling and hurting inside. Healing can’t begin until we’re ready to admit our hurt. We won’t tend to our wounds if we choose to ignore them and keep them hidden from view.  Our broken habits won’t change if we don’t admit that we are powerless over them.

Jesus came to make a way for us leading to restoration. There is no hurt so deep that God cannot heal it. There is no fear you face that the Lord can’t help you overcome. There is no sin too great for His grace and mercy. There’s nothing too big for Him to forgive.

How you view the first verse of Mark’s gospel defines your relationship with God. Do you follow Jesus? Do you call Him Lord? Have you received Him as Savior?

Who Are You Following?

We all follow someone. If you’re not following Christ, who do you follow?

Who/what do you have faith in? God? Yourself? Someone else? Something else? Money? Things? A door knob? Door knobs are great after all. They are used to open doors. They help you get from A to B. But beyond that, door knobs can’t do much for you, can they?

Before he died, my Dad used to spend a lot of time in his workshop. In that workshop hung a sign that read:

My Dad was a boss in real life. My Dad was Boss in our home. He was the boss of our lives. It was his way or the highway. He controlled everything. Naturally, I rebelled, wanting to do things my own way. Then one day I became a boss myself.

Like my Dad, I sought to control people, situations, and things. In his world, my Dad was god. And like my Dad, I saw myself as god of my life, until one day, tired and empty, hurting and broken, I gave my life to Jesus Christ. Today, Jesus is the God I serve. He is whom I have placed my faith and trust in–Him and Him alone.

God is for You, not against You.

Apart from Christ, I can’t do anything. But in Christ, I am a new creation. The old has washed away and the new has come. I am refreshed, restored, and renewed. I am no longer tired and empty. I am no longer dry like the desert. Rather, I am overflowing with the Spirit.

Jesus is for you, not against you.

Are you tired and broken? Are you wounded and hurting? Through Jesus, you can change that today.

Are you tired and empty? Find Jesus.

4th Friday Prayer Time