When God looks at me, He sees Jesus!

Have you ever been reading through the Bible when a verse "jumps off the page"? I mean, it causes you to stop immediately, reflect and say, "WHOA! That's amazing!!!"

I just happened to me again!

As I read through John 20, I came to the part where Mary Magdalene was at the tomb and saw Jesus. (By the way, God goes out of His way to show the value He places upon women in the Bible. One of the many ways He does so was by making it clear that a woman was the first one to see the resurrected Jesus and tell others about it [John 20:11-18].)

Well, as Mary Magdalene recognizes the resurrected Jesus for the first time at the tomb, she apparently gave Him a big hug or fell at His feet and embraced his feet in worship. This was a worshiper who was overwhelmed that her revered Teacher ("Rabonni!") was alive!

So, Jesus told her to let go and then He said something else. He said that He was heading back to Heaven soon to be with His Father and His God.

Yet, He didn't say it quite like that. He said it in a way that made it clear that followers of Jesus have no less access to God than Jesus does. When God looks at us, who have submitted to the authority of Jesus over our lives, He smiles just as much as when He looks at His Son.

I LOVE the following phrase: "and your"!

John 20:17 (New Living Translation)

"'Don't cling to me,' Jesus said, 'for I haven't yet ascended to the Father. But go find my brothers and tell them, "I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God." ' "

The mystery of our incredible relationship with God (that we cannot possibly fathom in this life) is tied up in the words "in Christ" that is found so often in Ephesians chapters 1 and 2. Because we are saved and "in Christ," we have more privileges and worth than we could ever possibly imagine.

Hey, are you a follower of Jesus? If so, you've got some amazing things that are true of you! Live up to it! Act like who you are!

Why we need accountability partners

Before I go out for the day, I do what most wise husbands do - I ask my wife how I look.

After all, my extent of colors is limited to those found in an 8 pack box of Crayola crayons. Kim is much better qualified to tell me if my clothes match. If she takes a look at my attire and gets a pained look on her face, I know I chose poorly. If I want to avoid getting the same look from many of the folks I meet that day, I would do well to listen to her assessment and make the necessary adjustments.

Living as a follower of Jesus is much like that. More times than not, we may be blind to our own mess-ups. We are engaged in sin or are on the slippery slope toward some grievous sin and may not realize it. That's when we need other believers to take a look at us and give us an accurate assessment of what they see. 

No one likes to see it but they may get a pained look on their face as they look at us. But, let's be real - the pained look isn't the real problem. The real problem is what has caused that pained look.

The wise response is not to get upset at that Christ-follower for pointing out some error in our life. The wise response is to make the necessary adjustment.

Unfortunately, too many folks are saturated with pride. Instead of making the adjustment, they get angry at the one who notices the problem.

2 Chronicles 36:11-13 (New Living Translation)

"Zedekiah was twenty-one years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem eleven years. He did what was evil in the sight of the LORD his God, and he refused to humble himself when the prophet Jeremiah spoke to him directly from the LORD. He also rebelled against King Nebuchadnezzar, even though he had taken an oath of loyalty in God’s name. Zedekiah was a hard and stubborn man, refusing to turn to the LORD, the God of Israel."

So, are you being held accountable by at least one other Christ-follower (not including your spouse)? Have you given at least one other person the right to address problems in your life and be honest with you regarding what they see?

How do you respond when a Christ-follower points out some error in your life? Do you humbly make the necessary correction or do you get angry?

If your response is typically anger, people will stop telling you where you need to make adjustments. Without that needed feedback, you could wake up one day and wonder how you got so far away from the Lord. Others could have spared you that wasted time away from the Lord.

Do yourself a favor and listen to fellow Christ-followers when they give you feedback on what they see in your life. You are the one to benefit from the feedback.

How do I know that I love Jesus?

How do we know that we love Jesus?

This is really important because if you don't love Him, you aren't a child of God and you are not going to Heaven. When we are saved from the penalty of our sins, God gives us a new 'heart' and we realize that God is to be loved and enjoyed. Love for Jesus is the natural activity of the one who is truly a child of God.

So, how do we know that we love Him?

Is our love for Jesus based simply upon some warm feeling we get inside when we read the Bible or pray? Is it the supposed happy feeling we get when we sing in a worship service?

Quite simply, we know that we truly love Jesus when we obey His teachings. (Obedience is not love; it is, however, the natural response of love for Jesus.) That means we study His Word to know what He has said and then do it.

Of course, there will periodically (maybe often) be feelings of affection for our God. Yet, the true tell-tell sign that we love Jesus is based upon our answer to this question: "Am I reading God's Word and obeying it?"

John 14:21 (New Living Translation)

Jesus said: "Those who accept my commandments and obey them are the ones who love me. And because they love me, my Father will love them. And I will love them and reveal myself to each of them."