Who is Jesus to YOU?

It's been difficult for me to settle in to write this blog. With all the hullabaloo on facebook about Duck Dynasty and sin vs. "tolerance" and "wrongful birth" lawsuits (which made me cry AND gag), it's been hard for me to sit down and just write about Christmas...but that's what I'm going to do.

Know why?

Because Christmas...the celebration of my God coming to Earth in the flesh to DIE for me and RISE from the dead and SAVE me...is totally worth putting breaks on all the other nonsense.

We're talking again about Christmas from the perspective of Sharon Thomas from Established Footsteps. I listened to this second teaching again today and took notes, and I was just so blessed by it. (If you'd like to see my blog post on her first Deeper Christmas lesson, you can view that here.

We're looking again at John 4:1-42, the story of the Samaritan woman Jesus meets at the well. We're also looking at Isaiah 9:6, where we see the prophetic names of Jesus: Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace. Today's focus is on the middle two: Mighty God and Eternal Father.

Is that what you see when you look at the nativity scene? Our Mighty God, our Eternal Father lying in the manger surrounded by his earthly parents, animals, and shepherds?

The wise men knew who He was when they followed the star. They brought him gifts that symbolized his royalty...not royalty in an earthly sense, but heavenly authority. Whoa! That's pretty cool.

In the last post, we saw how the Samaritan woman was mixed up, confusing literal water for spiritual water, and how Jesus acted as her Wonderful Counselor, knowing exactly who she was and saying "If you knew the Gift of God..." (John 4:10).

If you knew the Gift of God...Wow. How many of us really know that gift?

The Samaritan woman went on to show how confused she was. She says in verse 19: 

Sir...I see that You are a prophet. 

Our fathers worshiped on this mountain,

yet you [Jews] say that the place

to worship is in Jerusalem.

She thought he was a prophet. She was sitting face-to-face with her Savior, but she still couldn't SEE Him. Her perceptions were skewed.

Sharon points out here two things the Samaritan woman does that we ALL have a tendency to do...she formed her perception of Jesus based, not upon truth, but upon her surroundings.

Our fathers - How many of us have perceptions of Jesus that are based upon our family or our heritage? 

What other say - Is our perception of Jesus based on the truth of God's Word, or is it based upon our cultural landscape? 

Jesus replied:

"Believe Me, woman, 

an hour is coming when you will worship the Father

neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem.

You Samaritans worship what you do not know.

We worship what we do know,

because salvation is from the Jews.

But an hour is coming, and is now here,

when true worshipers will worship the Father

in spirit and in truth.

Yes, the Father wants such people to worship Him.

God is spirit,

and those who worship Him

must worship in spirit and truth."

(John 4:21-24)

That is powerful!! We are to worship our Lord, Jesus Christ, not based upon our perceptions of him or through the lens of our heritage or culture, but in spirit and truth!

She still doesn't get it though. She's confused and doesn't want to hear what He's saying so she just says, "I know that Messiah is coming. When He comes, He will explain everything to us" (4:25).

Poor girl. It's like a Candid Camera moment, isn't it? She's looking at this "prophet" (aka the Creator of the world and the Messiah) saying, "Whatever you say 'spirit and truth' man! I don't get it, but one day the Messiah will come and then I'll understand."

But Jesus once again reveals himself to her and says simply, "I am He, the One speaking to you" (4:26).

I am He...the One speaking to you. *sigh*

Who is Jesus in your life? A friend? A good teacher? A baby in a manger? A prophet?

Scripture tells us everywhere He is so much more!! He is our Mighty God!! He is our Eternal Father!!

(For more examples of this, see: Heb 1:1-3, John 10:30, Matt 1:23, and John 8:58 to start.)

Until she really knew who Jesus was, she couldn't truly worship Him! She just knew Him through what her family and the Jews said. 

But Jesus wants us to know Him...and He wants us to know HE is enough. 

He is the image of the invisible God,

the firstborn over all creation,

because by Him everything was created,

in heaven and on earth,

the visible, and the invisible,

whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities-

all things have been created through Him and for Him.

(Colossians 1:15-16)

Jesus is ALL. And He is ENOUGH.

He's enough to mend your brokenness. He's enough to ease your pain. He's enough to fill you up.

The key is, you have to let Him. You have to seek Him, in spirit and in truth. Only then can you receive your Gift! Jesus Christ IS our Christmas gift; He IS our merry and bright!!

So today, no matter what you're struggling with, no matter what Christmas has been in your past, and no matter what you think about Jesus, seek Him, in spirit and in truth.

Like me, that may mean purposefully putting off the nonsense...take a break from the shopping, events, and Duck Dynasty drama, and really dig in to God's Holy Word.

Take the time to truly unwrap your Gift.

(Disclaimer - once again, you should really listen to this teaching for yourself. Hearing Sharon's passion about the way God has revealed Himself to her through His Word is worth every minute!)