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Intention

All that matters is how people respond to the person of Jesus

Scripture

“He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation.
For by Him all things were created that are in heaven
and that are on earth, visible and invisible,
whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers.
All things were created through Him and for Him.
And He is before all things, and in Him all things consist.
And He is the head of the body, the church,
who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead,
that in all things He may have the preeminence.”
– Colossians 1:15-18 (NKJV)

Reflection

Having received a revelation of Jesus Christ, Paul — that Pharisee and son of a Pharisee — was impelled to spread the Gospel on four missionary trips.

He was aware that numerous divisions abounded in the Church, even at that early stage in the Church’s history. There were divisions over whether circumcision was required or not (Acts 15), whether eating meat was acceptable or not (Romans 14:7; 1 Corinthians 8), and whether people should follow Apollos or Cephas (1 Corinthians 3).

It is also noteworthy that Peter’s message (Acts 2) and also Jesus’ message (Luke 24) had an audience of people who had a God-sense and knew the Scriptures.

Interestingly, the propensity to divide over numerous issues exists in the Church even today!

• Should one man lead the church?
• What is the role of iconography?
• What is the role of the saints?
• How should Christians view certain sacraments?
• What day of the week should we worship on?

And I can quite easily go on!

But these are not the most important questions… The most important question remains: What do you think of Jesus? This is what defines a Christian!

On this point, I could reference Paul’s sermon on Mars Hill (Acts 17), but instead, I think I’ll use 1 Corinthians 2:2 (NKJV):

“For I determined not to know anything among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified.”

We do not need certain devices to help us worship. As Jesus said in John 4:23:

“… the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth…”

At the Canberra Declaration, we celebrate Jesus’ crucifixion at every meeting. We remember the wounds that were healed (1 Peter 2:24) and the blood that was shed for our salvation (Hebrews 9:22).

But who is this Jesus Christ that Paul writes about? Colossians 1:8-18 is instructive. In particular, verses 15-17 of Colossians express Jesus’ nature well:

He is the image of the invisible God,

For by Him all things were created

All things were created through Him and for Him.

And He is before all things,

and in Him all things consist.

that in all things He may have the preeminence.

(My emphasis)

These verses break down various heresies, but I won’t go into them now.

What is important is that He may have the preeminence! We surrender ourselves to Him as a living sacrifice. ALL that I am, ALL that I was, ALL that I ever will be, I surrender myself to Him

This is all that really matters: what do you think of Jesus?

Video

Prayer

Lord,

I surrender myself to You. All of my thoughts, all of my words, and all of my deeds, I surrender myself to You.

Let nothing of myself remain, but my dedication to You.

Amen.

Author Bio

Hugh was brought up in a mainline Protestant church, never going to other local churches or even other churches in the same denomination. Later, he joined the then PMG (now Telstra) as a technician and was given several country postings. During that time, he left formal church attendance but read several Christian magazines instead. Creation Magazine particularly strengthened his faith. Hugh later returned to church and now worships at Murray Bridge Church of Christ.

Prayer Points for GO20 Good News Sharing Month

1. Pray for five people during May and share the Good News of Jesus with them. Acts 1:8
2. Pray for a Revival and Transformation for our nation, and the proclamation of the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ in Australia. John 3:16
3. Pray that the Lord of the harvest will thrust out labourers into the Gospel harvest. Pray that God would use His people to reach one billion people around the world this May during GO2020. Mark 16:15

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