Meet Jesus: Human Matthew 4:2

March 25, 2013 by Phil Larson

Matthew 4: 2: And when he had fasted forty days and forty nights, he was afterward an hungred.

There is a fallacy in meeting Jesus that bears great correction. At times we approach Him as if He had some special advantage while He lived in that body born of Mary. Jesus was fully human. He got really hungry. He dealt with conflicting emotions. He lived as a human equipped with the Spirit of God even as He asks us to live.

In being human, Jesus sanctified humanity. He made it okay to be fully human. He made it a good thing to be all the human we could be, to live up to our human potential – with God. Remember, while being fully human, He was fully God. Our task is to work on being fully human, with God.

Being fully human, for us means being full of mistakes. Being fully human, means being able to correct those mistakes. Today I had a great opportunity to change my mistakes. A co-worker was upset with me about my actions. I had presumed what I did was okay with him instead of asking. It was okay. If I asked. Not asking was presumptive. It was inconsiderate. By repenting and asking, my mistake was changed to okay. He gave me that grace. It was good. Jesus helped me be human.

ACT! Think of your most human moment this week. Thank God for making you a human.

PRAY! Father, thanks for making me a human like Jesus. It must be really special to you, this human thing. You sent Your own Son to be one, just to make it special. Wow! I really don’t deserve it, but I really appreciate it. Thanks.

Meet Jesus: Led of the Spirit Matthew 4:1

March 25, 2013 by Phil Larson

Matthew 4: 1: Then was Jesus led up of the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil.

Interesting that Jesus, the Son of God, would be led by His own Spirit. A man’s spirit is an incredibly powerful guiding force. When we meet with Jesus, we meet with His Holy Spirit. His Spirit becomes available to us to lead us and guide us. His Spirit communes with our spirit to build us in the right direction.

The consistency of those led of the Spirit is born of the Spirit, Himself. So often we can encounter like-hearted men and women, who seem to be thinking the same thoughts at the same time we do. They are. It is a connection born of God. He brings us to the same place to make life move forward in His plan more rapidly.

A friend asked for prayer for Godly relationships and connections. That strengthened me. He has been struggling to step away from those that want him to go out and party and dance like he did before he met Christ. He wants good, God connections. That is an easy prayer for me. To ask God to connect us with the right people is to ask God to be God. His Spirit yearns to connect us that way.

ACT! God is Spirit. The separating force in us that distinguishes us from animals is our spirit created in His image. Think on that for a minute. Write down five aspects of you as a human that separates you from other forms of life. Note that they are spiritual in nature.

PRAY! Father, let Your Holy Spirit of Jesus instruct me in the way I should go. You showed me in Jesus that it is Your Holy Spirit that can guide me even in the hard times. You showed me that it is Your Holy Spirit that will even ask me to do what I am unable to do without Him. Keep me connected.

Meet Jesus : Pleasing God Matthew 3:17

March 22, 2013 by Phil Larson

Matthew 3:17 And lo a voice from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.

When we connect with Jesus we connect with pleasing God. Jesus pleases the Father. When we are with Him, we are pleasing the Father. That is important. So often in life, we want to please our Father. When you meet with Jesus, you are in the environment of pleasing Him. You can’t miss pleasing Him.

Pleasing God may mean doing tough work. While working through some conflict mediation, we came to the point of closing in prayer. It had been a tough night. Everyone had spent emotional energy to embrace peace. It was the right thing to do. It is greatly pleasing to God to do everything that leads to peace and building each other. That does not make it easy. But it is pleasing. The scripture came to mind as we prayed from Zephaniah 3. God joys over us with singing. That word joy means to jump up and dance and pirouette. What a picture of God singing and jumping and spinning over us with joy! Doing the hard thing is pleasing to Him.

ACT! Take one item you are unsure about in your relationship with God. Examine it. Is Jesus involved in it? If you were doing it or being involved in it would you invite Jesus to be a part?

PRAY! Father, help me to please You. Help me to meet with Jesus when I plan an activity. I can always be sure it will be pleasing to You when I meet with Him to do it. Help me keep that focus, Father.

Meet Jesus: Mystical Matthew 3:16

March 22, 2013 by Phil Larson

Matthew 3: 16: And Jesus, when he was baptized, went up straightway out of the water: and, lo, the heavens were opened unto him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting upon him: 17: And lo a voice from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.

At times a relationship with Jesus can get a little mystical. Doves, spirits, voices from heaven, and the heavens being opened all make for a mystical moment. Jesus transcends what we see on a daily basis. He operates in heaven and earth simultaneously. That may throw our normal pattern, but be thankful that He is access to the Father in heaven and the Holy Spirit on earth at once to affect our lives.

Listening to the message of the moment from the pulpit, my life seemed to be the content. The preaching pierced pointedly and profoundly into the core of that night’s dilemma. All day, I had lived the problem being answered. It was exhilarating. God’s timing in bringing my pastor to the present point of my life is amazing. There are too many times to tell of when this has happened. The scriptures come alive with fire and stir me up to new levels of faith. How could God care so much to make the message match my messes? What an amazing God!

ACT! Need anything from heaven? Some things we need don’t exist right now on earth. Jesus is access to heaven. Ask the Father for the impossible in Jesus. Go ahead and plan the rest of the day as if you had it.

PRAY! Our Father, who is in heaven, Holy is Your name. Cause the heavens to open for me in my life. Cause Your Holy Spirit to brood over my life and cause chaos to come to order. Release all You are in heaven and earth in me that Your will would be done here even as it is there.

Meet Jesus: Humility Matthew 3:13

March 21, 2013 by Phil Larson

Matthew 3: 13: Then cometh Jesus from Galilee to Jordan unto John, to be baptized of him.

Here is the Son of God, God in the flesh, submitting Himself to the gift and calling of another. In most of our world, this is almost unthinkable. The Master goes to the servant to be enabled for ministry. It is so backward to our ego mindset that it almost hurts. When you meet with Jesus, you will be asked to find Him in others and lay down ego.

There is nothing like being misunderstood to humble us. Reading through a memo written by another staffer, I started to get upset. It was evident that he really did not understand the conversation the day before. How could he so misunderstand me? Before I did something stupid, I opened the memo that had been sent by me after the conversation. Taking a slow and deliberate look, it was easy to see how he was interpreting as my meaning. He was simply walking out his understanding. Humbled, I deleted my first response and crafted one more suitable and understanding to correct the confusion.

ACT! Think of a friend who has a gift you need. Get with them and let them pray for you.

PRAY! Whoops! Father sometimes I miss it and mess it. Sometimes You have sent Jesus to me in a wrapper that I did not receive. Sometimes the unlikely has had the incredible for my life. Help me find the some-times and receive from the gift of others in Him.

If we can pray for you regarding anything in your life, please let us know. Our greatest blessing is to bless others in prayer. www.prayermetro.com Phil

Meet Jesus: Fire Baptizer Matthew 3:11

March 21, 2013 by Phil Larson

Matthew 3:11: I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance: but he that cometh after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear: he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and with fire:

Be ready for change when you meet Jesus. John gets us focused in our preparation. Meeting Jesus can make you different from the inside out. He brings the Holy Spirit and fire to pour over you and change you. Think of it this way. It is like having chemical fire on the inside (the Holy Spirit) and liquid fire on the outside. However, the real you is strengthened not burned. The stuff that is between you and Him will be cleansed.

Conflict is one of those baptizers in the Holy Spirit. We want to avoid it, yet it is the right thing. God used conflict to cause us to dig deeper into understanding of relationships and life. The deeper we dig, the stronger we become. In talking to a leader, it struck me to provoke him that leaders love resolving conflict. They don’t love the conflict or the anger and frustration that may accompany it. They do love the process of resolution and the end result. Through conflict we are baptized in Holy Spirit fire. He strengthens our resolve and our ability to move ahead. He causes us to face hard items that need to be removed. It is one way He baptizes us with fire.

ACT! Pick an item that needs to be burned away in your life. Put it in front of Him for handling.

PRAY! Father, I am not afraid of being baptized in the Holy Spirit and fire. I await continually meeting with Jesus to be continually cleansed. Let Your faithful and just character enter into my life as I confess my sin before You. Forgive me and cleanse me from all ways that are unlike You.

If we can pray for you regarding anything in your life, please let us know. Our greatest blessing is to bless others in prayer. www.prayermetro.com Phil

Meet Jesus: Fruit Inspector Matthew 3:7

March 20, 2013 by Phil Larson

Matthew 3: 7: But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees come to his baptism, he said unto them, O generation of vipers, who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to come? 8: Bring forth therefore fruits meet for repentance:

John’s preparatory help is worth really reviewing. Fruit inspection is worth our time. Fruit inspection should best be done by us. Fruit inspection should best be done on us. John noted some tough untended stuff in these leaders because they were standing in the way of others meeting Jesus with their bad fruit. Hopefully, we do enough personal inspection that God doesn’t have to resort to outside help to get our attention.

ACT! Take a little time to inspect and prune. What in your life is preventing someone from seeing the real Jesus inside of you? Can you cut it off?

PRAY! Father, when I meet Jesus, He is so gentle, yet so true to the point. Help me to be honest before You inspecting my attitudes and life. Help me be a preparer of the way to Jesus, like John instead of being a hindrance to the way like the leaders in this story. I open myself to Your Holy Spirit for inspection and pruning to bring forth fruits meet for repentance.

Meet Jesus: Destined Matthew 1:16

March 20, 2013 by Phil Larson

Matthew 1: 16: And Jacob begat Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom was born Jesus, who is called Christ.

Born of men, born of a woman, and born to destiny was Jesus, the Christ. Meeting Jesus means meeting a human full of humanity. Jesus meets us in this frail human family of Joseph and Mary. A simple husband was Joseph. This family came from a line of prostitutes, murderers, connivers, kings, and faithful men and women. They look just like our families.

Jesus is a family man. While He is the Christ, the anointed, the Messiah, He is a simple family man from a flawed, fractured, but persistent family life.

ACT! Thank God for your family line. Don’t worry about the problems. Praise Him that you exist at all through that family line.

PRAY! Faithful Father, You brought me to this time and place in life. You gave me the family line. You gave me a father and mother. I exist. No matter how flawed that line, I have destiny. There is an anointing in Jesus for me through You.

Meet Jesus: Life Giver Matthew 1:2

March 19, 2013 by Phil Larson

Matthew 1: 2: Abraham begat Isaac; and Isaac begat Jacob; and Jacob begat Judas and his brethren;

Jesus comes from the line of Abraham. Abraham was a giver of life. Abraham turned faith into a lineage of ability and more life. Abraham was an investor in the future. His sights were always set forward.

Meeting Jesus means meeting the future. He is future focused. He intends to begat. He intends to birth new life, new dreams, new ways, and new opportunities for you.

ACT! Take that dream of yours. Think of who else could be involved. Give them the opportunity to be a part.

PRAY! Gracious Father of Life, Jesus challenges me to be like You. You are a Father. Abraham got his ways from You, the Father of fathers. Teach me to birth newness through others

Meet Jesus: Prepare Matthew 3:3

March 18, 2013 by Phil Larson

Matthew 3:3 For this is he that was spoken of by the prophet Esaias, saying, The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.

Meeting Jesus takes preparation. So many times we want our friends to meet Him so quickly. But that meeting takes preparation. We have the opportunity to be John The Baptist’s for others to prepare.

Meeting Jesus in our daily life takes preparation. Sometimes we need to adjust our attitude and thoughts to be ready to receive Him into our day’s activities.

ACT! Think about a friend who needs to meet Jesus. Speak one sentence to them that will help prepare them for that moment of their first meeting.

PRAY! Holy Father, prepare me today to meet Jesus. Help my attitude and approach get focused. Surely Jesus has acted in my day, and I don’t want to miss Him. Give me the words to speak to help another sojourner come one step closer to their first meeting with Jesus.