Falling in Love

So we're starting a new series on Tuesday nights about the character of Christ. The purpose of this series is to, if you haven't already, help you fall in love with Jesus. A girl introduced this idea to me at camp last summer, when she talked about how she doesn't need a boyfriend, because she has Jesus. (to which my response was: He probably can dance.)

I also promised everybody last week that 'Jesus wept' would be in the study this week. So as you read these verses, let yourself think about not just their spiritual significance, but also the Man who said them. (They're all quotes with the exception of 'Jesus wept'.)

As I was going through the gospels starting to find verses, I was amazed. I do a lot of writing. And as a writer, I can understand that nobody could come up with as complex a character as Jesus if He wasn't real. There's just no way that anybody could have that kind of imagination. I mean, the guy, as He was being tortured to death while walking down a street, yelled to his mother and his best friend to take care of each other. He surprises us, when we least expect it, which is part of the reason I love Him.

So the first week (today) we're covering the kind, loving, sweet, gentle nature of our Savior. These are the moments where, when you read them in the gospel, you just smile. He really is amazing.

I hope and pray that these helps you understand Him better. All of these verses are simply a few verses taken out of a gospel, out of context. It is a very dangerous thing to do this, so please don't use the verses to prove a point in a discussion, or anything, without reading the story in context.

Here we go:

John 11:35 Jesus wept

Matthew 8:3 I am willing; be cleansed.

Matthew 9:22 Be of good cheer, daughter; your faith has made you well.

Matthew 15:24 I was not sent except to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.

John 19:26-27 Woman, behold your son!... Behold your mother!

Matthew 26:10-14 Why do you trouble the woman? For she has done a good work for Me. For you have the poor with you always, but Me you do not have always. For in pouring this fragrant oil on My body, she did it for My burial. Assuredly, I say to you, wherever this gospel is preached in the whole world, what this woman has done will also be told as a memorial to her.

If I achieve one thing for God by the series, I hope that either you will fall in love with Jesus, or that you just are interested enough in this Man to read through a gospel or two. (Matthew, Mark, Luke, John... but John's my personal favorite). If you haven't trusted Christ as Savior, I hope that these words spark your curiosity enough to get you to open a Bible. He will change you for forever, and He is definitely not the guy you thought He was.

In His Service,
Joyce