For He Himself is our peace, who has made both one, and has broken down the middle wall of separation. (Eph 2:14)
Jesus is the Prince of Peace. He is our peace. He made peace by the blood of His cross and reconciled men and God. He broke down barriers between men. He is a great peacemaker.
And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross. (Philippians 2:8)
Jesus was in the image of God, yet He did not boast about His equality with God. Instead, Jesus humbled Himself to become a servant of all, taking the form of man. From birth to death, Jesus Christ exhibited His humility and obedience. Jesus was born in a manger, a lowly place, to demonstrate that He came as a servant to save the humble and needy. On the cross, Jesus exemplified total surrender to the will of God.
Even as Christians, we all have our own problems. But what happens when we are in need of help and no one can help us? And what if, while we are weak, others come to us with their problems? Perhaps we would all be too tired or burdened to really care for one another. Or perhaps we would feel discouraged and helpless. Unfortunately, I see this happen quite often in church and it’s an issue that I struggle with. Continue reading
For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin. (Heb 4:15)
The Spirit led Jesus into the wilderness where He was being tempted for forty days by the devil (Lk 4:1-2). However, Jesus triumphed over Satan during those temptations. Why must Jesus go through temptations? Temptation is part of the human experience. For Jesus to understand us completely, He had to go through the suffering of temptation so that He may sympathize with our weaknesses and become our merciful High Priest. The devil’s temptations to Jesus focused on three areas: physical desire, greed, and pride – the same categories of temptations we face in our own lives.
And we have known and believed the love that God has for us. God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God, and God in him. (1 John 4:16)
God loves all mankind as parents love their own children. God desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. His love extends to all nations and peoples. God’s most wonderful love is expressed in this fact: “God so loved the world that He gave His only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life” (Jn 3:16).