Gospel of Luke, Gospel of Matthew, Life of Jesus as a Boy

Child of God: Have You Really Thought About It?

old-photos-1434453Matthew 1:1-17, Luke 3:23-38

Child of God. Adopted by God. Heirs of God. These are things I’ve heard so many times, I took them for granted. I have earthly parents, but as a Christian, I need to remember I am actually a child of God.

I have to sit down and take that in.

Because I am an actual child of God, I have worth. Sometimes, that’s the only thing that gets me through the day. If you need the proof, here it is:

“See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him.” 1 John 3:10, NIV.

“The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children.” Romans 8:16, NIV.

“But when the set time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those under the law, that we might receive adoption to sonship. Because you are his sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out, ‘Abba,  Father.‘ So you are no longer a slave, but God’s child; and since you are his child, God has made you also an heir.” Galatians 4:4-7, NIV.

“… if we are children, then we are heirs–heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ …” Romans 8:17, NIV.

Jesus is God’s son, but he also had a human lineage. I can only name my ancestors back a few generations, but for Jesus, two separate lists record his ancestry. Check out Matthew 1:1-17 and Luke 3:23-38.

These may seem like boring lists of ancestors, but each had a point. They signified Jesus belonged to a lineage of God’s chosen King of Israel. The ancestors of Jesus were the most famous figures of the Old Testament.

Matthew, being Jewish, focused on showing how Jesus’ ancestry went back to Abraham, the first Jew, while Luke, being non-Jewish, listed a genealogy going back to Adam the first man. Jesus is called the Son of David, and both of these lists show King David as a forefather of Jesus.

Jesus is the son of God. We are children of God if we believe and accept Jesus as Lord of our lives. Take time today to think what it means to you to be a child of God.

Find my latest book on Amazon: Christ Simply, A Chronological Self-Guided Study through the Life of Christ.

Gospel of Luke, Life of Jesus as a Boy

Lover of God

KONICA MINOLTA DIGITAL CAMERALuke 1:1-4

Who was Luke?

Luke wrote what we call “the gospel of Luke” to someone named Theophilus. Here’s what we know about Luke:

  • He was a Gentile (non-Jew);
  • He was a medical doctor;
  • He traveled with the apostle Paul;
  • He also wrote the book of Acts in which we read about Paul.

Who was Theophilus?

  • He was probably also a Gentile;
  • He wanted to know more about Jesus;
  • He may have been a new believer;
  • His name means “lover of God.”

Are you a “lover of God”? To be just that how would we act? I think we’d be eager to be in his presence as much as possible.

When I was younger, I was made to go to church by my parents. I’m glad they did. Even as a young adult, I could take or leave church. If I felt too tired, I wouldn’t go. Some of my friends encouraged me to start going to church with them, and now I am at the point where I can’t wait to worship God during that special time when I gather with other believers.

It’s not that I only go to socialize, because, yes, that is part of it. It’s not to get on an emotional high. “I love Jesus!” I am thankful I am at the point in my life where I find spiritual renewal when I attend worship at my church. I need that after a week of temptations and disappointments.

But being a “lover of God” also means I want to see him every day. That is why I try to include prayer and scripture as habits –healthy habits– every day I possible can until it’s time for gathering with other believers.

When you love someone, you want to be with them. That is how I try to maintain my relationship with Jesus. Spending time with him every day.

Find my latest book on Amazon: Christ Simply, A Chronological Self-Guided Study through the Life of Christ.

Gospel of John, Life of Jesus as a Boy

Both Man and God

John 1:1-18

This prologue of John’s Gospel contains so much, it would be impossible to cover everything about it in this entry, so, in keeping with the principle of Christ Simply, I will cover just the basics.

Who was John?

Many guys named John are mentioned in the Bible, but the guy named John who wrote this gospel is the disciple who went by the name John. He was one of the original twelve apostles. This means he sat at the feet of Jesus and considered him not only a teacher (rabbi) but the Son of God. John claims to be an actual witness to the events of the ministry of God’s Son. Once I realized this, it made the words of this gospel more valuable to me.

Was Jesus really human?

John talks about Jesus being The Word in this passage. According to what John says in his prologue,  Jesus was the following things:

  • The Word
  • Has been with God from the beginning
  • He is life
  • He is light
  • Rejected by some
  • Received by some
  • Flesh, an actual human
  • The Son of God
  • Full of grace and truth
  • Not only was he the Son, but he was also God the Father

That’s a lot. Pages and pages have been written on all of these things, but the important thing to know is Jesus came as a human to go through what we went through.

How can Jesus be both things?

I know it seems strange Jesus was both the Son and the Father, both human and divine. Because that is beyond our understanding, some people just reject Jesus and God outright. What I choose to do is realize some things are only understood by God and our human minds are too limited. I hope one day, as a child of God, I will be able to comprehend how Jesus can be both a man and a spirit, but for now, I must have faith that it is true.

Some side notes:

  • The John mentioned in verses 6-7 and 15 is John the Baptist, not to be confused with John the disciple and author of this gospel.
  • The Bible translation I use is the NIV. I use the NIV Quest Bible because it is excellent for personal Bible study, especially for the average person who isn’t a theologian or preacher.

Find my latest book on Amazon: Christ Simply, A Chronological Self-Guided Study through the Life of Christ.

Message from Andy

Welcome to the Christ Simply blog

In this blog, I will follow the outline of the life of Christ I use in my book Christ Simply. You don’t need the book to benefit from this blog, but if you wish to buy, it is available through Amazon.

I plan on cover two or three topics in my book a week. I will also link to articles on Christianity and spirituality I find interesting and –I hope– beneficially to anyone who follows this blog.

Feel free to make comments or send me messages about topics you see in this blog. I hope you enjoy going through the life of Christ.