In the beginning was the Word. And the Word was with God and the Word was God. Through him [Jesus] all things were made; without Him nothing was made that has been made (John 1:3).
But in these last days He has spoken to us by His Son, whom He appointed heir of all thing, and through whom He made the universe (Hebrews 1:2).
Before Abraham was, I am.
I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End.
You are worthy, O Lord [Jesus], to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things adn by your will they exist and were created. (Rev. 4:11)
Thoughts: Sometimes, we can get the wrong view of Jesus- if we only look at Jesus from a shallow perspective and do not dig deeper. There is an old heresy that is easy to believe (but does not jive with scripture) called modalism. It is the belief that God the Father made us, then came down to earth as Jesus, and then lives now as the Holy Spirit. But this is a shallow view. The trinity idea is that God exists forever before time, during time and after time in three persons- father, Son and Holy Ghost. Jesus is not simply God squeezed down for 33 years on earth, as if there was no Father when Jesus was on earth. [Remember at his baptism- The Father's voice; or Jesus' continual prayers to His Father? Or the Spirit's coming down on Jesus at his baptism?].
If we only look at Jesus the way Hollywood depicts Him- then he is whipped, mocked, and crucified, and teaches us how to live. But the second person of the Trinity, Jesus was at the Creation- before Abraham. This is where we have a big disagreement with the Muslims. Islam sees Jesus as an important example and great prophet- but not as Creator. The Jesus Seminar "scholars" (like Borg and Crossan) do the same- Jesus is an example, a teacher, but not Creator and not one to be worshiped. They think the disciples turned the message of Jesus around into this. But the Gospel writers (like John 1 and the earliest Christian writers showed this was not a slow- evolving turn around, but an easy belief. Thomas fell at Jesus' feet in worship saying, "My Lord and my God." The disciples worshiped Him when he calmed the waves and winds (showing His control over creation). The healings show Jesus could restore creation. The exorcisms show He has power over evil- restoring creation to good. Often times after one of these miracles the restored worships Christ. He accepted worship- for He not only believed He was worthy- He WAS AND IS AND WILL BE WORTHY! Jesus is Jehovah- He is Jehovah (Yahweh- YHWH) in the Flesh. But HE is Lord of heaven, Lord of earth- Lord of all and as Creator and Redeemer of Creation worthy of worship. He has the whole world in His hands- He is the Creator, Redeemer, and Restorer of Creation. He cares about the world and shows that care by coming down into the world; showing He can restore the world; and there is a sense that His death/resurrection was to redeem not just the souls of the elect but His redemption affects all creation- bringing hope, light, and life.
As the Creator- He is worthy of our worship- our time- our talents- our money- our all. Everything we have is from Him (Rev. 4:11). Learn Christ. Learn that He is more than what we see on the surface, in the paintings, in the skeptical writings.
Prayer: You are Lord of heaven, Lord of earth- for you created all things and are worthy of my worship.
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