Jesus Quotes - Page 254

I'm thinking, "What difference will this sermon make in their lives tomorrow? What am I trying to give them that will make a difference?" For example, had to do with the theme that Jesus will not let go of you. He's holding onto you. I talked to them about the disciples and Peter on the night before the crucifixion of Christ - how Jesus said that all of you are going to turn away, but He would be waiting for them in Galilee.

Jesus said, "My Father is the gardener...He trims and cleans every branch that produces fruit so that it will produce even more fruit".

Have you been called to go out on a limb for God? You can bet it won't be easy. Limb-climbing has never been easy. Ask Joseph. Or, better yet, ask Jesus. He knows better than anyone the cost of hanging on a tree.

Who was Jesus? God saves.

What did Jesus come to do? God saves.

Does God notice when I'm afraid? Note the resolve in the eyes of Jesus as he marches through the storm to rescue his friends.

We may not see the connection between the name Jesus and the phrase "save his people from their sins," but Joseph would have. He was familiar with the Hebrew language.

Theres a verse thats meant a lot to me ever since I was in my early 20s. 2 Timothy 2:8, Paul told Timothy to remember Jesus Christ, descended from David and raised from the dead. Thats a good principle, that if my theology, my whole life can be focused on remembering Jesus. Just trying to remember who He is, what He did, being strong in what He did and what He accomplished.

I try to help people see they're going to have these times in which they turn away, in which they deny Christ and their faith grows cold, their convictions weakened; but Jesus is waiting.

Jesus came to save us, not just from politics, enemies, challenges, or difficulties.

It's one thing for me to tell people not to worry. It's another thing entirely to quote Matthew 6, where Jesus says, "Why do you worry? The birds of the air, the flowers of the field..." He says, "I tell you, do not worry."

Jesus came to save us from our own sins.

Someday I want to go back and maybe write another book on those seven sayings. I just think they are kind of like a table of contents to the Christian hope. They invite us to go into all the aspects of the heart of Jesus. Everything about them from the drama, the setting, the passion around them - I think the seven sayings of the cross are powerful.

When Jesus died on the cross, so did your sin; when He rose from the dead, so did your HOPE.

If you knew Jesus was returning tomorrow, how would you feel today? Anxious, afraid, unprepared? If so, you can take care of your fears by placing your trust in Christ. If your answer includes words like happy, relieved, and excited, hold tightly to your joy.

God didn't overlook your sins, lest he endorse them. He didn't punish you, lest he destroy you. He instead found a way to punish the sin and preserve the sinner. Jesus took your punishment, and God gave you credit for Jesus' perfection.

It's okay to rest. Jesus fights when you cannot.

In order to find Jesus, every one of us needs direction. God gives it. The story of the wise men shows us how. The star sign was enough to lead the magi to Jerusalem. But it took Scripture to lead them to Jesus.

Matthew loved the magi. He gave their story more square inches of text than he gave the narrative of the birth of Jesus. He never mentions the shepherds or the manger, but he didn't want us to miss the star and the seekers. It's easy to see why. Their story is our story.

By definition, if man contributes anything toward acceptance by God, he loses everything. God expects man to be the recipient, not the originator. Jesus paid it all, not 99% of it. Paul wrote, "For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast"

Recalling what our lives were like before Jesus Christ entered them will help keep our daily problems in perspective.

Conversion is essential, but it is a beginning, not an end. The believer in Jesus Christ is not simply rescued from the penalty of his sin; he is redeemed to love God and his neighbor so that others might come to know him.

My wife and I are just praying daily for our kids. We are trying to raise our kids to go all in for God. But I am keenly aware of this fact: If I hope to see my kids live an "all in" life for God, they must first see me doing it. My wife and I know that leading by example is going to be the loudest voice of influence in their lives. I've stopped trying to be a perfect parent, and instead I'm realizing that my kids aren't expecting me to be perfect, but they do need me to be present, focused on them, always making sure how much they know how much I love them and how much Jesus loves them.

I am so far from thinking the maxims of Confucius and Jesus Christ to differ, that I think the plain and simple maxims of the former, will help to illustrate the more obscure ones of the latter, accommodated to the then way of speaking.

Take Jesus for your king, and by baptism swear allegiance to him; take him for your prophet, and hear him; take him for your priest, to make atonement for you.