Considering Jesus When...

On Friday I wrote about the time my vacuum cleaner taught me to consider Jesus.

Today I want to take the process of considering Jesus a little bit deeper.

Over the last few weeks the temperatures dropped where I live. The skies got dark and moody and we got a fair amount of rain. Do you know what people did? They responded IMMEDIATELY with coats and sweaters and quite a few grumbles. I noticed one woman trudging home from the post office with a slight scowl on her face and a stoop to her back and she pressed on against the weather.

Do you know what I did? I reminded myself that we are in the season that is known as summer. Because of this I can be assured that even though the temperature dropped way down and the sun has been replaced by rain, "summer" will return shortly.

Do you know why I can be sure of this?

Because of verses Daniel 2:21:

"Blessed be the name of God forever and ever to whom belong wisdom and might. He changes times and seasons; He removes kings and sets up kings..."


Now I am aware that season probably doesn't mean "winter, spring, summer, fall", but it does refer to God's reign and rule over EVERYTHING including time and "winter, spring, summer, fall".

I can be sure that summer will return in the same way that I can be sure that the sun will set tonight and rise tomorrow morning. Just like everything else, the seasons are in God's hand.

Just like the vacuum cleaner, this unexpected weather and people's reactions to it forced me to do one thing: consider Jesus. 

I could have joined the humdrum line of people going on about the weather or I could let that weather remind me that God rules and reigns.

How about a negative example? 

When I get super hungry my sin almost always comes out. I get short tempered, easily aggravated,  and rude. Those sins were all there and I gladly go through life sucking up more reasons to react that way and shoving them into the vacuum cleaner bag of my soul for later. When I get hungry I rip that bag out and sprinkle little bits of it on everyone around me. (Ask them....)

The first time I sense that sin bubbling inside of me, do you know what I should do?

Consider Jesus.

He is faithful. He calls me to be like Him and He even prays that God would make me like Him.

Even if I don't get to eat for days (which I know won't be the case), my sin needs to be submitted to Him.  I need to put off what comes naturally to me and put on what comes naturally to Him. And I can!

Do you know why I can be sure of this?

Because of Scriptures like Colossians 3:8-17:

"But now you must put them all away: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and obscene talk from your mouth. Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have put off the old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its Creator. Here there is not Greek and Jew, circumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave, free: but Christ is all, an in all. 

Put on then, as God's chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, bearing with one another, and if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God. And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him."

On Friday, I mentioned that before we can ever consider Jesus we must be about the business of getting to KNOW Jesus as He really is, by means of the Bible.

He is all and He is in all of God's people and all of God's people are called to do everything in His name giving thanks to God through Him. 

When the weather is crummy. When we are hungry. When we think of telling someone off. When we grow anxious. We are called to consider Jesus.

When the weather is nice. When our soul seems clean. When we are at a table with all of our favorite people. When we think of the ones we love. When we are perfectly at peace. We are called to consider Jesus.

May we gather ourselves around God's Word in order to behold Him as He makes Himself known.

May that gathering lead us to we consider Jesus always.

Would you tell us about what God has been teaching you about who He is lately!

Would you tell us about a time you've recently considered Jesus and gave thanks to God?