No longer a mystery!
A definition of mystery: “Any truth that is unknowable except by divine revelation.”
How many of you have seen the show “Pretty Little Liars”? This past summer it became my guilty pleasure. I was with my family at the beach the day of the pilot and all my cousin and I sat around and watched it, we even got my cousin Jared hooked! What keeps, at least me, hooked is trying to figure out who the killer is. Every episode you think it is someone else; or the person they were trying to convince you was the killer they will do something to make you think it wasn’t them but someone else. This show is designed to keep you on your toes. If they would just tell you already, we might now watch, and they won’t have a show. Kind of the same concept with LOST too. Isn’t that the reason we watch? To figure out who did it. Who is killing everyone on the Island? lol
This word “mystery” has been on my mind the past few days. Yesterday and today while doing the Daniel study the word mystery kept coming up; then as I watched a message from Ben Stuart he talked about how when you and I become Christians the gospel came with power and revelation. It was the moment of “OH I GET IT!” We didn’t find God, He found us. He made known to us the mystery of how to know Him, which is in Christ Jesus!!
This made me think about the moment I came to know Christ. I had grown up in a Christian home; I knew about God and Jesus and even believed. But for whatever reason I had not confessed, yet, Jesus as Lord until I was 12 years old. It wasn’t until I went to a play with my dad called “Heaven’s gates, Hell’s flame” that The Gospel came in power and revelation to me. It wasn’t the first time I had heard that without Jesus you will spend an eternity separated from Him in a very real place called Hell. I don’t think we talk about that much anymore. For me, that was the moment that I chose to not just believe in my heart that Jesus was Lord, but confess with my mouth and asked Him to come and save me. The mystery of how to become reconciled with God was made known to me. The mystery…was revealed. Unlike in “Pretty Little Liars” where they keep the truth hidden, God doesn’t. He has made clear through His Word how to know him. Daniel 2:28 says “but there is a God in heaven who reveals mysteries.” There are certain things, that yes we are not going to understand and know, but what we need to know God has revealed.
Col 1:25-27 “I have become its servant my the commission God gave me to present to you the word of God in its fullness – the mystery that has been kept hidden for ages and generations, but is now disclosed to the saints. To them God has chosen to make known among the Gentiles the glorious riches of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.”
Ben Stuart talked about how when he would speak at camps and present The Gospel that afterwards students would come up to him and say, “I have never heard that before”, with their youth pastor standing there thinking, “REALLY? YES YOU HAVE!”. I love this quote from Gospel.com Blog “Today’s Devotional”
“We use words to communicate ideas and information, but sometimes ideas and information are too complicated to be encapsulated in words. The Gospel is a perfect example of this predicament. We could spend years describing the minutiae of the Gospel to someone, but until they make it part of their lives any description will be like a poor reflection in a mirror.”
Romans 16:25-28 (Today's New International Version) “Now to him who is able to establish you in accordance with my gospel, the message I proclaim about Jesus Christ, in keeping with the revelation of the mystery hidden for long ages past, but now revealed and made known through the prophetic writings by the command of the eternal God, so that all the Gentiles might come to faith and obedience— to the only wise God be glory forever through Jesus Christ! Amen”
At least for me sometimes, I forget to share the very basics of what my faith is based on. I love to teach, I love to get in God’s word and encourage, and be encouraged, to learn about my God and Savior, how to live for Him…etc. but as I listened to Ben, I was just so convicted— to not forget. Not forget what it is all about. It comes back to seeing people come to know Jesus Christ at Lord and Savior! The mystery has been revealed…it is not hidden.
I am just challenged, and excited! Excited that God loved me enough to choose me before time to know Him! Yes, predestined. I want to quote Ben Stuart again when he said “The whole idea of how God chose us to know Him, that we are predestined, was never meant to become something we argue and debate over, it was meant to encourage us.” We should get excited that God chose us, and we should continue to go out and share Christ with others. God knows who will choose Him and who won’t. That is not for us to worry about, we are called to GO.
I am pumped that you and I don’t have to wander around wondering how to get to God. How to be forgiven made new. It has been made clear. That it is through Jesus Christ the Son of God who came down from Heaven, lived a perfect life, became sin for you and I, died on a cross for our sins, and rose again 3 days later and conquered the grave and now death has no power over those in Christ. Jesus conquered it!!! His name is above every other name, He is Lord, and there is only one name through which to be saved, and that name is Jesus Christ our Lord. All we have to do is believe and receive; It’s amazing!!! Sometimes we make it so complicated, but it’s not.
Thank you Jesus that you have made known to me the mystery of your salvation. Thank you that you pursued me then and pursue me now. Thank you Lord, give me courage to share you, and the hope I have in you with others. I know what opened my eyes was the reality of what would happen if I didn’t receive your gift of salvation, and I thank you that you came in power to make it clear to me, that you are the only way! At the end of the day it is all about seeing people come to faith in Jesus! I forget sometimes what it was like to not know you, because I have walked with you for so long. Break my heart for what breaks yours, open my eyes to see the broken and lost that need you, not just far away, but around me every day! At the end of the day it is about seeing a broken world come to know you Jesus! Lord, I love you and thank you for being O’ so patient with me! I ask this all in Jesus name, Amen!
“But what does it say?"The word is near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart," that is, the word of faith we are proclaiming: That if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved. As the Scripture says, "Anyone who trusts in him will never be put to shame.” Romans 10:8-11
How many of you have seen the show “Pretty Little Liars”? This past summer it became my guilty pleasure. I was with my family at the beach the day of the pilot and all my cousin and I sat around and watched it, we even got my cousin Jared hooked! What keeps, at least me, hooked is trying to figure out who the killer is. Every episode you think it is someone else; or the person they were trying to convince you was the killer they will do something to make you think it wasn’t them but someone else. This show is designed to keep you on your toes. If they would just tell you already, we might now watch, and they won’t have a show. Kind of the same concept with LOST too. Isn’t that the reason we watch? To figure out who did it. Who is killing everyone on the Island? lol
This word “mystery” has been on my mind the past few days. Yesterday and today while doing the Daniel study the word mystery kept coming up; then as I watched a message from Ben Stuart he talked about how when you and I become Christians the gospel came with power and revelation. It was the moment of “OH I GET IT!” We didn’t find God, He found us. He made known to us the mystery of how to know Him, which is in Christ Jesus!!
This made me think about the moment I came to know Christ. I had grown up in a Christian home; I knew about God and Jesus and even believed. But for whatever reason I had not confessed, yet, Jesus as Lord until I was 12 years old. It wasn’t until I went to a play with my dad called “Heaven’s gates, Hell’s flame” that The Gospel came in power and revelation to me. It wasn’t the first time I had heard that without Jesus you will spend an eternity separated from Him in a very real place called Hell. I don’t think we talk about that much anymore. For me, that was the moment that I chose to not just believe in my heart that Jesus was Lord, but confess with my mouth and asked Him to come and save me. The mystery of how to become reconciled with God was made known to me. The mystery…was revealed. Unlike in “Pretty Little Liars” where they keep the truth hidden, God doesn’t. He has made clear through His Word how to know him. Daniel 2:28 says “but there is a God in heaven who reveals mysteries.” There are certain things, that yes we are not going to understand and know, but what we need to know God has revealed.
Col 1:25-27 “I have become its servant my the commission God gave me to present to you the word of God in its fullness – the mystery that has been kept hidden for ages and generations, but is now disclosed to the saints. To them God has chosen to make known among the Gentiles the glorious riches of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.”
Ben Stuart talked about how when he would speak at camps and present The Gospel that afterwards students would come up to him and say, “I have never heard that before”, with their youth pastor standing there thinking, “REALLY? YES YOU HAVE!”. I love this quote from Gospel.com Blog “Today’s Devotional”
“We use words to communicate ideas and information, but sometimes ideas and information are too complicated to be encapsulated in words. The Gospel is a perfect example of this predicament. We could spend years describing the minutiae of the Gospel to someone, but until they make it part of their lives any description will be like a poor reflection in a mirror.”
Romans 16:25-28 (Today's New International Version) “Now to him who is able to establish you in accordance with my gospel, the message I proclaim about Jesus Christ, in keeping with the revelation of the mystery hidden for long ages past, but now revealed and made known through the prophetic writings by the command of the eternal God, so that all the Gentiles might come to faith and obedience— to the only wise God be glory forever through Jesus Christ! Amen”
At least for me sometimes, I forget to share the very basics of what my faith is based on. I love to teach, I love to get in God’s word and encourage, and be encouraged, to learn about my God and Savior, how to live for Him…etc. but as I listened to Ben, I was just so convicted— to not forget. Not forget what it is all about. It comes back to seeing people come to know Jesus Christ at Lord and Savior! The mystery has been revealed…it is not hidden.
I am just challenged, and excited! Excited that God loved me enough to choose me before time to know Him! Yes, predestined. I want to quote Ben Stuart again when he said “The whole idea of how God chose us to know Him, that we are predestined, was never meant to become something we argue and debate over, it was meant to encourage us.” We should get excited that God chose us, and we should continue to go out and share Christ with others. God knows who will choose Him and who won’t. That is not for us to worry about, we are called to GO.
I am pumped that you and I don’t have to wander around wondering how to get to God. How to be forgiven made new. It has been made clear. That it is through Jesus Christ the Son of God who came down from Heaven, lived a perfect life, became sin for you and I, died on a cross for our sins, and rose again 3 days later and conquered the grave and now death has no power over those in Christ. Jesus conquered it!!! His name is above every other name, He is Lord, and there is only one name through which to be saved, and that name is Jesus Christ our Lord. All we have to do is believe and receive; It’s amazing!!! Sometimes we make it so complicated, but it’s not.
Thank you Jesus that you have made known to me the mystery of your salvation. Thank you that you pursued me then and pursue me now. Thank you Lord, give me courage to share you, and the hope I have in you with others. I know what opened my eyes was the reality of what would happen if I didn’t receive your gift of salvation, and I thank you that you came in power to make it clear to me, that you are the only way! At the end of the day it is all about seeing people come to faith in Jesus! I forget sometimes what it was like to not know you, because I have walked with you for so long. Break my heart for what breaks yours, open my eyes to see the broken and lost that need you, not just far away, but around me every day! At the end of the day it is about seeing a broken world come to know you Jesus! Lord, I love you and thank you for being O’ so patient with me! I ask this all in Jesus name, Amen!
“But what does it say?"The word is near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart," that is, the word of faith we are proclaiming: That if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved. As the Scripture says, "Anyone who trusts in him will never be put to shame.” Romans 10:8-11
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