Simply put, what we need for today, every day, this time of year, every time of year:
We don’t need a New Year’s Resolution … what we need is a New Revelation … of Who Jesus Is, what He has done for us, and what He continues to do for us …
A New Revelation of Who Jesus Is, What He Is, and what we are “In Him.” And, how we need Him … every moment, of every day, of every year …
My old formula is still true:
Pray More
+
Study More
___________
= Be More (Like Jesus)
Jesus still holds the future … Jesus still holds my future … Jesus still holds your future.
Let us also not forget, perhaps even more importantly … Jesus still holds the present.
I wanted to share with you something that would tell the story of Jesus, past, present, and future, and, most importantly, our part in it. So, I turned to Modern-Day Psalms, to hear the story of Jesus, and my part, your part, our part, in that story.
Every day, I pray that I would see others the way that Jesus does … and, that I would see myself … the way Jesus does … it seems He’s had His eye on us … for ever …
Please enjoy “He Saw All the Way to Me,” with an edited version of the introduction from the book:
He Saw All the Way to Me
Introduction
This is an example of what Christian writing is, and should do. It tells the story of Jesus. Why and how He came, what happened to Him, and why it matters to me, and to you. Jesus is at the center; in fact, He is what the whole story, the gospel, is about … How he came to earth to save me … and you. And, as God always seems to be saying, “You’ve heard the gospel … You know it’s true … Now, what are you going to do about it?”
He Saw All the Way to Me
He came not from Bethlehem
He came from before time began
The infant Jesus just barely opened His eyes
And all eternity came into view
Enriched by a baby’s cries
As the baby’s eyes opened
And peered past the hay and the straw
It wasn’t just the shadows
Dancing off the walls that He saw
There, in the manger, He could see
From Nazareth, to Galilee
To Jerusalem, to Calvary
He could see … even then …
He could see … all the way … to me
Inside that feed trough, a manger
God Himself lay curled
His mother, Mary
May have rocked the cradle
But, inside, were the hands
That made, and ruled, the world
“I must be about my Father’s business”
He would, even as a youth, say
By age twelve, He was teaching the teachers
And showing the way
That family business that He spoke of
Wasn’t carpentry
That business that He spoke of
Was you, and me
He was now thirty years old
A man without food or rest
That’s when Satan took notice
And put Him to the test
Satan took Jesus all the way up
To the highest mountain peak
And said, “It’s all yours
If you’ll just fall at my feet”
When Jesus looked down
All the world He could see
When Jesus looked down
He could see
He could see … all the way … to me
His vision was clear
It never grew dim
And, He knew that one day
I’d be looking up to Him
It was the first time that Jesus
Ever looked down on anyone
He saw me believing
Believing in God’s only son
He would call several dozen
Only one dozen would stay
And, because of those twelve
We are here today
But, they took Him, and they killed Him
For political gain
He was nailed to a cross
After much torture and pain
It would make no difference how much
His followers screamed and cried
God’s plan for salvation, through the perfect Lamb
Would not be denied
His beaten, bruised body
Was held aloft for all to see
And, somehow, through the blood and the nails
Jesus still held His grip on eternity
Before He gave up the ghost, He opened His eyes
For one more “look and see”
He looked down past the soldiers
And, from the cross, He could see
He could see … all the way … to me
It had been three days since Jesus had died
When the angels appeared at the Lamb’s tomb side
Jesus, the Savior, was rising from the dead
It was all happening just like He said
With the stone rolled away
Jesus stepped out from the grave
Not just with power over death
But, with power to save
As Jesus took that first step
Having solved death’s mystery
He looked out from the tomb
And He could see
He could see … all the way … to me
His disciples were around Him
As He told them he had to leave
Even though He had just blessed them
Their souls began to grieve
Then, all at once, He began to rise
His feet leaving the ground
Jesus ascended toward Heaven
As they stood, gasping, all around
But, just before He disappeared into a cloud
Jesus took a moment to look down
From His vantage point, high in the sky
So far above hill and tree
He enjoyed the view
As Jesus could see
He could see … all the way … to me
Jesus came from glory
Starting in swaddling clothes
I may not understand it
But that is the way He chose
Please understand that we could not go to where He was
So, he had to come to where we were
Now, I look back, and consider just why
Jesus would keep looking at me
From the manger to the sky
There is only one reason
That He kept looking at me, and at you
And that is to see what me
And you, would do
There is but one reason
That He keeps looking at you
And that is to see
If you’ll make the right choice, too
Richard.Vincent.Rose
pastorappreciationblog.com 