Finding the Messiah (QT 10.24)

QT thoughts 10.24.07

First confessions of Jesus' Messiah-ship

John the baptist, "Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!..."I have seen and I testify that this is the Son of God." John 1:29-34

Andrew (Peter's brother), "We have found the Messiah". John 1:41

Philip, "We have found the one Moses wrote about in the Law, and about whom the prophets also wrote -- Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph." John 1:45

Nathanael,"Rabbi you are the Son of God; you are the King of Israel." John 1:49 (The Jews thought that the Messiah is a political leader, a king).

Reaching out to our families

John 1:40-42

" Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, was one of the two who heard what John had said and who had followed Jesus. The first thing Andrew did was to find his brother Simon and tell him, 'We have found the Messiah' (that is, the Christ). And he brought him to Jesus."

Our families are our very first ministries. I hope that someday, we will all be able to find our family members (both immediate and non), and bring them to Jesus, just like Andrew did.

Read on John 1:43-44, Philip found his friend, Nathanael and introduced Jesus to him.

Application:

Imagine the joy of finally finding/meeting what you are looking and waiting for. That was the same joy and excitement that John, Andrew, Philip, and Nathanael felt when they met Jesus. Finally, the Messiah has come! (Jews have been waiting for the Messiah for hundreds of years)

View this video, "Could you be Messiah?"


We were looking for the Messiah at one point of our lives. We were looking for purpose and meaning. We were looking for someone to save us from our miserable and empty lives. Let us recall the joy we felt when we finally found Jesus and got baptized in His name. Those were the most glorious days of our lives.

Years after that day, are we still excited? Do we still have the same excitement that drives us to go find our family members and friends that we may introduce them to Jesus?

Honestly, I have lost some of those zeal. Years after I decided to become a disciple, I am ashamed to admit that the excitement is no longer there. What replaced it are feelings of burdens about the cross that I am carrying as a disciple of Christ.

What I have come to realized now (10/24) is that I need the Messiah to be real to me everyday. I still need my Messiah to be real (as if I have just found and discovered Him). That is my struggle. Why has Jesus become far of in my thoughts? What is it about Jesus that my situation and experience drives me to learn today?

I feel that I am hitting a ceiling, a cap in my Christian life so to speak. I have to break through and I want to break through. I want to experience my Messiah in my life once again. I want to experience life-changing encounters with my Messiah again. I want to find a greater purpose in my discipleship today. I believe it is possible.

I'd like to think of discipleship as climbing a mountain. Discovering Jesus was just the start. The journey is an upward one. It gets tougher as you get higher, but the peak is yet to come, and it's going to be glorious when we reach it. (In contrast to getting baptized was the highest point, and then we go downslope from there).

I pray that Jesus makes this happen in my life and yours too. Happy climbing!