When you think about Jesus coming back,
what does it stir up in you?
It may stir up, "Not yet! I want to get married, and have children. I want to see things, do things, Jesus, I love you, but not yet."
It may stir up deep longing. Your pain is great. The world is broken. And you almost ache to see the Day come when Jesus will make it all right.
It may stir up urgency. You have friends and loved ones who don't know Christ. You want them to surrender themselves to the Lord so that you can be with them forever.
It may stir up
passion. You are doing your part in advancing the Kingdom and bringing the gospel to the nations and call others to do the same.
What it doesn't really stir up in me is humility. But ... it should.
highly exalted him
and bestowed on him the name that is above every name
so that at the name of Jesus
every knee should bow,
in heaven and on the earth and in the earth,
and every tongue confess
that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
Paul wrote to the Philippians urging them to humble themselves and pursue unity by looking to Jesus. Jesus left his throne room, wrapped himself in flesh, lived obediently, died violently, and was raised from the dead. He lived out humility.
We can look at Jesus and get a model for humility ...
- Since he gave it all up, we can too.
- Since he relinquished control, we can too.
- Since he made himself nothing, we can too.
- Since he lay down his life for others, we can too.
But there's this one more thing that goes beyond looking to Jesus to see how he walked in humility.
He is the King of kings and Lord of lords. And He is coming back.
If we really believe this, we will choose to humble ourselves under his leadership now.
If we adore Christ as our Savior, we will not ignore him as our Lord.
Will we recognize him as Lord and humble ourselves now?
Will we
- lay aside petty grievances,
- put down our rocks,
- stop arguing over man’s traditions,
and humble ourselves now?
Because God has exalted Jesus and given him the Name above all names,
will we humble ourselves now?
Because a Day is coming when every person will bow his knee and recognize him as Lord,
will we humble ourselves now?
Jesus will return through the clouds, and every eye will see him.
He will return, Faithful and True, with eyes like fire accompanied by the armies of heaven
He will return with a a commanding shout and a heralding trumpet
with power and great glory,
conquering,
unexpected,
soon.
He will come
to bring all things to light,
to rescue,
to resurrect,
to judge,
to separate those who love him from those who don’t,
to complete our transformation,
to establish his Kingdom,
and, yes, to wipe every tear. Every tear.
He will establish his Kingdom on a new heaven and a new earth. Lit by the glory of God, shining with the fullness of Christ, there will be no sin, no pain, no death. From the throne will flow a river of life. (We'll be riverside forever!) Lining the river will be trees of life thick with fruit, evergreen with leaves of healing.
We will see the face of Jesus. And night will be no more.
He will come so that he can make his home with us and we can be with him ... forever.
So...
Will we humble ourselves now?
Will we choose to bow our knee?
Will we live out the confession of our lips that Jesus Christ is, indeed, Lord?
Will we humble ourselves now?
What do you think? Can you adore Christ as Savior and ignore him as Lord?
Is there someone in your life who you need to forgive? Is there someone you need to serve? Is there someone who you have hurt? Would you look to Jesus as both your Savior and Lord and humble yourself today?
If you would like a one-page with the Bible verses for this devotional, please email me at
cynthiafin@gmail.com. I would be delighted to send it right out to you!
You've joined us by the Riverside today. I'm so glad. We're walking together through the book of Philippians. Monday - Thursday, I highlight a verse or two and then on Friday I review the week and give you some thoughts to take you into the weekend. To see where we've been, check out Riverside at the top of the site.
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