ISAIAH 63:9 – In all their affliction He was afflicted, and the angel of His presence saved them; in His love and in His pity He redeemed them; He lifted them up and carried them all the days of old.

THEME OF THE DAY. IS JESUS REAL AND ALIVE TO US? There is a very real and present danger facing Christians. I know that is a limited statement because there are MANY real and present dangers facing Christians. We face a deceiving devil, an alluring world, a lustful flesh, and a host of evils daily seeking our destruction. So, yes, there is more than one danger confronting us as Christ’s people. Yet, I think there is one that towers above all others and should this one get the upper hand in our lives, all the other dangers will rush into our lives with little to no resistance. And that danger? The lack of reality of the Person of Jesus Christ in our daily lives.

As Christians, we make a bold statement to the world. We claim to know God through Jesus Christ. Not about Him, but know Him in a real and living relationship. So real that we actually tell the world around us He is literally coming back; we are going to see Him face-to-face and spend eternity with Him. And all those things are true, yet, the question I am asking of us is this . . . “Are all those things real to us? Real to the point that everything in our lives is shaped, directed, consumed, guided, and flows from this living relationship with Jesus Christ.” Yes, I know life is full of responsibilities and demands. Yes, I know parenting is hard and time-consuming. By the way, I am finding out so is grandparenting! Yes, I know our jobs are difficult and take long hours. Yes, I know we live fast-paced lives with barely time to breathe along the way. But in all of life, Jesus Christ is to be Lord of our lives, not in profession but in practice. We walk with Him in our parenting, on our jobs, and in all the other areas of life from our recreation to responsibilities to even running the mundane errands of life. And to be redundant, we must ask, “Is Jesus real in our lives?” “Are we walking daily conscious of Him, interacting with Him, and seeing all of life as a shared journey with Him?” Friends, that is what Biblical Christianity is. It is not a profession of faith in a doctrinal statement, though that matters, nor is it a decision we made for Christ years ago that is not impacting our todays. Christianity truly is a relationship with God through Christ that is to be real, transformational, and progressive. So, let’s consider a couple of things along these lines. First, two negatives that reveal why Jesus will not be real to us, but remain in the recesses of our heads as mere knowledge. Then one means for us to verify Jesus is indeed alive and real to us.

The first reason why Jesus may seem to be more a professed concept than the Living Godman in our lives is neglect of His Word and prayer. Beloved, if we neglect the means of knowing Jesus personally – unhurried and meditative times in His Word and prayer for the single purpose to “Behold Him”, He will not be real (2 Corinthians 4:5). Jesus is not known by spiritual experiences outside of His Spirit-illuminating work through His Word. And to neglect prayer is to be “not on speaking terms” with God. We simply cannot know Christ if we neglect the means to know Him.

Another reason Jesus may not be real and personal to us is lack of obedience to His Word. Obedience fosters fellowship. Known disobedience silences fellowship and no fellowship means no personal exchange. One area of disobedience easily tolerated, and why Jesus, the true Biblical Jesus, is relatively unknown among professing Christians, is neglect of the church. I say this a lot because it matters a lot; Christians cannot be healthy in their walk with the Lord apart from a faithful commitment to a local body of believers. That is simply God’s way and to neglect His way is to “de-personalize” the relationship with Him.

Now, the positive. How will we know if we are truly walking with the Lord and He is real? Space doesn’t allow a long dissertation, but the clearest way is our becoming like Him. The more we know Him, the more we become like Him. Knowing Christ is revealed by being transformed to be like Christ. May the Lord make Him so real to us so that the world will know He is real. And that will happen as we seek Him in Word, prayer, and obedience.

PRAYER: “Father, thank You for revealing Yourself to me through Your Son, by the Spirit and Word.”

QUOTE: “Jesus is real and will be so to each us if we meet the conditions He has placed upon us”