February 21, 2006

Greetings in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ to all those who love and
obey Him.

"Hear him."

This is pretty straight-forward saying, no?  Do you know who said it?
Do you know to whom he said it, and about whom he was speaking?

OK, time's up.  God the Father spoke this from a cloud, and He spoke it to a
few fishermen (Peter, James and John).  And He spoke of Jesus, the Son
whom He loved so much.

And He's really talking to all of us who claim to belong to Him.

"This is My beloved Son.  Hear Him." (Mark 9:7).

A few things jump out at me.  Here are two:

First, don't tell me all about how much "God" means to you if Jesus - what
He taught, what He did, who He is - doesn't mean exactly the same. Jesus
said He and the Father are one, and the Father said listen to Jesus.

Second, don't tell me about how much Jesus means to you if you won't listen
to Him.  Listen to His word and obey it.  That's not just a feeling like
"I'm doing this for Jesus", it's really listening and doing what He says.
You see, He's not just a nice guy, a moral figure, a genie, an icon, etc.
He is the Son of God, one with the Father, the Creator of the universe
and the judge of all.  He willingly gave Himself up to the lash, to the
crown of thorns, to the spikes and spear, to the cross.  He gave His very life
for the church, which is His body.  He gave His Spirit to His own, placed us
in our part of His body the church, and called us learn and obey His teachings
(a large part of what "church" is all about).  We WORSHIP GOD by hearing
and learning and obeying the teachings of our SAVIOR.  His Son.

HIS SON, people.

Hear Him.

Hope to see you around!

In Jesus, looking for His glorious appearing,
Pastor Lou