Who is Jesus?

“Who do YOU say that [Jesus] is?”

“There’s the Republican Jesus who is against tax increases and activists judges, for family values and owning firearms.

There’s Democrat Jesus who is against Wall Street and Wal-Mart, for reducing our carbon footprint and printing money.

There’s Therapist Jesus who helps us cope with life’s problems, heals our past, tells us how valuable we are and not to be so hard on ourselves.

There’s Starbucks Jesus who drinks fair trade coffee, loves spiritual conversations, drives a hybrid and goes to film festivals.

There’s Open-minded Jesus who loves everyone all the time no matter what, except for people who are not as open-minded as you.

There’s Touchdown Jesus who helps athletes fun faster and jump higher than non-Christians and determines the outcomes of Super Bowls.

There’s Martyr Jesus, a good man who died a cruel death so we can feel sorry for him

There’s Gentle Jesus who was meek and mild, with high cheek bones, flowing hair, and walks around barefoot, wearing a sash and looks very German.

There’s Hippie Jesus who teaches everyone to give peace a chance, imagine a world without religion, and helps us remember all you need is love.

There’s Yuppie Jesus who encourages us to reach our full potential, reach for the stars, and buy a boat.

There’s Spirituality Jesus who hates religion, churches, pastors, priests, and doctrine; and would rather have people out in nature, finding the god within and listening to ambiguously spiritual musical.

There’s Platitude Jesus, good for Christmas specials, greeting cards, and bad sermons; he inspires people to believe in themselves, and lifts us up so we can walk on mountains.

There’s Revolutionary Jesus who teaches us to rebel against the status quo, stick it to the man, and blame things on the “system.”

There’s Guru Jesus, a wise, inspirational teacher who believes in you and helps you find your center.

There’s Boyfriend Jesus who wraps his arms around us as we sing about his intoxicating love in our secret place.

There’s Good Example Jesus who shows you how to help people, change the planet, and become a better you.

And then there’s Jesus Christ, the Son of the living God. Not just another prophet. Not just another Rabbi. Not just another wonder-worker. He was the one they had been waiting for: the Son of David and Abraham’s chosen seed, the one to deliver us from captivity, the goal of the Mosaic law, Yahweh in the flesh, the one to establish God’s reign and rule, the one to heal the sick, give sight to the blind, freedom to the prisoners and proclaim good news to the poor, the lamb of God come to take away the sins of the world.

This Jesus was the Creator come to earth and the beginning of a new creation. He embodied the covenant, fulfilled the commandments, and reversed the curse. This Jesus is the Christ that God spoke of to the serpent, the Christ prefigured to Noah in the flood, the Christ promised to Abraham, the Christ prophesied through Balaam before the Moabites, the Christ guaranteed to Moses before he died, the Christ promised to David when he was king, the Christ revealed to Isaiah as a suffering servant, the Christ predicted through the prophets and prepared for through John the Baptist.

This Christ is not a reflection of the current mood or the projection of our own desires. He is our Lord and God. He is the Father’s Son, Savior of the world, and substitute for our sins–more loving, more holy, and more wonderfully terrifying than we ever thought possible.” -KEVIN DE YOUNG

Posted on November 20, 2011

littlethingsaboutgod:

You are beautiful
No matter what they say
Words can’t bring you down

But they can.
And they have.

See I’m a little too short
To shoot a ball from half court
And I look a little too different to ever believe it when you call me
BEAUTIFUL
And I wish I was a little bit taller,
Maybe wish I were a baller,
But if there’s one thing I definitely wish I was,
I wish I was
BEAUTIFUL

My shoulders are lop sided
I got acne on my skin
And I hardly ever win
Unless of course it’s chess
But even then I’m not the best
I’ve got hair and zits on my chest
I’m a dude, but it looks like I’ve got breasts
I’m not blind buddy,
So don’t even tell me that I’m
BEAUTIFUL

See we got these things in our rooms called a mirror,
It was designed so you could see you clearer
But the father of lies plays tricks with your eyes
Whispering in your ear all about how you’re
Too big
Too small
Too short
Too tall
How your legs are too long
And your arms aren’t too strong
Your hips go too wide
And you got too much fat on the side
All just to lie to you
Trying to get you to think that you’re not
BEAUTIFUL

And if you think you are,
He thinks that’s fine
Just as long as he can tell you that that’s pride
So whatever light you hold inside
He’ll do everything he can to put it out
By making you think it’s earning you hell for you to even think that maybe you could be
BEAUTIFUL

You are beautiful,
No matter what they say
Words can’t bring you down

But they do.
Because as soon as he gets you to agree,
He gets you to believe that you’ll never be free
So the only way out is to sit and starve yourself and pout
And let the tears pour out
Or even h-h-hurl your stomach into the toilet
And you look in the mirror and ask,
Now do I look,
BEAUTIFUL?

Or you walk in wanting to be the life of the party
So you drop a couple shots
Pick up a forty,
A little while later you start feeling pretty sporty
But the room starts to wobble
And you can’t walk so you hobble
And everybody snickers at what a fool you are
And you raise your red solo cup to the sky and ask
Now do I act
BEAUTIFUL

Boy, I know that all you ever wanted to do was be a man
And lately you’ve been asking if you’re worthy
And the devil doesn’t want you to know how powerful you are so he lies and tells you’ll never have anything worthwhile
So you start clicking and scrolling
Then you’re eyes start rolling
And the moment after he’s convinced you to sell your soul to a computer screen
The devil hits you with his shame game and tells you you’re disgusting
You’ll never be worthy of anything
BEAUTIFUL

Little girl, I know you always wanted to be a princess
And all you thought you needed was a prince to call you precious
So you think you have to dress so everything can be seen
Gotta let the boys look at you like they look at a dirty magazine
Let them get a little further than you want to go
And when they get bored and drop you, you still want to know
Do you love me now
Do you think I’m
BEAUTIFUL?

Does anybody think I’m
BEAUTIFUL?

I do.
I do proclaims the voice that spoke the skies
And He says let me dry your eyes
I have heard your cries,
I only wish you had heard mine.
Galaxies and shooting stars
I set spinning so you would know the beating of my heart
I painted rainbows and roses so that you would know that you are a work of art.
I gave you strong winds and rushing rivers,
So would know you are my strong Sons of Thunder
I gave you the sunrise and moonlight
To let you know how precious you are in My sight.
I sent my Son to live and die and rise for you
So that you would know
I love you
And I think you are
BEAUTIFUL

You see, when I spoke your name,
I had glory on my lips,
So from the center of your soul to your fingertips
Every inch of you is laced with glory
Made to show meMade so the world would know me
So let me break off the chains of this false humility
Contrary to certain popular believes,
Saying that you’re nothing does not honor me.
So baby it’s time to stop running from this reality,
That you look just like your Daddy,
Baby you’re heavenly.
Baby you’re wonderfully
Fearfully
Beautifully made
In the image and likeness of beauty and light
Of grace and might
Of wisdom and creativity that made stars bright
Put sunrises at the end of the night
And made the entire universe spin just right.
Humility isn’t thinking less of you,
It’s thinking of you less.
So know that you’re blessed
And know that you can rest in my arms
Knowing who and whose you are.
You are my masterpiece,
My baby.
And baby, I’m proud of the fact that I made you.
And I’ve never made anything quite so
BEAUTIFUL.

He sings “You are beautiful,
Because of what I say
Don’t let words ever bring you down”

His Son’s scars was the call
And this is His children’s response
With hands in the air
With voices together that drown out the enemies lies

I am
BEAUTIFUL
I am
BEAUTIFUL
I am
Royalty,
Heir of the King
No longer striving or starving
My life’s not a hard thing, anymore.

I am
BEAUTIFUL
I am
BEAUTIFUL
I am
Washed in the blood of the lamb
Washed away the soot and sin so you and I can
Clearly see that

I am
BEAUTIFUL
I am
BEAUTIFUL
I am
A new creation
A new sensation
I am a floodgate of heaven,
Made to reveal heart of God to the heart of Man
Showing brothers and sisters what they are so they can
Join in our war cry shouting

I am
BEAUTIFUL
I am
BEAUTIFUL
I am
Yours, Lord.