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Scripture Reading:
Romans 5:1-2 (New American Standard – NAS)
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1 Therefore having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,
2 through whom also we have obtained our introduction by faith into this grace in which we stand; and we exult in hope of the glory of God.
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Thought for the day:
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We have discussed a large number of theological terms over the past couple of weeks and we will continue to do so as we proceed through this epistle, but for today I want to bring to your attention just three words that are fundamental to so much of our daily living. In the middle of the eloquence of verses 1 and 2 we see the following term: ‘Lord Jesus Christ’.
I’m sure that most of us would have heard this countless times over many, many years but I just want to go back to basics just in case we miss something. Each of the words is full of meaning and impacts us in profound ways.
Lord – The original Greek word for this English translation is ‘Kurios’. This means ‘he to whom a person or thing belongs, about which he has power of deciding; master, owner’. I believe that this is fundamental to our Christianity and our acceptance of this demonstrates our attitude toward God and also our understanding of who we are. Throughout the Scripture we see a recurring theme of God desiring a people who are humble before Him. We come to Jesus as Lord and recognise that our lives are not our own. He is our owner! If we are not willing to give ourselves completely to Him, then we cannot call Him Lord.
Jesus – Unfortunately, for many people, the name of Jesus is only ever used as a swear word. But to us who believe, it means ‘God is Salvation’. His name is precious. It speaks of God’s grace as revealed in the incarnation in order to provide Salvation to all who believe and place their trust in Him.
Christ – As is the case with the name of Jesus, this word is also used as a term of blasphemy and is one of the most ‘jarring’ to me when I hear it. The Original Greek meaning is ‘Anointed’. It is more of a title than a name, perhaps more of a description of the person than a name itself. Jesus has been given this title and it demonstrates that He is the chosen One of God, the Messiah. The Old Testament prophesies His coming and using the title Christ is reaffirming that He is everything that God had promised through countless generations.
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Prayer and Application:
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In humility today, my prayer is that we choose to surrender every part of our lives, truly recognising His Lordship. He is our Saviour and the fulfilment of God’s faithfulness. He is worthy of our praise.
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