Jesus. Who is he?
There are many things to learn about Jesus, some of this may be complicated and confusing. We encourage you to learn more about Jesus by reading the Word of God, the Bible. A great place to start is the book of John, the fourth book in the New Testament. We will begin by outlining a few important things about Jesus, and further down you will find a more personal story to help you understand more about our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
1. Jesus is God. Jesus is the second person of the Trinity. "Trinity" is the name we use to describe God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. Three in One. He is eternal, created the world, became a man, died on the cross, rose back to life, and ascended into Heaven until He returns.
2. Jesus became a man, born of a virgin named Mary.
3. Our sin separates us from relationship with our Creator and Jesus restored that relationship by living a sinless life, dying sacrificially on a cross to pay for our sin, and through his resurrection, Jesus defeated sin and created a way for us to be in relationship to God.
There is no shortage of pain and suffering in the world. For the Christian (Jesus follower) this is not surprising. Sin has ruined everything, relationships to one another, starvation, hunger, death, disease, mental, emotional, and physical pain and much more. The surprising thing is that no matter what we try to help us 'feel better' nothing seems to work. Some people look to material things; bigger house, expensive cars, exclusive vacations, and when they have everything they want, they find they are still empty inside. Some people try sex or drugs or alcohol, with the same result. No matter what we try in this world, we are left empty. A man named Blaise Pascal called this, the "God-sized hole." (Full quote below) Nothing in the world can fill the feeling of emptiness, because it is only meant to be filled by God. C.S. Lewis explained it like this, “If we find ourselves with a desire that nothing in this world can satisfy, the most probable explanation is that we were made for another world.” We were created by God and for God and we only find fulfillment when we have a relationship with Him. The good news is that though our sin has separated us from God, Jesus paid the penalty for our sin. The good news is that there is nothing you can do to earn heaven. We are saved by grace through faith (Ephesians 2), this means, with God's help we believe that Jesus is God, that He died for our sins, that He rose from the grave defeating death and sin, and when we believe, the Holy Spirit resides within us, transforming a heart that was opposed to God to a heart that seeks after Him. It's really that easy. If you want to live in relationship with God, just talk to God and say, "Lord, I am a sinner, I believe that you Jesus, died for my sin, I believe you rose from the dead, I believe you are God, and I want your Holy Spirit to reside within me and teach me to love you."
“What else does this craving, and this helplessness, proclaim but that there was once in man a true happiness, of which all that now remains is the empty print and trace? This he tries in vain to fill with everything around him, seeking in things that are not there the help he cannot find in those that are, though none can help, since this infinite abyss can be filled only with an infinite and immutable object; in other words by God himself.”
- Blaise Pascal, Pensées VII(425)
1. Jesus is God. Jesus is the second person of the Trinity. "Trinity" is the name we use to describe God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. Three in One. He is eternal, created the world, became a man, died on the cross, rose back to life, and ascended into Heaven until He returns.
2. Jesus became a man, born of a virgin named Mary.
3. Our sin separates us from relationship with our Creator and Jesus restored that relationship by living a sinless life, dying sacrificially on a cross to pay for our sin, and through his resurrection, Jesus defeated sin and created a way for us to be in relationship to God.
There is no shortage of pain and suffering in the world. For the Christian (Jesus follower) this is not surprising. Sin has ruined everything, relationships to one another, starvation, hunger, death, disease, mental, emotional, and physical pain and much more. The surprising thing is that no matter what we try to help us 'feel better' nothing seems to work. Some people look to material things; bigger house, expensive cars, exclusive vacations, and when they have everything they want, they find they are still empty inside. Some people try sex or drugs or alcohol, with the same result. No matter what we try in this world, we are left empty. A man named Blaise Pascal called this, the "God-sized hole." (Full quote below) Nothing in the world can fill the feeling of emptiness, because it is only meant to be filled by God. C.S. Lewis explained it like this, “If we find ourselves with a desire that nothing in this world can satisfy, the most probable explanation is that we were made for another world.” We were created by God and for God and we only find fulfillment when we have a relationship with Him. The good news is that though our sin has separated us from God, Jesus paid the penalty for our sin. The good news is that there is nothing you can do to earn heaven. We are saved by grace through faith (Ephesians 2), this means, with God's help we believe that Jesus is God, that He died for our sins, that He rose from the grave defeating death and sin, and when we believe, the Holy Spirit resides within us, transforming a heart that was opposed to God to a heart that seeks after Him. It's really that easy. If you want to live in relationship with God, just talk to God and say, "Lord, I am a sinner, I believe that you Jesus, died for my sin, I believe you rose from the dead, I believe you are God, and I want your Holy Spirit to reside within me and teach me to love you."
“What else does this craving, and this helplessness, proclaim but that there was once in man a true happiness, of which all that now remains is the empty print and trace? This he tries in vain to fill with everything around him, seeking in things that are not there the help he cannot find in those that are, though none can help, since this infinite abyss can be filled only with an infinite and immutable object; in other words by God himself.”
- Blaise Pascal, Pensées VII(425)