5 Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus:
Have you ever felt as if Jesus were distant? You must come down. You've gotten too high. You can't praise Him when you're up there. It's easy to do, you know. A little bit of success goes to your head. Things are going smoothly. You're handling yourself well. Yes, sir, you must come down.
Jesus stooped from Eternity's Throne, to dwell within the bounds of limitation. He condescended further than that, all the way to a lowly manger in Judah's smallest town among some of Judah's poorest residents. He was raised by a humble carpenter and brought up in the dusty village of Nazareth, not even in the excellent Rabbinical schools of Jerusalem.
You must come down.
Lower.
He doesn't even have a home. He's handpicked a ragtag bunch, a dozen men to be exact, to follow Him as He preaches His itinerant ministry in the countryside. He doesn't even set up shop in the big town. He had all the most exceptional schools to choose from, yet He bypasses the lofty heights of the religious intellectualism for the common ones. Some were even less than standard. About four of them were fishers. One was a rebel, and one a tax-collector. These men were the opposite of high. You must come down.
He's poor. He's derided. He's hated. You won't find Him hanging with the high-societal folk, but with the bums in the slums, whores and sinners, demon-possessed, and drunkards. Not the likes of the proud and lofty. You must come down.
If the presence of Jesus is distant, come a little lower. Watch as they take Him in chains, tying Him to a post, and beating Him. They've ripped the skin and muscle from His back. He doesn't pull a gun. He doesn't yell insults. He doesn't defend Himself. This makes absolutely no sense at all. Every ounce in me screams as I read this story, DO SOMETHING!! He does. He lowers Himself. He takes every bit of it. He gets nailed between two thieves. You must come down.
This High and Holy Jesus, having never sinned, is being crucified with wicked, vile men? This is insane! Not a grumble comes from His lips. He cries out to His Father in agony as His soul is made sin for the sinner, and He gives up the fight.
Where will you find Jesus? Way up there. He is seated at the right hand of God. You can't get any higher than that!
9 Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name:
How can you get there? You must come down. The way up is down. Praise God! I don't have to climb the highest peak to get there! I don't have to dig to China to get there! I just have to humble myself in His sight. He'll meet me right where I am.
Isaiah 66:1–2 (AV) — 1 Thus saith the LORD, The heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool: where is the house that ye build unto me? and where is the place of my rest? 2 For all those things hath mine hand made, and all those things have been, saith the LORD: but to this man will I look, even to him that is poor and of a contrite spirit, and trembleth at my word.
He's waiting for you. Just come down. He'll receive you, not up there, but down here. It's good to be in His presence. You'll know you're getting close when all your scars start showing, and your sins aren't so quiet to your conscience anymore.
Jesus took those 12 men and changed the world. So when an atheist says God doesn't exist, I mean, You must come down. Death and Hell, the Devil, and the Roman Empire couldn't stop Jesus and His ragtag group of 12 men, and you think you're that big to say, It's all fake? I pity you. Come down. Your eyes will get opened down here.
You Must Come Down
07/07/2020
Day 188: You Must Come Down
Philippians 2:5
5 Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus:
Have you ever felt as if Jesus were distant? You must come down. You've gotten too high. You can't praise Him when you're up there. It's easy to do, you know. A little bit of success goes to your head. Things are going smoothly. You're handling yourself well. Yes, sir, you must come down.
Jesus stooped from Eternity's Throne, to dwell within the bounds of limitation. He condescended further than that, all the way to a lowly manger in Judah's smallest town among some of Judah's poorest residents. He was raised by a humble carpenter and brought up in the dusty village of Nazareth, not even in the excellent Rabbinical schools of Jerusalem.
You must come down.
Lower.
He doesn't even have a home. He's handpicked a ragtag bunch, a dozen men to be exact, to follow Him as He preaches His itinerant ministry in the countryside. He doesn't even set up shop in the big town. He had all the most exceptional schools to choose from, yet He bypasses the lofty heights of the religious intellectualism for the common ones. Some were even less than standard. About four of them were fishers. One was a rebel, and one a tax-collector. These men were the opposite of high. You must come down.
He's poor. He's derided. He's hated. You won't find Him hanging with the high-societal folk, but with the bums in the slums, whores and sinners, demon-possessed, and drunkards. Not the likes of the proud and lofty. You must come down.
If the presence of Jesus is distant, come a little lower. Watch as they take Him in chains, tying Him to a post, and beating Him. They've ripped the skin and muscle from His back. He doesn't pull a gun. He doesn't yell insults. He doesn't defend Himself. This makes absolutely no sense at all. Every ounce in me screams as I read this story, DO SOMETHING!! He does. He lowers Himself. He takes every bit of it. He gets nailed between two thieves. You must come down.
This High and Holy Jesus, having never sinned, is being crucified with wicked, vile men? This is insane! Not a grumble comes from His lips. He cries out to His Father in agony as His soul is made sin for the sinner, and He gives up the fight.
Where will you find Jesus? Way up there. He is seated at the right hand of God. You can't get any higher than that!
Philippians 2:9
9 Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name:
How can you get there? You must come down. The way up is down. Praise God! I don't have to climb the highest peak to get there! I don't have to dig to China to get there! I just have to humble myself in His sight. He'll meet me right where I am.
Isaiah 66:1–2 (AV) — 1 Thus saith the LORD, The heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool: where is the house that ye build unto me? and where is the place of my rest? 2 For all those things hath mine hand made, and all those things have been, saith the LORD: but to this man will I look, even to him that is poor and of a contrite spirit, and trembleth at my word.
He's waiting for you. Just come down. He'll receive you, not up there, but down here. It's good to be in His presence. You'll know you're getting close when all your scars start showing, and your sins aren't so quiet to your conscience anymore.
Jesus took those 12 men and changed the world. So when an atheist says God doesn't exist, I mean, You must come down. Death and Hell, the Devil, and the Roman Empire couldn't stop Jesus and His ragtag group of 12 men, and you think you're that big to say, It's all fake? I pity you. Come down. Your eyes will get opened down here.