SAVIOR AND LORD
Romans 1:1-4: “Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle and set apart for the gospel of God—the gospel He promised beforehand through His prophets in the Holy Scriptures regarding His Son, who is to His human nature was a descendant of David, and who through the Spirit of holiness was declared with power to be the Son of God by His resurrection from the dead: Jesus Christ our Lord.”
The opening Scripture is a run-on sentence. Apostle Paul sounds breathless, like anyone who reads the opening Scripture aloud. Paul was originally named Saul.
Saul was a trained Pharisee (the same position that the Jewish holy men held in Jesus’ time). Saul mocked Jesus’ teachings and wanted Him gone—messing with Jewish minds like that! After Jesus was crucified and raised back to life, Saul persecuted people who believed in Him. He even witnessed and approved of Stephen’s being stoned to death for his faith in Christ (Acts 7:52-8:1).
Then, Jesus Himself took the reins of Saul’s life. Suddenly a light shone from heaven and flashed all around. Saul fell to the ground and heard a voice say to Him, “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute Me?”
“Who are You, Lord?” Saul asked.
“‘I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting,’ He replied. ‘Now get up and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do.’” (Acts 9:3-9).
Jesus had stricken Saul blind. Now, Saul was a proud, educated man. Blindness was the first lesson that taught Saul who is REALLY in charge. Immediately, Saul allowed Jesus to reign as LORD in his life—BEFORE he embraced Him as Savior. Check out the lesson linked below to see who helped Saul in Damascus.
Later, Saul’s name was changed to Paul, who wrote many books in the Bible’s New Testament.
People have many masters. Like (S) Paul, we figure that we have life all figured out. What’s it going to shake us up and name Jesus as LORD? He is not willing to compete with other masters. He doesn’t want to be in a fan club. Let’s not delay in naming Jesus #1! Jesus is Master, LORD, and Boss of me.
He reigns supreme in my life.
Take Home Nugget
When Christians believe in Jesus as Savior, they’ve only gone halfway to claim the full prize. I refuse letting you off the hook. WHEN will you make that same Jesus, your Savior, also #1 in your life? To be sure, you can depend that Jesus won’t let you off the hook. He wants you to name Him LORD of your heart.
Thank You Jesus for continued knocking in the door of my heart until I also claim You as LORD of my life! Amen.
Adapted from “Me, Slave of Christ” by Dr. Tony Evans. www.urbanAlternative@LightSource.com. December 5, 2017.
J.D. Griffith
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My background is a life time of worship, but seriously following Jesus came with age. Spiritual maturity is a leap of faith. Sometimes we don’t know what we’re missing until living on the edge of God’s leading. My life of self sufficiency ended abruptly when losing my job as an analytical chemist after being diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. Now living on the edge of God’s leading has become a way of life that I wouldn’t trade for anything else.
Surrendering one’s will to the Lord can be scary. Why did I wait so long to do it? Diving into an intimate relation with the sovereign God of creation is the most secure position in the universe. Will you share your experience with me? Will you let me give you my testimony? May I introduce you to the Jesus I know?