Tuesday
Carpenter Diem (Because Jesus Was a Carpenter and Is Now Preparing a Home for His People)
The resurrection of God the Son, Jesus Christ, is crucial to the Christian faith. In Luke 24:13-35, we read of the resurrected Savior walking the road to Emmaus. This specific geographical reference reminds us of the absolute accuracy of God’s Word in all areas. In verse 27, Jesus begins to teach from the Old Testament; He not only walked the talk but also talked the walk! This passage does not reveal the exact Scriptures Jesus employed to teach these journeying believers, but we do know that He fulfilled the entire Old Testament (Matthew 5:17,18). Fulfilled prophecy is one of the major reasons that we can be certain that our faith in Jesus is not misplaced. (I will be using this opening paragraph for each of the brief messages in this series. The following material will change daily.)
In II Chronicles 20, King Jehoshaphat and the people of Judah experienced a great military victory over the combined forces of Moab and Ammon. Before the battle, the people fasted and prayed. Jehoshaphat prayed aloud and in verse 6 referred to God as the “Lord God of our fathers.” This designation includes the immutability of God, the fact that He is unchanging. God says in Malachi 3:6a, “I am the Lord, I change not.” From generation to generation, God is the same. Since Jesus is fully God, He does not and cannot alter. One of the first verses that many of us learned as youngsters (in part because it is short) is Hebrews 13:8: “Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and today, and forever.” Think of the significant changes that we have experienced through the years, some positive, others negative. Think back through the generation of people that we have known or heard about from others or read about. Through all of these changing times and generations, Jesus has remained blessedly consistent. We can be comforted by the fact that, no matter what today brings, our Savior Jesus Christ continues to be our Savior. All of His characteristics – more accurately called His perfections – remain perfect. We can trust Jesus today and tomorrow and forever.