Who is Lord?

From the beginning of time when Eve picked the forbidden fruit and shared it with Adam, we as a human race have been struggling with this question. Who will determine my destiny? Even after we make a decision to accept Christ’s gift of salvation, we struggle with who is in charge. Think you got this one down? Here are a few litmus tests to see how you are doing.

1.   Did you just do some Christmas shopping? How did it go when someone grabbed the last item off the shelf in front of you or cut in a long line or took the parking space you were obviously ready to pull into? Did you see that person as a human made in the image of Christ and pray for his/her redemption? Did you bless them or curse them with your thoughts, words and/or actions?

2.   Last time an aggressive or tentative driver got between you and your goal, did you respond with grace or did you tell them some unpleasant things even though they didn’t hear you?

3.   When you get up in the morning, is the first thing on your mind your ‘to do’ list of all the things you need to get done today and what order you want to do them in or is it to thank God for another day and ask Him what His plans are for you today?

4.   When the bills come and the paycheck doesn’t or at least doesn’t reach, do you panic or do you take it to Jesus and ask His guidance on how to proceed?

5.   When your body experiences sickness, do you gather your pharmaceuticals around you and complain about how you feel until you get over it, or do you go to the Master Healer and ask for His healing and guidance in dealing with the sickness? 

These and many other things that happen daily in our lives tell us much about our progress in allowing Jesus to be Lord. In the end, it will become very clear who is Lord and it will go much better for us if we have chosen the Lordship of Christ before we get to that point. In “Today’s Quiet Walk Devotional” for December 28, 2014, (Walk Thru the Bible), the author speaks in regard to Revelation 19: 

“Apocalypse: ‘The revelation of a violent struggle in which evil will be destroyed’ (Webster's Dictionary). The second coming of Christ will be the apocalypse fulfilled. While the symbolism of the language in Revelation makes it difficult to ascertain exactly how events will unfold, it is clear that when Jesus returns again, it will be to confront evil and destroy it. The heavens will split and Jesus will descend upon the armies of the earth which have gathered in opposition to His return. In contrast to His past role as Savior of man, He will now come as King of creation. Whereas once He made Himself subject to men, now all men will become subject to Him. History will end and eternity will begin.”

In John 18:4-6, we see the first glimpse of every knee bowing to our great and awesome King. “Jesus, knowing all that was going to happen to him, went out and asked them, “Who is it you want?” “Jesus of Nazareth,” they replied. “I am he,” Jesus said. (And Judas the traitor was standing there with them.) When Jesus said, “I am he,” they drew back and fell to the ground.”

Isaiah 45:23, Romans 14:11 and Philippians 2:10 all tell us that every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that Jesus is Lord. We can either choose to bow or we can bow as the soldiers did when they arrested Jesus, but we will bow. 

Lord, I want you to be Lord of my life. Help me in my weakness when my flesh wants to take over to listen for Your voice and to allow You to be Lord of each circumstance as it occurs. You are indeed Lord and I am not. Thank You for the gift of peace when I acknowledge that. Thank You for the grace that washes over me and allows me to speak blessings over others rather than curses. Keep opening my eyes to see You and give me a heart to follow You every day of my life. Amen.