Seek The Lord Often

This last week in my New Testament class we studied the end of Jesus Christ's life and his suffering in the Garden of Gethsemane. In John 17, he gives the great intercessory prayer. There was one particular verse that really stood out to me. Part of verse 24 reads: "Father, I will that they also, whom thou hast given me, be with me where I am..." Christ is likely speaking of  us being with him in his kingdom someday, but when I read it I thought of something more immediate. I thought of the suffering Christ was undergoing in the Garden of Gethsemane and how it is possible he asked for us, his brothers and sisters, to be with him. I love the picture by Carl Bloch that depicts Christ suffering with an angel at his side. It is beautiful to think of all who were relying on and pulling for Jesus in his infinitely important and vital role. I can only imagine how it was for us watching down from the heavens as he suffered for each one of us individually. How must we have fe...

This week I'm going to jump into Christ's parable of the talents in Matthew 25. "And unto one he gave five talents, to another two, and to another one; to every man according to his several ability; and straightway took his journey" (Matt. 25:15) . In the parable of the talents, Christ teaches us some very powerful lessons. He teaches us that we are not all given the same number of talents. God is a just God. Isn't he? Aren't we all equal in his eyes? Why is it that he seems to give some more talents than others? There are a few things I would like to highlight from this scripture. First, the word talent can have many different meanings and applications, but in this post I am going to focus on the Greek word "talenton" which means "weight." Now if we read the scripture, it makes a lot more sense. Heavenly Father gives us weights or responsibilities according to our ability to handle them. At the end of the parable, when the Lord re...

This week I am going to combine a scripture from last week with something that Brother Griffin said this week. The scripture is found in Matthew 22. In verse 42, Jesus poses the question, “What think ye of Christ?” This question motivates our actions, for how we act depends on how we view Christ. Who is Christ to you? Is he merely a man? ( C.S. Lewis andTad R. Callister ). Is he a prophet? Or do you view him as your savior? What is his character? What emotions do you feel when you think of him? Do you fear him? Do you feel his mercy? What causes you to feel the way you do about him? I have struggled a lot of my life to feel Christ’s love. I have often seen him as a “hard man” ( Matthew 25:24 ) and felt that if I made a mistake I was not worthy to enter into his kingdom. I saw only the justice side and not the mercy. Stephen E. Robinson, in his book “Believing Christ” talks about how we need to believe that Christ can save us in instead of just believing in him. We need to be...

I've been very uplifted this semester as I've had the chance to study the life of our Savior, Jesus Christ in the New Testament. I've felt peace as I've learned from his teachings, example and parables. He invites us to follow him. He leads us. He is truly the good shepherd. I was very touched by the scriptures about Jesus as the Good Shepherd in John 10 . Jesus Christ will never force us to follow him. He is a shepherd. He does not simply herd his sheep. He leads us. Like any good shepherd, he knows his sheep by name and they know him. They follow him because they recognize his voice. No one enters his fold but through him and through making covenants with him. He is the door of the sheepfold. Those who wish to have them as their leader promise to live as he did and invite others to enjoy the same kind of life. He has laid down his life for his sheep and he loves them. He provides protection from the gloom, confusion and evil influences of the world. If being part ...