Category: Portraits of Christ

Paragraph 1 Jesus would be called Immanuel (Isa 7:14 NIV)  Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel. (Isa 8:8 NIV)  and sweep on into Judah, swirling over it, passing through it and reaching up to the neck. Its outspread wings will cover the breadth of your land, O Immanuel!" (Mat 1:23 NIV)  "The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel" --which means, "God with us." Three times in the Bible, Jesus was given the title “Immanuel”, which means “God with us”. God humbled Himself to dwell in a lowly place (Phil 2:5-7 NIV)  Your attitude should be the same…

A Friend to sinners (Mat 11:19 NIV)  The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, 'Here is a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and "sinners." ' Great men usually choose their friends carefully. They will not associate with anybody. But the Son of God did not restrict Himself to the elite of society. He chose to be a Friend to sinners. Do you feel that God is far from you because you have not lived your life right? God wants to be your Friend despite what you have done with your life. A Friend to His enemies (Mat 26:49-50 NIV)  Going at once to Jesus, Judas said, "Greetings, Rabbi!" and kissed him. {50} Jesus replied, "Friend, do what you came for." Then the…

(Rev 22:13 NIV)  I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End. This magnificent title of our Lord comes to us in His final words to man as recorded in the last chapter of the Bible. Alpha and Omega are words for the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet. Their meaning can be seen from the verse above when Jesus also emphasized that He is the beginning and the end. John 8:57-59 NIV)  "You are not yet fifty years old," the Jews said to him, "and you have seen Abraham!" {58} "I tell you the truth," Jesus answered, "before Abraham was born, I am!" {59} At this, they picked up stones to stone him, but Jesus hid himself, slipping away…

Jesus will judge our deeds (Acts 10:42 NIV)  He commanded us to preach to the people and to testify that he is the one whom God appointed as judge of the living and the dead. (John 5:22 NIV)  Moreover, the Father judges no one, but has entrusted all judgment to the Son, (2 Cor 5:10 NIV)  For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive what is due him for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad. In this last verse, Paul was writing to Christians in Corinth. At this judgment seat of Christ, only believers will appear. It is not a judgment of the believer’s sins, which Christ has fully atoned for on the cross. The judgment is…

(Isa 9:6 NIV)  For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Jesus is the way to peace with God (Rom 5:1 NIV)  Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, (Acts 10:36 NIV)  You know the message God sent to the people of Israel, telling the good news of peace through Jesus Christ, who is Lord of all. The most important kind of peace to have is to have peace with God. This kind of peace comes when we have made amends with God and His wrath is no longer on us. This…

Christ is the heir of all things (Heb 1:2 NIV)  but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom he made the universe. There is a book entitled “How to live like a king’s kid”. We should live our life in accordance with the fact that Jesus is the heir of all things. Everything belongs to Jesus. (Mat 28:18 NIV)  Then Jesus came to them and said, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. We, who have a relationship with Jesus, do we live our life like a pauper? If you were a prince, would you want to live like a beggar? Of course not. We live like a beggar when…

(Isa 53:3 NIV)  He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows, and familiar with suffering. Like one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not. (Luke 9:22 NIV)  And he said, "The Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, chief priests and teachers of the law, and he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life." Some notable men are men of wealth, some are men of fame, some men of pleasure, but Christ was a Man of sorrows. The last week of Jesus’ earthly life is featured so prominently in the Bible. One-third of Matthew, one-third of Mark, one-fourth of Luke, and one-half of John’s gospel is devoted to the…

Servant who serves with God’s strength (Acts 4:27 NIV)  Indeed Herod and Pontius Pilate met together with the Gentiles and the people of Israel in this city to conspire against your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed. (Mat 12:18 NIV)  "Here is my servant whom I have chosen, the one I love, in whom I delight; I will put my Spirit on him, and he will proclaim justice to the nations. The Servant of the Lord – Christ Jesus – is one that serves with the Lord’s power and anointing. He did not perform His tasks on earth with His own strength. Likewise, the apostle Paul declared himself to be a servant of God, who became one through the working of His power. (Eph 3:7 NIV)  I became a servant…

In the New Testament, Jesus referred to Himself as the Bridegroom in response to the questions posed by the disciples of John the Baptist. (Mat 9:15 NIV)  Jesus answered, "How can the guests of the bridegroom mourn while he is with them? The time will come when the bridegroom will be taken from them; then they will fast. The Revelator John describes the church as a bride dressed beautifully for her Husband. (Rev 21:2 NIV)  I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. The theme of God being our Husband and Bridegroom is echoed throughout the Old Testament as well. (Hosea 2:19 NIV)  I will betroth you to me forever; I will betroth you…