IS JESUS YOUR LORD???

I believe it was Augustine who said, “If Jesus is not Lord of All, then He is not Lord AT All.” This is a very powerful statement, because it should lead one to think of areas of our life where Jesus is not Lord. It also makes a powerful statement as to how we see Jesus.

We tend to want to make Jesus like a dog, where He is always excited to see us, even when we are cruel, but at the same time we can tame Him and control what He does and how He invades our space. This is not at all who Christ is and is not even remotely close to how the great figures in Scripture speak when they speak about Him.

Psalm 101

1 I will sing of mercy and justice;

To You, O LORD, I will sing praises.

2 I will behave wisely in a perfect way.

Oh, when will You come to me?

I will walk within my house with a perfect heart.

3 I will set nothing wicked before my eyes;

I hate the work of those who fall away;

It shall not cling to me.

4 A perverse heart shall depart from me;

I will not know wickedness.

5 Whoever secretly slanders his neighbor,

Him I will destroy;

The one who has a haughty look and a proud heart,

Him I will not endure.

6 My eyes shall be on the faithful of the land,

That they may dwell with me;

He who walks in a perfect way,

He shall serve me.
7 He who works deceit shall not dwell within my house;

He who tells lies shall not continue in my presence.
8 Early I will destroy all the wicked of the land,

That I may cut off all the evildoers from the city of the LORD.

This Psalm describes that we should be the ones being tamed by Christ, and not the other way around. David talks about how he is making God Lord of all in his life. He talks about behaving in a perfect way. How do we do that? The only way that I know of is by spending time with Christ in His Word and in prayer. By submitting ourselves under those God has put in our lives to help teach us His ways. By keeping garbage out and only letting nourishment in, “Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things” Phil. 4:8.

The Psalm then talks about what we let into our eyes, and that we should not allow wicked things into our eyes. How well do we do at this? How well do we protect others from this? When a Victoria Secret commercial comes on T.V., do you turn the channel or allow it to penetrate your eyes? Why was the television show, “Desperate Housewives” the number one show in America if Christians are not watching it?

I was given a movie to watch, “The Inside Man,” and was told it was good, and the story plot may have been excellent, but I had to turn the movie off within 5 minutes because they must have used the “F” word 20 times in that 5 minutes. I had to ask myself if the college students I worked with were with me would I be watching this. Would I want my daughter to watch a movie filled with such language? The answer is a big fat NO!! Why do we rationalize putting these things into our heads when in fact I bet that if Jesus was down here walking with us we would not watch or say half of what we do, yet He has sent His Spirit to be with us continually and we some how forget that. Myself included.

There is a disconnect today in morality and Christianity, from Sunday to the rest of the week. We have a hard time lining up with what Scripture tells us about who Christ is and how we are suppose to act once we accept Him as Lord and Savior. What would happen if everyone who called themselves Christian started to live their lives by what the Scriptures tell us in our daily lives and not just while we are at church? I believe there would be a dramatic change in every area of America, from government to the media, from schools to churches. It would end the life of most of the shows on T.V., pornography would almost disappear, and there would be a revival of our entire nation. There is a figure that says that 1 in 10 men are addicted to pornography. How many call themselves Christians, and yet allow themselves to be succumbed by such filth? Christ surely is not Lord in this area! Is that worse then watching a movie that every other word is swear word? Neither one is filling your mind with anything productive.

Here is the challenge. Look where Christ is not part of your decision process and make Him Lord of it. If He is Lord of everything then there is no area that He should not be first in. Our beliefs and theology should not start with “I,” but with “Him.”

“IF JESUS IS NOT LORD OF ALL, THEN HE IS NOT LORD AT ALL.”