I am a Jesus pusher!!! Before Jesus was born, an Angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in the night. He gave a clear cut mission statement concerning Jesus. He declared, “And she will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name Jesus for He will save His people from their sins,” (Matthew 1:21). After Pentecost, Peter challenged the Jews of the Dispersion, “Repent, and let everyone of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit,” (Acts 2:38). At the heart of both of these statements is the issue of sins.
Jesus is the context of both of these statements. His birth is central in the first; the outpouring of His Spirit is the focus of the other. Everything God desires for our lives is in Jesus. Everything intended in the eternal plan for our very creation is Jesus! Intimacy found in the Spirit of Jesus fulfills the love of God for us! Anything outside of Jesus is labeled “sin.” Sin is not defined in terms of a deed; it is defined in how a deed relates to Jesus. If He does not source the deed, it is sin! The goodness of the deed does not justify it. The sincerity expressed within the deed does not make it righteous. The heart of the entire matter is Jesus. The Jews were not bad; they missed Jesus. They missed the true end and scope of their lives; they crucified Jesus.
I am opening my life to nothing but Jesus. He is the boundary for my existence. He will be the reference point of all my thinking and doing. I am a Jesus pusher!!!