Why Follow Yeshua?
Through working together for the benefit of mankind, God sent His only son Yeshua to provide eternal life to all who acknowledge Yeshua as the Messiah. Similarly, Paul in Colossians 1: 18-20 speaks of Yeshua and His position, and states: “Also, He is head of the Body, the Messianic Community – he is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead so that He might hold first place in everything. For it pleased God to have his full being live in his Son and through his son to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace through him, through having His Son shed his blood by being executed on a stake.”
Yeshua, Our Hope
Yeshua is our hope in times of darkness, despair, hurt, grief, loneliness, emptiness, and search for love. Yeshua loves us and accepts us where we are. Does He want us to stay where we are? Not necessarily, where we are, may harm ourselves and others. Having faith in Yeshua can move the mountains in our lives. All we must do is name and claim the mountains be moved through Yeshua, and God will move those insurmountable mountains. I know you knew that, right? Good. Let us examine this further.
Humanity, Sin, and Salvation
Humanity is provided salvation from sin through the acceptance of Yeshua. By worshipping Yeshua in spirit and truth, turning away from sin, repenting, and sinning no more, we can achieve salvation in Him. God offers us salvation through redemption and acceptance of Yeshua as the Messiah. Through Yeshua, God grants eternal life. Paul speaks of this in Colossians 1: 13-14. Paul opines: “He has rescued us from the domain of darkness and transferred us into the Kingdom of his dear Son. It is through his Son that we have redemption – that is, our sins have been forgiven.” (CJB)
Yeshua and Faith
What is faith? What does the word faith mean to you? What challenges are you facing today? What have you believed God for today? Have you ever almost given up, but faith crept in? What moved you to try again? Was it your faith in Yeshua that sustained you?
Yeshua often spoke about faith. He provides reassurance regarding the exercise of faith in Mark 11: 22-23. It reads: “Have the kind of trust that comes from God! Yes! I tell you that whoever does not doubt in his heart but trusts that what he says will happen can say to this mountain, ‘Go and throw yourself into the sea!’ and it will be done for him.” (CJB)
Faith in Your Life
How magnificent! Do you have that type of unmovable, unshakeable faith? We can, but sometimes lose sight of God’s promises and commitments concerning our faith. God leads us to endure until the end with the promise that “Yeshua is with us until the end of the age.” Matthew 28:20 (CJB)
As we can see, faith requires a level of responsibility. Having faith and not exercising it in times of challenges, despair, chaos, and trouble can cause us to panic and doubt. I have been there and done that. Have you? Instead of doubting, we need to place our faith in Yeshua. At that point, we need to affirm that His power will sustain us in whatever moment we find ourselves.
Was it Your Faith?
Throughout your journey in life, has your faith in Yeshua sustained you? I do not know about you, but if I walked by sight and faced life’s challenges absent faith; I would not get far. Our lives consist of a journey with a purpose. That purpose encompasses our faith in Yeshua to meet all our needs. Hebrews 12: 1-2 illustrates the significance of Yeshua and faith and states: “So then, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us, too, put aside every impediment – that is, the sin which easily hampers our forward movement – and keep running with endurance in the contest set before us, looking away to the Initiator and Completer of that trusting Yeshua – who in exchange for obtaining the joy set before him, endured execution on a stake as a criminal, scorning the shame, and has set down at the right hand of the throne of God.” (CJB)
Moving Forward
The church, baptism, communion, and pastoral ministry are integral to our relationship with God. The church affords the opportunity to worship with other believers and proclaim and strengthen our faith with one another in the body. Baptism provides acknowledgment and commitment. It symbolically cleanses us from sin and unrighteousness. Communion was his last request to remember Him and abide in Him. Making a commitment to Yeshua is vital. Why? One could argue that if we do not, we could be easily misled. Similarly, Ephesians 4: 14 conveys: “We will no longer be infants tossed about by the waves and blown along by every wind of teaching, at the mercy of people clever in devising ways to deceive.”