Table of Contents
With
Copyright 2022 by Andrea Edin.
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Published by Radiant Publishing
Paperback ISBN: 979-8-9865413-1-0
eISBN: 979-8-9865413-2-7
First Edition
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Then Jesus took them through the writings
of Moses and all the prophets,
explaining from all the Scriptures
the things concerning himself.
Luke 24:27 NLT
Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION
Searching High and Low
A t the close of his storied life, Moses climbed the slopes of Mount Pisgah. From that summit, God showed him the lay of the Promised Land. Horizon to horizon, it stretched beneath and beyond him, blessed in every direction. For forty years, he had wandered through the baking wilderness dreaming of this moment. At last, he could see the carved ridges and fertile plains, the cool rivers and glistening seas that made up Israels God-given homeland. In one glorious, wide-sweeping vista, he drank it all in.
Paul had a similar moment when he picked up his pen to write to the church in Ephesus. What began quietly turned into a cataract of sheer wonder. The first chapter of Ephesians builds into a soaring chorus. You can hear the sound of Pauls eyes widening before the greatness of Gods mad plan. It is the song of his overjoyed heart searching for the bottom as he was inundated with grace, his spirit trying to catch its breath as he laid out all he had witnessed. His pen was scratching furiously, just trying to keep up. By the time he got ahold of himself, he was already in chapter four.
Perhaps you have been on such a hike. The slog of climbing through the tree cover and brush shields you from the view, and the change in elevation is so gradual you do not even sense it. But then chance comes when the trees thin and the clouds lift, and you turn around. There is nothing but open heaven and vast earth before you, and a panorama to leave you speechless. What just a moment before was familiar and small is now enormous, limitless, and shimmeringly beautiful. That is what happened to Peter, John, and James at the Transfiguration.
But Moses assures us a view like this is not limited to spiritual mountaintops or giants in the faith. It is closer to us than we can imagine. As he put it:
It is not beyond your reach. It is not kept in heaven, so distant that you must ask, Who will go up to heaven and bring it down so we can hear it and obey? It is not kept beyond the sea, so far away that you must ask, Who will cross the sea to bring it to us so we can hear it and obey? No, the message is very close at hand; it is on your lips and in your heart so that you can obey it.
This panorama is woven into the Scriptures, where every page and every word are brimming with grace and glory. Only look, leaning on the Holy Spirit to guide you as a Sherpa, and you will see it. He promises those who search will not walk away disappointed. Everyone who seeks finds.
What you will see is Jesus. You will begin to see the outline of His face and His hands, His eyes and His hair, His frame and His feet. You will see His picture again and again across the Bibles many books and stories, and it will dawn on you that He is the only character God has written about. You will understand what is meant by, Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light on my path, for you know Who the way we travel is. The lamplight floods Him. You will grasp then that Jesus is Christ crucified. That is the only message the Word declares. You will see Him exactly as He is because God so desires it for you. The Holy Spirit will help you. He will sit with you as you turn the pages of the photo album, pointing Jesus out in all His beauty.
The disciples once asked Jesus, Rabbi, where are You staying? The answer is that you will find Him in the most surprising places. He is in the Prophets and the Psalms. He is in the Law. You will find Him with the infant church, in Romes harsh dungeons, and all throughout Pauls letters, and you will find Him as He walks the humble streets of Galilee and Jerusalem. He is in Egypt and Babylon, the heights of heaven, the desert, and the depths of the sea.
You will find Him in the past. You will find Jesus at the foundation of the universe, there before all other things. He is the One who was, for He became a man and died. He was. You will also find Him farther ahead, for He is the One who will be. He is there already at the end. He, the Living God, once lay in a tomb, waiting for life to begin again. And now He is! Life came roaring back into His bones so that death could no longer have any power over us.
You will find Him with the sick, bedridden, and with widows and fishermen. You will find Him with lepers and shepherds and little children. You will find Him in floods and famines, in the times of war and wandering. He is there in the royal courts and under the cover of the Holy of Holies. The train of His robe fills the temple, and He knows each star by name.
Where are You staying, Rabbi? the disciples asked.
He is with us. Yes, open your eyes and take in the full view. In Jesuss own words, dear child: Come and you will see. It is His invitation to start the search.
Dont miss this first command Jesus gave. Before He invited His disciples to follow, before He sent them to preach or to heal or to baptize or to love, Jesus required them to look so that they might learn to seeto see Him. Let us do the same. Linger until He comes into view and your heart catches fire.
Mary, mother to Jesus, was present when a knock shook the front door of her home one day. She opened it to find a group of strangers waiting on the step. They had traveled for hundreds of miles from some foreign country in the hopes of an audience with her child.
She courteously let them inside. Her baby was just learning to walk, a little toddler babbling happily and drooling when He smiled. She watched them drop to their knees in reverence at the sight of Him.
They opened up packs strapped to the animals theyd ridden across the continent and laid out riches that must have made her catch her breath. Gold coins, expensive myrrh resin, and fragrant, finely ground incense were set before Jesus in worship. Mary had no idea who these men were or why they were here to visit. She had no idea how they had even found her young family, as she and Joseph were just in Bethlehem for a temporary stay.