Culturally relevant Jesus...

"When Jesus came into the coasts of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, saying, Whom do men say that I the Son of man am?
And they said, Some say that thou art John the Baptist: some, Elias; and others, Jeremias, or one of the prophets.
He saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am?
And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.
And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Bar- Jonah: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven."
Matthew 16:13-17

The question of the ages... Who is Jesus Christ? The Lord posed this same question to his disciples as they traveled together..."Who do men say that I am?" The answers were varied. Some thought that Jesus was the resurrection of John the baptist... this included Herod. Some thought he was the risen Elijah, or Jeremiah, or perhaps another prophet...
The question has carried on even to this day. Who is Jesus? Who do men say that The Son of man is today?
Mormons Believe he is the spirit brother of Lucifer, one of a myriad of gods. Jehovah's Witnesses believe he is Michael the Archangel, the first and Greatest creation of Jehovah. Muslims Believe he is one in the line of the prophets, but he is not divine. New Agers believe that he is a man who obtained the "Christ Consciousness" You could go on for volumes.... Everyone Has an opinion on Who Jesus Christ is.

In a post-modern culture, where "there is no absolute truth," The Lord Jesus Christ has become like a lump of clay, which each individual can Mold to fit his given convictions and life style. The Jesus Christ of the Bible is sacrificed on a humanist alter of cultural relevancy, and the results are quite pathetic. The Holy one of Israel is traded for a Jesus, so motivated by "LOVE" that he has no other attributes, an Effeminate Jesus who would never condemn, never anger, never hurt their fragile self image...
And the church, Being no better, has Replaced the Lamb of God with a cheap imitation. Reverence for Christ, God manifested in the flesh is replaced with Shallow relationships where Jesus is now a "Homeboy," or even worse yet, a "BOYFRIEND." Sitting in a cesspool of "seeker sensitivity" they have introduced every worldly element imaginable to promote a Christ that has nothing to do with scripture..below are a few goodies. How sad it is when our savior becomes a marketing gimmick to sell Jesus Junk to spiritually bankrupt "Christians." How Sad when Good Bible preaching and teaching is replaced with garbage speeches based on the latest Hollywood movie.. And biblical ignorance has had serious consequences when it comes to discerning truth for error. People will fall for anything with Jesus in it's pages, regardless whether it is biblical... regardless of the spiritual status of the author

"Worthy is the Lamb that hath been slain to receive the power, and riches, and wisdom, and might and honor, and glory, and blessing."- Revelation 5:12

Now Please don't get me Wrong, I Do Believe that the Christian faith is a relationship, as opposed to a religion, but our relationship needs to be tempered with the proper understanding of who Jesus Christ actually is. You would not walk into the presence of a world leader, flop your arm around his shoulder and say-"Wassup Homeboy, " and if you tried, you would be quickly reprimanded... How much more so The Lord Jesus Christ, who is infinitely more worthy of worship and respect? Is He not the King of kings and the Lord of lords? (Revelation 17:14)
Isaiah, when he stood in the temple saw The pre-incarnate Christ, pronounced an Oracle of doom upon himself because of his filthy mouth. (Isaiah 6) When Paul was in the presence of the post- resurrected Christ, the was knocked from his horse and blinded. (Acts 26:13)
How can we delude ourselves into thinking we can stand in his presence, and call him anything less than Lord and Savior? It should be a very sobering thought that when the time comes, we will not only be standing before our Savior, we will be standing before GOD.

"Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name: That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father"- (Phillipians 2:10-11)

Jesus is LORD. He is GOD, He is our SAVIOR, and He should be worshiped in the Beauty of Holiness. He is not "Buddy Christ". He deserves better than to be reduced to a bobblehead,
or a irreverent t-shirt. He deserves praise out of a pure heart, not ungodly pop songs that have his name squeezed in to "sanctify" them. (See previous post) Christians, we need to consider our ways...and wake up. One day we will ALL give an account..

Peter responded to Jesus by proclaiming "You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God. "
And Jesus said that flesh and blood did not reveal it to him, but The Father in Heaven,

I fear that Christ today is revealed more from the FLESH than anything remotely spiritual...
We should be ashamed of ourselves and repent on our knees for the false teaching , worldly worship and our superficial attitude we have toward our Savior.

Reverence should NEVER be sacrificed for relevance.