Day 7

All today I was thinking, I just want to meditate on Jesus; to behold the Man. In our briefing tonight, we went around the room and asked each person, 'What is one thing that you are thankful for?' Jordan's answer right off the bat was, 'I'm thankful that Jesus is a Man.' Me too. So today we will look to one of my favorite passages about the Messiah, Zechariah 6:12,

'Behold the Man, whose name is the BRANCH! From His place He shall branch out, and He shall build the temple of the Lord; yes He shall build the temple of the Lord. He shall bear the glory, and sit and rule upon His throne; So He shall be a priest on His throne, and the counsel of peace shall be between them both.'

I love this passage! There are so many days when I get distracted and weighed down with many things and this verse will bring me back. Behold the Man! Behold the Branch! As I was pacing and meditating on this verse, Cassie Campbell began singing one of my favorite songs at IHOP and it fit in so well, I have to include it some lyrics. It is called 'Oh, the beauty of this Man.'

My heart is stirred by a noble theme, bringing blessed words unto my king. Giving up my love as a sweet offering. Oh, the beauty of this Man!

For the sake of love, He left His Father's throne, searching for a bride bone of His bone, such a humble kiss to make our dust His own. Oh, the beauty of this man!

See His hands, His head, His feet and His side. They bear the marks of wrath, a pure sacrifice, to secure her love by giving up His life. Oh, the beauty of this Man!

She now faint with love, beacons Him to come establish righteousness as God's risen Son. And on that glorious day, she'll marry her fair one. Oh, the beauty of this Man!

I still remember exactly where I was sitting when I realized that Jesus was still a man. It was at an EGS back when they were in the prayer room. I had known that Jesus became a Man and lived and died and rose from the dead. But the earth shattering thought was that today Jesus is still a Man. He rose from the dead and took on a resurrected human body. He then ascended to heaven in that same body and is today sitting at the right hand of the Father, not as an ethereal spirit-like thing, but as a Man. For some reason, that completely changed the way that I think about Jesus. When I say that Jesus loves me, it isn't a concept that loves me, but a Man. When I pray to Jesus, I am not praying to air, but to a Man. It makes the whole concept of intercession so much more concrete. So tonight, I pray that you will behold the Man, Jesus Christ, the one who was, who is and who is to come!