What Being With Jesus Can Do

Being with the Lord Jesus changes us.




Joel Kontinen

The Bible often discloses profound truths in just a few words. When Luke described a difficult ordeal that the early disciples faced in Jerusalem, he mentions a small detail in connection to their arrest. The Sadducees did not believe in the resurrection and they did not tolerate those who did and put the apostles behind bars but they were in for a surprise: ”Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were uneducated and untrained men, they marveled. And they realized that they had been with Jesus” (Acts 4:13, NKJV).

Even the Sadducees realised that Peter and John had been with Jesus.

Like Peter and many others, the apostle John took a very long spiritual journey. Jesus gave him and his brother James the name Boanerges, ’Sons of Thunder’ (Mark 3:17), which might say something about his temper. John for instance wanted to call down fire from heaven to punish a Samaritan village that refused to welcome Jesus and His disciples (Luke 9:51–56). Furthermore, he was obviously very ambitious as he wanted to be exalted above the other disciples to become a co-ruler in the Messianic Kingdom of Israel (Mark 10:35–37).

Yet, when as an older man he penned his Gospel, there were no traces of the old Boanerges spirit left in his writing. The Son of Thunder saw himself as the disciple whom Jesus loved (John 20:2). The Lord did not single out one disciple as the sole object of his love, however. It is more probable that John used this phrase because he realised that Jesus loved him in spite of his temper and his occasional thunderstorms.

And, as Luke suggests, even Sadducees, the skeptics of his day, realised that John had been with Jesus. Being with Him changed the Beloved Disciple, and it can change me and you, also. The apostle Paul, who was transformed from a persecutor into a saint, said that those who are in Christ are new creations (2 Cor. 5:17). The Creator, Jesus Christ, transforms us. The more we are with Him, the more we become like Him. Thunderstorms can give way for rays of bright sunshine.

Paul wrote in 2 Corinthians 3:18: ”But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord.”

Is Jesus Really with Us?

James Tisso: Jesus Found in the Temple. Image: public domain.





Joel Kontinen

Luke’s Gospel records the account of an event that occurred when Jesus was twelve and He went to Jerusalem with Joseph and Mary. Returning from the Festival of the Passover, they noticed that Jesus was not with them.

Everything that is written in Scripture serves a purpose. This account is no exception. We ought to search ourselves and our ways every now and then to see whether Jesus is really with us, or whether we have gone on without Him.

The Old Testament judge Samson provides a warning example for us. He assumed that God was still with him even though he had disclosed the secret of his strength to Delilah.

But he was wrong; his strength was gone.

We might face trouble if we do not watch and pray but instead merely assume that the Lord is with us.

Let Us Focus on Jesus and His Word

This Book will keep us from sin. Luther’s Bible (1534). Image courtesy of Torsten Schleese.



Joel Kontinen

The New Testament exhorts us to be followers and true disciples of Jesus. To do so, we need to focus on Him. The Letter to the Hebrews (12: 2–3) says:

“Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at right hand of the throne of God. Consider Him who endured such hostility from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.”

How can we do this, as He is no longer physically present in our world?

The Apostle Paul explains:

“Let the word of Christ richly dwell within you as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God. And whatever you do, in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.” (Colossians 3: 16 –17).

We can keep our eyes on Jesus when we read His Word, the Bible, and let it dwell in us and change us into His likeness.

He promises a great reward for those who do so consistently:

“If you remain in Me and My words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. This is to My Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, proving yourselves to be My disciples.” (John 15: 7–8).

Jesus described His Word as food. According to a much-used quotation attributed to the evangelist Dwight L. Moody, “The Bible will keep you from sin, or sin will keep you from the Bible.”

The choice is ours.


Scripture verses from the Berean Study Bible

Don’t Give Up! – Just Walk Another Half a Mile

The view from the hilltop that we almost missed.





Joel Kontinen

While on a short vacation on the Greek Ionian island of Kephalonia a few years ago, my wife and I often took long walks in the evenings. It usually was much more comfortable to walk when the hot Mediterranean sun was not overhead, scorching us.

We wanted to see some rare historical sights. One evening, as it was getting dark, we had to turn back before reaching the ruins of an ancient temple. Little did we know that our destination was under half a mile away.

A few days later we walked up a steep hill in the opposite direction to see some other ruins. The road had more U-turns than anything else. Once again, we had to turn back before reaching our destination. And this time it was just around the corner.

We were eventually able to see both sights.

Back in Finland, we continued our walks. One evening we decided to find out where a narrow winding road led. However, as it was getting dark, we had to turn back.

A few weeks later we set out earlier. This time we were able to make it. We discovered that on the previous try we had turned back under half a mile from our destination.

So, the same thing happened thrice: three times on three different occasions we had turned back just before reaching our destination.

I believe that God used this experience to teach us something about perseverance, a topic that the Bible has much to say about. Jesus spoke of the need to persevere in prayer – not to give up but to keep on asking and praying until we get an answer.

Once, when Jesus was teaching about prayer,

“He said to them, ‘Which of you shall have a friend, and go to him at midnight and say to him, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves; for a friend of mine has come to me on his journey, and I have nothing to set before him’; and he will answer from within and say, ‘Do not trouble me; the door is now shut, and my children are with me in bed; I cannot rise and give to you’? I say to you, though he will not rise and give to him because he is his friend, yet because of his persistence he will rise and give him as many as he needs. ” (Luke 11: 5-8)

On another occasion the Lord tested the faith of a Gentile lady whose daughter was seriously sick:

“From there He arose and went to the region of Tyre and Sidon. And He entered a house and wanted no one to know it, but He could not be hidden. For a woman whose young daughter had an unclean spirit heard about Him, and she came and fell at His feet. The woman was a Greek, a Syro-Phoenician by birth, and she kept asking Him to cast the demon out of her daughter. But Jesus said to her, ‘Let the children be filled first, for it is not good to take the children’s bread and throw it to the little dogs.’ And she answered and said to Him, ‘Yes, Lord, yet even the little dogs under the table eat from the children’s crumbs.’ Then He said to her, ‘For this saying go your way; the demon has gone out of your daughter.’ And when she had come to her house, she found the demon gone out, and her daughter lying on the bed.” (Mark 7:24-30)

I believe that sometimes the Lord challenges us to walk another half a mile until we reach our destination, get what we ask, putting our trust entirely in Him. We should not forget that He is more than willing to help us.

Scripture taken from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.