Paul, called as an
apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God….
To the church of God which is at Corinth, to those who have been
sanctified in Christ Jesus, saints by calling, with all who in every place call
on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, their Lord
and ours: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. I Corinthians 1:1-3
Dear Church, His Saints, my fellow journeyers,
What I am in Jesus Christ positionally ought to be what I practice
in daily life, but often fail. Here is a thought I have courted this week, grab
hold of it and consider, what it has to do with you daily. We are to ‘see’ our position as resurrected, through out
our day, we are to live as seeing ourselves possessing resurrection life.
I am talking about daily living, not pie in the sky some day, but now, today.
Old things have passed away all things have become new. That is a fact. Another
is this: ‘Sin is no longer your master, for you no longer live under the
requirements of the law. Instead, you live under the freedom of God’s grace, in
the resurrected Christ. (Romans 6:14) Do you see yourself as crucified with
Christ? Buried with Him and risen with Him? Hear me… this is your position
and the Spirit of God is working these truths in you progressively, creating a
likeness to Christ in you every day, through every trial and circumstance. All
I can say is WOW! And lift my hands in praise. Hallelujah what a Savior! I am
dancing!
“Progress is only advancing in… the spiritual knowledge, of what we
possess at the onset.” mjs
Many Christians stop with salvation truths, never moving beyond to growth truths. We must come to know
we are ‘complete’ in Christ and not try and augment our salvation by
self-effort. I remember the days trying to please God with a flurry of activities (self-effort) as if I could ‘keep
saved’ by doing good works; all for the purpose of being acceptable to God. I didn't even like myself why would God accept me? But I realized I didn’t save myself in the first
place and I certainly can’t ‘keep’ saved.
Christ’s work is a finished work. It is now a matter of walking by faith.
It is not production, but reception of our life in Christ! We do not fall into
maturity; neither can we hurry it along, though we can delay it. We must
conclude that we are acceptable to God, because
we are in Christ and Christ is perfect; therefore un-improvable.”
Only those who have wearied themselves seeking to grow and have failed, are in a position to appreciate the fact that God is the aggressor in the realm of development. msj
Only those who have wearied themselves seeking to grow and have failed, are in a position to appreciate the fact that God is the aggressor in the realm of development. msj
My personal, heartbreaking failure in every area
of my Christian life is always my Father’s preparation, for His success on my
behalf. The major fact being, that if I waver in my confidence of my Father’s
love, I will struggle with trusting Him. The more intimately I know my Savior,
the more readily I will trust Him and the more I will rest in Him, which
results in living a life of ‘not I, but Christ’. Galatians 2:20 Knowing Christ is not
happenstance, knowing Him intimately requires my coming humbly to Him, in His word. I must spend time with the
One I love, my whole being cries out to be near Him, near His comfort, His
love, the sweetness of His being. The thought of this sets my feet to dancing.
“Not only is our life complete in Jesus Christ
but likewise the essential victory in all the many exigencies of life. When you
fight to get victory, then you have lost the battle at the very outset.” wn
When the enemy attacks in your home or business,
and creates a situation with which you cannot possibly deal, what do you do? I
would guess you prepare for a huge battle and then pray asking God to give you
victory.
‘But this approach guarantees defeat
because by this attitude you relinquish the battle to the enemy!’ wn
What should you have done? Simply look up and
praise the Lord. ‘I am facing a situation I cannot handle. Your enemy the
devil, has created this situation to encompass my downfall ( or downfall of a loved
one), but I praise you that Your victory is all-inclusive
and covers this situation fully. I praise You that I have full victory in
Jesus, my Lord and Savior.’
Our hope for victory is not ‘Christ + my
efforts’, but ‘Christ + my receiving’. ct
(Read it again and grab this principle for it makes all the
difference)
God never intended for us to walk the natural
plane. There is no provision made for such a walk. Always, God’s promise is
that His child will break through and live and endure as if he were seeing only
the workings of the invisible world, not fixed on physical senses. ac
There is great glory for our Lord in a quiet,
confident walk in this day of adversity, a day of dread, when things about us
are shaking and trembling. Gp
We are His children, His saints! The object of
His love. His treasure! And....
The Lord’s
lovingkindnesses indeed never cease,
For His compassions never fail.
They
are new every morning;
Great is Your faithfulness.
“The Lord is my
portion,” says my soul,
“Therefore I have hope in Him.” Lamentation 3:22-24
Father, You who love me and treasure me, I bow
my heart to You! Reckoning myself ‘Crucified with Christ’ and dead to sin, by
faith, is difficult. And You want me to go beyond crucified with Christ, to
‘risen with Christ’. I cry out for understanding and ask You to fill me with
faith to obey. Out of my brokenness transform me, so others will see Jesus in
me. Each day is truly a chance to reckon myself dead to sin and walk in the
power of the Holy Spirit. I trust You to bring Your name glory through me. Your
greatness overshadows me causing me to tremble! Yet, am comforted by Your
faithfulness. You are my portion forever, how can it be that You love me so,
beautiful Savior, in your precious name I pray, Jesus, amen.
Have a great week! May you live out what you
are in the resurrected Christ.
az
