Various Christian Subjects

ABIDING IN CHRIST

Posted by

0

CHRIST, THE CRUCIFIED ONE

“…Jesus was willing to become…a worm and no man [Ps 22:6].  And He did so, because that is what He saw us to be, worms having forfeited all rights by our sin, except to deserve hell.  And He now calls us to take our rightful place as worms for Him and with Him” Roy Hession (ref#97, p24, brackets mine).

“’Abide in the wounds of Jesus; there is the place of union, and life, and growth. There you shall see how His heart was opened to receive you; how His flesh was rent that the way might be opened for your being made one with Him, and having access to all the blessings flowing from His divine nature.’” Andrew Murray (ref#266, p76).

Thinking of a slip being grafted into a stem helps me see how close we become at the cross: To begin a graft the stem must be cut for room to place the newly cut slip.  Both stem and slip are injured.

“In the death of the Cross Christ was wounded, and in His opened wounds a place prepared where we might be grafted in…The wounded stem and the wounded graft are cut to fit into each other, into each other’s likeness.  There is a fellowship between Christ’s sufferings and your sufferings” Andrew Murray (ref#266, p76).

JESUS suffered on the Cross; and for me, my self-serving self must die.  “…when I follow Jesus…the old self-determining, self-absorbed me must be crucified” John Piper (ref#92, p95).  “For if we have become united with Him in the likeness of His death, certainly we shall be also in the likeness of His resurrection,” (Rom 6:5 NASB).

This is my goal: to be in His likeness in death as well as resurrection.  Only then will I be able to walk with Him in “newness of life” (Rom 6:4).

ABIDING IN CHRIST

Posted by

0

CHRIST MY SANCTIFICATION

As a new Christian I was anxious to begin my journey toward holiness (sanctification).  I thought of it like a box that I was commissioned to fill up with activities that where like CHRIST.  That seemed logical to me.

As I filled the box I figured I’d become more and more Christ-like.  Instead, I became more and more prideful and found little joy.  (FYI.  The joy of being a successful Christian is so short lived!)

“A superficial acquaintance with God’s plan leads to the view that while justification is God’s work…sanctification is our work, to be performed under the influence of the gratitude we feel for the deliverance we have experienced” Andrew Murray (ref#266, p62).  “…we commonly think that we must get an holy frame by producing it anew in ourselves, and by pursing it and working it out of our own heart” Andrew Murray (ref#266, p67).

“The establishing in Christ is His work…But this He can do with power only as we cease interrupting Him by our self-working…” Andrew Murray (ref#266, p82).  We are simply to receive that holy frame of spirit that is in CHRIST—to take it to ourselves. (ref#266, p67).

“There is no other way of our becoming holy, but by becoming partakers of the holiness of Christ.  And there is no other way of this taking place than by our personal spiritual union with Him, so that through His Holy Spirit His holy life flows into us”  Andrew Murray (ref#266, p62).

“…the Father…has grafted the life of Christ on your life.  That holy life is mightier than your evil life…that new life can keep down the working of the evil life within you” Andrew Murray (ref#266, p65).

“…the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ…” (Rom 6:23 ESV, italics mine).  Eternal life is not through CHRIST, but in CHRIST.

FATHER, let me get it in my head again—it’s being not doing.  By fellowshipping with Christ I become like Him.  The difference between being and doing is this: when I pick out some noble thing to do and work at it, it is me alone trying to be holy, but if I continually seek to be in CHRIST’s presence, anything I do will be Christlike.

ABIDING IN CHRIST

Posted by

0

CHRIST AS MY WISDOM

“I the Preacher have…applied my heart to seek and to search out by wisdom all that is done under heaven.  It is an unhappy business…all is vanity and a striving after wind” (Eccl 1:12-14 ESV).

Woe is me who can never hold very long the easy yoke of CHRIST (Matt 11:29-30).  I lapse back to my own yoke—incomplete and unable t follow You, FATHER.  Using my yoke makes tasks impossible yet over and over I forget that fact.

“Why is it that the Holy Spirit cannot teach us more effectually?  No reason but this: the wisdom of man prevents it…” Andrew Murray (ref#272, p59).

“Surrender all your own wisdom…be as a docile learner…Remember that the teaching and guidance come not from without: it is by His life in us that the divine wisdom does His work….” Andrew Murray (ref#266, p54).

“…without…abiding in Christ the knowledge does not really profit, but is often most hurtful.  The soul satisfies itself with thoughts which are but the forms and images of truth, without receiving the truth itself in its power….Man seeks the knowledge first, and often, alas! never gets beyond it.  God gives us Christ, and in Him hid the treasures of wisdom and knowledge” Andrew Murray (ref#266, p51).

“…let us be content to possess Christ, to dwell in Him, to make Him our life, and only in a deeper searching into Him,…find the knowledge we desire” Andrew Murray (ref#266, p51).

“We often forget that the Author of our faith must also be the Preserver of it….He who built the world also upholds it….He who made us Christians must maintain us by His Spirit….it is His own work of grace that we ask Him to strengthen…” Charles Spurgeon (ref#34, Nov 15th PM).

“God has brought you out in conversion; it was God’s own life given you.  But you have defiled it with disobedience and unbelief.  Give it all up.  Give up all your own wisdom and thoughts about God’s work” Andrew Murray (ref#272, p59).

ABIDING IN CHRIST

Posted by

0

ABIDING THROUGH AFFLICTION

“Every sifting comes by divine command and permission” Charles Spurgeon (ref#34, June 20th AM).

“God gets us alone by affliction, heartbreak, or temptation, by disappointment, sickness, or by thwarted affection, by broken friendship, or by a new friendship” Oswald Chambers (ref#7, Jan 13th).

“Delight yourself in the assurance that closer union with Him, and more abundant fruit through Him, are sure to be the results of trial” Andrew Murray (ref#266, p127).

“…prosperity and enjoyment all too easily satisfy us, dull our spiritual perception, and unfit us for full communion…It is an unspeakable mercy that the Father comes with His chastisement…and for a time lose our joy in what was becoming so dangerous.  He does it in the hope that, when we have found our rest in Christ in time of trouble, we shall learn to choose abiding in Him as our only portion; and when the affliction is removed, have so grown more firmly into Him, that in prosperity He still shall be our only joy….Christian! pray for grace to see in every trouble, small or great, the Father’s finger pointing to Jesus, and saying, Abide in Him” Andrew Murray (ref#266, p124).

“Communion with Christ is a certain cure for every ill.  Whether it is bitter sorrow or excessive pleasure, close fellowship with the Lord Jesus will remove the pain from the one and the imbalance from the other” Charles Spurgeon (ref#34, March 9th PM).

“It is your greatest happiness to be impotent” Andrew Murray (ref#272, p57).

ABIDING IN CHRIST

Posted by

2

ABIDING BETTER THAN OBEYING

“Friendship is rare on earth.  It means identify in thought and heart and spirit.  The whole discipline of life is to enable us to enter into this closest relationship with Jesus Christ.  We receive His blessings and know His word, but do we know Him” Oswald Chambers (ref#7, Jan 7th)?

“In order to maintain this friendship…we have to be more careful of our…relationship to Him than of any other thing, even of obedience.  Sometimes there is nothing to obey, the only thing to do is to maintain a vital connection with Jesus Christ, to see that nothing interferes with that….the greater part of the life is not conscious obedience but the maintenance of this relationship…” Oswald Chambers (ref#7, March 25th).

“Conformity to live with God, is a far higher and more divine life than to live simply in submission to God” E. M. Bounds (ref#54, p51-52).

“From eternity Christ and I were ordained for each other; inseparably we belong to each other; it is God’s will; I shall abide in Christ.  It is of God I am in Christ Jesus” Andrew Murray (ref#266, p47-48).

“Most essential to the abiding in Christ is the daily renewal of our faith’s assurance, ‘I am in Christ Jesus’” Andrew Murray (ref#266, p43).

FATHER, move my thinking toward abiding instead of obeying.  When I think of obeying I default to my natural abilities to carry out Your request.  But if I can keep my eyes on JESUS…  I will gladly obey because of my love for Him.  Obeying is a natural outcome of a loving relationship.

Abiding in CHRIST means to watch and wait—observe and be with Him, and then yield myself to the SPIRIT who will work mightily in me (ref#266, p119).

PRAYER

Posted by

0

DISCLAIMER TO PRAYER

After writing over 50 blog posts on the subject of prayer, I have some conclusions.

Prayer is such a broad subject because it represents all GOD’s creature’s communications with Him.  Dawn starts another day for us creatures.  As children of our Creator we look to Him in ways as individual as we are.  When we write about a large subject as prayer we can only write snippets of what it really is and we write what it really is to us individually at that moment in time.

Thus there are a lot of words in writing that contradict each other.  I have some in my blogs.  They seemed right at the time but as I write these conclusions some concepts seem myopic, even biased.

After completion of all the blogs the SPIRIT reminded me of an exercise I did many years ago.  I went through the Davidic Psalms and recorded David’s prayer requests.  There were hundreds and hundreds.  I’ve since thrown the list away but I still remember my conclusions.

David was a man—a child of GOD who looked to His FATHER for everything—EVERYTHING!  All day long he was pleading with his FATHER to get him through all he encountered.  All this praying confirmed that he rarely left the presence of his FATHER.  And when he did lose sight of Him he knew he must direct his mind back to thoughts of Him.

The writers of the New Testament recorded their prayers mainly in light of their evangelistic assignment from GOD.  Therefore New Testament prayers are mainly of the spiritual variety.

But, as Christian writers and readers of a prayer blog, my conclusion is to look to King David as our mentor on how to pray.  Let us stay close to our FATHER as we can and ask Him for everything we need throughout each of our days.  No prayer is too small; fathers love to hear from their children.  And the more we pray the more we see answers and the more praise we’ll give our GOD.

PRAYER

Posted by

0

GRATITUDE 

“Satan presses his agenda by sowing seeds of ingratitude….By focusing Eve’s eyes on the one thing God hadn’tgiven her, Satan was able to distract her attention from all He had given her” Carol J. Ruvolo (ref#228, p102-103).  This is disastrous.  We run into much trouble because we don’t take the time to give GOD our gratitude!

“When done well, prayer is a most powerful tool in God’s service.  For that very reason, it is a prime target of Satan.  As temporary Prince of This World, [I love that descriptive word for satan—‘temporary prince.’] he attacks prayer quite successfully by raining down discouragement and distraction on God’s children.  The timebelievers need to pray can be eroded by a flood of ‘essential’ activities.  And the still, small voice of the Spirit calling Christians to commune with their Father can easily be drowned out by the rushing cacophony of busy schedules.  And the hope that should draw us often to God’s throne in prayer can be immersed in anxieties produced by life’s pressures” Carol J. Ruvolo (ref#228, p100, brackets mine).

“His throne…is to be approached with devout joyfulness.  If I find myself favored by divine grace to stand among those favored ones who frequent His courts, shall I not feel glad?…Shall not my thankfulness ascend into joy, and shall I not feel that I am honored and that I am made the recipient of great favors when I am permitted to pray” Charles Spurgeon (ref#212, p29)?

“The umbrella of gratitude concentrates our attention on the goodness of God.  It fills our minds with His glory (adoration), humbles our souls with His grace (confession), and inspires our hope with His promises (supplication)” Carol J. Ruvolo (ref#228, p103).

“…receive all his benefits with true gratitude and thanksgiving…having obtained what we asked…we are led to long more earnestly for his favor…have greater pleasure in welcoming the blessings which we perceive to have been obtained by our prayers….” John Calvin (ref#113, p565).

“If our prayers are to function as God intended, they must be shielded from environmental bombardment that dilutes devotion and washes away hope.  The umbrella of gratitude serves that purpose well” Carol J. Ruvolo (ref#228, p100).

“…how abundant is your goodness, which you have stored up for those who fear you and worked for those who take refuge in you….you heard the voice of my pleas for mercy when I cried to you for help….Be strong, and let your heart take courage, all you who wait for the LORD” (Ps 31:19,22,24 ESV).

PRAYER

Posted by

0

WAITING AND WORSHIP 

In order to go I need to stop.  On Your path, FATHER, there is no such thing as moving ahead on auto pilot.

“Prayer is the solace of the soul…we can not be said to wait upon God without prayer; for prayer is the fixing of the eye, the outgoing of the heart, the breathing of the spirit, the cry of the soul” James Smith (ref#303).

The hard part about being obedient to You is waiting for Your instructions.  Not only do You require I give You a piece of my precious 24 hours, but I must clean out all thoughts in my head that are self-centered.

I must resign to give up all I’m doing or want to do selfishly.  HOLY FATHER, You will only talk to a holy vessel.  CHRIST and the SPIRIT make possible my holiness.  I thank them for their help.

Waiting empty and clean propels me into worship.  Reflecting on what You have done for me—reflecting on Who You are…

“…the natural reason to praise God is for what he has done for me.  This is okay, but doesn’t go far enough….God deserves praise simply because he is God.  The…focal point for our thoughts is not our deep longings but…is…the immeasurably great ‘God of glory’ (Acts 7:2)” Edward T. Welch (ref#106, p154).

So, FATHER, aid me that I might wait for You, draw me into worship instead of work.  Worshipping births no specific instructions for the day, but produces a new character in me that is ready to follow You in obedience each moment.  How I love to be in Your presence.  What work?  I just want to be where You are.

PRAYER

Posted by

0

HAVING DONE ALL, STAND 

“…take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day…praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication….” (Eph 6:13,18 ESV).

“…a battle is going on between God and the evil one; my part in the battle in the lives of others is to pray for them.  I have a responsibility to pray for other people.  Neglect to intercede will not directly hurt me, but my failure to pray may lead to insufficient protection for someone who is vulnerable and in the direct target area for the devil’s incoming mortar bombs” Anne J. Townsend (ref#306, p53).

“Our Leader [GOD] has placed in our hands the irresistible sword of the Spirit which defeated the devil in the wilderness—the Word of God.  But its aggressive and conquering power is released only through the prayer of faith” J. Oswald Sanders (ref#307, p36).

“…a believer may lead a fairly normal Christian life on the outside while wrestling with a steady barrage of sinful thoughts on the inside: lust, envy, greed, hatred, apathy, etc.  This person has virtually no devotional life.  Prayer is a frustrating experience for him….I [Neil T. Anderson] see about 65 percent of all Christians living at this level of spiritual conflict” (ref#90, p107).

“The second level of conflict is characterized by those who can distinguish between their own thoughts and strange, evil ‘voices’ which seem to overpower them…15 percent of all Christians fall into this category” Neil T. Anderson (ref#90, p108).

“At the third level of conflict, the individual has lost control and hears voices inside his mind which tell him what to think, say, and do….about 5 percent of the Christian community falls victim to this level of deception and control” Neil T. Anderson (ref#90, p108).

 “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly…” (Col 3:16 ESV).  “Since Satan’s primary weapon is the lie, your defense against him is the truth.  Dealing with Satan is not a power encounter; it’s a truth encounter” Neil T. Anderson (ref#14, p170).

 

PRAYER

Posted by

0

SPEAK ONLY OF GOD

FATHER, if You give me an occasion to speak of spiritual things to my loved ones who are not yet part of Your kingdom, prompt me to speak only of You.  They do not need to know how they can be saved from hell or how to be moral and made pure; instead, they need to know who it is that owns them (ref#7, May 5th).  “The great sterling test in preaching is that it brings everyone to judgment” Oswald Chambers (ref#7, May 5th).

“Every element of self-reliance must be slain by the power of God.  Complete weakness and dependence will always be the occasion for the Spirit of God to manifest His power” Oswald Chambers (ref#7, May 5th).

Quicken me, FATHER, to convince my loved ones that they are unholy just as I am unholy.  And then I may pray that their realization of being unholy will awaken an intense craving.  You came to save them because You created all of us to be holy (ref#7, May 5th).  You alone can put them back into perfect union with Yourself “…not only in word, but also in power and in the Holy Spirit and with full conviction…” (1 Thes 1:5 ESV).

FATHER, be with my mouth and teach me what You wish to speak to my loved ones (Ex 4:12).  “And this is eternal life, that they know you the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent” (John 17:3 ESV).