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"When Christ who is our life appears,
then you also will appear with Him in glory."
(Colossians 3:4)
The same Christ who lived in Paul is walking around, living in us today as followers of Jesus by His Holy Spirit. God is within us! We can live joyfully, confidently, and fruitfully. Christ is your life, and when He is living in and through you and me, this is what makes us different; it is Jesus in us.
You have God living in you! In John 17:23, Jesus said, "I in them, and You in Me; that they may be made perfect in one, and that the world may know that You have sent Me, and have loved them as You have loved Me." Thank God, Jesus lives in me. To live the Christian life is to allow Jesus to live His life in and through us. (I have a lot to learn. God is so patient with me. When there are sins of worry and fear in my life, I am not allowing Jesus to live His life through me, because in Jesus, there is no sin whatsoever, so no fear, worry, anger, etc.) We are saints of God, redeemed by the blood of Jesus and through whom Jesus lives.
We often forget that it is Christ in us who overcomes, and we do not have to battle in our own energy but in the power of Christ. This is where prayer and meditation are so helpful. We pause and reflect upon the Lord's power and goodness, and we ask Him to fight our battles for us. Stanley said this does not eliminate all the struggle, so we should ask, what is it that God is going to deal with in me? We get burdened when our focus is on what we must do. A better viewpoint is what Christ does in us. Why did He come? To save us and live through us.
Stanley taught that Jesus lives in us because of these two things:
- He knew we could not live this life alone. Every believer is indwelled by the Holy Spirit. We cannot do it; we blow it, sin, and fall. It is all about Jesus.
- It is the way Jesus gets His work done on earth. Jesus is life, and He should be who your life is all about. The most important thing in your life is your relationship with Jesus. We will never be able to live the Christian life in our own strength; we simply cannot do it. In those hard moments when we are tempted to despair or take matters in our own hands, we must pause and reflect on this important truth: Jesus will never leave or forsake us. If God is inside us, then He can do miracles in and then through us!
Stanley is very helpful and practical. He said our responsibility is to admit our failure, confess our inadequacy, believe that Jesus is sufficient to meet every need and give us all we need; therefore, we abandon our life to Jesus. Tell the Lord you tried in your own strength and failed, but today, you want Jesus to live through you. This is not a one-time thing; we live in a fallen world with a fallen nature, the flesh, so when we sin, we must ask Jesus to forgive us and live through us. Remember who is on the inside, and that is Jesus. Who will run your life: you or Jesus?
You can struggle through life or allow the living God to live through you. Those who do not know Christ are missing out on the best life to be lived on earth. I urge you today, if you do not know the Lord, to call upon Him in faith today. Ask Jesus to save you, forgive you, and be the boss in your life. For those who know the Lord, keep in mind, the key to victorious living is Christ in you!
I hope this week's devotions have blessed you and pointed you to Jesus, who can absolutely save and revolutionize your life. If we can pray for you, send us a prayer request at: pray@dfea.com
If you want to know more about DFEA, please go to our website: www.dfea.com |
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