Growing Older

 

Abide in Him

 

Morning Meditation

Psalm 18:33 He maketh my feet like hinds' feet, and setteth me upon my high places. 35 Thou hast also given me the shield of thy salvation: and thy right hand hath holden me up, and thy gentleness hath made me great.

    1. My strength is never enough, Lord; thank you for giving me your strength or I would never succeed.

    2. God, thank you for training me for the heights through my circumstances;  I know that with you I will achieve the purpose you intended for my life.

    3. Dear, Lord, thank you for the unique peace you give to those who trust in you; I will not be afraid knowing you will protect me.

    4. God, thank you for seeing more in me than I see in myself; I trust you in every situation to develop your godly excellence in me.

    5. Dear God, each morning, I thank you for pouring out your love in me, giving me hope for each day; even in what seems the worst of days, you are still doing wonder things in me.

    6. God, thank you for creating such a desire to tell others of you; guide my words and heart so that I honor you and encourage others to know you as well.

    7. Oh God, this is the foundation my faith as a Christian stands on, YOU NEVER CHANGE!

    8. Dear God, thank you for rescuing me from the difficult things that come my way; I truly delight in you.

    9.God, I praise Your wonderful word; create a love in me to know you word so well that I know You better through it.

    10. God, the desire of my heart is that my words and thoughts are acceptable to you.

CHRIST IN YOU

What is the hope of creation? Who is the hope of creation? Where is the hope of creation? 

Colossians 1:26,27 states ... Even the mystery which has been hid from ages and from generations, but now is made manifest to His saints, to whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles, which is CHRIST IN YOU, the hope of glory ... We can now see that the hope of creation is the revealing of the mystery of God, which has been hid for ages. As well, CHRIST IS THAT HOPE, AND CHRIST IS IN US! 

With this in mind, we are able to come to these conclusions: 

Christ is a mystery that must be revealed by God. Christ is to be revealed throughout the ages of time. The mystery of Christ is to be revealed in us. 

This unfolding mystery of the ages is the hope of the entire creation. Christ in us is the blessed hope. 

Please take note of this very important point: IT IS NOT CHRIST IN HEAVEN THE HOPE OF GLORY, BUT IT IS CHRIST IN YOU THE HOPE OF GLORY!!! The only hope of God ever being glorified in the earth is that Christ would be revealed TO YOU, IN YOU, AND THROUGH YOU for the world to see. The only way that anyone will ever see Jesus, hear about Jesus, or learn about Jesus is THROUGH YOU! You are a vessel of God's glory. 

Galatians 4:19 states ... My little children, of whom I travail in birth again until CHRIST BE FORMED IN YOU ... Galatians 1:15,16 states ... But when it pleased God, Who separated me from my mother's womb, and called me by His grace, TO REVEAL HIS SON IN ME...The hope of the whole creation is being formed inside of YOU. REJOICE! 

WHAT A HOPE! 

LET THIS CUP PASS

Matthew 26:39 states...and Jesus fell on His face, and prayed, saying, 0 My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from Me: nevertheless not as I will, but as You will...As we take into consideration that Jesus was God manifested in the flesh, we are then in position to understand this statement that He makes. He was a representation of God and man. He was referred to as the Son of man AND the Son of God. As the Son of man, Jesus was identifying with man (mankind) when He prayed, saying, LET THIS CUP PASS FROM ME. This "cup" that He spoke of was referring to His death on the cross. This statement seems to be out of character for Jesus. WHY THIS STATEMENT? 

As Jesus suffered in the Garden of Gethsemane, and did sweat great drops of blood, He made this statement to identify with man in the agony of the death of the self-life. The cup represents the death of self. It is the death of our ways and the life of His ways. This is the cup that Jesus drank for us as a man, and this is the cup that we must also drink of. It is a bitter cup with a bitter taste, but it has a sweet aftertaste, for it results in resurrection life. It initially speaks of death, but after it has done its work it will yield the fruit of righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit Man is ever trying to get out of drinking the cup of the death of self. When we do not drink of the cup we miss the opportunity to partake of resurrection life, for life can only come out of death. THE DEATH OF SELF IS THE KEY TO THE RESURRECTION LIFE AND POWER OF GOD! 

As the Son of God, Jesus identified with God when He also said, YOUR WILL BE DONE! 

Jesus typified man and God, FOR HIS LIFE WAS A REPRESENTATION OF BOTH. He was the MEDIATOR between man and God. As the Son of man He identified with man (let this cup pass), and as the Son of God He identified with God (Your will be done). JESUS DRANK THE CUP! We are now able, through Jesus, to drink the cup that represents the death of self, and to enter into His resurrection life. THANK YOU LORD FOR DRINKING THE CUP! 

YOUR WILL BE DONE! 

Be a Reflection

 

Consciousness of Christ Within

 It is vital to have the consciousness that you are complete in Christ. And not to try to attain that which God has already said that Jesus has attained for us. You are now so utterly in love with the Redeemer Jesus, your Bridegroom, he has caught you up into Himself and made you one in Himself. Now you are conscious of love pulsating out of your heart. His is the perfection flowing as incorruptible life out from within you to all. His perfection radiates divine life through you, and you have no need to work to attain, it is His life attaining a hundredfold. You are now obedient to His still small voice, and your functioning in spiritual reality is attaining enormously the "fruit of the Spirit." Any works that the Father does not initiate is like a house built on sand, and will not stand. But living life in God's will we witness the works of the flesh barren beside Christ's manifest life.

My Testimony

Many people think of their testimony in terms of how many bad things they once did, comparing that to how many good things that they do now. God definitely uses that type of preaching, but that is not really our testimony. Revelation 12:11 states ... and they overcame him (Satan) by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death ... Revelation 1:2 also speaks of the testimony of Jesus Christ. 

The word "testimony" means a witness or a martyr. Let us now formulate a proper understanding of what it is to have a testimony, or THE TESTIMONY OF JESUS CHRIST. It speaks of being a witness to the cleansing blood of Jesus. As well, it speaks of a laying down of one's life (a martyr, whether physically or spiritually). OUR TESTIMONY IS THAT WE IDENTIFY WITH CHRIST, BEING IN CHRIST AND HE IN US! WE ARE WITNESSES TO HIS LIFE-CHANGING POWER! Our testimony is clearly stated in Revelation 12:11. It is the blood of the Lamb and that we love not our lives unto the death of self. Doesn't that sound familiar? 

How about: 

 . . lose your life for His name's sake . 

... lay down your life for your friends . 

. . make yourself of no reputation ... 

Our testimony is THE CHRIST-LIFE INSIDE OF US. IT IS CHRIST IN US THE HOPE OF GLORY! It is the death of self and the manifested life of Christ. Jesus, Who was God manifested in the flesh, was a witness to the Father, becoming a martyr for the sin of the world. We must drink of the same cup. We are witnesses for Jesus and His Kingdom. 'This causes us to become a martyr in the Spirit, loving not our lives unto the death. We are of course speaking of the death of the self- life. We are called to take on the same testimony that Jesus had. WE HAVE THE TESTIMONY OF JESUS CHRIST! Jesus overcame, causing us to be overcomers in Him. WHAT A TESTIMONY! 

THIS IS THE WORD OF OUR TESTIMONY!

O Wretched Man that I Am

 Romans 7:18 gives us one of the most important revelations in the Bible. It states...For I know that in me (that is in my flesh,) dwells no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not...

What a statement! What an honest confession! What a revelation! In fact, this is the revelation of all revelations! This revelation tops the list!

Understanding this scripture is equivalent to the moment at which a pregnant mother's water breaks, for then she knows that the baby is on its way and sure to be born. After we come to an understanding that in our flesh dwells no good thing, we are surely on our way to delivering and birthing the very Christ-life. We must know what we are up against. We must identify our enemy. It is US!!! It is our flesh, our carnal mind, and the sin nature that we inherited from Adam. We inherited a corrupt nature that continually comes short of the glory of God. Realizing that our carnal mind is the enemy of God is probably about 98% of the battle (the other 2% being... realizing that God's divine nature is our power source, and learning to partake of His divine nature). Romans 8:6,7 states...For to be carnally minded IS DEATH; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. Because the CARN AI. MIND IS ENMITY AGAINST GOD: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be ... This revelation on the surface seems to be very discouraging and could leave us with no hope. It causes a person to say ... O WRETCHED MAN THAT I AM! WHO SHALL DELIVER ME FROM THE BODY OF THIS DEATH? That is a good question that we must ask ourselves. We must then see ourselves as wretched outside of the life of God, but we are not left without hope. The apostle Paul said that we are to thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord. Thank Hirn for what?

Romans 8:1,2 states...There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus...vs. 2...For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus HAS MADE ME FREE FROM THE LAW OF SIN AND DEATH ...We are to see ourselves as no longer under condemnation, IN CHRIST, walking after the Spirit, and FREE. Once you know the bad news, that there is no good thing in your flesh, you can have your eyes opened to the GOOD NEWS, which is IN CHRIST JESUS our Lord.

God says, I love you

 I LOVE YOU, I LOVE YOU, I LOVE YOU

The voice of despair says, “I sin over and over again. After endless promises to myself and others to do better next time, I find myself back again in the old dark places. 

Forget about trying to change. I have tried for years. It didn’t work and it never will work. 

It is better that I get out of people’s way, be forgotten, no longer around, dead.”

This strangely attractive voice takes all uncertainties away and puts an end to the struggle. 

It speaks unambiguously for the darkness and offers a clear-cut negative identity.

But Jesus came to open my ears to another voice that says, “I am your God, I have molded you with my own hands, and I love what I have made. 

I love you with a love that has no limits, because I love you as I am loved. Do not run away from me. 

Come back to me—not once, not twice, but always again. You are my child. . . . 

I am your God—the God of mercy and compassion, the God of pardon and love, the God of tenderness and care. 

Please do not say that I have given up on you, that I cannot stand you anymore, that there is no way back. 

It is not true. I so much want you to be with me.

I so much want you to be close to me. I know all your thoughts. I hear all your words. I see all your actions. 

And I love you because you are beautiful, made in my own image, an expression of my most intimate love. 

Do not judge yourself. Do not condemn yourself. 

Do not reject yourself. Let my love touch the deepest, most hidden corners of your heart and reveal to you your own beauty, a beauty that you have lost sight of, but that will become visible to you again in the light of my mercy.

Come, come, let me wipe your tears,

and let my mouth come close to your ear

and say to you, ‘I love you, I love you, I love you.’

Henri Nouwen

Made in the Image of God

 Jesus is the prototype of what God intends man to be. He is God’s finished product, God’s perfect man; what every man should be and ultimately will be.

We will only understand the majesty of man in God’s image when we see Jesus as THE BEAM OF THE DIVINE GLORY, and THE OUT-RAYING OF GOD’S PERSON. Jesus Christ is the express or exact image of the Father’s being, the perfect imprint and very image of God’s nature. The allusion here is to the impression made in ancient times by a seal on molten wax; and as the image made on the wax is the exact representation (though on another substance) of the die, so is Christ the precise representation of the Father in human flesh. And thus He was able to say, "If you have seen me, you have seen the Father." 

It is by facing the enemy in the crucible of experience and by the authority of the spirit that victory is snatched from the jaws of defeat. Each and every test in our lives is an opportunity to prove for ourselves and demonstrate for those about the triumph of the spirit over the flesh. That is how Jesus did it! He knew that He was not a physical man possessing a spirit. He understood clearly that He was a spirit encased in a body. Therefore His spirit must have dominion over His flesh, not the other way around. He lived, spoke, and acted by the life of God in His spirit, even the Father who dwelt in Him. Step by step, battle by battle, victory upon victory we also ascend into the heights of the kingdom of heaven (spirit), the image of God, and the dominion restored in man! 

J. Preston Eby

A Gift