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Archive for Galatians 2:20

go wtih god

How to practically Go with God (one example)

Posted by Carey 
· Monday, May 20th, 2013 

You’ve heard the phrase, “Go with God.”

In this series of posts I’m trying to unpack what the Bible describes that to look like.

In the previous post, I opened the door to Galatians 2:20… let’s walk on through today to try to understand what it means.

I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.

Notice what it says is fundamentally true – of you and of Jesus.

1. YOU have been crucified, right alongside Jesus

There are some very natural questions that arise from such a statement…

How can that be? You weren’t even alive when Jesus was crucified. Nevertheless, God (for whom nothing is impossible – Luke 18:27) says it is true.

  • So somehow, on a fundamental, spiritual level, when you trusted in Jesus Christ, He took you back in time to the cross, and killed you there.
  • Never forget the cross. It’s where Jesus died to pay the penalty for your sin… and it’s also where YOU, the sinner died.

But you are still living, how can it be that you died?

  • Paul says it’s a certain part of you that died… your “old self.” Look how he describes it in Romans chapter 6, verse 6:
We know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of s

in might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin.

The old, sinful sinner that was you, is now dead. You do not have to be enslaved to the power of sin anymore.

2. The life you are now living is to be lived by Jesus

What if you didn’t have to be “on the hook” for making the right choices in the tough, dreadful, impossible things of life?

Things like:

go wtih god

 

  • An irritating boss
  • A nosey neighbor
  • A hurtful spouse
  • A handicap
  • A financial shortage
  • A threatening medical condition

What if Jesus would step in and take your place, offering to make the call on all of those things?

THAT IS THE REALITY OF WHAT IS AVAILABLE FOR YOU (and your children).

Jesus DOES live in you, to live His life through you.

  • So when the tough decision needs to be made, you need to know how to let Him make it.
  • When the hurtful words come, you need to know how to draw on His strength to handle it.

And how do you do that?

3. You now live by faith in the Son of God

Faith is kind of a nebulous term… hard to get a handle on sometimes.

But think of it as trust, reliance, dependence on what God has said is true.

Let’s consider a practical situation:

Your spouse comes home irritable and tense. Something is one his/her mind and you don’t know what it is. The situation is putting the entire household on edge.

How do you live by faith in the Son of God in this situation?

  1. You believe that Jesus is really living in you (that’s faith in what God has said, isn’t it?).
  2. You rely on Him to give you wisdom, strength, discernment, sensitivity… whatever is needed for the situation (that is faith in Him personally, isn’t it?).
  3. You open your heart and mind to receive instructions from Him regarding what He wants to do (through you) in this situation (that is faith in Him personally also, isn’t it?).
  4. HERE’S THE HARD PART: You ACT according to what He’s leading you to do.

For some Christians, especially those who are very “word-of-God centered” (which should be all of us), that seems a bit too mystical, too ambiguous. How can you really KNOW that it’s Jesus guiding you in that situation rather than your own emotion or desires?

I’m glad you asked my word-of-God-centered bretheren!

You know by judging what you believe the LORD to be telling you according TO the word of God.

Jesus would never instruct you to contradict or go against what He’s already revealed in His word.

It’s HIS word after all, revealing HIS will for human relationships, life, the world… everything.

So we should always, always, ALWAYS utilize the word of God as our gauge of what is truly from the LORD.

Back to the purpose of introducing this topic: YOUR KIDS

What would your children’s lives be like, years from now, if they were able to learn and apply this truth beginning now?

It’s a question worth asking… and one I’ll tackle in a future post.

What PRACTICAL difference does it make to you that Christ truly lives in you? Share below!

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Categories : Parenting, Spirit Health
Tags : Christ in you, exchanged life, Galatians 2:20, go with God
The proverbs 31 woman is proverbial

The Proverbs 31 woman is proverbial

Posted by Carey 
· Friday, March 15th, 2013 

The Proverbs 31 woman has become proverbial…

…at least in Christian circles.

What I mean is that “she” (Proverbs 31:10-31) has become a common reference to womanhood and being a wife and mother.

And because she’s an object of such great focus, some women feel overwhelmed when they compare their lives to hers.

That’s because she’s a pretty high standard to live up to.

Some common attitudes…

  • I’ve known of some women who become so paralyzed by her sterling example that they give up trying.
  • Others strive and strive and strive to live up to what they believe her to represent, and collapse in exhaustion.
  • Still others see her as “too idealistic” for anyone to become, so they don’t give her any serious consideration.

In the end, none of the 3 leads a woman closer to godly womanhood…

because all 3 are ignoring a fundamental truth that makes the impossibilities of scripture possible.

So what should we do with the Proverbs 31 woman?

Though I’m not a woman, I find the same difficulty to exist for me.

Not in regard to Proverbs 31, but in regard to ALL of scripture.

Consider these few that are equally overwhelming…

The proverbs 31 woman is proverbial

Ephesians chapter 5, verse 25 – Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her…

Philippians chapter 2, verse 2 – Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves.

Luke chapter 14, verse 26 – If anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple.

Matthew chapter 5, verse 48 – You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.

What do we do with such “impossible” sounding passages (Proverbs 31 among them)?

We should NOT:

  • Give up
  • Work overtime, or
  • Disregard them.

We should:

  • remember it is God who wills and works in us for His good pleasure (Philippians 2:14).
  • live by faith in the Son of God, not in our own efforts  (Galatians 2:20).
  • value the “ideals” set forth in the word of God (2 Timothy 3:16).

These are the truths of our NEW LIFE… and they apply to us no matter our gender or role in life.

Knowing who we are in Christ, and what He has done to empower us delivers us from the…

  • give up,
  • work hard and fail,
  • dismiss his commands as “impossible”

attitudes.

The “ideals” of the Proverbs 31 woman are not the issue… the indwelling of Christ is.

Receiving the grace of God that makes us a new creation, gives us the power to become what He is commanding.

Do you KNOW… really KNOW what He’s done for you?

Do you grasp the reality of Christ living in you, and THROUGH you?

Tell me about YOUR experience of Christ’s life expressed through yours in the comments below!

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Categories : Spirit Health
Tags : abide in the vine, Christ in you, Galatians 2:20, proverbs 31 woman
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