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Archive for indwelling Christ

Christ in you1

In and through

Posted by Carey 
· Friday, August 8th, 2014 

What if it’s true that Jesus really does live in and through His followers?

I know, it’s almost heretical to say “if” about such a thing, because all of us would say,

Oh yes… Jesus lives in and through me. The Bible teaches it to be true. I do believe it. Of course.

But let’s be honest… there are many, many things we say we believe but don’t put into practice or live out.

Here’s a sample list:

  • Healthy eating will extend and improve your quality of life.
  • Smoking will cause cancer and destroy your health.
  • Regular exercise will give you more energy and better overall wellness.
  • Daily time in prayer and God’s word will dramatically increase your rate of spiritual growth.
  • Diligence to practice healthy communication will keep your marriage healthy and strong.
  • Intentional parenting will bear fruit for generations.

Did I make my point?

When it comes to experiencing true spiritual life in Christ, here’s the truth we all need to face… We SAY Jesus lives in us, but where’s the fruit to prove it?

The same issues that have plagued us our entire lives are still very much in charge:

  • addictions
  • anger issues
  • impatience
  • pride
  • control
  • perfectionism
  • anxiety & worry
  • doubt
  • fear
  • stress

Christ in you

“Christ in you” is the unexperienced reality of most Christian’s lives.

It’s sad, but very true.

So how do we change it? How do we come to understand and experience the reality of Christ living in us, of Christ living through us?

1 Forget what you know

I mean it. Let go of all that church stuff you’ve been taught over the years. You need to start from scratch, at the beginning. Why? So you can be taught afresh by the Holy Spirit without the baggage of previously held wrong beliefs.

You need to come to a place where you’re like a child – OK with the fact that you don’t know what you need to know, and eager to be taught. Eager.

2 Read the Bible afresh, looking for what God says about the subject

Here’s a starter list of passages you should read.

  • Download it now. Go ahead, I’ll wait. 🙂
  • Read through it.
  • Look up the passages listed and read their truth.
  • Ask the Spirit of God to saturate you with the implications of what they communicate.
  • Put the list in your Bible or hang it on your fridge to help you remind yourself (and your family) of these truths.

As you do all that, take what you’re reading literally. Don’t assume there’s spiritual or mystical meanings to the passages you’re reading. Take them for what they actually say. Then ask yourself questions like these…

What would my life be like if what I’m reading is true? What if Jesus really does live inside me and wants to express His life through me? What changes would I see?

3 Ask the LORD to illuminate your mind/heart/spirit to these truths

You won’t get this if God doesn’t show it to you, so ask Him to show it to you. Leave your pride aside and allow yourself to be taught. Learn about how your body, soul, and spirit work together and how the indwelling of the Holy Spirit impacts you as a new creation (you’ve got to see this one).

In addition, here are some books/resources that are very helpful to help you dig into these truths…

  • Anything you can find by Bill Gillam
  • True Spirituality by Francis Schaeffer
  • My upcoming video/workbook course – “Transform” (watch for it)

4 Trust the LORD to get you there

You’ve got to know that the LORD wants you to get this truth even more than you want to get it. So trust Him. Relax. You do your part to read, study, and learn, and trust Him to get you there in His good time.

An assignment for your family

After you’ve had a little bit of time to familiarize yourself with the passages above, start talking about them with your family.

Maybe at breakfast or dinner you could take one of the verses…

  • read it
  • focus in on what it says about Jesus living in you
  • discuss what your lives would look like if it where really true
  • pray together that the LORD will show you how it IS true and how you can submit yourself to it in faith.
  • follow up on your conversation later in the day… maybe at bed time.
  • do it again the next day, with another verse.

Over time, you’re going to saturate yourselves with this amazing truth and it will begin to soak into your souls. That’s when you’ll begin seeing the fruit of Christ, who does live in you.

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Categories : Family Foundations
Tags : abiding in the vine, Christ in you, exchanged life, identity in Christ, in and through, indwelling Christ
biblical foundations

Biblical values to build into your home

Posted by Carey 
· Monday, May 6th, 2013 

Some core biblical values to consider.

When Mindi and I were expecting our first child, we did the typical “new parent” things.

  • We read books on pregnancy. (and we watched a video or two like the one at the bottom of this post)
  • We read books on parenting.
  • We talked a lot about our hopes and dreams for our family.

It was a very exciting time.

But one of the most important conversations we had, had to do with the “biblical values” we wanted to characterize our home and family.

Have you given that much thought?

Since our goal was to have a Christ-centered home, we wanted the things characteristic of God/Christ to be characteristic of our home and family.

Here is a short-list of things that we saw as “nonnegotiable” for our home.

THE INDWELLING OF CHRIST

In Galatians chapter 2, verse 20 Paul wrote…

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.

This is one of the most important biblical values we taught our kids. Everything else we had to teach them depended on this one.

biblical values

 

Admittedly, it’s one of the deeper truths of the New Testament… even difficult for adults to grasp at times (which is one reason why I’m making a video curriculum on the topic).

Of course, we brought it down to their level, but we didn’t down-play or soften its meaning or significance in doing so.

Our kids need to recognize that their Christian life is not about a “new law” they are to follow (which is how many people deal with the New Testament).

They (and we) need to understand that because of their faith in Christ, they have Jesus Himself living in and through them via the power of the Holy Spirit.

The promise of new life is no joke.

90187: Who Am I? Who Am I?
By Frank Friedmann / Evergreen Press ~ There is a difference between doing and being. A delightful story that teaches children this truth: what they do does not determine who they are.

Practically…

We talked about these truths from day one, when they were infants, when they were toddlers, when they were beginning to learn the basics of language, and beyond… to this day.

We read them books that taught and emphasized these truths (see the box on the right for one of our favorites.**)

We talked to them in the course of real life about Jesus living in them.

We drew out examples from their attitudes and behaviors where we could see Christ producing His fruit in them.

We encouraged them to learn to listen to the Spirit in the decisions and actions of daily live.

This one is foundational. It is what is underneath every other one I will mention. If it’s not, then all you are doing is raising little legalists.

TRUTH/HONESTY

Jesus said, in John chapter 18, verse 27

For this purpose I was born and for this purpose I have come into the world—to bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth listens to my voice.”

Truth is a big deal to God. It always has been. From the entrance of sin in the Garden of Eden (Genesis 3:1) we see God dealing with untruth quite severely.

As parents, we not only wanted our children to understand that lying (even white lies) was bad – but WHY it was wrong.

Lying (untruth) is wrong because it violates the very nature and character of God.

He created language to reveal truth. When it is used to pervert truth (to say lies), it is not being used for its intended purpose and brings dishonor to God, the Creator of language.

Practically…

That meant that we decided, even before our children were born, that lying or deceit would be dealt with immediately and seriously.

Spankings were almost always the punishment for lying.

It was dealt with sternly.

If deceit was part of it… things got even worse.

Think it through… if Christ is to be the center of the home, then truth must be central to that home as well.

LOVE/CONSIDERATION

In first John chapter 14, verse 8 the scriptures teach that love is another thing that is fundamental to God’s nature.

Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love.

And notice the way this verse connects the dots…

GOD IS LOVE…

THEREFORE ANYONE WHO KNOWS HIM WILL BE LOVING.

As parents, we not only wanted our kids to be “nice,” we wanted them to understand that being “loving” was a reflection of the character of God, and of their relationship with Him.

Practically…

It meant that we taught our kids about God, and His love for them.

It meant that we led them to place their faith in Him.

We taught them how their relationship with God had to impact their relationships with others.

When one of them was being greedy, or petty, or intentionally cruel toward their sibling – we responded immediately and strongly.

We didn’t say, “Oh, that’s how brothers are…” or “Brothers and sisters fight… that’s just the way it is.”

No.

We refused to allow that to be the case, because we knew that the God who lived in them desired to make His love known through them.

And we knew that as we guided them in understanding, He would guide them personally in applying it.

Tell me how these ideas strike you. Have you had these kinds of conversations together as parents? Are you beginning these kinds of conversations with your spouse?

 

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Categories : Parenting
Tags : biblical values, Christ-centered home, indwelling Christ
Christian Home and Family
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