March 8, 2004

[Kidan]

Quote[/b] ]I have been crucified with Christ . . .
—Galatians 2:20

Quote[/b] ]To become one with Jesus Christ, a person must be willing not only to give up sin, but also to surrender his whole way of looking at things. Being born again by the Spirit of God means that we must first be willing to let go before we can grasp something else. The first thing we must surrender is all of our pretense or deceit. What our Lord wants us to present to Him is not our goodness, honesty, or our efforts to do better, but real solid sin. Actually, that is all He can take from us. And what He gives us in exchange for our sin is real solid righteousness. But we must surrender all pretense that we are anything, and give up all our claims of even being worthy of God’s consideration.

Once we have done that, the Spirit of God will show us what we need to surrender next. Along each step of this process, we will have to give up our claims to our rights to ourselves. Are we willing to surrender our grasp on all that we possess, our desires, and everything else in our lives? Are we ready to be identified with the death of Jesus Christ?

We will suffer a sharp painful disillusionment before we fully surrender. When people really see themselves as the Lord sees them, it is not the terribly offensive sins of the flesh that shock them, but the awful nature of the pride of their own hearts opposing Jesus Christ. When they see themselves in the light of the Lord, the shame, horror, and desperate conviction hit home for them.

If you are faced with the question of whether or not to surrender, make a determination to go on through the crisis, surrendering all that you have and all that you are to Him. And God will then equip you to do all that He requires of you.

 

[Kidan]

First, let me say sorry about missing yesterday.  My wife remembered early Sun. Morning that her mother was in Gulf Shores for a youth council (her mother is a preacher for the SA) which is about an hour from my home.  She then decided that we needed to visit her mom there for their meeting an lunch, plus to allow my mother-in-law a little bit of time with my son.


Anyways, here's the full scripture

Quote[/b] ]
I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.
--Galatians 2:20

"I have been crucified with Christ."  A simple statement, with huge ramifications.  The biggest of which, is that our sinful nature has died when we accepted Christ.

Think about that.  When we accept Christ, our sinful nature was hanged on the cross.  It's dead.  It no longer has ANY control over you.

Why?  Because that's what Christ takes from you when you accept Him.  He removes the control our natural self has over us.  Once that control has been removed, He then replaces it with His grace.

Today I want you to think about what is controlling you. Do you let your sinful nature run rampant, or do you follow the quiet prompting of Christ's grace?