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Christ in You

“I have become its servant by the commission God gave me to present to you the word of God in its fullness—the mystery that has been kept hidden for ages and generations, but is now disclosed to the saints.  To them God has chosen to make known among the Gentiles the glorious riches of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.”  Colossians 1:25-27 (NIV)

When I consider the Christian life, I fully believe that it is only by God’s grace that I am able to have a relationship with Him.  It is only by Jesus’ death on the cross that my sins are forgiven.  I know that my journey with God began solely on what He had done.  And for most of the Christ-followers that I know, these truths are solidly implanted in their hearts and lives.

It’s all about God!

However, it seems after totally relying upon God to bring us into His family, there is a sense among many that we are the ones that must work to keep this relationship happening.  While we do indeed play a part, it seems like we live life out of balance.

Following Christ.  Living for Jesus.  Striving to please God.

In his book “Spiritual Formation as if the Church Mattered”, James C. Wilhoit made the following statement which really challenged my perspective when it comes to being a follower of Christ.

“God does not demand of us the impossible; He does not demand of us that we imitate Christ in our own strength.  He offers to us something infinitely better; He offers to form Christ in us by the power of his Holy Spirit.  And when Christ is thus formed in us by the Holy Spirit’s power, all we have to do is let this indwelling Christ live out his own life in us, and then we shall be like Christ without struggle and effort of our own.” (page 210)

This is the mystery that Paul spoke of in the passage of Colossians referenced above.  Christ in you.  God living, not among us, but within us.  His very presence with us through the power of the Holy Spirit.  The forming of Christ in our lives.

So allow God to fully do His work in your life.  Allow Christ to be formed in you.  Allow the Holy Spirit free reign to make you into the person you were created to be.

“For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brethren.”  Romans 8:29 (NASB)

He is Still in Control

A friend of mine died last Sunday.  We knew each other from my days of being a pastor in Illinois.  He and I were part of a state organization that worked together to assist local churches.

He was a young man of 45.  He had given his life to serving God in full time vocational ministry.  He had faithfully served his church for 22 years as Senior Pastor.  In fact, he died while serving the Lord and this church.

His name was Fred Winters.  He was the pastor that was killed while standing in the pulpit at First Baptist Church of Maryville, Illinois, this past Sunday.  Fred died with a Bible in his hand and God’s Word on his lips.

I’ve spent some time talking with God about why someone who had given their life to serving Him would die so young and in such a violent way.  I know that Fred was not the first to die serving God and that he certainly won’t be the last.  But he is the only person that I have personally known that was shot and killed while preaching God’s Word.

Did God know this would happen?  Did God cause this to happen?  Did God allow this to happen?  Could God have stopped this from happening?  These are the normal questions we ask during times like this.  But to me, each one of these questions pictures God as a distant, uninvolved controller of human events.

What has become clear to me since Fred was killed on Sunday is that God’s heart was broken over what happened.  This was God’s response thousands of years ago when He looked upon mankind just before the flood.  “So the LORD was sorry he had ever made them and put them on the earth.  It broke his heart.”  Genesis 6:6

I wonder how many times God’s heart has broken since then.  And the reason His heart breaks is because He is not distant and uninvolved.  Rather, He is very close and very involved.

“The LORD is righteous in all his ways and loving toward all he has made.  The LORD is near to all who call on him, to all who call on him in truth.  He fulfills the desires of those who fear him; he hears their cry and saves them.  The LORD watches over all who love him, but all the wicked he will destroy.”  Psalm 145:17-20

God has allowed us to live as we please.  And because of this, we deal with the consequences of sin in our lives and in the lives of others.  “But no, my people wouldn’t listen.  Israel did not want me around.  So I let them follow their own stubborn desires, living according to their own ideas.”  Psalm 81:11-12

Did God know?  Did God allow?  Did God cause?  Could God have stopped?  There are some things I don’t know, but that doesn’t change what I do know.  God is still God.  He is still in control.  He still loves us.  He still has a plan.

“Why do you say, O Jacob, and complain, O Israel, ‘My way is hidden from the LORD; my cause is disregarded by my God’?  Do you not know?  Have you not heard?  The LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth.  He will not grow tired or weary, and his understanding no one can fathom.  He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak.  Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength.  They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.  Isaiah 40:27-31

The Reason for the Rocks

“So Joshua called together the twelve men he had appointed from the Israelites, one from each tribe, and said to them, ‘Go over before the ark of the LORD your God into the middle of the Jordan.  Each of you is to take up a stone on his shoulder, according to the number of the tribes of the Israelites, to serve as a sign among you.  In the future, when your children ask you, ‘What do these stones mean?’ tell them that the flow of the Jordan was cut off before the ark of the covenant of the LORD.  When it crossed the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan were cut off.  These stones are to be a memorial to the people of Israel forever.’”  Joshua 4:4-7

There is a story of a woman who after getting food cans out of the pantry would always turn them over before opening them.  One day, her son asked her why she did this.  “I really don’t know,” she said.  “My mom always did it this way.”  So she decided to call her mom and find out why.

Her mother explained, “When we brought the cans up from the cellar, the tops were always dusty.  Rather than cleaning them, I just turned them upside down and opened the bottom.”

Though humorous, this story shows that sometimes we don’t know why we do some of the things we do.  We get caught up in routines and activities that used to have meaning, but no longer do.  Or, we become committed to do things and yet don’t really understand their significance.

As His people crossed the Jordan River on their way to the Promised Land, God instructed them to set up a monument to commemorate this event.  A pile of twelve rocks was set up to remind the people that God stopped the flow of the Jordan so Israel could cross.  In the future, a father would be able to tell his son why there were twelve rocks stacked together.  There was a reason for the rocks.

How important it is for us to teach our children why we do what we do as we express our faith.  Giving, reading the Bible, participating in a group, serving and inviting people to church can all be seen simply as activities if we are not careful to explain them to our children.  Without our sharing the importance of why we do what we do, these activities can be seen on par with the ordinary things of life like grocery shopping, mowing the yard and going out to eat.

As parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, teachers and friends, we can take the everyday aspects of our faith and share the meaning of them with the children around us.  We can let them know that giving is our opportunity to express faith in God’s provisions for us and to affirm His ownership of everything we have.  We can tell children that reading the Bible isn’t like reading other books, but that it is only in the Bible that we read words that can impact and change our lives.  Group participation allows children to see that our faith was never meant to be lived in isolation.  Through our serving, children will see the selfless nature of our faith and begin to realize that God has equipped them to serve as well.  As we invite others to church, we are able to let our children know that we love the people around us so much that we want them to find what we have found in our relationship with God.

Through all of these activities and many more, we have the opportunity and responsibility to help our children know the reason for the rocks.

The Fame of God

“Before the spies lay down for the night, she went up on the roof and said to them, ‘I know that the LORD has given this land to you and that a great fear of you has fallen on us, so that all who live in this country are melting in fear because of you.  We have heard how the LORD dried up the water of the Red Sea for you when you came out of Egypt, and what you did to Sihon and Og, the two kings of the Amorites east of the Jordan, whom you completely destroyed.  When we heard of it, our hearts melted and everyone’s courage failed because of you, for the LORD your God is God in heaven above and on the earth below.’”  Joshua 2:8-11

“Oh, I was told about you.”

Have you ever heard that from someone you are meeting for the first time?  This person didn’t know you, but they knew about you.  Sometimes this prior knowledge paints you in a good light; some times, not so much.

Negatively, it may have been as you moved from grade to grade through school.  Your reputation truly preceded you and everyone was waiting for you to arrive.  You had no idea what future ramifications there would be for that prank you played your sophomore year of high school!

Positively, it may have been when your career took you to a new location.  You had worked hard to establish yourself in your field and now the people at your new workplace were excited that you were part of their team.

As God’s people, the Nation of Israel, are preparing to enter the Promised Land, two spies go to Jericho to gather information about this land that they were now ready to conquer.  They are almost discovered, but find a hiding place in the home of a prostitute named Rahab.  It is here that we find out what people had heard about God.

Jericho was a large, fortified city (see Numbers 13).  However, a sense of fear had entered the hearts of the people (see Joshua 6).  Why?  What happened?

God’s reputation had arrived in Jericho before His people showed up.  The people of Jericho had heard stories about what God had done in the past.  In fact, the events they had heard about happened forty years earlier!  And yet, after all these years, they still knew about the God of the Israelites.

What have you heard about God?  What kind of a reputation does He have?  What is your understanding about Who He is and what He does?  Where did you get your information?

And even more than these questions is this, “How is your life adding to the fame of God?”  After Israel destroys Jericho, we read “So the LORD was with Joshua, and his fame spread throughout the land.”  Joshua 6:27

May we know of God’s fame and live in a way that brings honor to His Name.

What Do I Do with What I Know?

“The Lord our God has secrets known to no one.  We are not accountable for them, but we and our children are accountable forever for all that he has revealed to us, so that we may obey all the terms of these instructions.”  Deuteronomy 29:29 (NLT)

“Is this the right job?”

“Is she the right girl?”

“Is this the right choice?”

These are the questions on our hearts and minds as we journey through life.  We look to God for answers and become frustrated when we don’t seem to hear what He says.  We may be sincerely seeking His will, but our ability to discern His direction can be challenging.

Challenging, that is, unless we look toward what has already been revealed.

Draw a big circle and label it “God’s Will.”  Now, place a smaller circle within this circle and label it “My Life.” 

Inside this circle called “My Life” you might find all sorts of interests and activities and pursuits.  There would be relationships and career and family among other things.  You might even have following God as a significant portion of your circle.

Now, put a small dot within the “My Life” circle to represent the questions above.  As questions that are important to us.  We focus our hearts and minds on finding their answers.  We search for God’s perspective and wonder if He has a word to give us.  But what about the bigger circle?

Our questions and our lives exist within the circle of what God is doing and what He has already done.  And much of, even most of this circle has been revealed to us.  “Long ago God spoke many times and in many ways to our ancestors through the prophets.  And now in these final days, he has spoken to us through his Son.”  Hebrews 1:1-2 (NLT)

Don’t allow what you don’t know to keep you from doing what you do know.  God has revealed His plan for your life throughout the pages of His Word.  Yes, there are specific details represented by the small dot.  However, the greater part of what God has for you has already been shown.  You need to learn it and live it.