New Life "in Christ"

The Christian life brings Spiritual life, from the Holy Spirit.  We all have life in ourselves in our human spirit with differing personalities, circumstances, and environments.  But over and above, within and throughout, when a person becomes a Christian the Holy Spirit makes all things new. 

The Apostle Paul describes this truth in Second Corinthians 5:17 by saying, "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new."  The people in Corinth at that time were caught up in a very worldly culture and needed to understand that being a Christian wasn't just another worldly religion.  It was a complete change of a person from within their soul by the Holy Spirit. 

Paul goes on to explain in the next chapter that as a Christian he sought to live his life, "by purity, by knowledge, by longsuffering, by kindness, by the Holy Spirit, by sincere love, by the word of truth, by the power of God," etc, Ch. 6:6-7.  He gives a long list of sources of power to live in this new life.

The Holy Spirit is seen to be the key to becoming a Christian and one of the keys to living out the Christian life.  We need the power of God to live in Christ and the Holy Spirit is that power because He is the presence of God with us.  He uses the "word of truth" as well to describe this wonderful life in Christ.  

We can read much more that Paul describes the Christian life to be, but it is a life that is "in Christ" as Christ is in us through the Word of Truth, inspired and illuminated by the Holy Spirit.  This Spiritual life will lead us to become like Christ and to live for him.

FAITH TODAY: 2 Cor. 5:17 - "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new."

 

 

Renew & Restore

Have you ever become too busy to read?  Have you ever become too busy to study or pray, or even exercise?  Have you ever become too busy to remember what's important?

Well, the last few months have been like that for me.  Between family, work, projects, and new and unexpected problems, I've been distracted from reading, studying, and all the rest.  Life is full of challenges and distractions but don't quit.  Keep on keeping on, in season and out of season.

Our Spiritual lives need time, nourishment, exercise, and rest.  And with too many distractions we can lose our Spiritual zest.  Make time for God, He is the source of our Spiritual life.

FAITH TODAY: Psalm 23:1-3,  "The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.  He makes me lie down in green pastures; he leads me beside the still waters.  He restores my soul; he leads me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake."

Spiritual Life

The Christian faith is at its essence a personal relationship with Christ. Often times it is considered to be a religion like all the other religions in the world. And Christianity is religious, but it is primarily a relationship with the Creator of the universe.  

Because it is a relationship it has a spiritual life that manmade religions do not have. This relationship is so radical that Christ described it as being born again to Nicodemus in John 3. We are not born with this spiritual life and when Christ comes into our lives we have a brand new nature, a spiritual life from above.  

But this spiritual life needs nurturing and growth. Just as a newborn baby starts with milk and learns to eat whole food, he starts with crawling and learns to walk, he starts with sounds and learns to make words and sentences, so also our spiritual lives require development.  

One of the great prayers of the Apostle Paul for spiritual growth is found in Ephesians 1:15-23. Paul prays for the Ephesians for three things as he seeks to minister to them. He prays first that they would have "a spirit of wisdom and revelation" as he teaches them because, without a teachable spirit, no one can grow. He describes this teachability in, vs.18-19, as "having the eyes of your heart enlightened," and then prays that they would know "... the hope to which he has called you, ... the riches of his glorious inheritance, ... and the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe."  

We see Paul praying for these Ephesian Christians for their growth in their knowledge of the hope, riches, and power of Christ so that their spiritual lives would be strengthened. And it is the same for us. Our spiritual lives can be stagnant or even sick. But in Christ, we too can grow, we can be enlightened, and we can with a spirit of wisdom and revelation, see the hope, riches, and power available for us in Christ.  

Religion without spirituality is dead, and a spiritual life without a spirit of wisdom and revelation can also be declining. We can however grow up in our spiritual lives by the power of the Holy Spirit who teaches us all things. But we need the eyes of our hearts enlightened and a spirit of wisdom and revelation to have a vibrant spiritual life. 

FAITH TODAY: Ephesians 1:16-17, "I do not cease to give thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers, that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you a spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him."

 

Perspectives

Have you considered your perspective today? It has sometimes been said that everything is just a matter of perspective. But if everything is just a matter of perspective we'd get confused because even that would be a perspective. Faith can also be like a perspective when we believe only those things we see or want.

A couple of days ago I flew a trip to South America and had this wonderful perspective out my window. It's interesting that I see things differently looking down from above. God's perspective is a complete picture as only he can see things in the ultimate way as he looks down from above.

Another one of my favorite "perspectives" is Psalm 8:3-4 where King David was looking up and said,

"When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon, and the stars, which you have set in place, what is man that you are mindful of him, and the son of man that you care for him?"

He goes on to say that God not only is mindful of mankind but he has crowned us with glory and honor. This is because we are made in the image of God as we know from Genesis. God's perspective is very good and when we see the glory of creation we can see a true perspective of ourselves and of the God of all ages. Finding God's perspective is great.

FAITH TODAY: Psalm 8:1 - "O LORD, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth! You have set your glory above the heavens."