"And you are complete in Him, who is the Head of all principality and power" ( Col 2:10)
"The just shall live by faith" (Romans 1:17).
Faith in all its sheer simplicity! Faith that takes God precisely at His Word! Faith that simply says, "Thank You." Faith that goes beyond self.
Can any situation possibly arise, any circumstance, of which He is not aware or capable of dealing with? Any pressure, promise, problem, responsibility or temptation for which the Lord Jesus Himself is not adequate? If He is truly God, there cannot be a single one!
This being so, applying His life (presence in ours) by faith to every situation as it arises, will leave you with no alternative but to obey the words of I Thessalonians 5:18 "In everything give thanks!" In how many things? In everything without exception, "this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you."
It is not difficult for man to live the Christian life, somebody once said, it is a "sheer impossibility!" A sheer impossibility, that is, without CHRIST! But for all that He says, you have all that He is, and that is all that it takes!
The Christian life can only be explained in terms of Jesus Christ, and if your life as a Christian can still be explained in terms of you your personality, your willpower, your gift, your talent, your money, your courage, your learning, your dedication, your sacrifice, or your anything then although you may have the Christian life, you are not yet living it!
By way of a silly example, If the way you live your life as a Christian can be explained in terms of you, what have you got to give to the man who lives next door? You! The way he lives his life can be explained in terms of him and his ideals habits hobbies etc, and so far as he is concerned, you happen to be "religious" but he is not! "Christianity" may be your practice, but it is not his, and there is nothing about the way you practice it which strikes him as at all remarkable! There is nothing about you which leaves him guessing, and nothing great which he does not feel he is equally capable of reproducing if needed without the inconvenience of becoming a Christian! To him/her you are nothing more than a moralistic nice person, if all you can give is you.
It is only when your quality of life baffles the neighbors that you are likely to impress them! It has got to become plainly obvious to others that the kind of life you are living is not only good, but that it is beyond all human explanation! It is Supernatural. Then when that disease/debt/struggle/upset......(add your own worry here) ......comes then it is beyond the ability of me or you to cope with, and however little they may understand this, clearly it has to be seen by them to be God Himself in you! (The hope of Glory)
In a nutshell, this means that your friends and neighbours must become convinced that the Lord Jesus Christ of whom you speak, is essentially the ingredient of the Life you live! Not just a tossed in item.
Well they are a few of my thoughts, sorry for the long break between items.
Pastor Rob
