And what an awesome task of compiling this information into a blog.
I'm excited!
So, what brings me to this message was a little pamphlet I picked up from church called Our Daily Bread. It is a book of daily devotionals. I personally find them inspirational and it seems to provide lots of spark for things to study and write about.
This particular day, August 30th, 2011, Albert Lee speaks of a triathlon participant who not only brought himself, but his disabled son through the events. His father pulled him in a boat while he swam, he was in a seat pod on the bike, and was pushed while his father ran. This man, Rick, in his wheelchair was dependent on his father to finish that race.
We are dependent on Christ to proceed with ours.
"We cannot finish the Christian race on our own. We have to do so by depending on Jesus living in us." ~Albert Lee
So I died to the law-I stopped trying to meet all its requirements-so that I might live for God. My old self has been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. So I live in this earthy body by trusting in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me, I do not treat the grace of God as meaningless. Galatians 2:19-21
| Christ Liveth in Me |
|---|
| As lives the flower within the seed, As in the cone the tree, So, praise the God of truth and grace, His Spirit dwelleth in me. Refrain: Christ liveth in me, Christ liveth in me, O what a salvation this,— That Christ liveth in me. Once far from God and dead in sin, No light my heart could see; But in God's word the light I found, Now "Christ liveth in me." As rays of light from yonder sun The flowers of earth set free, So life and light and love came forth From "Christ living in me." With longing all my heart is filled, That like Him I may be, As on the wondrous thought I dwell, That "Christ liveth in me." |
Major Daniel Webster Whittle (1840-1901)
(I look forward to performing this...)
Faith connects our weakness to God’s strength.
I have been then gazing at my treasure of a book, In His Steps, by J.R. Miller. I was looking for inspiration for dealing with conflict and trying to grapple with the idea that many people believe that Christianity is based on a one time forgiveness of sins and cleansing of your soul, that from then on you will do no wrong. Or that you must be doing right. Phew. This one bugs me.
From Chapter three, "Forgiveness of sins is not enough. A man's lies and dishonesties may be forgiven; but if that is all, he is still a liar and dishonest. God's forgiveness regenerates. A Christian life is the setting up of the Kingdom of God in a human heart."
"This puts a responsibility on every Christian. We represent God in this world, and we are to live in such a way that from our life, others will learn the truth about God."
AMEN!
Within us all when we ask, is the light of God, which is present and connecting us all together in love. Let it Shine! Then as you grow stronger in faith through study and challenging your old habits and behaviors, your light grows brighter. And we make our aim to be as close as we can to this ideal of living like Christ.
We cannot actually achieve perfection, hence Christ's existence. We can only do our best to remain focused on living as if we could feel that Christ was in our heart's loving us. Then letting that love overflow into the world from within. You have what you need inside you already. And if you ask, the light can begin to shine where you have dark places.
I was brought to this all really while preparing my Sunday school lesson. The suggested song to sing for this week's gospel was This Little Light of Mine. Scripture tells a story that Jesus told for His teaching of a group of ten bridesmaids who were waiting for the arrival of the bridegroom for the festivities to begin. Five were well prepared and went to sleep with full lamps and extra oil. Five were not and their lamps ran low. In the middle of the night the bridegroom arrives and asks them to assemble. The five with no oil, ask the five with to share. They decline and suggest that the five maids go to buy their own oil. While they are away, the five prepared maids and the bridegroom begin to celebrate.
The five that went for more oil were not let in and were treated as unknown when they arrived.
Jesus urges us to be ready with a full lamp and extra oil. You never know when it will be the time you need it. Build your foundations, grow your light, do what you do well and with all of the love you can.
No comments:
Post a Comment