We are lifted up in the hands of God, and in this way we are saved, redeemed, provided for, and blessed in each new day... yet it is so easy to feel lost, or abandoned to the hardships of the world, but if we look around ourselves it becomes clear that despite our fears, we have been in the hand of God all the while.
When we think of being crucified with Jesus, just where do we envision ourselves in that process? Are we entering Jerusalem, praying in the Garden of Gethsemane, being taken before the high priest, standing before Pilot, receiving a beating at the hands of the guards, being scourged and cut by the whip, stumbling under the weight of the cross as we walk the Via Dolorosa, crying out in pain as the nails are driven through us, hanging above the crowd as our life ebbs away, or have we taken our last breath, are we laying in the tomb, being resurrected, speaking once again to our disciples, or ascending into heaven? What does being crucified with Christ mean to us?
As Christians we are meant to believe in the absolute perfection of Christ’s redemption of our sins. We see his blood, and life being drained from Him, hear his final words, and exhale in our sorrow as He breathes out His dying breath, but we also must grasp hold of His resurrection and ascension... His eternal and forgiving nature. So why is it that so many of us fall back again into sin, remaining in the clutches of Adam’s imperfection? Why don’t we claim the eternity that awaits us in the risen Christ? Is it because the concept of eternity has become foreign to us?
When we pray in contrition, and confess our sins, do we ask God to not only forgive us, but to change our hearts as well? In the midst of our sorrowful and broken hearts, do we ask Him for help in cleansing us of the desire to continue on in sin? Are we looking for more than God’s pity and mercy as He forgives, and ask Him for His transformation as well? After He had forgiven someone Jesus said “Go and sin no more”, but don’t we need help in doing this? Yes, so Pray for God to make our spirits right!
Jesus loves me, and what an incredible declaration that is! We sing this in song as children, but it is more than a childish thought put to melody, it is the driving motivation for all that is our faith, and for God’s desire to redeem and restore us to Himself. Are you trapped in the obvious simplicity of the song, or have you matured in your faith as you have come to understand the interwoven complexity of loving Jesus, loving God, and in knowing how much they love you?
In today’s world filled with trouble, sickness, starvation, and war, it is easy to become anxious, and to be overcome by fear. We look back on times in our lives that were peaceful and calm, and wish for those “good old days” to return. We think that the world has changed from good to bad, when in fact it has always been this way since the moment of Adam’s fall. So how do we live in a world such as this? How do we overcome our fear?
Do we abide, or remain, in Jesus even in the most trying of times? If so isn’t it amazing how we can bear fruit for God despite the trouble and distraction that we find ourselves in the midst of? No matter the trial or tribulation we are enduring, our dedication to abiding in Jesus will not only bring us His peace, but will make our lives witnesses for Him, and will allow others to see what an amazing life in Him looks like.
Do we love Jesus Christ enough to obey His commandments, and live as He taught us during His life? Have we disciplined ourselves such that we can not only walk with Him up to the mount to hear His amazing sermon there, but out into the wilderness to be tempted, onto the waters of faith with Peter, and along the Via Dolorosa with His cross, and nails? It is by our love for Him that God comes to love us, abide in us, and makes His home with us as we celebrate, and endure all these moments with Jesus.
The Holy Spirit is an incredibly important part of our faith, and to our lives as Christians, but so many believers tend to trivialize, or ignore, him. There are those among us who believe that all they need is to believe in Jesus, but even our Lord Jesus received him into His life to help Him. The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of God, so he is not a new creation. He is the essence of God, the power in Christ, and our understanding. Didn’t Jesus tell us that He could do nothing of Himself?
Are we living in the love of Christ, and has our desire for him found its fullness? Is our attention fixed solely on him, and do we feel his presence in us always? These things come from being unmistakably, and completely captured by love, and being loved is often fueled by our obedience. If we are in a reciprocal love we want to please, and if we please we are doing those things that the object of our love desires. So what does Jesus desire of us, and are we doing them?
Do we think that because Jesus ascended into Heaven that He no longer abides in us? Do we think that He has traveled far away to sit at God’s right hand, and left us alone with our faith and the Holy Spirit? Well, just as God is with us always, so it is with Jesus. The world might not see His body, but as believers we see Him in us, in our lives, and in the eternal life we have been promised in Him.
As Christians we believe in the truth of scripture, and when we read that Jesus abides in us and we in Him, we know this to be true. So let’s ask ourselves a question... if we have faith as believers in Jesus, and believe that He abides in us, then shouldn’t we also believe that God does as well? Jesus tells us this rather directly.
How many times has God told us to do something, and we neglected to do it because of our disbelief, or because we stumbled over our pride? We pray for the Lord to heal us, feed us, or provide for us in some way, but when He asks us to join Him in the effort we often refuse to obey because what He has asked of us is beneath us, or we can’t imagine Him demanding something so seemingly ridiculous of us. Sometimes our lack of faith bridles us, or our self-image is so prideful that we turn away; then, in our failure, we blame Him for not answering our prayers. Does this sound familiar?
It is one thing to acknowledge God, and recognize Jesus as His Son, but unless we give ourselves over to them, becoming transformed into new men and women, and longing for the return of Christ, then the job of faith, and righteousness, has not been completed in us. Newborn babies can feel the air about them, but until they take the first breath into their lungs, then life is not fully established in them. We may say that we have been born again, but have we breathed in Christ, and established the life of His New Covenant within us? Have we been transformed from certain death, and given an ever increasing, and joyous, life?
God’s promises are not such that they might or might not apply to us, no, each one begins with our individual name written into it. Do we believe this, and do we trust in the fact that He will do everything He has promised? In the New Covenant Jesus makes some new promises, but we must understand the stipulations that are placed on them, and God’s Will for us. Jesus said that we will have eternal life, but before that can happen He tells us that we must believe in Him... not simply by saying that we believe, but really, truly, believing.