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NEW  THINGS  HAVE  COME

12/11/2021

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December 11, 2021                                NEW  THINGS  HAVE  COME
2 Corinthians 5:14-17 “For the love of Christ controls us, having concluded this, that one died for all, therefore all died; and He died for all, that they who live should no longer live for themselves, but for Him who died and  rose again on their behalf. Therefore from now on we recognize no man according to the flesh; even though we have known Christ, yet now we know Him thus no longer. Therefore if any man is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come.”
The gospel is radical and it requires the work of God for one to live out the gospel; the gospel is not a blending of human wisdom and effort with the power of God. One example of just how radical the gospel is, is found in the verse above. Is it not radical to say now that we are believers, we are to no longer live for ourselves, but to live for God? I am sure we are quick to give quick mental assent to the idea of living for God, but maybe not so quick to fully embrace the idea of not living for ourselves. (You may be thinking this is going to be a blog of condemnation-but it’s not.) Not only is the gospel super-natural, it is also mysterious in many ways; for example, the gospel tells us that we must die before we live. The gospel is a huge contradiction to common sense in many ways. The truth is that we live a sub-standard life when we live for ourselves; to live life at the maximum level, to live according to our design, we must live for God, our Creator. It is truly red letter day when a believer comes to know, understand, and embrace the fact that ‘new things have come.” In Christ, we are not who we use to be; we are new creatures-not refurbished; the “old things passed away.” The greatest news ever and the one thing that makes all the difference is the fact that we are IN CHRIST, and HE IS IN US. In Christ, life is not the same as before we were in Christ; being in Christ, living in Christ, is the ultimate freedom one could ever experience. It is a good and normal question to ask what it looks like to no longer live for ourselves. Does it mean that I quit my job and go to the mission field-or that I never engage in activities that I enjoy? Not living for ourselves is a heart issue; is it my heart to live life in a way that is pleasing to the Lord-that is the acid test. To not live for ourselves but to live for God means then we are preferring others more important than ourselves; we are focused on blessing others; kind-hearted; quick to forgive, patient, long-suffering, encouraging…..and all the attributes we see in Jesus. It means that we are not focused on making ourselves happy, but on blessing and serving. (That’s not to say that we cannot enjoy somethings we enjoy doing. He gives us all things to enjoy. 1 Timothy 6:17) Christ died for us, and now we are to live for Him. Let us live in the new things that have come, and let us have the mindset and the heart that wants to do the things that are pleasing to Him-and then do them!
Colossians 3:1-3 “If then you have been raised up with Christ, keep seeking the things above, where Christ is seated, at the right hand of God. Set your mind on things above, not on things that are on earth. For you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God.”
Blessings,
Buddy
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THE VEIL REMOVED

12/8/2021

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December 8, 2021                                   THE  VEIL  REMOVED
2 Corinthians 3:15-18 “But to this day whenever Moses is read, a veil lies over their heart; but whenever a man turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away. Now the Lord is the Spirit; and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty. But we all with unveiled face beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as from the Lord, the Spirit.”
These verses explain why many reject God and have no interest in the word of God. They are blind; they have a veil that lies over their hearts preventing them from knowing and believing God. You cannot by debate and argument cause one to believe in God. Those who have a veil over their hearts are convinced that the way to live is through logic; and because they cannot logically explain God, in their own mind, He does not exist. I have recently talked on separate occasions, to two different elderly men on who have brilliant minds, and I’m sure very high IQ’s; in our conversation, they both said that “This life is all you have-you die and that’s the end.” How sad. Both of these men are very nice people and likeable. We should not be surprised that those who have a veil over their hearts reject the truth of God-after all, they are spiritually blind. In the verses above, we learn how the veil is removed-and it is really simple. When a man or woman turns their heart to the Lord, the veil IS REMOVED. With God, it’s about the heart. Once the veil is removed, one can see truth for the first time-can see that yes, God is real and He is alive! And for the first time he or she is free from themselves and all that imprisoned them. One may instantly turn his heart to the Lord, or it may be more gradual, but what matters is that they are turning their hearts to the Lord. Of course our part is to pray for those who do not know God; that God would draw their hearts to Himself; and, it is our part to live our life in such a way that it is a testimony of the goodness and love of God; we are not called to judge, but to be light. The passages above are in reference to those who do not know God; however, the truth of these verses can be applied to believers as well. Even though as believers we have been made new, we can chose to revert back to our old self and live according to the flesh. When we do this, our hearts become hardened and we in essence, become spiritually blind. (The difference in the non-believer and the believer is that the Holy Spirit is work in the believer, drawing him back into fellowship with the Father.) There are times when we sense the Lord leading us to do something that we may resist, but once we follow His leading (turn our hearts to His ways) we are glad we did and we often see why He lead in that direction. Let us pray for those who have a veil over their heart that they would turn their hearts to the Lord that they may see; as believers, let us always be saying yes and amen to the ways of the Lord and make sure our hearts are turned fully to Him.
Ephesians 1:18-19a “Having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which He has called you, what are the riches of His glorious inheritance in the saints, and what is the surpassing greatness of His power toward us who believe.”
Blessings,
Buddy 
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YOU  WILL  HEAR  A  VOICE

12/6/2021

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December 6, 2021                             YOU  WILL  HEAR  A  VOICE
Isaiah 30:21 “Your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, ‘This is the way, walk in it,’ whenever you turn to the right or to the left.”
Psalm 32:8 “I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you with My loving eye on you.”
John 16:13 “When the Spirit of truth comes, He will guide you into all the truth, for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak, and He will declare to you the things that are to come.”
I don’t know about you, but I know that I often need to hear ‘a voice behind me;’ I need wisdom from above to guide my steps. In today’s culture, there are many choices, many voices clamoring for our attention, and many distractions that could get us off course, plus, the nation is politically divided and there is strife on every hand. If we have ever needed to hear God say ‘This is the way, walk in it,’ this is the day. As believers, we are blessed to be able to hear from God as to what steps we should take, the direction we should go. Those that do not know God as Savior are limited to human wisdom; but we have access to wisdom from God. How do we hear God? God speaks in many ways. The obvious is that He speaks through His written word; as we read His word the Spirit will often high light a passage that speaks in a specific way to us. However, there are many decisions that we must make that are not addressed in His written word; such as whether to buy a particular house, or whether to take a new job, etc. We must remember that we are spirit, and God is Spirit and that God communicates with us Spirit to spirit. Before we knew Christ, our spirit was dead; but when Jesus was raised from the dead, our spirit was made alive and we were joined to God. Because we are now alive spiritually and are ‘connected’ to God, we can relate to Him as Father and can enjoy fellowship with Him and can hear what He says to us. Having God guide our steps simplifies life and prevents us from hitting the huge ‘potholes’ of life. We are used to audible sounds; but we must tune in our spiritual ears. There will be times when we are just not sure if God is saying a certain thing to us or leading in a certain direction. The apostle Paul once said that ‘It seemed good to us and the Holy Spirit.’ Acts 15:28. When we are having difficulty discerning God’s direction, we can do as Paul did and take the direction that ‘seems good to us and the Holy Spirit.’  We serve a loving God who communicates with us; our part is to have spiritual ears that recognize His voice. God is gentle and kind, and He desires to direct us, to guide us, to fill us, and to give us abundant life. So, if you are I are needing wisdom and direction from God, let us step away from the pressure of the moment, and take time to listen in our spirit, to read in His word; let us pray and make our request know to Him, knowing and believing that we will hear His voice.
Matthew 11:15 “The one who has ears to hear, let him hear.”
Romans 8:26 “Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groaning’s too deep for words.”
Blessings,
Buddy
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EMBRACING  THE  TRIAL

12/4/2021

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December 4, 2021                         EMBRACING  THE  TRIAL –KEEP  ON  REJOICING 
 1 Peter 4:12:  “Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal among you, which comes upon you for your testing, as though some strange thing were happening to you; but to the degree that you share the sufferings of Christ, keep on rejoicing, so at the revelation of His glory, you may rejoice with exultation.”
I don’t know about you, but I do not like trials and conflicts-never have. In fact, most of us do our best to live a life free of conflict and trials. I think Peter is referring to the “fiery ordeals” that come because of their commitment to follow Christ. In our day and time, in America, we do not yet see a lot of suffering as the result of being Christian-if things continue on their present course, we will see an increase in suffering that takes place for following Christ. In this article I want to talk about trials, conflicts, and suffering in a broad sense. Some trials we face are of our own making; self- inflicted, a result of bad decisions, and has nothing to do with our being a Christian.   Some trials come from things beyond our control. Regardless of the origin of our trials and no matter the severity of the trials; how we face or respond to the trials and “fiery ordeals” is crucial. Every human being will have to deal with trials-some more than others it seems, so we should not be surprised when they come. We should not live life thinking that we will not have trials; we should not be surprised when they come our way.  Trials are not random events that just happen and there is a purpose behind the trials. Trials have a way of exposing our heart and they reveal our level of trust that we have in our Father-trials do indeed test us. While we do not like the trial, the trial can produce good fruit in us. Verse 13 goes on to say: “but to the degree that you share the sufferings of Christ, keep on rejoicing so that at the revelation of His glory, you may rejoice with exultation.” The idea of rejoicing in suffering may sound contradictory to us, but if we understand that our suffering in some way brings glory to God, then we can rejoice. Also, if we suffer because of our faith, we will have every reason to “rejoice with exultation” when Jesus appears.  It may be minor by comparison, but we will encounter some suffering-some resistance-if we are being a witnesses in a dark world because we will come across those who reject anything and anyone connected to God. It is our place not to fear suffering, but to embrace all that our Father allows in our life-including suffering and trials. We can be assured that the trials have a purpose and we can be assured that our Father will not forsake us.
James 1:12: “Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love Him.”
James 1:2-3: “Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance.”
Psalms 34:17-18: “When the righteous cry for help, the Lord hears and delivers them out of all their troubles. The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit.
Blessings,
Buddy
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FOR  ALL  WHO  CALL  UPON  HIM

12/2/2021

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December 2, 2021                        FOR  ALL  WHO  CALL  UPON  HIM
Acts 10:9-12 “that if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord, and believe in your heart that Jesus raised Him from the dead, you shall be saved; for with the heart man believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation. For the Scripture says, ‘Whoever believes in Him will not be disappointed.’ For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, abounding in riches for all who call upon Him.”
Psalm 50:15 “Call upon Me in the day of trouble; I will rescue you, and will honor you.”
Ephesians 3:20 “Now unto Him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us,”
What a blessing that we serve a God who not only invites us, but also encourages us, to call upon Him. On our own, we cannot figure it all out; we have questions; we have no answers to the ‘whys’ of life; we are limited in knowledge and wisdom; and we do not know what the future holds. With that being said, we do have access to our Father who has all knowledge, all wisdom, and all power. God sits on His throne in heaven, BUT He is also present with us and He gives us all we need for life on planet earth. The amazing truth is that He is “abounding in riches for all who call upon Him.” Of course, all of these blessings are reserved for those who believe in Him, for those who call on Him. If we truly believe that God is who He says He is, it is only natural to call on Him; “whoever believes in Him will not be disappointed.” I think the battle for us revolves around the issue of whether we live according to our own dictates-what seems best for us-or according to the Spirit who lives in us. The life we have in God is truly a super-natural life; it is contrary to the life that is rooted in the ways of the world. Even though we can live a supernatural life in the Lord, we still live in the nitty-gritty of life where we must be about the day-to-day activities of life; but the good news is that we can do the day-to-day activities, the routines of life, as unto the Lord in such a way that even the mundane takes on new life. Romans 6:4 tells us that we can walk in newness of life. We must not be limited by what we think we can do or accomplish, or limited to the logic of the world; God is ‘able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us.” God invites us to ask and to call upon Him; however, we must understand that His answers and His provision may not be exactly what we asked for, but the answer He gives and what He provides is far better than what we might ask for. His ways are better than our ways. Some become disappointed because God did not answer a prayer in the way that hoped He would-so they give up on prayer and pursuing God. Let us not so foolish as to try to put God in a box; let us take Him up on His offer and call upon Him and make our request to Him, knowing that He hears our prayers and knowing that He always knows what is best and that He always answers our prayers in a perfect way. There is one point we must not overlook; we should have a desire to pray according to His will-what He wants to do in a certain situation. Discerning His will is not always easy, but as our hearts are turned to Him, as we spend time in His word, and as we worship Him, we begin to sense what His will is. But we do not have to fear that we might not be praying according to His will, as He is able to guide us and teach us how we are to pray. So, let us be bold and act on the invitation from God that invites and encourages us to call on Him.
Hebrews 4:16 “Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.”
Blessings,
Buddy
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CORAM  DEO

11/30/2021

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November 30, 2021                           CORAM  DEO
Proverbs 15:3 “The eyes of the Lord are in every place, watching the evil and the good.”
Psalm 139:3, 7-10 “You have enclosed me behind and before, and laid Your hand upon me.”    “Where can I go from your Spirit? Or where can I flee from Your presence? If I ascend to heaven, You are there; If I make my bed in Sheol, behold, You are there. If I take the wings of the dawn, If I dwell in the remotest part of the sea,”
I recently discovered a new word that speaks volumes. Coram Deo is a Latin term “referring to something that takes place in the presence of, or before the face of God.” To live coram Deo is to live one’s entire life in the presence of God, under the authority of God, to the glory of God.” (R.C. Sproul) This means that we are always conscious of the fact that God is everywhere present-He is omnipresent. Whatever we do, and wherever we go, we are under the gaze of God. Whether we realize it or not, God is everywhere present. Some may not be comfortable with the idea that all we do is under the gaze of God. However, when we know the love of God and when we are desiring to live in a way that is pleasing to Him, it is a blessing to know that He is watching over us. In Psalms 139:3 we read “You scrutinize my path and my lying down, and are intimately acquainted with all my ways.”  Our life is not compartmentalized; it is not divided into what is secular and what is spiritual; we may wear different hats, but we live one life. Some have the view that when they have a time of devotion, they are spending time with God; once they finish the devotion, they go about their life. We need to be aware of the fact that we have been joined to God and that we ‘live and move and have our being in Him.’ Acts 17:28. We are never separated from His presence-even when are pursuing our own ways. We can break our fellowship with Him, but we cannot ‘x’ Him out of our lives. What a blessing to live coram Deo; to live with the conscience awareness that God, our loving Father, has His gaze fixed upon us! In those times when we find that we are beginning to drift spiritually, we need to remember that God is observing our life and He is always drawing us to Himself. We could and should have the view that we are walking with God, under His care, and never out of His presence.
Jeremiah 23:23-24 “Am I a God who is near, declares the Lord, and not a God far off? Can a man hide himself in hiding places so I do not see Him? Declares the Lord. Do I not fill the heavens and the earth? declares the Lord.”
Blessings,
Buddy
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PRESENT  YOURSELVES  TO  GOD

11/28/2021

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November 28, 2021                         PRESENT  YOURSELVES  GOD
Romans 6:11-13 “Even so consider yourselves dead to sin, once for all; but alive to God in Christ Jesus. Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body that you should obey its lust, and do not go on presenting the members of your body to sin as instruments of unrighteousness; but present yourselves to God as those alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God. For sin shall not be master over you, for you are not under law, but under grace.”
How we ‘consider’ ourselves in regards to sin is crucial. Many believers believe that even though they trust Christ as their Savior, they consider themselves as ‘sinners saved by grace-who continue to sin.’ It is true that we were sinners who were saved by the grace of God, but according to the scriptures, we should see ourselves as “dead to sin, once for all; but alive to God.” I am not saying that believers never sin; but I am saying that we have to power to say ‘no’ to sin. If and when we sin, it is because we choose to sin-or allow ourselves to sin. The good news of the gospel is that the power of sin has been broken and we are no longer slaves to sin. Not only are we to consider ourselves dead to sin, but we are to consider ourselves alive to God in Christ Jesus. Its sounds rather simple; but it is a matter of to what we present the members of our body; we make the choice whether we present our members to what is righteous, or to what is unrighteous. For example, I can choose to speak words that are righteous; words that bring peace; words that build up; and words of wisdom-EVEN when I may be tempted to speak unrighteous words. It’s not a matter of how I feel, but about presenting the members of my body to righteousness. (Our mind is also an instrument of our body-so that means that we must also present our minds to what is righteous.) We no longer have to present the members of our bodies as instruments of unrighteousness! Think of the blessings that would come if within our families, in the work place, in the class room, on the golf course, at the store, at the coffee shop-or wherever-we present the members of our bodies as instruments of righteousness. Even in the culture of church life, we need a major correction; we need more than mental agreement that the power of sin has been broken; we need to know that we are no longer bound to sin; we need to be those who, as a way of life, present our members as instruments of righteousness.  Hebrews 12:1 “Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us. By considering ourselves dead to sin and alive to God and by presenting our members as instruments of righteousness, we will be light; bringing hope, encouragement, comfort and love to all. We are continually presenting our members either as instruments of unrighteousness or instruments of righteousness; let us present ourselves to God as those alive from the dead and live righteously.
2 Timothy 2:15 “Be diligent to present yourself approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed, handling accurately the word of truth.”
Romans 6:4 “Therefore we have been buried with Him through baptism into death, in order that as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life.”
Blessings,
Buddy
 
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CONQUERING  FEAR

11/26/2021

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November 26, 2021                                      CONQUERING  FEAR
1 John 4:16, 18-19 “And we have come to know and have believed the love which God has for us. God is love, and the one who abides in love abides in God, and God abides in Him.”     There is no fear in love; but perfect love cast out fear, because fear involves punishment, and the one who fears is not perfected in love. We love, because He first loved us.”
When we come to truly know and experience the love of God, wonderful things take place in us; it’s not enough just to believe in our mind only that God loves us. Fear is an all too common malady among many. Fear is a terrible thing to live with: fear paralyzes us, robs us of joy and hope, dominates our minds, and negatively affects our emotions, affects our outlook on life, and etc. One can fear sickness, loss of what is so important to us, what others think about us, not being accepted by others, natural disasters, and fear of not being acceptable to God-the list could go on. The only love that has the power to cast out fear is ‘perfect love.’ This perfect love is found and experienced only in God. The good news is that we can know and experience His love; Romans 5:5 tells us that “the love of God has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us.” Human love is far different from Gods love. God’s love residing in us changes everything. To know in the core of our being that the God who created the universe, the God who is all wise and all powerful, the God who formed us in our mother’s womb, and the God who rules, loves US; our life, our beliefs, our emotions, our thought life, and our actions are dramatically changed when we say ‘yes and amen’ to the verse that tells us that the ‘old things have passed away and that new things have come.’ 2 Corinthians 5:17. When we know His love, we find great comfort in the fact that HE is the potter, and we are the clay; there is nothing better than being clay in the hands of a loving God! Knowing His love does not mean that we are exempt from trials and troubles in this word, but it does mean that He uses all things for our ultimate good AND He will give us all we need to overcome whatever we face. Jesus endured sufferings and trials, but He overcame, and by His presence in us, so can we. To get a clear understanding of what pure love is, read 1 Corinthians 13. The acid test of our whether or not we know the perfect love God has for us is this: if we have fear, then we are not perfected in His love. You may be a believer, but yet you have not experienced His perfect love, if so, ask Him to reveal His love to you; read the scriptures, searching and seeking to know His love.
Isaiah 43:1 “Don’t fear, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name; you are mine.”
Psalm 27:1 “The Lord is my light and my salvation; Whom shall I fear? The Lord is the defense of my life; whom shall I be afraid?”
Romans 8:31 “What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who is against us?”
Blessings,
Buddy
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SEATED  WITH  HIM

11/25/2021

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November 25, 2021                                SEATED  WITH  HIM
Ephesians 2:4-7 “But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in heavenly places, in Christ Jesus, in order that in the ages to come He might show the surpassing riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.”
I must say that I do not fully understand what it means to be raised up with Christ and seated with Christ heavenly places. Even though I do not fully understand, I know it is true. We are in Christ, and He is in us; so where He is, we are there also; we have been joined to Christ! Our physical being is earth-bound; yet, our spiritual being in Christ is seated with Him in heavenly places! Wow! Before knowing Christ as Savior, we were spiritually dead, separated from God; but as believers, we have been born again, raised from spiritual death and made alive spiritually. I think the critical issue here is that of what or who is the power guiding and directing our lives; is it our self-determination, our preferences, and our logic? Our position in Christ-seated with Him in the heavenly places-is to be our ‘base of operation’ for life here on earth. What we do here, how we live day by day, should flow out of being seated with Him. We are so much more than mere physical beings; we are eternal spiritual beings who for the present, have mortal bodies. In Romans 8:11 we read “But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you.” The idea of being seated with Christ, implies a cease from striving; when we live in harmony with the life of Christ, we have blessed peace. Also, reigning with Christ (2 Timothy 2:11-12) implies that we are overcomers in life-not defeated by the trials that come. When we forget, when we chose not to live from our position of being seated with Christ, we live a substandard life where we become frustrated, unfulfilled, anxious, and in general, overcome by the difficulties we face. We can take no credit for being seated with Christ; it is only by His kindness that we are seated with Him. Finally, there is somewhat of a mystery in all of this-concerning the ages to come-“in order that in the ages to come He might show the surpassing riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.” I do not understand all of that, but I know God has awesome plans of us now and for the ages to come! We can see the awesome works of God in the present, and we can anticipate and look forward to the great and awesome things that are yet to come for all who are in Christ! “For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known.”
Colossians 3:1-3 If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your mind on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.”
Blessings,
Buddy
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SEATED  WITH  HIM

11/23/2021

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November 23, 2021                                SEATED  WITH  HIM
Ephesians 2:4-7 “But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in heavenly places, in Christ Jesus, in order that in the ages to come He might show the surpassing riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.”
I must say that I do not fully understand what it means to be raised up with Christ and seated with Christ heavenly places. Even though I do not fully understand, I know it is true. We are in Christ, and He is in us; so where He is, we are there also; we have been joined to Christ! Our physical being is earth-bound; yet, our spiritual being in Christ is seated with Him in heavenly places! Wow! Before knowing Christ as Savior, we were spiritually dead, separated from God; but as believers, we have been born again, raised from spiritual death and made alive spiritually. I think the critical issue here is that of what or who is the power guiding and directing our lives; is it our self-determination, our preferences, and our logic? Our position in Christ-seated with Him in the heavenly places-is to be our ‘base of operation’ for life here on earth. What we do here, how we live day by day, should flow out of being seated with Him. We are so much more than mere physical beings; we are eternal spiritual beings who for the present, have mortal bodies. In Romans 8:11 we read “But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you.” The idea of being seated with Christ, implies a cease from striving; when we live in harmony with the life of Christ, we have blessed peace. Also, reigning with Christ (2 Timothy 2:11-12) implies that we are overcomers in life-not defeated by the trials that come. When we forget, when we chose not to live from our position of being seated with Christ, we live a substandard life where we become frustrated, unfulfilled, anxious, and in general, overcome by the difficulties we face. We can take no credit for being seated with Christ; it is only by His kindness that we are seated with Him. Finally, there is somewhat of a mystery in all of this-something to do with the ages to come-“in order that in the ages to come He might show the surpassing riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.” I do not understand all of that, but I know God has awesome plans of us now and for the ages to come! We can see the awesome works of God in the present, and we can anticipate and look forward to the great and awesome things that are yet to come for all who are in Christ! “For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known.”
Colossians 3:1-3 If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your mind on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.”
Blessings,
Buddy
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