Christ in you the hope of glory!

As I have been reading Colossians for personal study time, I have come to one of my favorite verses (1:27) "to whom God willed to make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory." This is truly an amazing verse when you connect it with other verses throughout the New Testament like Romans 8:19 "For the anxious longing of the creation waits eagerly for the revealing of the sons of God." These are just a few of the amazing verses that tie God's manifest glory as coming through these very earthen vessels. St. Ignacius said, "The glory of God is man fully alive." So much of religion, the culture, and even well-meaning believers reduce us to "sinners saved by grace", nothing special, a person striving for holiness, or just plain failures. It is amazing to me that God has done such a work through Jesus Christ that He is delighted in who we are. You doubt that God could enjoy who you are, then you have been lied to. Scripture over and over again recounts God's being pleased with those who rely solely on the finished work of Christ. We often follow the latest self-improvement trends, diets, exercise programs, motivational speaker, or even religious re commitments to be better. It may surprise you but I believe God finds these detestable because they are not presenting yourself as a living sacrifice holy and pleasing to God (Romans 12:1). Could it be that receiving God's amazing grace is how God transforms us into sons and daughters of God who contain His glory. Why is it we look at some saints and think we can never be like them, when Scripture clearly says each of us have the right to become sons and daughters of God (John 1:12). Children of God look like their Father and are like Him, thus things that are normal for God (the supernatural) then become normal for us. I have been so stuck by the revelation that the glory is going to come from Christ in us, the location is not God revealing His glory independent of us but through us. This is a huge problem if you basically see yourself as worthless, not very special, or trying to get your own glory. All of these hide the treasure that is in you. We have whole systems in our society which are not based on a believers true identity but one that is tied to the worldly system. It seems instead of celebrating our true identity we are often put on a performance track to earn a hoped for identity that will give us value, blessing, fame, or material wealth. As a new creation you cannot earn what God has already bestowed on you but you can delight in His grace. I sat across from a client and asked her what her dreams were, she told me a nice office job like data entry. It is sad that her sights are set so low, Christ in her is the hope of glory. Glory does not necessarily mean some high paying fancy job, but it does mean displaying the love, life, and essence of who God is. God is special, so are we because we are in Him. My challenge to you is what would you look like with Christ in you the hope of glory coming out of your life. Resurrection life flowing through every part of your being body, soul, and spirit. God does not do things part way as we do, His New Covenant transforms the whole person (this was before Eastern Holistic Healing). Recently at our church a man got up to give a testimony of being diagnosed with cancer, having the elders pray over him, and then recently his doctor saying he was cancer free. Can you see the glory, the resurrection life where the world pronounced death. So often we in the Christian crowd (religious) can be just like the world labeling other people as hopeless, rather than speaking life into a place of death. We may say nice things like they are "in sin" or "backslidden". Tell me how this brings life into a situation of death. We may even put spiritual terms on suffering, "I'm sure they are learning a lot about God in being poor." Yes, I understand Jesus said "Blessed are the poor in spirit" but He doesn't leave them there. Jesus says, "for theirs is the kingdom of heaven." If you have big dreams for yourself, I can tell you that God's is bigger. I am very encouraged that what God says He will do, He will do often despite our fumblings. Dream big, it is God who put those dreams in you.

In His Grace,
Bret

Exchanging your life!

The name of the ministry I work for (Exchanged Life Ministries or ELM) is a profound statement about how we live. For so many life is what you make of it, rather than life is a gift from God to be received not earned or achieved. The struggle is that I must be willing to exchange or sacrifice what I call life. Often we call life what God calls death. The man who is desperately trying to be the most successful in his field because he gets praise but is sacrificing his family on nights and weekends. When we come to the revelation that God has given us a new life "in Christ", it is rather offensive to every way we been living in contradiction to this new life. God does not just want to be an addition to my life, He has come to be my very life source. This means that God brings about a change in my identity, the way I see things, my relationships, and the way I function. This is not a minor course correction but the total transformation of life. It is mightily upsetting when you come to the place to realize you have been existing in a state of death but are being invited into life. This revelation hit me again as I realized that the way I have approached raising support and having provision for my family has had more death in that I want to admit. The problem with this kind of death is we are deceived to believe it is actually life, until the true fruit begins to reveal itself. Ways of thinking are not simply ideas but deeply embedded beliefs that guide our whole way of thinking. If these ways of thinking and viewing life are contrary to God's revealed Word, it is only a matter of time before the dead fruit reveals itself. None of us can boast, when we agree with Scripture that "we like sheep have all gone astray." As the arguments about Health Care Reform rage, the truth is no one but God is truly right. Everyone has their opinions but the Word is clear that "the wisdom of man is foolishness to God." We as the people of God don't have to wander and search all over the place to find life, the life of God has been given to us so we can turn to the Word to have revelation of how to live in this new life. I so thankful that I don't have to be tossed to and fro by all that is being said, lived, and touted in the world (and religious world). God's revealed truth is what will stand when everything else falls. Admitting we have been wrong in the way we see things is one thing, but to admit that we have been living out death and then receive His life is a whole new way. This is repentance, which is change of mind but not just a mental shift but a change to connect to a new power source with a new way of living. I find more and more that God's Word is not religion but a wholly different way of seeing the story of life that each one of us are involved in. Day by day I am amazed at how God is shifting the way I see myself, others, and all ways of living. I am amazed that God through His grace is not just offering life but resurrected/ascended life "in Christ". We don't need to understand this life to receive it but simply to say yes to the New Life, pressing in to see Him bring revelation. Revelation is not simply a different idea, it is the Spirit of God revealing who God is in us. I pray that day by day you will exchange your old life (mindset, way of looking at and living life) for Christ's new life.

In His Amazing Grace,
Bret

Life or Death Outpouring?

I have been on vacation so thus the absence but I am back now. Times of rest are so important. The Word tells us in John 7:37 "From his innermost being will flow rivers of living water." Jesus wants us to drink of Him and then out of our spirit will flow rivers of living water for healing and life to others. My question about what is the outpouring comes from my experience this morning. I woke up this morning after losing sleep the night before, so still somewhat fatigued and then I had some oppression. It felt like I was slogging through quicksand and my attitude matched, I was obviously not walking in the Spirit. I read the Word, spent some time in prayer, and even repented for being stuck but I continued on walking after the flesh. The Word tells us in Romans 8 that the mind set on the flesh is death. My mind had been stuck my dwindling support account, not making calls, and not wanting to deal with support raising. This progression led to a sense of hopelessness which was triggering some lie-based stuff in childhood. All this got me stuck in quicksand and then I started to drag my family into it with me. As I spent time with my son and daughter I became very focused on my daughter and her issues! Really who was having the issues but dad. My wife came home and was like what happened. We laughed as I called her on the phone later to apologize for being a dispenser of death and not life. Walking after the flesh is not only the wrong power source but begins to infect others around us with the aroma of death. So how do we have rivers of living water pouring out of us (Holy Spirit). I have found I need to be totally honest with God and myself about the power source I am relying on (flesh or Him). If the fruit is bad in my life, then it has a bad root (lies) and I walking after the flesh. Also the people closest to you can be a good indicator if you are walking in Father's love or after the flesh. The Enemy doesn't have to be right there working in our life for us to smell of death, he has planted lies/strongholds in our heart (usually in childhood) which will be triggered and bring forth death. I find that when I am not actively agreeing with the Word of God then I am vulnerable to agreeing with deception and then walking after the flesh. The Bible clearly points to Satan being stripped of his authority and the believers victory over darkness through the finished work of Christ, but there is a continual clash of kingdoms over our lives. We must stand in the finished work of Jesus Christ and take back ground in our lives that the enemy has claimed through deception. The outpouring of Christ's spirit (the Holy Spirit) within us results in His life being displayed (the Fruit of the Spirit), this brings life not only to us but to others as well. I pray this will bring some encouragement and the Holy Spirit will shine greater light on how He is working in your life. I believe we are in the "End Times" which means the darkness is getting darker and the light (Christ in us) is getting brighter. Let us stand in His strength.

In His Grace,
Bret