November 2, 2009
“He treated the outsiders exactly as he treated us, beginning at the very center of who they were and working from that center outward, cleaning up their lives as they trusted and believed him … He gave us a good bath, and we came out of it new people, washed inside and out by the Holy Spirit. Our Savior Jesus poured out new life generously.” Acts 15:9 .. Titus 3:5-6 The Message
The call of the Inside-Out life …
God is doing today exactly what he was doing yesterday in your life … making you whole. You generally look outside in … it is your built in limitation. But God … sees perfectly from the inside out … where He is patiently and generously forming the life of His Son in you. You were once an outsider .. but no more. God has never treated you differently from anyone else. He’s working at the very center of who you are .. and working outward .. cleaning you up and clearing away all the contaminated debris that you carry along in this life. The Poured-Out One has changed your hell-bound life into a life-freely-formed by grace. It is amazing how patient God really is with our lives. We get impatient when God doesn’t work fast enough or remove all the things that we think hold us back or cause us to stumble. We so quickly want to be rid of every distraction .. dis-ease .. and discomfort. But God … is doing something so permanent … working through all your layers of trust and distrust … belief and unbelief … surrender and stubbornness. Jesus generously poured out his life for you .. so that the Holy Spirit could generously pour His life in to you. And in all of this .. God is working at the very center of who you were and who you are becoming through the life of Jesus in you. He’s working at this very moment and all that you can do … is just be you. It only takes a moment …
“I’m happy from the inside out, and from the outside in, I’m firmly formed. You canceled my ticket to hell — that’s not my destination! Now you’ve got my feet on the life path, all radiant from the shining of your face. Ever since you took my hand, I’m on the right way.” Psalm 16:9-11 The Message
Ken Chester: Grace-Gripped is sent M-F to Inside-Out Followers of Jesus and friends of Priority One (ken@priorityone.org)
