January 26, 2010
“How blessed is God! And what a blessing he is! He’s the Father of our Master, Jesus Christ, and takes us to the high places of blessing in him. Long before he laid down earth’s foundations, he had us in mind, had settled on us as the focus of his love, to be made whole and holy by his love.” Ephesians 1:3-4 The Message
Are you trying or trusting …?
Why do you become all worked up about “being” a Christ-Follower … an In-Christ-One … a Christ-in-Me One. The job description is very specific: You are to love the Lord with all of your heart .. soul .. mind .. and strength. And just to make it practical and visible in your life: You are to love your neighbor as yourself. God started “long before” when it came to your life. There was only one way to make you whole and holy .. and that was through Christ’s love. His job description was very specific: He was to love God with all of His life. And to make it practical and visible for your life: He loved you by giving way His life for you. And now …? He says: “Follow Me” .. trust Me to lead your steps .. work through all the layers of your life .. and do for you what you will never be able to do for yourself. Everything about God’s love for you is lavish. His very Spirit is poured into your life before you even know what it means. You are the “focus” of His love and He merely wants to pour that same love in you … through you in the world you live in today. And that is where the tension and stress begin to build: Where Christ is working in your life and where You want your life to go. He’s not going to back out of His promise. Are you going to love Him by trying harder and harder or trusting with your all? It only takes a moment …
“Answer this question: Does the God who lavishly provides you with his own presence, his Holy Spirit, working things in your lives you could never do for yourselves, does he do these things because of your strenuous moral striving or because you trust him to do them in you?” Galatians 3:5 The Message
Ken Chester: Grace-Gripped is sent M-F to Long-Before-Focused Followers of Jesus and friends of Priority One (ken@priorityone.org)
