May 6, 2013
“Let the peace of Christ keep you in tune with each other, in step with each other. None of this going off and doing your own thing. … Let the Word of Christ – the Message – have the run of the house. Give it plenty of room in your lives. … Let every detail in your lives – words, actions, whatever – be done in the name of the Master, Jesus, thanking God the Father every step of the way.” Colossians 3:15-17 The Message
When you walk with Jesus, his life begins to transform the way you live with others. Think for a moment of relationships around your life that desperately need the “peace of Christ”. How many marriages suffer for lack of Christ’s peace in their lives. His peace is not the reward of your efforts, but the indwelling gift of his life. in this fractured and fracturing world, it takes Christ to “keep us in tune with each other”. This world runs on disposability. Jesus transforms your life into availability. Where once you might have used others … now you find yourself being used as an instrument of grace to share the peace of Christ. There is little peace where there is little margin for His Message and life to breathe and grow within. When Christ’s WORDS have the run of the house, your life expands. It doesn’t mean you do more or take on more activity. It means there is more room in your life for Christ. And you cannot know what that means until that is the “whatever” that fills your life with Jesus. Your words .. your actions .. and your whatever become a life of thanksgiving. You find yourself thankful because you’ve come to know that it is Christ’s life that is filling your life. If you are thirsty .. Jesus says … it only takes a moment …
“If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. Rivers of living water will brim and spill out of the depths of anyone who believes in me this way, just as the Scripture says.” John 7:37 The Message
Ken Chester: Grace-Gripped is sent M-F to River Saints following Jesus and friends of Priority One (Kchesterp1@gmail.com)
