July 1, 2013
“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.” Acts 15:9 The Message
What a difference between Jesus working in your life and you working to make room for Jesus: ..in your own strength … on your terms … trying .. failing .. trying .. failing .. trying .. failing??? Life in Christ sometimes seems so incredible. God found you when you weren’t looking for him.(Maybe you were but you begin to realize that God was working in and around your life long before you became serious about him. He loved you completely .. totally .. all-encompassing of who you were. He cleaned you up on the inside and patiently keeps working to the outsides of your life. Cleaning you up means that Jesus offered his life to be “cleaned out” on your behalf. You alone can imagine just how far .. how deep .. and how great Christ’s life has “cleaned up” your life. Is it that simple .. really? All that you have to do is “Trust” who He is and “Believe” in what He has done. The world tries to convince you that trusting and believing in Jesus is not enough. The “real world” doesn’t work that way. You’ve got to do something more so you can look back and see that you did your part in God’s saving business. Do you think that God is really waiting for you to do your part .. wear yourself out trying before He steps in? It is amazing to think that in that place of trusting and believing, God lavishly fills your life with His Spirit. Yes … it happens through Jesus. Yes .. there was and is a Cross .. big enough and far reaching enough to cover your whole life completely. Yes .. He has risen from the dead and your life is alive today through Christ. Your life is the most simplistically complicated mess-made-whole-in-Jesus today. Do you really think that you can add one layer to what God has in store for you today? He invites you to love Him and go out in the world you live in and live for Him. He’ll fill in the blanks … 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 our 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 Radically Changed Lives following Jesus and friends of Priority One (kchesterp1@gmail.com)
