Monthly Archives: June 2010

Crucified with Christ?

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I don’t always want what is best for me. The things that I desire are not always in my best interest and for my best life. They may look really, really appealing, but in the end, can be my doom. Today, Paul talks about the need to understand how our desires might not always be best.  In Galatians, he says:

I have been crucified with Christ; 20 and it is no longer I who live, but it is Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.

What does that mean, to be crucified with Christ? That’s a nice phrase that sounds good and holy and Christian, but what does that mean?

I think, or at least I’ve found out for me, that in some ways, it just means realizing that life is not about me.  Life, in the end is not about what I want or what I desire, but it is about what God wants.

In life I, and you, have two choices. We can spend our lives chasing our desires and our “stuff,” or we can spend our lives chasing God’s desires and God’s dreams for us.

The more we chase our “stuff” the more we will find a joyous, abundant life slipping through our fingers like sand. The more we chase God’s dreams, the more we will find life, even if it isn’t the life that we “want,” we will find that life that is abundant.  Life giving. Amazing.  Fulfilling.

So, which life will we chase? Will we chase ours and maybe, get what we want, but not what we need?

Or will we be crucified with Christ, and chase after His dream and His vision and His life?  In that find life?

Which life will we chase after today?

Belief

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As I was reading today, I read one of the texts that has always really spoken to me.  It seems like in scripture, only one thing could stop Jesus from doing what He wanted to do. The unbelief of people. Today, in Matthew’s Gospel, we read this:

But Jesus said to them, “Prophets are not without honor except in their own country and in their own house.” And he did not do many deeds of power there, because of their unbelief.

That passage has always stood with me for a while when I read it.  He simply did not do many things, because of their unbelief.

In life, we will have times of doubt. That’s the way that it goes. We all doubt. We all struggle. We all have those times, those moments of darkness. Those moments where our foundation is shaken. That’s part of what we all know and experience.

But, we can’t stay in the dark forever.  We can’t stay in doubt forever.  We have to believe the sun will come out, that the rain will stop, that the fire will cease.

In short, we have to believe that God is still God.

Today, do we have faith? Do we have that belief. No matter what we are going through, God is bigger.

If we believe in God, we have to believe that He can do these things.  After all, He’s God!  He’s bigger, greater, and more mighty than all!  He made all this is, both seen and unseen. He’s the creator of all!

And, He wants to do amazing things with us each today.

Today, do we believe in the power of God? Do we believe in His work? Do we believe in what He’s doing?  Even when we can’t seen. Even when we don’t understand.  God is at work.

Have faith. Believe.  Hope.  Trust.  God is at work. Today, an always.