Tag Archives: Indwelling Christ

Holier Than Thou

25 Monday Oct 2021

Posted by in Walking in the Way

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“You think you’re better.”

I have been remembering two times in my life when I have had this accusation leveled at me.  I was sixteen the first time and was a shy and introverted new student at a new school.  I have mentioned enduring bullying and how books were an escape for me.  After a time, I didn’t need a book.  I could build stories in my own mind-some of them I even attempted writing down-and had acquired the habit of shifting into my thought world any time my attention wasn’t required.  I had done so at this time and only returned to the present moment when another student said my name and then said “you think you’re better than everybody.” 

I was shocked.  This student barely knew me.  I’d only been at the school a few months: how could he possibly say such a thing?  Fury came hard on the heels of shock.  How dare he!  Who did he think he was to presume to tell me what I was thinking!  I said nothing-I couldn’t speak-but any hope of friendship died in that moment.  It was true that I barely knew him as well but he’d proven himself to be untrustworthy and any good opinion I might have had was lost forever.  It was so lost that many years later a co-worker recognized the name of the school and asked if I remembered this student.  I hadn’t thought of him in years but it all came rushing back.  That moment.  Those words.  Those words spoken in front of others and my public humiliation.  Oh yes, I remembered.  My face must have reflected how I felt because this co-worker never brought it up again.

I was once more shocked but this time shocked at how angry I still was.  It was a cold anger and perhaps resentment would be a better word.  That student was frozen in that moment in my mind.  No matter who he was, how he’d grown, what he’d learned in the ensuing years, he was still the one who had falsely accused and embarrassed ME.  I went immediately to God and offered it all up: the student, my feelings, all the unforgiveness I hadn’t known I was holding, it all was placed in the hands of The Father.

I believe the meeting with the co-worker was a divine meeting so that I would see this, offer it all up to the Lord, and the situation would be immersed in the cleansing, redeeming blood of Jesus.  There was no longer any buried resentment to fuel my reactions and I was soon to be grateful for that.  Because, only a short time later, this accusation would be leveled at me again.  This time the words were, “you think you’re better than me,” and the words came from a close family member.  They cut far deeper than the words of that student so long ago because they came from someone I loved. 

 By the time I faced this accusation, I was well into my walk with Jesus and was experiencing tremendous upheaval.  I was seeing Him in a way I never had before and old behaviors were dropping away.  I was figuring out how to live this life in Christ and how to live it in the midst of others.  My loved one made a joke I simply could not laugh at and thus the accusation.  I did try to explain that I was different because Jesus was making me different, that I knew very well I was superior to no one, that I meant no offence, but it was to no avail.  Meetings with this family member became more and more difficult: when I did not laugh at jokes, when I refused to listen to certain music or watch certain television shows, when I would not repeat derogatory things about other people, I was proving I thought I was better.  Not only that, I was being outright disrespectful and, ultimately, my family member cut off all contact with me.

I do not share this in some false humility that really intends to show how great of a Christian I am.  Neither do I deny there are Christians who have a “Holier Than Thou” attitude.  Let us leave them to the Lord.  My struggle is this:  as I shared last week, I am one who is called to come out be separate while still living in the midst of those who not only don’t believe but want nothing to do with Jesus.  I have no wish to offend anyone but neither can I compromise this life I now live in Christ Jesus.  How then do I live?

One of my Bible Teachers said the meaning of separate is more akin to “distinct” than it is “apart”.  I looked it up to be sure.  The Greek word is aphorizo (G873) and it means “to set off by boundary”.  I suppose either “distinct” or “apart” can be seen here but, the more I meditated on it, the more I thought I understood what my Bible Teacher was saying.  Consider, if you will, that the “boundary” mentioned here symbolizes the person of Jesus Christ.

Jesus has the preeminence.  I do not live separate from the world so much as I live separated unto Him.  In Him, it is no longer I who live but Christ who lives in me.  I am joined to Him and thus of one Spirit with Him.  Because I am in Him, I am a new creation.  My life is hidden with Christ in God and in Him I live and move and have my being.  (Galatians 2:20, 1 Corinthians 6:17, 2 Corinthians 5:17, Colossians 3:3, Acts 17:28)  He forms a boundary around me and nothing gets to me but what it also touches Him.  This truth is what I hold on to every moment of my life, in whatever situation I find myself in.  It is the only identity I allow to define me.   

This identity makes me special only because I am in Jesus Christ.  I am not in Him because I am special.  I have done nothing to earn it.  I did not even seek God on my own: He revealed Himself to me.  He is the one who called me and laid His hand on me.  It was His goodness that opened my eyes and caused me to want to exchange my mind for His.  I only love Him because He first loved me and revealed that love to me in and through His Spirit.  In my flesh there dwells nothing good and it is He alone who directs my heart into love of God and patience of Christ.  (Matthew 11:27, Romans 2:4, 1 John 4:19, Romans 5:5, Romans 7:18, 2 Thessalonians 3:5)  All of this is for me!  All of this is for everyone else.

There are so many scriptures that state God is the God of all peoples, where He has promised all the nations of the earth shall be blessed, that He wills all men to be saved.  Here are three I must share: “For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers.  All things were created through Him and for Him.  And He is before all things and in Him all things consist” (Colossians 1:16-17).  “But this Man, after He had offered one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down at the right hand of God” (Hebrews 10:12).  “For of Him and through Him and to Him are all things, to whom be glory forever” (Romans 11:36). 

Again, these are a mere handful of scriptures but they ought to put to rest the idea that any believer has the right to think he or she is better than anyone else.  God gave His Son because He loved the world.  When I know how much He loves me, I can begin to understand how much He loves the world.  I can act in no other way towards people while, at the same time, I do not seek to take part in anything that does not reflect the heart of God.  This being so, what can I do when and if someone accuses me of thinking I’m better? 

I live my life from Jesus Christ living in me by His Spirit.  Doing so is a learning process and I am not so arrogant to think I act perfectly in everything I do, despite my desire to do so.  I humble myself before the God who loves me and ask Him if there is any truth in the accusation.  I ask Him to purify me in the fire that He is and burn out all the dross that keeps me from being His perfect reflection.  I offer any apology I owe to the one I have wronged.  If the accusation is false and I owe no apology, then I rejoice!  It means Jesus has been recognized in me and I am blessed to be excluded for His sake! (Luke 6:22)

Hallelujah!  Hallelujah!  Amen.

Unless noted otherwise, scriptures are quoted from the New King James Version of the Holy Bible, Thomas Nelson, Inc. 1982

References:

Strong, James, LLD., S.T.D., The New Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible, Thomas Nelson Publishers, Nashville, Tennessee, 1990

Seasons

27 Monday Sep 2021

Posted by in Poetry, Writing

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Seasons

You speak to me and bring forth Life
The hidden seed is quickening
My barren ground is thus transformed
As I burst forth in wondrous Spring

Summer comes with sudden storms
And brings intensifying heat
Both are necessary for
Without them fruit would not be sweet

Then comes the harvest time
The ripened fruit-it satisfies
Though what is reaped is bountiful
I anticipate darkening skies

My world turns dark and cold and gray
Impossible to bring forth fruit
But though it looks blanketed in death
Nothing quenches the Life in the Root

Seasons change-I know it’s time
I wait for fruit with burgeoning pride
But instead here comes the Husbandman
Branches are pruned and cast aside

My Father God, in You I trust
I cling to You through all this pain
I know You prune to increase fruit
Not one of these seasons are in vain

Bring me to that glorious day
When pruned and purged and purified
All I am images You
And You alone are glorified

Being Indestructible

28 Monday Jun 2021

Posted by in Personal Essays

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I am going to tell you a story about cactus.  I should not be able to share the photo at the top of this post because the cactus pictured here should be dead.  Instead, it has filled the pot it’s planted in and looks as if it longs to take over the entire backyard.

My mother found this cactus when she accompanied my stepfather on a fishing trip.  The road they were driving down had been graded and the cactus lay along the side, uprooted and left to die.  My Mom-very carefully-picked it up, put it in a box, brought it home, and promptly forgot about it.  It lay in the box for months until she re-discovered it and planted it in the pot to see if it would survive.  Some bits did die but the rest not only survived, it thrived.  It has filled not one but three pots and delights us with the beautiful blooms.

We have feral cats in our neighborhood and they have chosen to use our backyard as their toilet.  We have tried various deterrents but they would just move from one toilet spot to another.  They were beginning to use the space behind our tree and so, about a month ago, my stepfather when out and-very carefully-trimmed off some pieces of cactus which he scattered on the ground around the tree.  Bits of the cactus were once more left to die.

They did not.  They did not need careful planting.  They did not need watering.  They took root, righted themselves, and, though separated from their source still in the pot; bloomed right alongside.  While a bit concerned that it has been set free from the confines of the pot, I can’t help but admire the tenacity of this spiny little plant.  As I consider it, I learn two lessons.

Lesson One has to do with the ground. I have not carefully examined the cactus for sharp pokey reasons.  Perhaps it hasn’t actually rooted.  Perhaps it has bloomed because of the life that was in it from when it was joined to the parent plant still rooted in the pot.  Perhaps, as time passes and it remains cut off from that life; it will use up the vestiges, wither, and die. This reminds me of the Parable of the Sower, specifically the seed that immediately sprang up but had no root and withered away (Matthew 13:5-6).  Whether or not a believer is vitally connected to the life of Jesus is a truth that cannot but manifest itself.  There may be lovely full blooms at the moment but without being rooted deep into His life, those blooms can’t be sustained.  They will wither and die. My highest priority is to keep myself in Him so that He can ensure I am good ground and His Life within me flourishes.

Lesson Two has to do with roots. Perhaps the cactus has rooted and it will continue to bloom for many more seasons.  Despite the intentions of those who tore it from the ground or cut it and scattered it, it has put down roots and is thriving.  I may be pushing the metaphor here but, in this tenacity, I see a picture not only of the strength but the quality of our lives in Christ Jesus. 1 John 3:1 says, “Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God!”  The Amplified has “…what an incredible quality of love”.  I have heard Malcolm Smith speak on this passage and he likens this love of The Father to finding an orchid growing within the Arctic Circle.  It’s an impossible kind of love but yet here it is: we see it in Jesus.

Jesus gives a beautiful description of Himself in Revelation 22:16: “I, Jesus, have sent My angel to testify to you these things in the churches.  I am the Root and the Offspring of David, the Bright and Morning Star.”  I realize this is highly symbolic language yet I like thinking of Jesus as The Root.  The source of my life is The Root.

This being so, what is there to fear? It doesn’t matter if the circumstances of my life are such that it appears my life couldn’t possibly bear fruit.  I died and my life is hidden with Christ in God (Colossians 3:3).  He is The Root and there is nothing in this world that can separate me from Him.  The Father abides in Jesus, Jesus abides in me, and I abide in Him (John 15, John 17:23).  It’s an impossible love.  It’s an impossible life.  It’s indestructible (Hebrews 7:16, NAS) and here it is blooming where it is least expected.

Unless noted otherwise, scriptures are quoted from the New King James Version of the Holy Bible, Thomas Nelson, Inc. 1982

The Ministry of the Spirit

14 Monday Jun 2021

Posted by in Fruit of the Spirit, Studies

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I write this on a Sunday afternoon after having had a wonderful meeting with other believers and, after the chronological meeting was over; continuing my day strengthened in the Spirit, edified, joyful, and peaceful.  I say “chronological” because I live and move and have my being in Jesus Christ and so while the Sunday meeting is an opportunity to gather together with others who live and move and have their beings in Jesus, to hear our teacher share his delight in Jesus, and have our spirits cry a resounding “Amen!”; there is no real end to the meeting because my body is the temple of God and His Spirit dwells in me (1 Corinthians 3:16).  I am-along with other believers-the ecclesia, and we all live and walk in the Spirit.  This is my Christian Life.

I can’t help wonder what Sunday Service was like for other believers.  Did they go to a church building believing it was the only place they could meet with Jesus? What was the message like?  Did their meetings end with the Song of Lord in their hearts?  Did their meetings end with their hearts heavy with the burden of being wretched sinners, saved by grace certainly, but having nothing more in them than a determination that this week they would do better?  How many of them heard a message on the life that is theirs now through the Indwelling of the Holy Spirit?

I ask myself these questions because-whether through social media or in person-I rarely hear anyone speaking of the Holy Spirit.  When He is mentioned it is little more than that: a mention.  I hear nothing of His ministry and very little of His necessity to the Christian Life.  I understand His purpose is hard to nail down.  After all, it is Jesus who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, and that in all things He may have the preeminence (Colossians 1:18).  The Spirit speaks not on His own authority (John 16:13) and so it is difficult to understand just what the Spirit of God does.  I long to know more myself and so, while conducting this study of the Fruit of the Spirit, I went to the New Testament with a blue Bible highlighter and looked at every instance of “in the Spirit”, “of the Spirit”, “by the Spirit”, etc. 

It’s a fascinating project and scriptures I have read innumerable times leapt off the page.  Doing this study has convinced me the Christian Life is impossible without the Holy Spirit.  Space does not allow for me to quote every scripture I highlighted because doing so, and including the context within which they occur, would result in my quoting the entire New Testament.  I have managed to select those scriptures which were especially helpful in revealing the ministry of the Holy Spirit to me and I pray they do the same for you. 

The Holy Spirit reveals Jesus to us.  We cannot believe nor confess who Jesus is without Him (Romans 10:9).  “Therefore I make known to you that no one speaking by the Spirit of God calls Jesus accursed, and no one can say that Jesus is Lord except by the Holy Spirit” (1 Corinthians 12:3).  Go ahead.  Say it out loud.  Use all the definitions of the Greek: Jesus is Supreme.  Jesus has all authority.  Jesus is God.  Jesus is Lord.  His Spirit in us testifies of Him (John 15:26).   

The Holy Spirit reveals our relationship to the Father.  “Behold, what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God!”  That’s 1 John 3:1.  I know I am a child of God.  I can say it out loud.  How do I know it?  Because Galatians 4:6 is true: “And because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into your hearts, crying out, ‘Abba, Father!’”  He is not merely God the Father.  He is God MY Father.  See also Romans 5:5. 

The Holy Spirit teaches us to pray. “For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. Now He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is because He makes intercession for the saints according to the will of God” (Romans 8: 26-27). 

The Holy Spirit enables us to understand the things of God. “But as it is written, “Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor have entered into the heart of man the things which God has prepared for those who love Him” (Isaiah 64:4) But God has revealed them to us through His Spirit.  For the Spirit searches all things, yes, the deep things of God.  For what man knows the things of a man except the spirit of the man which is in him?  Even so no one knows the things of God except the Spirit of God.  Now we have received, not the spirit of the world but the Spirit who is from God, that we might know the things that have been freely given to us by God.  These things we also speak, not in words which man’s wisdom teaches but which the Holy Spirit teaches, comparing spiritual things with spiritual.  But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirt of God for they are foolishness to him, nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned” (1 Corinthians 2:9-14).

The Holy Spirit shows us how Jesus has set us free. “There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death” (Romans 8: 1-2).  “Now the Lord is the Spirit and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty” (2 Corinthians 3:17).

The Holy Spirit reveals to us the hope we have both now and for the future.  “But you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you.  Now if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he is not His. And if Christ is in you, the body is dead because of sin but the Spirit is life because of righteousness. But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you” (Romans 8: 9-11). See also 2 Corinthians 1:21-22 and Ephesians 1:13-14.

The Holy Spirit reveals to us the New Covenant.  “Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think of anything as being from ourselves, but our sufficiency is from God, who also made us sufficient as ministers of the new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit, for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life. But if the ministry of death, written and engraved on stones, was glorious, so that the children of Israel could not look steadily at the face of Moses because of the glory of his countenance, which glory was passing away, how will the ministry of the Spirit not be more glorious?” (2 Corinthians 3:5-8)

There are so many more wonderful, beautiful scriptures!  How I pray you search them out and read them for yourself!  Underline them.  Highlight them.  Speak them out loud so your ears hear them.  Let the Spirit minister to you and He will guide you into all truth (John 16:13).  I know the Holy Spirit lives in me and is active in my life.  I know it through experience and I also know it because the Bible tells me so.  Because He lives in me, my life bears His fruit. His fruit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. (Galatians 5:25-26a)

Hallelujah!  Hallelujah!  Amen!

And Amen.

Scripture taken from the New King James Version.  ©1982 by Thomas Nelson Inc. Used by permission.  All rights reserved.

 

Fruit of the Spirit-Self-Control

07 Monday Jun 2021

Posted by in Fruit of the Spirit, Studies

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“But of the fruit of the Spirit is…self-control” Galatians 5:22-23

I must admit I dislike the translators’ choice of “self-control” in this passage.  The King James has “temperance” which I don’t find to be any better of a translation than “self-control”.  Knowing this final item in the Apostle Paul’s list pertains to the Holy Spirit, I was looking for a word that reflected action of the Holy Spirit rather than action on the part of the human.  Regardless of what translation I looked at, I didn’t find it.

Looking into the Greek was very little help.  The word is egkrateia (G1466) and carries the definition of self-control.  Strong’s Concordance pointed me to egkrates (G1468) which means “strong in a thing”.  I can see being strong in the Spirit as a meaning here but it isn’t the only meaning and I don’t want to bend this definition to fit what I believe it should say.  I am not ever looking to do that.  I want to know the truth of Jesus.  I don’t want to study to reinforce what I think.  The definitions in Strong’s point to the word here meaning self-control, self-mastery, being in strength, having dominion.  The meaning does appear to be mastery over one’s self.

And yet, as I continued my study using different Bible Dictionaries, I found the writers thought it was obvious that the self-control mentioned in this passage was a work of the Holy Spirit.  Vine’s Expository Dictionary says, “The various powers bestowed by God upon man are capable of abuse; the right use demands the controlling power of the will under the operation of the Spirit of God.”1  Hastings’ Bible Dictionary says, “From the NT point of view, the grace of ‘self-control’ is the result of the Holy Spirit’s indwelling; it is the Spirit-controlled personality alone that is ‘strengthened with power’ (Eph 316 cf. 518) to control rebellious desires and to resist the allurements of tempting pleasures.”2   At the conclusion of the entry on temperance, Hastings’ Dictionary says, “The flesh triumphs when the Spirit is quenched; but the Spirit’s victory is gained, not by suppressing, but by controlling the flesh.  Those who are ‘led by the Spirit’ who ‘live by the Spirit’ and ‘by the Spirit also walk’ attain, in its perfection, the grace of complete ‘self-control”.3

It is this last quote that has arrested me.  It got me thinking about the difference between suppressing and controlling the flesh.  By suppressing it, isn’t it controlled?  Aren’t I saying the same thing just using different words?  I admit, I was confused.  That is, until I had an experience that helped me see the difference.

I’ve mentioned good works in earlier posts and the difference between doing works for Jesus and doing works out of the flow of the life of Jesus.  This doesn’t mean I don’t expect opposition and obstacles-I see these things as opportunities for growth-and they do not prevent me from pursuing the calling placed in my heart.  Then, last week, circumstances changed and it became impossible for me to pursue that calling.  I was confused, bitterly disappointed, and shed quite a few tears but there was nothing for it but to do what had been put in my hand to do.  I did not want to do it and yet there was an awareness deep inside, a knowing that yes, this is what I was meant to do in this moment. 

This knowing did not stop my mind from erupting in outright rebellion.  My thoughts did remind me, I’m sad to say, of a temper tantrum.  They were all negative and geared to make me doubt my own relationship with Jesus and ability to hear His voice.  After all, if I had really heard and was really walking and living in His Spirit, my circumstances would look a lot different, wouldn’t they?  Since I had so obviously failed God, I should give up entirely.  I had no control over the thoughts swirling in my mind.  I could answer them and did so but was in a fight.  If I had continued to attempt to control my thoughts on my own, I would have ended in a terrible state.  Rather, I labored to enter into the rest of, no matter what happened even in the next minute, I would rest in the knowledge that right now I was doing what my Lord wanted me to do. 

I am quoting Hebrews 4:11 and the word for labor (spoudazo G4704) means to hurry, hasten. When I engaged my negative thoughts on my own, I found my response was equally negative, even when I used the word of God.  Once I stopped fighting in my own strength and submitted to the plan of God for me in that moment, all those swirling thoughts stopped.  In the rest of Jesus, the power of His Spirit, I had self-control.  I ended up having an enjoyable day.  I don’t have any idea why the day happened the way it did because I wasn’t aware of any great Spiritual Happenings but I figure that’s up to Jesus.  I don’t doubt I’ve only begun to learn lessons from that experience but I know one is, when I hasten to enter His rest, I immediately experience His peace. The battle truly belongs to Him.

I am reminded of Romans 7 and Galatians 5.  In his letter to the Galatians the Apostle Paul says, “For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to one another, so that you do not do the things that you wish” (Verse 17).  In Romans 7, Paul says, “For I delight in the law of God according to the inward man but I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members.  O wretched man that I am!  Who will deliver me from this body of death?” (Verses 22-24)

At best, I can make good choices and suppress my flesh.  It might look like self-control and self-mastery but I have no power to stop my flesh from wanting to do a thing, I can only choose not to do it.  My self-control is never perfect.  Am I then doomed to this double existence?  Do I have nothing more to look forward to but endless warfare between the Spirit and the flesh?

“But!” Paul says in Galatians 5 and then contrasts the works of the flesh with the works of the Spirit.  He then says, “If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit” (Verse 25).  “I thank God!” Paul says in Romans 7.  “Through Jesus Christ our Lord!” (Verse 25) No! The fruit of the Spirit is self-control.  I am, in all things, made more than a conqueror through Him who loves me (Romans 8:37, paraphrased).  Jesus forming His life in me is a process, I don’t deny that, but He who began a good work in me will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ (Philippians 1:6).  I say along with the Apostle Paul, “Not that I have already attained, or am already perfected; but I press on, that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me” (Philippians 3:12). 

Even so, Come Lord Jesus. 

Amen.

Unless notes otherwise, scriptures are quoted from the New King James Version of the Holy Bible, Thomas Nelson, Inc. 1982

  1. Vine, W.E., Vine’s Expository Dictionary of Old & New Testament Words, Thomas Nelson, Inc., Nashville Tennessee, 1997, Temperance, Temperate, Page 1126
  2. Hastings, James, Hastings’ Dictionary of the Bible, Hendrickson Publishers, Inc. 2001, Temperance, Page 897
  3. Hastings, James, Hastings’ Dictionary of the Bible, Hendrickson Publishers, Inc. 2001, Temperance, Page 898