Colossians 1:17 He is before all things and in Him all things hold togetherColossians 2:9,10 For in Him all the fullness of deity dwells in bodily form and in Him you have been made complete This is such an awesome reality of being in Christ. In Him, I am complete body, soul(including my emotions), and spirit. This reassures me that I’m not going to fall apart emotionally (even when it feels like I am) because He holds me together. When I get hit with anxiety, stress, worry, fear, depression, etc. , I can thank the Lord Jesus that I’m dead to those joy stealers, and that I am in union with His complete and whole emotions. Therefore, He will keep me from ‘losing it’ and from being enslaved from those cloaked enemies that steal, kill, and destroy the abundant life.  

Colossians 3:3 For you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God.

The great thing about being in Christ is that my past is His past, and my present is His present, and my future is His future. Therefore, we don’t have to live in regret of our past. We don’t have to be stressed about the present, and we don’t have to live in fear of the future.

Paul referred to himself as a man in Christ. That was his true identity, and as believers, it is our true identity. How reassuring it is to know that I have been placed into His very life, and that I am His and not on my own. This truth has become such reality to me especially in the early morning hours when I am awakened with pain or when I am awakened with the stresses of life.  The first thing I do is thank the Lord that I am in Christ and that my life belongs to Him. At that moment, I am filled with His peace and the confidence His peace brings.  I encourage you to take what I shared out for a spin. When you are hit with any stress or anxiety, start thanking the Lord that you are in Christ, and rest in the assurance that He has everything under control.

Philippians 1:8 For God is my witness how I long for you all with the ‘affection’ of Christ

Philippians 3:10 That I may know Him, and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of his ‘sufferings’, being conformed to his death

In our union with Christ, we share His life and everything that makes up His life, which includes His will, His activity, His power, and His feelings and emotions. The word affection in the Greek means inner parts or inner emotions.  As well, the word sufferings in the original language means deep inner feelings, such as passion. These realities blow me away, and they greatly encourage me. Simply, by abiding in Him by faith, we get to experience the emotions of Christ for other people and situations. How freeing it is to know that I don’t have to ‘drum up’ feelings or any emotion when I’m facing the various nuances of life. We can simply ask the Lord what He thinks (for we have the mind of Christ) and what He feels concerning every situation. Thank God that we have the fullness of Christ in every area of our lives.

The cross of Christ is the sole light that enlightens the current darkness. It is therefore time for the Church to go back to the cross, to the firm foundation of God. There, sins are cleansed and self is delivered. There, the redemptive facts of God are revealed for us to believe and enter in. There, the power of resurrection is experientially known so that the Church may once again be the true witness of Christ on earth. It is time for God’s children to seek for high life and service, time to review the past and rededicate themselves for the days ahead.

Watchman Nee

“At the closing of this age, the activities of Satan are intensified. How greatly are the children of God being attacked, oppressed and especially deceived. Now is the time for the saints to rise up and exercise the victory of the cross to resist and counterattack the Enemy. How fierce is the battle. Can the saints overcome without being fully armed? Saints of God, arise, stand on the victory of Calvary, and proclaim the victory of Christ. Your King is coming, and the days of the Enemy are numbered.”

One of the wonderful statements of truth that Jesus declared in the sermon on the mount was that as believers we are the lights of the world(Matt 5;14). In Paul’s epistle to the Ephesians, he refers to Christians as ‘light in the Lord’ and as ‘children of light’ (5:8). Also, in his epistle to the Thessalonians, Paul tells the believers that they are sons of light (5:5). Further, in 2 Corinthians, the saints are likened as mirrors that reflect the light of the glory of God(3:18). As well, In the gospel of John, Jesus proclaimed that He was the Light of the world, and in John’s epistle, he writes that God is Light. Simply, Light is truth and the very radiance of His character, and darkness is deception and lies. Light helps you see where you are going, and it dispels darkness. Simply, we are lights because The Light Himself lives in us. Being light is not something we do, but it is something we are.  As we abide and walk in union with His life, we are light and that light will shine. It is a part of our identity. So, no matter where I am going or what I am doing, I am a container of the True Light, and as I live in dependence on Hiim that True Light is always shining.

Song of Solomon 5:16 “His mouth is full of sweetness, and He is wholly desirable. This is my beloved and this is my Friend..”

The above verse is one of my favorite scriptures that accurately depicts the voice of the Lord. I  have often applied this verse when I was trying to discern His voice. Just the other day, I was reminded of this passage when I was awakened very early in the morning with several burdensome thoughts racing through my mind. I knew that I was not going to be able to fall back to sleep, so I went into the den, and I started seeking the Lord concerning my anxious thoughts. Immediately, the Lord told me to offer each burden one by one to Him. He spoke so kindly to me into each circumstance, and by the time the prayer time was over, I was filled with His joy and peace. His voice is amazing indeed.

Bonus: I looked up the word sweet in the dictionary and I was drawn to its synonyms. They all describe the voice of the Lord. They are as follows: pleasant, pleasing, agreeable, delightful, nice, satisfying, gratifying, welcome, good acceptable, to one’s liking, entertaining, charming, inviting, attractive, fine. Indeed we serve a Mighty God.

1 Corinthians 1:21  ‘Now He who establishes us with you in Christ and anointed us is God’

1 John 2:20 ‘But you have an anointing fro the Holy One , and you all know..’

! John 2:27a ‘As for you, the anointing which you have received from Him abides in you..’

Years ago, I heard from someone that God does not called the qualified, rather He qualifies the called. This is a true statement. All of us have felt that we are not qualified or anointed for something God has called us to do. However, the truth is that we are anointed for whatever task the Lord may require of us. We are anointed because the Anointed One lives in us. Because we are in Christ, we share His anointing. His power is displayed in our weaknesses not in our strengths. Start thanking the Lord beforehand in everything you do that His anointing will accomplish it.

Romans 1:4 “..who was declared the Son of God with power by the resurrection from the dead, according to the Spirit of holiness, Jesus Christ our Lord..”1 Peter 1:15-16. “But like the Holy One who called you, be holy yourselves also in all your behavior, because it is written, ‘You shall be holy for I am holy’.”1 Corinthians 1:30 “But by His doing you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification, and redemption..”Ephesians 1:4 “..just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world that we would be holy and blameless before

The word holy means to be set apart, otherness, and different in the sense of having the likeness of the nature of the Lord. Therefore, as believers, we are set apart or other because we are temples that contain the presence of the Lord. As scripture declares, we are holy because He is holy. Being holy is not something we are trying to attain, rather it is something we are in Christ. Furthermore, in correlation, the above verse found in Corinthians tells us that Jesus became to us sanctification. In a nutshell, the word sanctification means the process of walking out holiness in our lives. Therefore, Christ living His life in and through us is what holiness is all about. A a matter of fact, Romans chapter one verse four, speaks of Jesus being the very spirit of holiness, or in simpler terms, Jesus Himself is my holiness. I quote this verse quite often as a prayer. As an example, I will pray, “Thank you Lord Jesus that you are my holiness,” Hence, our role as believers is not to try and be holy, but rather to allow the Holy One that we are in union with to live out His holiness through us.