Jesus gave us these words in John 15:4 "Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it abides in the vine, so neither can you unless you abide in Me." Though these words are very clear and obvious to most, you could even imply simple, it would seem abiding in Christ is far from the hearts and minds of many church goers today.
Today, like most in the world, the body of Christ or the church is so busy keeping up with their neighbours, building their fancy homes and visiting their best restaurants that we no longer have our Lord at the forefront of our hearts and minds. We have become entrapped by the splendour of the age and all it has to offer that understanding that we have been "called out" from the world is a foreign concept for most believers today. The church has become "rich" in the eyes of the world and as a result wants for nothing. And though Jesus promised us in Psalm 23 that He would provide all for us there are very few that can say they identify with Christ in His sufferings.
What then remains for the church? Firstly we must remember who we are and what we are called to in Him. Recently the Lord has been bringing new revelation to my heart and what it means to abide or remain in Him. The simple yet powerful truth of learning to BE is what the Lord has placed on my heart. It is this I wish to reflect upon more...
BE...As believers it is imperative to understand what it means to be believers and followers of our Lord Jesus, not just something we DO on a Sunday or other day throughout the week but that our lives are caught up in Him and are in every facet connected to Him and all He did upon the cross. There must be a sense of BElonging, knowing that we are in Him and as Ephesians points out been "raised up with him and seated in heavenly places". This shines a new light on what we DO, for what we do as believers should be a reflection of who we are and not the reverse of it. The word BELONG is an interesting one, made up of two words BE and LONG indicates that we belong when we firstly long to be, that is be with Him in His presence and have that intimate and close relationship that He so longs to have with us.
When we understand what it is to Be then we may go on from there to gain insight what it is he has called us to Do. But it must always begin with longing to BE with him. Christ must be our only and true desire for this life we live. When we allow other desires to interfere with Him then He is no longer our desire. When he takes second place to work, recreation, friends, even family then He i no longer our priority. This in many ways describes the Church today.
Yet the Church or Body of Christ remains to be the hope for the world today. The body of Christ is still the arms, legs, hands, feet and even the heart of Jesus in the world today. As believers in Christ, we may be the only Jesus that others may see not only today but perhaps even their whole lives.
We must learn to BE in Him, so that He may be seen in all we do!
Saturday, 23 January 2016
Monday, 11 January 2016
Remember Who You Are!
It's been sometime since my last blog, we have school holidays here in Australia and though I have continued to work through this period we have also been spending time with our children. Just last week we drove to Dubbo in the Central West of New South Wales to the Western Plains Zoo. A zoo which tries to replicate, with a great deal of success, the environment of the animals of Africa. Whilst at this zoo, I noticed a number of different animals within their very large enclosures. Though these animals were unable to leave their environments they continued to behave as they would normally do in the wild. That is the monkeys played and swung from their trees and the elephants pushed and pulled on logs just as if they were at home.
This started me thinking about the body of Christ, how though we are not within our natural or at least destined environment, we too are called to behave and be who we are! And what are we? We are Christ's body on this earth, a holy priesthood, called and chosen to represent Christ in every way. And yet when the winds of opposition blow against us, it is true to see in our lives this representation at least most of the time.
Ephesians tells us that we have been raised up with Christ, that we are indeed seated with Him in heavenly places. This tells me that we have a heavenly perspective that others simply cannot have. And though we strive and struggle to BE, it is just as important to remember that we ARE! Trying to BE and knowing that we ARE is probably the hardest battle that any of us we have as believers and the body of Christ. This is because it is a mindset that needs to be changed and within this environment we are continually told to BE this or BE that. Forgetting that Christ has done it all for us.
I like what Jesus says to the Church in Sardis in Revelation chapter 3 ""Be watchful and strengthen what remains..." Though Jesus is speaking to the "dead church" in this verse, I believe it speaks directly to the body of Christ today. Strengthen what remains!!! What is it that remains? We are what remains, we are the remanent or the representation that remains as the light to a dark world and salt to the earth. We must remember to remain in Him, to strengthen our relationship that we have in Christ, establishing continually Christ as the head of the body which we are. Knowing that all comes from Him above and that He continues to be our sustenance and our source for everything.
In conclusion, though we are not in our natural environment, though we are continually battered by our circumstances and forces of another world, we must continue to remember who we are in Christ. We must continue to remain connected not only to Him, but to one another for when a limb is cut off from the body or a branch is cut off from the vine, it withers and dies.
Remember who you ARE!
This started me thinking about the body of Christ, how though we are not within our natural or at least destined environment, we too are called to behave and be who we are! And what are we? We are Christ's body on this earth, a holy priesthood, called and chosen to represent Christ in every way. And yet when the winds of opposition blow against us, it is true to see in our lives this representation at least most of the time.
Ephesians tells us that we have been raised up with Christ, that we are indeed seated with Him in heavenly places. This tells me that we have a heavenly perspective that others simply cannot have. And though we strive and struggle to BE, it is just as important to remember that we ARE! Trying to BE and knowing that we ARE is probably the hardest battle that any of us we have as believers and the body of Christ. This is because it is a mindset that needs to be changed and within this environment we are continually told to BE this or BE that. Forgetting that Christ has done it all for us.
I like what Jesus says to the Church in Sardis in Revelation chapter 3 ""Be watchful and strengthen what remains..." Though Jesus is speaking to the "dead church" in this verse, I believe it speaks directly to the body of Christ today. Strengthen what remains!!! What is it that remains? We are what remains, we are the remanent or the representation that remains as the light to a dark world and salt to the earth. We must remember to remain in Him, to strengthen our relationship that we have in Christ, establishing continually Christ as the head of the body which we are. Knowing that all comes from Him above and that He continues to be our sustenance and our source for everything.
In conclusion, though we are not in our natural environment, though we are continually battered by our circumstances and forces of another world, we must continue to remember who we are in Christ. We must continue to remain connected not only to Him, but to one another for when a limb is cut off from the body or a branch is cut off from the vine, it withers and dies.
Remember who you ARE!
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