“And He raised us up together with Him and
made us sit down together [giving us joint seating with Him] in the heavenly
sphere [by virtue of our being] in Christ Jesus (the Messiah, the Anointed
One).
He did this that He might clearly
demonstrate through the ages to come the immeasurable (limitless, surpassing)
riches of His free grace (His unmerited favor) in [His] kindness and
goodness of heart toward us in Christ Jesus.” Eph. 2:6-7 AMP
I must avoid the popular and shallow form of Christianity
that appears so prominently today.
There is a kind of triumphant living trumpeted everywhere in
which Jesus is simply the instigator or inciter of a flow of positive thoughts
and ideas that bring me personal and material success.
That kind of Christianity says I am a bundle of both
negative and positive attitudes.
Simply encourage the positive and discourage the negative;
many would proclaim this to be victorious living! The problem is, however, that kind of
victory is simply the victory of the natural man. There is nothing redemptive, remedial, or
sanctifying about it.
Emotions rule us!
Negative or Positive! They will
control us until we learn to die to self.
Before a Christian can talk about victory, he must talk
about dying. If I want Jesus at all, I
have to find Him “outside the camp” and if I want to know His victory, I have
to bear “His reproach.” (Heb. 13:13)
Once I get to the cross and experience the crucifixion of
the natural man’s selfish greed, desires and attitudes, then I am in a position
to rise with Christ in “newest of life” and allow His new life to become the
positive thing that my natural self could never be. (Rom. 6:4)
That is more than positive thinking; it is positive living!
Jesus did not die on the cross to make me a confident super
star, but a normal mass of clay reflecting His power, glory and
personality. That does not mean I lose
my identity; instead it confirms my identity in Christ.
The life of Jesus flowing through my personality becomes a
unique miracle in God’s Kingdom; I am authenticated by Christ!
Thus, Jesus is not only my Savior; He is the Establisher and
Definer of my true self. Then it becomes
sublimely and personally true that “in him we live, and move, and have our
being.” Acts 17:28 KJV
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