Straight paths through crooked roads

We know Whom we have believed: the way worship works.

My pastor was saying that the presence of God in our midst is the essential element of the character of our congregation. He said that worship was the means to invite God's presence with us because He is seeking worshippers who do so in spirit and in truth.

This reminded me of the story of two close friends.  One man was trusting and simple while his friend loved to play pranks on him.  Once, the prankster called to fool his friend into believing that the roof of his house was on fire.  But, the friend said, "You can't fool me this time, John, I recognize your voice."

It's like that for the genuine Christian.  Once a person has the Holy Spirit living within his or her spirit, the Holy Spirit gives impressions to direct the believer.  The believer learns over time the difference between his own conscience, the thoughts put there by outside influences, and the believer's best friend, the Holy Spirit.  We know Him spirit to spirit, our eternal spirit to the Holy Spirit.

When we worship in spirit and in truth, we are reaching out our spirit to touch the presence of the Holy Spirit.  The Holy Spirit responds with a sense of love, of forgiveness, of healing, of wisdom for a certain situation, or some other spiritual gift, if only the sweet savor of His embrace.

It is in our sweet surrender to His love for us that we acknowledge that His gracious love has won our heart at last.  We set ourselves aside for Him and we set Him aside for ourselves.  But how can we who are so small set God aside for ourselves? 

Remember the marriage vows that a husband gives a wife and that a wife returns to her husband?  They each choose to accept the other as the one and only one for them.  They "forsake all others and keep themselves" only to each other.  Likewise, we see all of the other beliefs, but we choose Christ and set Him aside unto ourselves as the only recipient of our faith and faithfulness. 

We realize that our love with Christ will provide us with the love essential for our spouses, families, and others.  Because we offer worship as a genuine expression of self-sacrifice to our Savior, we also sense His loving grace towards us. 

It is now that we begin to understand Colossians 1:26 "Christ in us, the hope of glory".  That is to say, Christ in us by the presence of the Holy Spirit is the source of the expression of God's presence and character in our lives. 

Now we can say, "I know Whom I have believed..." in worship.

Christ is risen indeed-and is rising again in the new generation.

In a much earlier post, I mentioned the concept of the Christ life.  That is, the focus of understanding about the work of the Holy Spirit. He becomes the companion of the Christian and is indeed our Friend.  He brings the nature of Christ's character and motivation into our lives.  As we read the Scriptures, the Holy Spirit translates them into the language of our spirit.  The nature of our relationship to Christ is that the Holy Spirit is the living connection between the Christian and the Christ. Our walk with Christ changes from our striving to be good into a relaxation on the power of the Holy Spirit to be our Motivator in each daily situation.

So, when we speak at Easter of the importance of the resurrection of Christ, we speak again and again of how Christ is alive!  But, more precisely, He is alive in us by the presence of the Holy Spirit.  We need to commit the 14th chapter of the Gospel of John and the eighth chapter of Romans to memory so that we can ponder the depth of the meaning of this vital relationship.

The miracle of an Easter Sunday service is to see one generation after another all testifying to the power of the work of God in their lives to transform them from failure to progress and hope.  The children, the teens, the young marrieds, the middle aged, the grandparents, all demonstrate the presence of the same Holy Spirit alive in them by their individual new births by faith in Christ.

You can see a little girl in all sincerity give her heart to Jesus.  You can see an aged person smile at the mention of Christ.  You can see the former party girl mature into a loving mother and devoted wife.  You can see the former "player" mature into the caring husband and father and provider for his family.  None of this can occur without the moving power of the Holy Spirit Who is one and the same to each of these.

It was after a remarkably wonderful Sunday worship service.  The visiting speaker did not depart with the pastor to some Sunday brunch.  He remained after the service to greet and to give hugs to members of the congregation who were lingering to chat with one another.  The speaker would approach one person after another with the same warm question and answer.  "Do you love Jesus?", he would ask.  The person would respond with a "yes." "Well then," he would say.  "You love the Jesus in me.  Give me a hug!"

It is as St. Paul said.  In Colossians 1:26 he writes that it is Christ IN us that is the hope of glory.  That is to say, the hope of revealing the nature of Who Christ is in wisdom, in compassion, in faithfulness to those whose lives we touch. 

Christ is risen indeed in us.  This is not an arrogant assumption.  It is a miracle of faith placed by humility at Christ's empty tomb.

creating wealth in our corner of God's kingdom

     What would creating wealth have to do with the "Christ Life"?  Simply that our Savior is not a stingy Lord Who wishes to deprive us of benefits. Rather, He encourages us to add our labor to His capital to bring about a wealthy kingdom in which we are fulfilled.  The wealth to which I refer is the clear demonstration of God's presence in our lives. 

     This wealth takes many forms:  feelings, thoughts, words, and actions that produce a combination of physical and spiritual benefits.  This wealth is represented in healed diseases, transformed lives, financial well being, restored loving relationships.  The "Christ Life" provides the means to achieve such wealth.

     The "Christ Life" is a phrase that describes the life of Christ within us.  Colossians 1:27 speaks of Christ's presence within us as being the hope of glory.  Unfortunately, Christians often go through the day feeling anything but glory.  Our circumstances seem to overwhelm us.  Our feelings and thoughts, our words and our actions do not reveal God in us.  They simply demonstrate our weaknesses.  No glory here, it seems. 

     By the word "glory" we are referring to the revealing of God's character in a given situation.  When God confronts disease and brings a miraculous healing, His glory is revealed as the Healer.  When God confronts sin in our lives with HIs conviction in our soul and we repent and give our lives to Him, His glory is revealed as the Savior.  When we have financial strain and bring our problems to Him in prayer, and when we allow Him to motivate us to take wise actions, the resulting benefit reveals His glory as the great Provider. 

     It is wise to remember the source of the "Christ Life".  It was Christ Himself Who said, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God."  (John 3:3) "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.  That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit."  John 3: 5 and 6.  "Repent, for the kingdom of God is at hand." (Matthew 4:17)  Thus, to gain the Christ life we must first gain a functioning relationship to Him by turning our lives and the things our heart loves over to Him; ask Him to forgive our sins; ask Him to come into our lives and believe Him for eternal life.  (See the gospel of John, chapter 14 also.)   His Holy Spirit takes up residence within our being.  His kingdom then becomes our home.  His glory is in position to reveal Who he is through us.  By this relationship God has provided a sort of spiritual capital with which to create genuine wealth.

     In the world there is a principle of economics that describes how wealth is created.  When the restaurant is not yet opened in the morning, all of the capital, that is, the machinery, the building, the food, the supplies, the utensils, are waiting to be used.  If these were to be sold as they are, they would only command a relatively low price.  However, when the employees arrive, turn on the lights, start the appliances, brew the coffee, open the doors for customers to come in, the capital will be used to create wealth.  When the customer of a restaurant pays the bill, the typical revenue generated is four times what it cost to prepare it.  Now, much of that added wealth must be used to pay bills and taxes.  But, that wealth also includes wages to the laborers and profits to the owners.  Wealth is created by adding labor to capital.

     God has His own ideas of what wealth should be  He has a variety of names in the Old Testament that reveal His character in given situations.  Each situation was a need.  Christ even specifies that the Father knows we have need of physical things when He states "....seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you."  (Matthew 6:33) 

     The key concept here is, how do we act in order to bring about these blessings?  The answer lies in allowing the Holy Spirit to be our motivation.  By allowing the Word of God to be our way of thinking, we can learn to sense the motivation of the Holy Spirit in given situations.  By allowing the Holy Spirit to motivate our words and actions, we will find ourselves acting out the character of the Holy Spirit within us.  The "fruits of the spirit" will work to bring about the peace of mind, the mutual respect in relationships, the fruitfulness of our financial labors, the faith that heals our bodies  that bring genuine wealth to our lives. 

     It is God's glory revealed in us, His character worked through our lives, the Holy Spirit active and obvious in us, that brings the "Christ Life" to fulfillment.  This is wealth being created.      

The Christ Life: its origin and benefit

     The Christ Life is a term that was coined by Pastor Paul Trulin.  His concept of the Christ Life is what enabled me to become a successful Christian whereas I had failed as a Christian as a teenager.  You may wish to refer to earlier posts on this blog:  Testimony A and Testimony B.  My first walk with the Lord lasted seven years.  My walk inspired by the Christ Life teaching is still strong after thirty four years.  However, that is not the subject here.  The subject is how understanding this concept will bring victory in the lives of readers. 

     The resource verses are many.  To simplify the concept, refer to Colossians 1:27 and Romans 8:1 and 2.  Christ in us is our hope of glory.  What is glory?  It is the revealing of the nature of Christ Himself within our lives.  Glory is the revealed power of Christ within us.  This power is the Holy Spirit enabling us to overcome chains of sin.  The Holy Spirit brings His own sense of His presence within our souls.  We know Him because our own spirit becomes acquainted with His Spirit.  We know Him spirit to Spirit. 

     To relate the understanding of this concept, it is probably best to give you an illustration as best I can recall it from Pastor Trulin himself.  Pastor Trulin was a home owner who liked to keep a neat lawn.  And, he had a lovely tree in his front yard.  But, it gave him fits in the winter time.  This was because the tree refused to release all of its dead leaves at the same time in the fall.  All winter long the dead leaves remained attached to the branches with only a few of them falling each week, even as new snow fell.  Here was a lovely new blanket of snow with ugly dead leaves.  Pastor would go out and actually hit the tree branches with his snow shovel to make the rest of the leaves fall off.  He tried this often, to no effect.  The dead leaves refused to fall.  What frustration!

     Only in the springtime did the answer come.  The new life of the fresh leaves pushed the old dead leaves off of the branches.  It was the life of the tree inside that pressed off the last of the dead leaves.  There it was:  the concept of the Christ Life.

     Christ in us is the hope of glory.  What glory?  Remember, it is the revealing of God's life within us coming out to where the world can see Him.  What does that mean to us?  It means an answer to the frustration of failure to walk in victory with the Holy Spirit.  It does NOT mean victory always in every circumstance.  We still have a struggle with our carnal nature.  It is a nature that needs to die at the hands of the Holy Spirit.  But, the Holy Spirit has become our friend within us.  The sense of His presence is precious and growing. 

     The Christ Life concept gives us a peaceful walk with God that overcomes in the struggle with sin in our lives.  It is NOT the result of our strength in the struggle.  The victory comes from rest and trust in the power of the Holy Spirit within us.  We learn to embrace the work of the Holy Spirit within us.  It is our relance upon Him that overcomes the sin within us, not our personal self-will.  His motivation becomes the source and power of our self-control. 

     It is the love of God within us that enables us to love the unlovely person who has wronged us.  When we have been torn down by others, when we feel overwhelmed by hurts intentionally inflicted, we find the Holy Spirit within to be our comfort, our refuge, our healing ointment, the source of love in return.  It is His love we can extend when our personal love source is bankrupt.

     It is the life of Christ brought to our spirit by the Holy Spirit that is the motivation, the ability, the annointing, to express His love and blessing.  It is the act of being used by God in that manner that brings us the spiritual nourishment that fulfills us in Him.  This process gives meaning to our very existence in Him. 

     The total effect of the Christ Life can be summed up this way.  Many people who are devoted Christians become discouraged when they try to live a life totally set aside to the Savior.  They try, they fall, they become disheartened.  Once, when I felt my old temptations coming back, I began to be afraid that I would fail as a Christian as I had as a twenty year old.  I began to weep.  But, the Holy Spirit spoke to my spirit and said, "Dale, if it were just up to you, you would fail again.  But, it isn't up to you.  It's up to Me within you."  The benefit is victory found in resting upon the work of the Holy Spirit as we cooperate with Him within us.

The Christ Life: a poem

The Christ Life (a poem or lyric)

My life is safe inside my Lord,

His life is living in me.

This gift of life my Savior gives,

Is His gift of love to me.

By faith I live in You, dear Lord.

By grace You live in me.

Let all I do be fruit for You,

And glory to Your name.

Old Satan tries to take my soul

By pressure, pain, and sin.

But, he can't get through my Savior's grace.

I'm hidden, safe within.

By faith I live in you dear Lord.

By grace You live in me.

Let all I do be fruit for You

And glory to your name.