The ultimate secure place to be in these last days + weekly news

 

HIDDEN WITH CHRIST

Photo by Bill Eichenlaub

 

In what we call Jesus’ high priestly prayer in John 17, Jesus first prays for His disciples and then for believers. In verse 21 He prays that we may all be one, just as the Father was in Him and He was in the Father, that we also may be in them. Today I’ll show how this prayer is answered in the first four verses of the third chapter of Colossians:

Therefore, if you have been raised with Christ, keep seeking the things that are above where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your mind on the things that are above, not on the things that are on earth. For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is your life, is revealed, then you also will be revealed with Him in glory.

 It’s All Found in Christ

Paul had just warned the church at Colossae to stop listening to those who were teaching man-made ideas that supposedly held the key to “true and deeper” knowledge of the things of God. His whole point was that everything they would ever need is found in Christ. All the true treasures of wisdom and knowledge were found in Him alone, so stop seeking after worthless things that sound enticing but are of no value against the real problem—their fleshly indulgence.

The Answer

He says to the Colossians that because their old life was, in fact, crucified with Christ, He, in all His sufficiency, would become their new life. He is now in them, and they are in Him. They have become one with Him. The same is true of us.

This is why Paul says to take our eyes off all this earthly “security,” especially when our world is crumbling. Instead, focus on the things that are above, where Christ is, and since we are in Him, so are we. Paul is setting the stage for the absolute security that is available as the world becomes more dangerous.

Here’s how it works: Since our old life has died, our new life is Christ’s life. We are in Him. And where is He? He is in the Father. They are one. We have been hidden with Christ in God. Jesus’ prayer for oneness has been answered and the result is our security—our hiding place when our enemies attack—in Almighty God!

To be hidden is to be kept secure. To be hidden with Christ takes it to an even greater level of security. To be also hidden in God is the ultimate security.  And unlike us, when God does the hiding He’ll never forget where He put us. We are completely secure in Him.

Setting Our Minds

When our world seems to be falling apart, we can be confident because we have learned to set our minds on things above where our security lies. If, however, we’re not convinced that our old life is unfixable and irredeemable, we’ll see no need for His life, so we engage in a futile attempt to perfect the flesh through our performance.

This is why I wrote Not I but Christ. It is a down to earth and practical guide that will show you how you got into the mess you’re in and the path to freedom and maturity. It represents my own struggle as well as Paul’s as he worked his way through all his legalistic hang-ups on his way to the freedom of Romans 8. It will help you appreciate and accept the security God has made available to His children as He hides us in Him. It’s a short book and only $9.00. Click here to check it out as well as my other books.

 

CHANGING COURSE (IN PLACE OF WEEKLY NEWS)

If you missed last week’s post, click here to read the backstory for today’s message which is that I will be making some changes to my newsletters and blog posts. I may not be able to continue posting my news articles on Saturday. Because of what happened to me, the right part of my brain is not communicating accurately to the left part. Therefore, what I think I am typing isn’t always what shows up on the screen. As you can imagine, this is very frustrating, and I am reassessing everything I am doing to ensure that I am minimizing my frustration and spending my time on what my readers/subscribers prefer. To that end. I welcome your comments regarding whether I should continue my news articles, my own articles and my YouTube programs. You can help me greatly by emailing me at [email protected] and simply writing

News- yes or no

Articles- yes or no

YouTube- yes or no

 

Thanks so much

Ed

 

 

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ON THE LIGHTER SIDE

If Abe Lincoln had married his high school sweetheart, Anna instead of Mary Todd, they would have been known throughout history as Abe’n Anna. Think about it…Keep thinking. You can do it.

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