In Christ!

Verse of the Week: 

“Therefore if any man is IN CHRIST, he is a NEW CREATION; the old things passed away; behold new things have come.” 2 Corinthians 5:17

In Christ!

I failed again despite my best efforts. I am a horrible person.  I lashed out with my tongue again.  I spoke badly about another person. I thought bad thoughts about another.  I acted unforgiving towards someone.  I started worrying about something. I became impatient with a person.  I had lustful thoughts.  I became prideful and put others around me down.  I judged another. I ignored someone because they were different.  I acted selfishly.  Any of these sound familiar?

Have you ever tried really hard to try to do better or to improve yourself and then turn right around and fail miserably? It seems whenever we focus on our sins and try to correct them, we end up doing them more.  Even Paul struggled with this and said in Romans 7:19-23 (MSG):

“ But I need something more! For if I know the law but still can’t keep it, and if the power of sin within me keeps sabotaging my best intentions, I obviously need help! I realize that I don’t have what it takes. I can will it, but I can’t do it. I decide to do good, but I don’t really do it; I decide not to do bad, but then I do it anyway. My decisions, such as they are, don’t result in actions. Something has gone wrong deep within me and gets the better of me every time. It happens so regularly that it’s predictable. The moment I decide to do good, sin is there to trip me up. I truly delight in God’s commands, but it’s pretty obvious that not all of me joins in that delight. Parts of me covertly rebel, and just when I least expect it, they take charge.”  

I am right there with Paul, I want so bad to do right, and I delight in the commands God has given me, but I can’ t seem to get the job done.  But then I realized something…Notice something that Paul and I wrote over and over up above …the word “I.”  I can’t, I don’t, I try, I messed up, I, I, I, and I…

No wonder people give up.  It is hard work to do the right thing in your own strength, but here is the key.  I can’t do it, but Christ can.  “Therefore if any man is IN CHRIST, he is a NEW CREATION; the old things passed away; behold new things have come.” (2 Corinthians 5:17)

Here was the problem I had; I knew I was supposed to do things IN CHRIST, but how?  That is where I got puzzled, and so the cycle continued. I would try to do things once again in my own strength and failed every time.

The transformation of understanding how to do things in Christ came from the seeing someone else live in Christ’s strength, my husband. My husband struggled with worrying, and at one point he worried to the extent that it was not only bringing himself down, but the people around him at home down. But then Christ came into the picture, and Brian figured it out long before I did.  You see, before he trusted Christ, he would ask God to help him not to worry.  Even though he was asking God for help, he was still focusing on the problem and trying to solve it HIMSELF, but that is not what God wants. God wants us to focus on Christ. Christ wants us to give him total control. Brian began to realized that there was a higher power that could take care of his worries. He couldn’t control his worrying, but Christ could.  He started focusing on Christ.  For example, when a worry came into his head, he said, “Lord  [Christ], THANK YOU for helping me not to worry.”  Instead of asking Jesus to HELP him not to worry; he placed complete trust in Jesus by THANKING him.   Why ask Jesus to help him when Jesus can do it all?  So he thanked him instead having faith that Jesus had it under control, and it took all of the pressure of solving the problem off of Brian.  Brian just had to sit back and let Him take the driver’s seat. He realized that it was Christ who would take care of his worries and thanked him for it.  I saw a remarkable transformation in him when he started making his focus Christ.

You see, we focus on the problem we have, and, as a result, we make it worse. Instead of focusing on the problem, focus on Jesus and thank Him for helping you because He will if you give him the reins.

The beautiful thing about God is that he loves us even when we mess up.  He doesn’t focus on our mistakes, because once you accept Jesus into your heart, He sees Christ in you.  There is NOTHING you can do to make God stop loving you. So don’t beat yourself up when you mess up, God still loves you.  Remember, “For all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God and are JUSTIFIED freely by HIS GRACE through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus” (Romans 3:23-24). You are FORGIVEN for your past, present, and future mistakes; don’t waste time focusing on your mess ups; focus on Jesus.

By changing our focus to Jesus we can rephrase the first paragraph above.  In Christ I am victorious, because of his saving Grace.  In Christ I am worthy (Ps. 139:14).  In Christ, I am kind and compassionate (Col 3:12).  In Christ, I am gentle (Gal 5:22-23). In Christ, I am a forgiving person (Colossians 3:13).  In Christ, I am fearless (Ps. 56:4).  In Christ, I am patient (Gal 5:22-23). In Christ, I am pure (1 Corinthians 6:18-20).  In Christ, I am humble (Col 3:12).  In Christ, I am accepting (Romans 15:7).  In Christ, I am others-focused (Philippians 2:3).

FOCUS on Christ, He lives INSIDE of you. Focus on who he is, what He does for you, what He would want you to do. Give Him complete control.  What a difference He makes in our lives if we do that! 

Who you are In CHRIST!!!