In four hours I hope to be in bed, sleeping, so that I will be ready to wake up at 4, head to the airport and fly to Door County. Packing is not done, a month's worth of bills are not yet paid and the house is a mess. And, what am I doing? Getting caught up on face book and feeling a sense of urgency about sharing with you. Yes, my third sermon. :-)
If you remember from the last sermon, our position, once we have put our faith in Jesus Christ is one of being "IN CHRIST", as He dwells in us.
So...Who are we? How does our heavenly Father see us? I often hear that we are just struggling, broken, sinners. Yes, we do sometimes struggle. Maybe sometimes we feel broken. And, yes, we do sin. BUT, that is not who we are. That is not how God sees us.
This is what I found in going through my Bible during my coloring time. This is who we are in Christ:
~heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ. Rm 8:17
~chosen. Eph 1:11
~alive with Christ. Eph 2:4
~holy brothers. Heb 3:1
~adopted as sons. Eph 1:5
~God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works. Eph 2:10
~fellow citizens with God's people and members of God's household. Eph 2:19
~a dwelling in which God lives by His spirit. Eph 2:22
~light in the Lord. Eph 5:8
~holy. Heb 10:10, Col 1:22
~righteous. Heb 10:38, IICor 5:21
~God's children. Rm 8:16
~sons of God. Rm 8:14
~God's elect, strangers in the world. IPt 1:1
~a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God. IPt 2:9
~called Jesus' brothers. Heb 2:11
~branches. John 15:4,5
~ministers of a new covenant. IICor 3:6
~the temple of the Living God. IICor 6:16
~blessed, chosen, redeemed, forgiven, predestined, marked in Him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit. Eph 1:3-14
~hidden with Christ in God. Col 3:3
~a new creation. IICor 5:17
~Christ's ambassadors. IICor 5:20
~God's fellow workers. IICor 6:1
~anointed. IICor 1:21, IJohn 2:20
~presented before God holy and blameless and beyond reproach. Col 1:22
Amen!!! Does that not just make you stand in awe of our God?! And, thank our Jesus for Who He is and what He has done?!
So, Greg, Ali and Nick...Feelings and thoughts cannot be trusted. It is so important for you to know the truth and The Truth! My desire is that you ALWAYS know WHO you are and WHOSE you are!
oxo~Mom
Nick-Hope you are having a great time up in Santa Barbara with Davis and his family! Can't really think about you going a whole half hour away this fall. Dad and I have LOVED having you home this past year!
Greg-Are you surviving your third week of your third year? I am so proud of you! What a gift to our family to have you home often on weekends!
Ali-Six days!!! Yay! Can't wait to see you, talk with you, walk with you, sit on the deck at sunset and drink a glass of wine with you!
Wednesday, July 27, 2011
Thursday, July 21, 2011
Daily
For your daily reading, to go along with the sermon:
(Actually, just some really cool quotes from books I've read recently!)
"Without the vine the branch can do nothing. To the vine it owes its right of place in the vineyard, its life and its fruitfulness. And so the Lord says, 'Without Me you can do nothing.' The believer can each day be pleasing to God only in that which he does through the power of Christ dwelling in him. The daily filling of the life-sap of the Holy Spirit is his only power to bring forth fruit. He lives in Him alone and is for each moment dependent on Him alone."~Andrew Murray in "Abiding in Christ"
"But the Christian has made a still greater discovery. He is not only in the presence of a wonderful, wonder-working God, but that God is a Presence in him. Taking Him at His word, proving His word true in experience, his life has actually become the Incoming, Indwelling, Inworking, Infilling of His blessed, personal Presence."~Norman B. Harrison in "His Indwelling Presence"
"What God offers us in an 'exchanged life,' a 'substituted life,' and Christ is our Substitute within. 'I live; and yet no longer I, but Christ liveth in me.' This life is not something which we ourselves have to produce. It is Christ's own life reproduced in us...He has given only one gift to meet all our need: His Son Christ Jesus. As I look to Him to live out His life in me, He will be humble and patient and loving and everything else I need-in by stead...God has always one sufficient answer: His Son Jesus Christ. He is the answer to every human need."~Watchman Nee in "The Normal Christian Life"
My prayer for you, Ali, Greg and Nick, is that you are daily, hourly, moment by moment experiencing the presence of God!
oxo~Mom
(Actually, just some really cool quotes from books I've read recently!)
"Without the vine the branch can do nothing. To the vine it owes its right of place in the vineyard, its life and its fruitfulness. And so the Lord says, 'Without Me you can do nothing.' The believer can each day be pleasing to God only in that which he does through the power of Christ dwelling in him. The daily filling of the life-sap of the Holy Spirit is his only power to bring forth fruit. He lives in Him alone and is for each moment dependent on Him alone."~Andrew Murray in "Abiding in Christ"
"But the Christian has made a still greater discovery. He is not only in the presence of a wonderful, wonder-working God, but that God is a Presence in him. Taking Him at His word, proving His word true in experience, his life has actually become the Incoming, Indwelling, Inworking, Infilling of His blessed, personal Presence."~Norman B. Harrison in "His Indwelling Presence"
"What God offers us in an 'exchanged life,' a 'substituted life,' and Christ is our Substitute within. 'I live; and yet no longer I, but Christ liveth in me.' This life is not something which we ourselves have to produce. It is Christ's own life reproduced in us...He has given only one gift to meet all our need: His Son Christ Jesus. As I look to Him to live out His life in me, He will be humble and patient and loving and everything else I need-in by stead...God has always one sufficient answer: His Son Jesus Christ. He is the answer to every human need."~Watchman Nee in "The Normal Christian Life"
My prayer for you, Ali, Greg and Nick, is that you are daily, hourly, moment by moment experiencing the presence of God!
oxo~Mom
Wednesday, July 20, 2011
Second One
The title of this sermon was going to be "Number Two". But, I thought that might create some confusion as to the topic. :-) So, here goes my second sermon to you, Nick, Ali and Greg...
When that beautiful divine act of God choosing you and you believing in Him happens, what is it? What's it called? What actually happens? As a kid, I thought it was about loving Jesus (which I did), trying hard to make Him happy, and being good (which I wasn't). I think that I thought of Jesus as a really good leader, and I was taught to try to be like Him, to imitate Him.
Then, it's such a good thing to get a better understanding, a more accurate understanding of what takes place when we believe. Yes, it is about loving God!
"And He said to him, 'You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.'"~Matthew 22:37
And believing in Jesus Christ!
"For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life."~John 3:16 (Ever heard that one before?)
And, then...we are "IN CHRIST" and He is in us!
"...Christ in you, the hope of glory."~Colossians 1:27b
We are new creatures!
"Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come."~II Corinthians 5:17
Yes, out with the old and in with the new!
"For you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God."~Colossians 3:4
"I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me."~Galatians 2:20
"For we who live are constantly being delivered over to death for Jesus' sake, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh."~II Corinthians 4:11
We are now a dwelling place for the Holy Spirit of God!
"I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may be with you forever; that is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it does not see Him or know Him, but you know Him because He abides with you and will be in you."~John 14:16,17
"For we are the temple of the living God"~II Corinthians 6:16
"Do you not know that you are a temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?"~I Corinthians 3:16
"Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own?"~I Corinthians 6:19
"By this we know that we abide in Him, and He in us, because He has given us of His Spirit. And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent the Son as Savior of the world. Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him and he in God."~I John 4:13-15
"However, you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. But if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Him. If Christ is in you, though the body is dead because of sin, yet the spirit is alive because of righteousness. But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you."~Romans 8:9-11
Enough said. Closing hymn.
One final thought:
"The Christian life is one continuous impartation of Life from above, by the indwelling Holy Spirit, made possible by the continuous dethronement of the self life."~From the book "The New Life"
Dismissed.
oxo~Mom
ps~I thank God that you three have an understanding of our position IN Christ! Really, I'm just preaching to the choir here and getting to jot down some of my favorite verses!
When that beautiful divine act of God choosing you and you believing in Him happens, what is it? What's it called? What actually happens? As a kid, I thought it was about loving Jesus (which I did), trying hard to make Him happy, and being good (which I wasn't). I think that I thought of Jesus as a really good leader, and I was taught to try to be like Him, to imitate Him.
Then, it's such a good thing to get a better understanding, a more accurate understanding of what takes place when we believe. Yes, it is about loving God!
"And He said to him, 'You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.'"~Matthew 22:37
And believing in Jesus Christ!
"For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life."~John 3:16 (Ever heard that one before?)
And, then...we are "IN CHRIST" and He is in us!
"...Christ in you, the hope of glory."~Colossians 1:27b
We are new creatures!
"Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come."~II Corinthians 5:17
Yes, out with the old and in with the new!
"For you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God."~Colossians 3:4
"I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me."~Galatians 2:20
"For we who live are constantly being delivered over to death for Jesus' sake, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh."~II Corinthians 4:11
We are now a dwelling place for the Holy Spirit of God!
"I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may be with you forever; that is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it does not see Him or know Him, but you know Him because He abides with you and will be in you."~John 14:16,17
"For we are the temple of the living God"~II Corinthians 6:16
"Do you not know that you are a temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?"~I Corinthians 3:16
"Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own?"~I Corinthians 6:19
"By this we know that we abide in Him, and He in us, because He has given us of His Spirit. And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent the Son as Savior of the world. Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him and he in God."~I John 4:13-15
"However, you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. But if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Him. If Christ is in you, though the body is dead because of sin, yet the spirit is alive because of righteousness. But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you."~Romans 8:9-11
Enough said. Closing hymn.
One final thought:
"The Christian life is one continuous impartation of Life from above, by the indwelling Holy Spirit, made possible by the continuous dethronement of the self life."~From the book "The New Life"
Dismissed.
oxo~Mom
ps~I thank God that you three have an understanding of our position IN Christ! Really, I'm just preaching to the choir here and getting to jot down some of my favorite verses!
Saturday, July 9, 2011
Possible Copy Right Infringement
To go along with my weekly sermons (or maybe just one random sermon), I thought I'd pass along daily (or just today) readings!
Ali, you asked me if I have ever cried as I listen to Peter Reid teach on the gospel of John. I admit, I have been a bit misty eyed as I take my walk, MP3 player in place, listening to these great messages. But, today I broke down...almost sobbed as I was walking along Crest Drive. Hope I didn't cause concern to anyone passing by. I didn't really notice. And, it's not exactly what Peter says. It's that his words point me to Jesus, and Jesus only, and Jesus as our Enough!
He quoted Spurgeon. (So maybe I'm in danger of double copy right infringement.)
"I looked to Jesus,
and the dove of peace filled my soul.
I looked to the dove of peace,
And he flew away."
Peter had just finished going over the seven "I AM" statements from Jesus in the book of John. Love these! Peter's summary was:
"'I AM what you want.'
When you desire the Light, more than what He reveals,
you'll see what you haven't understood.
When you desire the Bread, more than being satisfied,
you'll enjoy the inner satisfaction you crave.
When you desire the Door, more than the pastures He exposes,
you'll enter spiritual reality.
When you desire the Shepard, more than His voice,
you'll hear Him speak to you by name.
When you desire the Resurrection, more than being raised,
you'll start doing the impossible.
When you desire the Way, more than the direction He gives,
you'll know where to go.
When you desire Truth, more than acquiring knowledge,
you'll search the depths of God.
When you desire the Life, more than the Christian life,
you'll experience Christ as your Life.
When you desire the Vine, more than the fruit He produces,
you'll bear fruit that remains."
Gregory, Ali and Nick, my prayer for you this day, and always, is that you desire Jesus above all, as your All!
oxo~Mom
ps~Ali, thank you, again, for these CDs from your time at Bodenseehof! Huge blessing to me!
Ali, you asked me if I have ever cried as I listen to Peter Reid teach on the gospel of John. I admit, I have been a bit misty eyed as I take my walk, MP3 player in place, listening to these great messages. But, today I broke down...almost sobbed as I was walking along Crest Drive. Hope I didn't cause concern to anyone passing by. I didn't really notice. And, it's not exactly what Peter says. It's that his words point me to Jesus, and Jesus only, and Jesus as our Enough!
He quoted Spurgeon. (So maybe I'm in danger of double copy right infringement.)
"I looked to Jesus,
and the dove of peace filled my soul.
I looked to the dove of peace,
And he flew away."
Peter had just finished going over the seven "I AM" statements from Jesus in the book of John. Love these! Peter's summary was:
"'I AM what you want.'
When you desire the Light, more than what He reveals,
you'll see what you haven't understood.
When you desire the Bread, more than being satisfied,
you'll enjoy the inner satisfaction you crave.
When you desire the Door, more than the pastures He exposes,
you'll enter spiritual reality.
When you desire the Shepard, more than His voice,
you'll hear Him speak to you by name.
When you desire the Resurrection, more than being raised,
you'll start doing the impossible.
When you desire the Way, more than the direction He gives,
you'll know where to go.
When you desire Truth, more than acquiring knowledge,
you'll search the depths of God.
When you desire the Life, more than the Christian life,
you'll experience Christ as your Life.
When you desire the Vine, more than the fruit He produces,
you'll bear fruit that remains."
Gregory, Ali and Nick, my prayer for you this day, and always, is that you desire Jesus above all, as your All!
oxo~Mom
ps~Ali, thank you, again, for these CDs from your time at Bodenseehof! Huge blessing to me!
Friday, July 8, 2011
Preacher Mom
My Three Most Favorite Young Adults in the Whole World,
What it comes down to is this: There are some things I wish I would have heard when I was growing up that I'd like to make sure you know. Maybe I was taught these things, but not sure if they were the focus. And, these things need to be the focus!
First, it's all about Jesus! So the title of this sermon is "The Person of Jesus!" Yes, I'm giving these mom-sermons titles!
Here it goes...
Jesus is...
~the Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace. Isaiah 9:6
~the Author and Perfecter of our faith. Hebrews 12:2
~High Priest. Hebrews 5:10
~the Guarantee of a better covenant. Hebrews 9:15
~the great Shepherd of the sheep. Hebrews 13:20
~the same yesterday and today and forever. Hebrews 13:8
~the end of the law so that there may be righteousness for everyone who believes. Romans 10:4
~the Living Stone. I Peter 2:4
~the Chief Shepherd. I Peter 5:4
~our righteousness, holiness and redemption. I Corinthians 1:30
~the Author of life. Acts 3:15
~the Word. John 1:14
~the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world. John 1:29
~the Way, the Truth and the Life. John 14:6
~the Chief Cornerstone. Ephesians 2:20
~our Peace. Ephesians 2:14
~a Life-giving Spirit. II Corinthians 15:45
~the Spiritual Rock. I Corinthians 10:4
~the One and Only. John 1:14
~the Bread of Life. John 6:35, 48
~the Savior of the world. John 4:42
~the True Vine. John 15:1
~the Righteous One. Acts 7:52
~God's Anointed One. Acts 4:26, Psalms 2:1,2
~Prince and Savior. Acts 5:31
~Immanuel=God with us. Matthew 1:23
~King of the Jews. Matthew 2:2
~Teacher. Matthew 8:19
~Christ, the Son of the Living God. Matthew 16:16
~the Word of God. Revelation 19:13
~Faithful and True. Revelation 19:11
~King of kings and Lord of lords. Revelation 19:16
~a Shield for me, my Glory and the One who lifts my head. Psalms 3:3
~the Power of God and the Wisdom of God. I Corinthians 1:24
~the Head over every power and authority. Colossians 2:10
~the Image of the invisible God, the Firstborn over all creation. Colossians 1:15
~the Radiance of God's glory and the exact representation of His being. Hebrews 1:3
~the Living One. Revelation 1:18
~the Spirit. II Corinthians 3:17
~the Resurrection and the Life. John 11:25
~the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End. Rev. 22:13
Cool, huh?!
Closing hymn and you're dismissed!
oxo-Mom
What it comes down to is this: There are some things I wish I would have heard when I was growing up that I'd like to make sure you know. Maybe I was taught these things, but not sure if they were the focus. And, these things need to be the focus!
First, it's all about Jesus! So the title of this sermon is "The Person of Jesus!" Yes, I'm giving these mom-sermons titles!
Here it goes...
Jesus is...
~the Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace. Isaiah 9:6
~the Author and Perfecter of our faith. Hebrews 12:2
~High Priest. Hebrews 5:10
~the Guarantee of a better covenant. Hebrews 9:15
~the great Shepherd of the sheep. Hebrews 13:20
~the same yesterday and today and forever. Hebrews 13:8
~the end of the law so that there may be righteousness for everyone who believes. Romans 10:4
~the Living Stone. I Peter 2:4
~the Chief Shepherd. I Peter 5:4
~our righteousness, holiness and redemption. I Corinthians 1:30
~the Author of life. Acts 3:15
~the Word. John 1:14
~the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world. John 1:29
~the Way, the Truth and the Life. John 14:6
~the Chief Cornerstone. Ephesians 2:20
~our Peace. Ephesians 2:14
~a Life-giving Spirit. II Corinthians 15:45
~the Spiritual Rock. I Corinthians 10:4
~the One and Only. John 1:14
~the Bread of Life. John 6:35, 48
~the Savior of the world. John 4:42
~the True Vine. John 15:1
~the Righteous One. Acts 7:52
~God's Anointed One. Acts 4:26, Psalms 2:1,2
~Prince and Savior. Acts 5:31
~Immanuel=God with us. Matthew 1:23
~King of the Jews. Matthew 2:2
~Teacher. Matthew 8:19
~Christ, the Son of the Living God. Matthew 16:16
~the Word of God. Revelation 19:13
~Faithful and True. Revelation 19:11
~King of kings and Lord of lords. Revelation 19:16
~a Shield for me, my Glory and the One who lifts my head. Psalms 3:3
~the Power of God and the Wisdom of God. I Corinthians 1:24
~the Head over every power and authority. Colossians 2:10
~the Image of the invisible God, the Firstborn over all creation. Colossians 1:15
~the Radiance of God's glory and the exact representation of His being. Hebrews 1:3
~the Living One. Revelation 1:18
~the Spirit. II Corinthians 3:17
~the Resurrection and the Life. John 11:25
~the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End. Rev. 22:13
Cool, huh?!
Closing hymn and you're dismissed!
oxo-Mom
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