Thoughts for Life: #25 Working Together with Christ

Andrew Murray- "There is one body, and one Spirit" (Ephesians 4:4). In the last chapter, our subject was maintaining the unity of the Spirit in our relationships with fellow-Christians. (See #23 One in the Spirit).

The Holy Spirit is the source and the power in which believers, as members of one Body in Christ Jesus, are to minister to each other to build up the Body of Christ. (Google image, Home assembly)

The knowledge of what the Body of Christ means, the insight into its glory and its purpose, and the fulfilling of the place and ministry to which God has called us in the Body, have a deep connection with spiritual life.

To receive the Spirit and the love of Christ means death to every vestige of selfishness. We must surrender our life and love entirely to Christ and His Body.

The welfare of every member becomes the supreme object of our desire. Let us try to realize what this Body is in which the blessed Spirit of God seeks to manifest Himself.

Masterpiece Under Construction

We know what a masterpiece of divine workmanship a human body is. Made of dust, it is the instrument through which spiritual life can unfold and express itself. Our human bodies are a parable of the Body of believers with Christ as the Head.

God "gave him (Christ to be the head over all things to the church, Which is his body, the fullness of him that filleth all in all" (Ephesians 1:22-23).

The Body is to contain and exhibit the divine fullness as it dwells in Christ.

"All the building fitly framed together groweth unto an

holy temple in the Lord; In whom ye also are builded

together for an habitation of God through the Spirit"

(Ephesians 2:21-22).

We are reminded that "Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it . . . That he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing" (Ephesians 5:25,27).

An intimate union exists between our body and its head. The power of the head to move and use every member and the readiness of every member to yield itself to assist its fellow-members is only a shadow of that mysterious power which links every believer to Christ. The power places the believer at the disposal of his fellow-believers.

The Body of Christ is the highest revelation of the glory of God. He manifested His power to make a creature of the dust, who had fallen under the power of sin and Satan, become the partaker of the holiness of the blessed Son.

The Holy Spirit presides over this work today as He encourages each believer to carry out the eternal purpose—that they all should be one, even as the Father is one with the Son.

When the Church yields herself to His divine working, the power of the Holy Spirit can be expected to work unhindered in the Church and in the individual members.

(Chapter 12, pp. 61-63, italics added).

Receiving Power from God

by Andrew Murray
Copyright © 1984

by Whitaker House

Used by permission

www.whitakerhouse.com.

Let's pray-

"Father, in the name of Jesus, as one of Your chosen people, holy and dearly loved, I clothe myself with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. I bear with others and forgive

whatever grievances I may have against anyone. I forgive as You forgave me. Over all these virtues I put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity. I let the peace of Christ rule in my heart, by the power of the Holy Spirit. Amen"

(Walking in Humility, Volume 3 of Prayers That Avail Much)

Today's Bible verses-

Philippians 4:17 "Really, it is not that I want to

receive gifts from you. But I want you to have
the good that comes from giving. Your gift is like
a sweet-smelling sacrifice offered to God. God
accepts that sacrifice, and it pleases him."

Psalm 12:11 “Never be lazy, but work hard and

serve the Lord, enthusiastically.”

Jeremiah 24:7 "Then I will give them a heart to know
Me, that I am the LORD; I will be their God, for they
shall return to Me with their whole heart."

Today's quotes-

Mary Southerland-

"It is a paradox in the Christian life that the more we give, the more we receive. In Luke 6:38, we find an amazing promise, "If you give, you will receive. Your gift will return to you in full measure, pressed down, shaken together to make room for more, and running over. Whatever measure you use in giving--large or small--it will be used to measure what is given back to you." If you want joy, learn to invest your life in others. Be on the lookout for a need and meet it. God created us to share each other's load because a shared load is a lighter load.
God stands today, arms open wide, ready to pour out His unspeakable gift of joy into our lives so that we can have joy; so that we can share that joy with others. Our gift back to Him is to be a joy-giver."

From The Secret of Being Content
Mary Southerland

~ Wesley Duewel- "The Christmas call is God's call to you. Just as surely as Christ came to Bethlehem, He longs to come to you. Just as welcome as the shepherds and the Magi were to come and see, you are welcome to draw near to Christ and receive new revelations of His love and grace. It is so easy to become so involved with programs and social visiting and material things at Christmas that we fail to find the hidden sweetness that is waiting for each one of us if we only open our hearts.
Make Christmas a time when, above all else, you draw near to God, and you will find that, above all else, God will draw near to you, for the God of Christmas is Emmanuel—God with us!"

(This was taken from p. 13 of Christmas is for You . . . and the World. To order this booklet, and to see all of his books available, use their website:www.duewelliteraturetrust.org)

Words of wisdom-

~ Making the Lord your first love our highest priority, means you seek Him above all else. We can experience Peace and Joy in full measure. His Presence brightens the world around us.

~ We're to look steadily at the Lord in all our moments and all our circumstances, as He is concerned with every detail of our lives. He even knows the number of hairs on our heads!

Today's guest post-

The Message

Diana Derringer-

"Looking forward to his long-awaited marriage, he busied himself, preparing for their life together. He wanted everything perfect for his young bride.

Then came the news. His fiancé was pregnant. He might have expected such behavior from other young women, but never from Mary. Not his Mary . . . "

Today's question-

When should we give to our churches?

The following are opportunities to give through our churches; The tithe is what helps the ministries continue; special offerings for particular needs in the church body or in the community; outreach ministries, such as a food pantry; mission efforts, other than the percentage given of the tithes and offerings of the church; as well as special gifts individually given to those who are struggling.

The question is: Where do we spend our money? As Jesus is after our hearts, let's reconsider just where we give our income-giving percentage. Are we embracing a giving heart which irrupts in compassion for the need at hand? If we have the means, see the need, and act in heart-felt giving, God sees our efforts, and knows why we're giving, even when it's out of our own need.

We can't earn our salvation by our giving, but we're to be givers from our transformation through faith in Christ Jesus. God gave us His Son; we're to be willing to give of our means out of what He provides.

List of recent sermons of CFC ministers. CFC Potsdam NY church has a live service at 10 am Sunday's for shut-ins. If for some reason you can't make it to the church you usually attend, click on the above link, and still get fed!

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