Friday, March 6, 2015

Christ in You: RJD Entry: March 2015

bethelspringsfellowship.org

“Christ in you, the hope of glory.”
Colossians 1:27

{I was led to do something a little different for Random Journal Day this month. I reached for two of my journals that were close by. I chose the one entitled “Amazing Grace.”  At the bottom of each page a scripture appears. Each scripture is used several times through the journal. I chose to write on these scriptures as they appeared. I found myself approaching each of those appearances from a different angle. I pray you gain some insight into this particular verse.}

3/1/2010 (Christ in you)
               Paul writes to the believers at Colosse in order to encourage them to stand firm against the false teachers in their midst.
              
               When a person comes to Christ, he or she asks Jesus to live in his or her heart. He inhabits the person’s thoughts, mind, speech, actions, and interactions. The result of Christ’s presence in a person’s heart is the anticipation of His working in and through people.

               God in us—three powerful words. We should feel humbled that the Father would want to live in our hearts and souls. A pastor’s wife I knew told a group of us she felt very small when she partook of communion. She reflected on who He is and who she was each time she took the elements.

3/14/2010 (Hope)
                              Hope-n. anticipation, v. anticipate, look forward to,

               Christ lives in the hearts of His children. He guides them how to live, to love and to work. His presence in our hearts is a spiritual blessing. He empowers us with His presence. With His empowering, we are able to work for the Kingdom. We look forward to seeing God on His Throne, in His glory. (Isaiah 6:1) We hear we can only see God if we know Him, and have Him in our hearts.

4/20/2010 (Does Christ Live in Me?)

               We turn our hearts and lives over to Jesus Christ and ask Him to live there. But, we get overwhelmed by our world. We try to balance home and work and our spiritual lives.
               When a giant in the automotive industry had two major divisions located in our town, sometimes a lot of men and women worked six or seven days a week. Certain areas of life became secondary to work in the factories. Family life, church involvement, and recreation all deferred to the job and getting the dollars. (I did not work in this industry. My husband did.)

               As far as my place in the alignment of priorities (in my working), I allowed conditions surrounding me in my life to keep me off-balanced. It took a lengthy time for me to realize that God was with me and Christ in me. I still feel I didn’t do well, at that time in my life representing—living for—Jesus as I should have.   

5/24/2010 (Hope)
Hope- reliance on God’ blessing and provision, the expectation of future good.

               When we rely on God’s blessings and provisions we possess hope. People who live their lives for Christ walk through their days following His leading.

               The verse Colossians 1:27 speaks of Christ being an expectation of our future good.


               When we have Christ in our hearts, we become His instruments. We become the hands, the feet, and the voice He needs in order to reach those who need to find Him. God uses us, His children, to demonstrate His love and care to those who need Him—those who are hurting, those who are displaced, those who are impoverished. We become His hope when we yield to Him. As we mature in Him, we learn from Him the exact nature of His will for our lives.


Linking to:enthusiasticallydawn.com/

14 comments:

  1. Cecelia, Love these short little devotional reflections in response to the prompts. God can take so little and reveal so much to us in it! Thank you for linking this weekend. Sending Love and Hugs, Dawn

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  2. I have found that reading the same scripture even days later, may bring about new or different insights. God reveals as we need these truths.

    Thank you for sharing!

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    1. Thank you, my Sunday school teacher has said that many, many times.

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  3. Thanks for posting such thoughtful reflections. The St. Patrick quote is a favorite of mine, too, which I often pray throughout the day.
    Joy!
    Kathy

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    1. Thank you, Miss Kathy.And welcome to my little corner of the blog world.

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  4. I love to see the progression of your thoughts and growth as you pondered God's Word and its application to your own life. Isn't it great to look back at these old journals and see God's hand at work in our lives through His Word? This has been a great exercise in faith for each of us in this group. Thank you for sharing this part of your life with us today.

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    1. Pam: Yes, it is great to look back and see how far God has brought us in our faith.

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  5. Thank you for sharing this, Cecelia. This reminds me of a song I like by Michael W. Smith entitled, Christ Be All Around Me. Good reminder for us all.

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    1. Karen: Thank you for stopping in. I'll have to listen to that song. Blessings to you and yours,

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  6. Cecelia- I love this post! I just now am getting to feast on all the great morsels posted for RJD this month. I feel like I'm having a mini retreat with God meditating on His word with you and His faithfulness...I have been thinking about hope a lot this week,,,so I enjoyed your definitions as you mulled over the Scripture. Thanks!

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    1. Kel: Thank you for your wonderful comment. Hope was my word for 2014. It has become very special to me. From time to time I have a great thought about hope being in a circumstance that people find themselves in. A family I know has found hope empowering them to step out and take an active part in the illness of one of their children.

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