Tag Archives: Union with Christ

Under the Thumb of Circumstances

February 25, 2020 robuck4@aol.com 2 Comments

In 1966, the Rolling Stones released Under my Thumb, a song about pinning a person down. The other day, I felt held down by my circumstances. Part of it was being depleted by a nagging cough, but it was also because of tough parts of life which have long lingered. I’m not one who deals with depression, but the way I felt rendered me emotionally useless. It gave me a greater appreciation for those who battle low mood on a regular basis.

In my journal, I wrote the word CIRCUMSTANCES. Then I wrote ‘me’ below the line. This is how I felt. In keeping with a long-standing practice, I poured out my heart to God. I wrote ‘YOU’ (speaking of the Lord) above CIRCUMSTANCES. I sensed the Lord saying to me, “When you begin to commune with Me above your circumstances, My Spirit fills your heart.”

I know Jesus indwells me by His Spirit, but my union with Christ doesn’t always produce communion.

Communion – “The sharing or exchanging of intimate thoughts and feelings, especially when the exchange is on a mental of spiritual level.”[1]

I read and pondered the following verses, “Christ’s resurrection is your resurrection too. This is why we are to yearn for all that is above, for that’s where Christ sits enthroned at the place of all power, honor, and authority! Yes, feast on all the treasures of the heavenly realm and fill your thoughts with heavenly realities, and not with the distractions of the natural realm.” (Colossians 3:1-2 TPT)

I began to thank the Lord for His great love, poured out to purchase my salvation, eternal life which has already begun. Using a Psalm, I praised Him. The heaviness began to lift. Rather then being under my circumstances, I saw my life oriented from God’s greater story; a story not about my worldly happiness, but about me being transformed into the image of Jesus. I was reminded that, in His sovereignty, even the most difficult circumstances are being used to show me the complete Joy of God’s nearness.

In reality, my circumstances are under His thumb.

Challenge: What circumstances have you pinned down? In the midst, draw near to God and allow the Joy of His presence to cheer your heart through every grief and sadness.

The Almighty is alive and conquers all! Praise is lifted high to the unshakable God! Towering over all, my Savior-God is worthy to be praised! (Psalm 18:46 TPT)

[1] Siri

Joy in the Journey is about the gladness of God’s nearness in the midst of life’s adventures. Subscribe below to get email notifications of new posts. We post once a week. Thank you for reading.

Novels by the Author:

Beyond Time

Hope Remains

Indwelling Christ, Union with Christ

Are You More Like Batman or Spider-man? (Republished in Everlasting Way)

January 24, 2020 robuck4@aol.com 2 Comments

In his book, Union with Christ, Rankin Wilborne asks us to consider two superheroes. Batman, a rich, strong man with “lots of cool gadgets” [1] and Spider-man, a superhero because of a bite from a radioactive spider. The encounter with the spider changed Peter Parker from within. He became Spider-man. Batman had to rely on his own abilities and possessions.

Who are you most like?

If you’re a believer in Jesus Christ, you’ve become a new man. Jesus Christ now lives within you. You’ve been changed from within.

Jesus told His disciples, “And I will ask the Father and He will give you another Helper, that He may be with you forever.” (John 14:16 NASB)

Paul confirms that the Holy Spirit of Jesus now lives inside of believers, fundamentally changing who we are. In Him, you also, after listening to the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation—having also believed, you were sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit of promise, (Ephesians 1:13 NASB)

Spider Powers

Like Spider-man, we’ve been changed, but what are our spider powers? Although it would be fun, it’s not squirting webs to buildings and swinging through the air.

Consider the following powers: But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. (Galatians 5:22-23 NASB)

These powers include a quality of love which is sacrificial beyond reason, joy and peace which transcend every circumstance, kindness and goodness which puts others first and looks past every offence, faithfulness and gentleness which becomes for others a soothing balm in all infirmities, and control to walk in these inner powers no matter how we’re feeling.

What Joy we’d experience if these powers of Christ continually flowed from within us.

But too often we forget about the powers within. We might ask God to give us patience and self-control, but that’s just asking God to change us.

He wants so much more. He wants to be our love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control from the inside out.

There’s a real difference between asking God to help me and relying on His Spirit within to empower me.

Real Life Example

My dad struggled with alcoholism for decades. It cost him his marriage and almost his life. But things changed. He ended up not drinking the last fifteen years of his life.

One day I asked him how he did it. “I tried everything,” he said. “AA and countless programs, but nothing worked. I’d been asking God to help me quit, but it just wasn’t working. Finally, I said, ‘God you have to do it, I can’t.”

After praying this prayer, he cut the grass and opened a beer. He said it tasted awful. He spit it out, poured out the beer and never had another drop. My dad learned to depend upon the power of God to deliver him when nothing else did.

Prayer

Lord, Your Spirit has changed me forever. Please forgive me for living on my own. You tell me that apart from You, I can do nothing.[2] I’m tired of wearing myself out in my own strength accomplishing nothing. Trying to live without you is like Spider-man not using his powers is. Never again I pray. Please teach me how to live every moment of every day in the Living Waters of Your Spirit within. Stop me quickly when I do life without You and teach me how to utterly depend on You. Have Your way with me I pray. Amen

[1] Union with Christ, Rankin Wilborne, David Cook, p. 52-53

[2] John 15:5

Joy in the Journey is about the gladness of God’s nearness in the midst of life’s adventures.

Subscribe below to get email notifications of new posts. We post a few times a month. Thank you for reading.

Novels by the Author:

What happens when a professor figures out how to send messages to his younger self to try and avoid the suicide of his best friend? Did he change more than he bargained for? Beyond Time

By finding two undelivered letters in a old shack deep in the woods, Cassie and Daniel unknowing set off a series of events which uncover a plot to wipe out a whole family. Hope Remains

Christ Our Identity, Christ Our Reason, Christ our Source

Christ Our Life

June 10, 2019 robuck4@aol.com 6 Comments

Lord, I can feel it happening again. I’ve allowed the broken things around me to affect my mood. It’s subtle. One day I feel good only because of Your nearness. But, after a few days of pleasant happenings, my heart wants to latch on to what I see unfolding before my eyes. Then brokenness happens and my joy is stolen. I return again to the truth that You are my Hope, my Joy, my Life.

Set your mind on the things 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. (Colossians 3:2-4 NASB)

Lord, please show me how to orient my life from the eternal truths that I died and my life is now hidden safely in You. I’m in You and You’re in me. You are my life. Please help me understand this amazing truth more fully so that it can govern my moments and my days?

This world is such a broken place. Broken health, broken relationships, broken finances, possessions and societies, broken hearts. I love it when I see healing happening, when I watch God mending broken things. However, I never want an improvement in circumstances to shift my heart to temporal things.

Lately, I’m becoming aware much quicker of the wanderings of my heart to latch onto the things of this world. Even when things are going well, emptiness begins to set in. The decaying brokenness of life is a hollow source of hope and joy.

Therefore we do not lose heart, but though our outer man is decaying, yet our inner man is being renewed day by day.For momentary, light affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison,while we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen; for the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal (II Corinthians 4:16-18 NASB)

When I dwell on the brokenness of life, counting on things to get better for me to be okay, I’m setting my mind on the temporal things of this earth. On the other hand, when I orient my life from the eternal standpoint that I’m hidden in Christ and He is now my life, I’m attaching my heart to a hope and joy which is rock solid in the midst of any storm.

Christ is my Life

I’m at church, worshipping and celebrating our foundation in Christ. The experience correlates to what God is teaching me. I sing that being loved by Christ is who I am, that I am who He says I am. I hear that I’m in Christ and He’s in me.

When I ask God to show me from His word what it means for Him to be my life, these truths come to mind from His standpoint:

Since I’m your life, I’m your identity. I adore you and delight to be with you. Being my beloved child is absolutely who you are. Trying to gage who you are from what people think of you, how they treat you, how successful you are or anything else is nothing compared to your value in Me. I created you, redeemed you with My life and have safely hidden you away in My love. This is who you are.
Since I’m your life, I’m your source. Having been forgiven, lavished by My grace and adopted into My family, I sealed you with My Holy Spirit. I Indwell you. You were crucified with Me and raised to newness of life. You don’t have to weary yourself out trying to live the Christian life in your own strength. Come to Me and stay with Me. Take My yoke upon you and depend on My Spirit to be your life.
Since I’m your life, I’m your reason. The reason you live each day is now completely different. Getting all your tasks done with the least amount of problems is no longer your goal. The command I have for you is for you to love others as I’ve loved you. This begins with your identity in My love. From this secure vantage point, duties become the path to people and problems are no longer mortal enemies. In fact, they become your reason to depend upon Me more intently.

This past week I began teaching a 16 week corporate training class on mainframe programming. As I taught, I noticed one of my students had a big grin on his face. I figured his teammate had said something funny. However, as the day wore on, I saw he was still smiling. The whole day, every day, he smiles. His countenance encourages me. One day, I’ll ask him the reason for his outward joy, but today I’m challenged by his example.

Christ is my life. He’s my identity. I can rest from seeking value in any temporal thing. He’s my source. I can rest, abide, yield to His strength and not have to muster it up myself. He’s my reason for living each day. I don’t have to search for something meaningful to live for, some fun time ahead to give me a reason for joy. Christ Himself is my Joy, my Reason.

Why wouldn’t I smile?