The first time I heard this song, I began to sob. It took me back to the darkest point in my performance-addicted, self-effort driven Christian life. When I finally had realized Christ in me, the hope of the glory of God being manifest in my human life...it was light into darkness...like being born again, again! I can't go back.
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Chapter 6 One Spirit
Key verse:
But he who is joined to the Lord becomes one spirit with him. 1 Corinthians 6:17 ESV
Key Question:
How do we live in union?
For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life. Romans 5:10 ESV
Key Question:
Who lives the life?
...the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.
Revelation 13:8 NKJV
How could we have died in Christ 2000+ years ago? Because that death happened in the eternal realm...before time began.
Does that blow your mind? It does mine. Aren't we glad that we have a God bigger than our finite minds can grasp?
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Chapter 4 Doublecross {what you died to}
Key verse: Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new. Now all things are of God... 2Cor 5:17-18a NKJV
Key question: What did I die to?
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Chapter 3 Doublecross {you died in Christ}Key Verse: For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. Colossians 3:3 NIV
Key Question: When & where did I die?
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Here at A Branch in the Vine, we are proclaiming our Declaration of Dependence! We are celebrating that every day is Dependence Day for those of us who "live from the life of Another."
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Today is a Day of Reckoning...but not how you think! Usually we use that term to mean to give an accounting, a calculation, a settlement of accounts. In fact according to Wikipedia, it can mean a host of things from the Final Judgment Day to heavy metal albums and Nintendo games.
But in the Bible sense, EVERY day is a Day of Reckoning. This word reckon in the Greek is often rendered consider. In other words, "count on something to be true". My reckoning doesn't MAKE it true. It already IS true, so I count on it and live from it. So each day is THE day to reckon to be true what God says is true...because it IS true. I can take it to the bank and live from it :)
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Here at A Branch in the Vine, we are proclaiming our Declaration of Dependence! We are celebrating that every day is Dependence Day for those of us who "live from the life of Another."
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Life is a mix, a conglomeration.
There is confusion and clarity, flailing and focus, excruciating pain and exquisite peace.
There is bitterness and sweetness, strength and fragility, "rugged seas" and "smooth sailing."
As Paul Lawrence Dunbar so aptly expresses in his poem Life:
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Here at A Branch in the Vine, we are proclaiming our Declaration of Dependence! We are celebrating that every day is Dependence Day for those of us who "live from the life of Another."
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…We are not cowed into timidity by death and life. Were we forced to rely on our own shabby resources we would be pitiful people indeed. But the awareness of Christ's present risenness persuades us that we are buoyed up and carried on by a life greater than our own.
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We are not cowed into timidity by death and life. Were we forced to rely on our own shabby resources we would be pitiful people indeed. But the awareness of Christ's present risenness persuades us that we are buoyed up and carried on by a life greater than our own.
The Christ within who is our hope of glory is not a matter of theological debate or philosophical speculation. He is not a hobby, a part-time project, a good theme for a book, or a last resort when all human effort fails. He is our life, the most real fact about us. He is the power and wisdom of God dwelling within us.
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That was the saying on a balloon I saw at Kroger. And it was also the sentiment in the elementary school we kids went to in New Jersey. St Matthew’s was an Irish parish (maybe because the founding pastor was Irish, Fr Duffey), so our sports teams were the “Fighting Irish.” Anyway, the sentiment was that everyone was Irish on St Patrick’s Day. I remember us Renner girls (mom’s maiden name = Galuszka; so you do the “ethnic” math ) spraying our hair green, putting on our already green uniforms, and heading next door to school. (Yes, we lived next to the church and school!). We FELT Irish…even if we were really German & Polish!
Everyone was indeed “Irish” at St Matthews on St Patrick’s Day, except for the few rebellious students and even teachers who wore orange instead of green.
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A mature young Christian woman goes to her regular adult Bible study class. The teachers of the class are experts in Biblical counseling. Week by week they share from the Scriptures answers to common problems faced by individuals and families in today's culture. One Sunday after learning the "formula" for solving a particular problem biblically, our mature young woman asks, "But where is the Holy Spirit in all of this?"
A member of a sound evangelical church is a student in a class on Christian church history. He reads some articles ...
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We are not cowed into timidity by death and life. Were we forced to rely on our own shabby resources we would be pitiful people indeed. But the awareness of Christ's present risenness persuades us that we are buoyed up and carried on by a life greater than our own.
The Christ within who is our hope of glory is not a matter of theological debate or philosophical speculation. He is not a hobby, a part-time project, a good theme for a book, or a last resort when all human effort fails. He is our life, the most real fact about us. He is the power and wisdom of God dwelling within us.
Read More
…We are not cowed into timidity by death and life. Were we forced to rely on our own shabby resources we would be pitiful people indeed. But the awareness of Christ's present risenness persuades us that we are buoyed up and carried on by a life greater than our own.
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Jesus Christ the Son of God became one with us, so that we could be one with Him!
This glorious truth is at the heart of the Incarnation. God became one of us! One with us! Why? So that we could experience union with God.
And that takes us back to our 3 Greek prepositions for with: (see previous post: The WITH-ness of our God (prepositions):
"God never gives us more than we can bear!" For some reason, I've been hearing that a lot lately, have you?
I don't know about you, but in my experience, it has been the opposite! God regularly gives me more than I can bear...and I'll tell you what I think is the reason.
As I now like to say, "I'm a tough nut to crack." I'm a pretty strong personality! So for a lot of my Christian life, I've believed that it's my strength and know-how and abilities and wisdom, coupled with the blessing and help from Above, that will get the job done...successfully...even in the spiritual realm. I've eaten over and over again from the "Tree of knowledge of Good & Evil" thinking that was God's will and way!
But now I know differently. His way is His strength in my weakness! Not His help in my weakness! HIM doing it and being it!
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I posted this back in March. I need this again. Do you? Read these Scriptures aloud. Let them wash over your soul. Listen to the song … the words … the imagery … the truth.
And be still and know HE is GOD, and HE is what we need in the midst of the upheaval and discord and confusion and ungodly attitudes all around us. And may the mind of Christ have sway in us His sons and daughters! Amen….
…When in the deepest of troubles...when there is no consolation or comfort...go to the sacred place where you and the Lord live together and nothing can touch...the place of union with our God through Jesus Christ by faith (Colossians 2:9-10 ESV)...and rest in Him who rests in you (John 17:20-23 ESV)!
Hide me in the shadow of your wings. Psalm 17:8b
Read MoreJanet Renner Loyd has been a disciple of the Lord Jesus Christ most of her life. Her formal education includes a degree in education from the University of Arizona and also a degree in Bible & Theology from Moody Bible Institute. For more than thirty years, she has been involved in teaching and leading women’s Bible studies, retreats, and meetings…most notably Precept upon Precept and various studies that she has personally developed. Professionally, Jan recently retired from teaching language and writing to GED and adult ESOL students.
About her life, Jan says, “The most important thing about me is my relationship with my Father God through my Lord Jesus Christ. I am forever grateful to Him for His love, mercy, and grace to me and my family and friends...and the world.”
Jan has been happily married to John Loyd for more than forty years. They have two adult, married children and five lively young grandsons.
