Christ! My Hope!

1Jn 4:4  …greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world. 

Col_1:27  …Christ in you, the hope of glory

Col 3:11  … Christ is all, and in all. 

We look at ourselves. We focus on ourselves. We are directed over and over and over again to consider ourselves. My whole life has been filled with anxiety. Okay, let me amend that, since I was about ten years old, forty-six years ago, my life has been fraught with anxiety. Before ten I was considered a shy child, the kind that hid behind their mother's skirt so to speak. I was most likely born with that shyness gene to start with and had in a mix of family trauma in my young years, and top it off with a huge dollop of very toxic chemicals seeping in through the basement of our house (a playroom during my youngest years) and what do you get… TADA… a big ball of introverted, anxiety ridden, self-loathing me.  Did you catch the last bit? Self-loathing?  Now, did you take particular note of the first word, SELF? The shyness, the anxiety, the self-loathing all of this created a me- focused on myself always and how I was feeling-- terror.  Terror so much so that the physical reactions of panic attacks - sweating profusely, shaking, finding it hard to breath, feeling sick to my stomach, intestines instant roiling,  my heart trying to beat out of my chest running, jumping, and yes, skipping beats in palpitations? Why yes, yes that is my heart during panic attacks. Is it any wonder I'm all caught up in how I'm feeling when the feelings are so extreme? Is it any wonder for a while there I became scared to even leave my house as a young adult? Avoiding any anxiety provoking situations was my life's aim because of those awful soul crushing, dream smashing anxiety physical reactions. Even today I avoid as much as possible situations I know could produce such reactions. I've limited my life in many, many ways because of the reactions life provokes from me.  I FOCUS ON ME. 

Don't get me wrong. There have also been times in my life that the anxiety has taken a rare long vacation. During those times I was able to do more normal activities without crippling anxiety and fear. I can't explain it, I have no answers. The anxiety monster living within me has periods of dormancy that come and go at will and they're out of my control.

What a long tangent I've gone on, all to say that I know as long as I look at myself, as long as I allow the anxiety fear in me to be my focus, my focus cannot be on Christ in me, my hope.  I have to gently nudge Christ in me to the side and let my anxiety monster step up to the plate, which I've done all too often. Of course, most of the time it's not a gentle nudge, the Christ in me has often been knocked off His feet and thrown through a brick wall from the force of the panicked monster of anxiety. That monster blots out any sign of Christ in me, making me look only at him.

My husband is a big promoter of facing fears to get rid of them and you know what, I wished it worked. I can face a fear and be all…YAY I did it, but then when I go to do it again and the fear rears up and sometimes that fear is overwhelming. It's never been face the fear and you've conquered it forever, but rather, oh good you faced it today and conquered it, but the next time you might not be so lucky. I can conquer a fear for a few years consistently only to have it jump up out of its long slumber and knock me off my feet. Surprise! I'm back! And the cycle starts all over again.

One thing I do KNOW and now, if only I could keep knowing, is CHRIST in me will allow me to live a life for HIM, no matter the fear. CHRIST IN ME, MY HOPE today, just today, I have to live for just today and whatever it may bring my way.

Christ tells us this-

Mat_6:34  Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.

AND it's soooo true!

Please, Christ, be my focus. Help me get myself out of the way of YOU LIVING IN ME, doing Your will! Help me to recognize the fears as they rise up, and they will- maybe not this moment, maybe not an hour or even all day, but eventually they will rise up. Help me to recognize the fears and even as all the effects of the fears begin- physical, mental, emotional- let me to SEE YOU IN ME and not the fear.  Don't let the fear push YOU out of my sight! Let the fear go right through You in me, so that I never lose sight of You. Be merciful to me a horrible sinner, and let me live for You, please.

GREATER IS HE THAT IS IN ME, THAN HE THAT IS IN THE WORLD.

And I know, Satan loves pushing anxiety buttons whenever he can, he is in the world doing all he can to keep me of the world, and not of Christ! But You have OVERCOME Satan!

GREATER IS HE THAT IS IN ME!

CHRIST IN ME, MY HOPE.

Overcome.

Overcoming.

To overcome means to conquer a problem, to defeat someone, to win even when there are obstacles in the way. The way I see it we have to overcome this world ruled by Satan. Before you shake your head and say the world isn't ruled by Satan ask yourself this question- do you believe in Jesus Christ? If you answered yes, then you believe this world is ruled by Satan because Jesus believed the same thing. Jesus spoke directly to Satan when He was being tempted by him in the wilderness after His baptism. Satan offered Jesus all the kingdoms of the world. Tell me, how can you offer someone something if it isn't yours to offer? You can't.

Mat 4:8  Again, the devil taketh him up into an exceeding high mountain, and sheweth him all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them; 

Mat 4:9  And saith unto him, All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me. 

Mat 4:10  Then saith Jesus unto him, Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve. 

Jesus all said these words-

Joh_8:23  And he said unto them, Ye are from beneath; I am from above: ye are of this world; I am not of this world.

Joh_14:30  Hereafter I will not talk much with you: for the prince of this world cometh, and hath nothing in me.

Joh 12:31  Now is the judgment of this world: now shall the prince of this world be cast out. 

The prince of this world- Satan. We are in a great conflict between good and evil. All of us are in this conflict, we are born into the conflict there is no escaping it.  We need to overcome evil with good.

Rom_12:21  Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good.

We are told if we overcome evil then we will receive the greatest reward- life eternal with our Savior, with our Father God, with the Holy Spirit. We must overcome.

Rev 3:21  To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne. 

Rev 2:7 …To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God. 

We overcome not through our own power, but by our Savior's power.

Rev 12:11  And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death. 

1Jn 5:4  For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith. 

1Jn 5:5  Who is he that overcometh the world, but he that believeth that Jesus is the Son of God? 

1Jn 2:13  I write unto you, fathers, because ye have known him that is from the beginning. I write unto you, young men, because ye have overcome the wicked one. I write unto you, little children, because ye have known the Father. 

1Jn 2:14  I have written unto you, fathers, because ye have known him that is from the beginning. I have written unto you, young men, because ye are strong, and the word of God abideth in you, and ye have overcome the wicked one. 

1Jn 2:15  Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 

We are NOT to love this world with all its deceptive enticements. If we love this world and the things in this world we are captive to this world and its ruler the prince of evil.

1Jn 2:16  For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. 

1Jn 2:17  And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever. 

1Jn 4:4  Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world. 

Joh 16:33  These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world. 

Jesus overcome this world, and He didn't overcome it by not suffering in it. He wasn't living in a protective bubble unable to be touched by the evil that surrounded Him on all sides. Jesus witnessed firsthand the horrors of this world. And Jesus left this world in a very horrible, extremely painful way- tortured wickedly and not for a few moments, but for a long time. His physical pain was excruciating. If you get a cut you know how it can sting, even a tiny paper cut can be painful. If you get a big cut it hurts, you know it does. Jesus' entire body was flayed open by the severe whipping He endured prior to His journey to the cross where He was crucified. The suffering Jesus endure was undeniable. Yes, Jesus overcame this world and all the evil and Jesus told us that we would have tribulation in this world and our hope would be found in HIM because HE overcame the evil and He did that so we could live with Him, Him in us, giving us the hope of overcoming through HIS victory. We will suffer, make no mistake, we will suffer.

Rom 8:35  Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? 

Rom 8:36  As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter. 

Rom 8:37  Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us. 

1Co 15:57  But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. 

Rev 2:11  He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; He that overcometh shall not be hurt of the second death. 

Rev 2:17  He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the hidden manna, and will give him a white stone, and in the stone a new name written, which no man knoweth saving he that receiveth it. 

Rev 2:26  And he that overcometh, and keepeth my works unto the end, to him will I give power over the nations

Rev 3:5  He that overcometh, the same shall be clothed in white raiment; and I will not blot out his name out of the book of life, but I will confess his name before my Father, and before his angels. 

Rev 3:12  Him that overcometh will I make a pillar in the temple of my God, and he shall go no more out: and I will write upon him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, which is new Jerusalem, which cometh down out of heaven from my God: and I will write upon him my new name. 

Rev 3:21  To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne. 

Rev 15:2  And I saw as it were a sea of glass mingled with fire: and them that had gotten the victory over the beast, and over his image, and over his mark, and over the number of his name, stand on the sea of glass, having the harps of God. 

Rev 15:3  And they sing the song of Moses the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying, Great and marvellous are thy works, Lord God Almighty; just and true are thy ways, thou King of saints. 

Rev 15:4  Who shall not fear thee, O Lord, and glorify thy name? for thou only art holy: for all nations shall come and worship before thee; for thy judgments are made manifest.

The victory, to overcome by faith in our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ! Lord we believe, we have faith, HELP THOU our unbelief. Search us Lord and know our hearts see if there is any wicked way in us and lead us in the way everlasting! Create in us a clean heart, renew a right spirit within us! Let us be known by You, let us be Yours now and forever!!!!!!! Amen!

At His Appearing.

1Ti 6:14 That thou keep this commandment without spot, unrebukeable, UNTIL THE APPEARING OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST

1Co 1:8 Who shall also confirm you unto the end, that ye may be blameless IN THE DAY OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST.

Php 1:6 Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it UNTIL THE DAY OF JESUS CHRIST.

Php 1:10 That ye may approve things that are excellent; that ye may be sincere and without offence TILL THE DAY OF CHRIST.

1Th 3:13 To the end he may stablish your hearts unblameable in holiness before God, even our Father, AT THE COMING OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST WITH ALL HIS SAINTS.

1Th 5:23 And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless UNTO THE COMING OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST.

2Th 2:1 Now we beseech you, brethren, BY THE COMING OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST, and by our gathering together unto him,

2Ti 4:1 I charge thee therefore before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall judge the quick and the dead AT HIS APPEARING AND HIS KINGDOM

Tit 2:13 Looking for that blessed hope, and THE GLORIOUS APPEARING OF THE GREAT GOD AND OUR SAVIOUR JESUS CHRIST.

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An Inheritance Incorruptible.

An Inheritance Incorruptible and Undefiled - Reserved For Us.

1Pe 1:3  Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 

1Pe 1:4  To an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you, 

1Pe 1:5  Who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. 

Praise God. We are KEPT by the power of God.  We need to believe. Salvation will be revealed in the last time.

The last time.

There will be a last time. Make no mistake, this isn't something to fear, this is something to celebrate, to anticipate with joy. The last days for this temporary existence are going to be horrible, and yet wondrous.

The pain of childbirth is horrific for most who go through it without painkilling medications of any kind. Not that all women experience childbirth the same, but  most will tell you that the pain is unbelievable. The pain is horrible and yet the reward for that pain is new life!  The pain at the end of the world, the last days, is going to be something unlike anything we've ever experienced before. The fear from the pain is going to kill many people, the fear will kill - this is how horrible it will become.  Yet we can have hope. The hope of our LORD, the hope of SALVATION.

1Pe 1:6  Wherein ye greatly rejoice, though now for a season, if need be, ye are in heaviness through manifold temptations: 

1Pe 1:7  That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ: 

1Pe 1:8  Whom having not seen, ye love; in whom, though now ye see him not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory: 

1Pe 1:9  Receiving the end of your faith, even the salvation of your souls. 

The END of our faith will be our Salvation!

1Pe 1:10  Of which salvation the prophets have enquired and searched diligently, who prophesied of the grace that should come unto you: 

1Pe 1:11  Searching what, or what manner of time the Spirit of Christ which was in them did signify, when it testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ, and the glory that should follow. 

1Pe 1:12  Unto whom it was revealed, that not unto themselves, but unto us they did minister the things, which are now reported unto you by them that have preached the gospel unto you with the Holy Ghost sent down from heaven; which things the angels desire to look into. 

Please, Lord, please give us the faith we need to be wholly Yours through all that is to come. Give us everything we need, everything so we can be Yours forever. Guide us, help us now and always through the LOVE of our Savior, Jesus Christ!

Quietly Wait For the Salvation of the Lord.

An expected end.

Ecc_9:5  For the living know that they shall die

This is truth. Some people are exposed to death and what it means from a very young age, others are protected from it and don't experience it for many years. Some learn of death without any real connection to it, but others learn firsthand.

Eventually everyone knows that they are going to die, that this is their end. Their bodies will cease to live and they are gone from the living world, they become ash or dust either quickly through cremation or slowly through decay. They leave us, we will leave others, our presence is gone, their presence is gone.

Jer 29:11  For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end. 

Jer 29:12  Then shall ye call upon me, and ye shall go and pray unto me, and I will hearken unto you. 

An expected end. Some through illness and disease know that death is coming, others die unexpectedly in accidents and unknown health conditions. There is debate on which experience is preferred. The LORD tells us that His thoughts are of peace not evil and He wants to give us an expected end.  The end the LORD desires for all of us is eventual eternal life. The promise that was made when man first sin, the hope that death's sleep is not permanent, that there is a chance for life everlasting. 

Lam 3:26  It is good that a man should both hope and quietly wait for the salvation of the LORD. 

We can know of God's salvation, and comprehend through His grace that this life we now live with all its suffering, is temporary. The horrors of this life are many and this doesn't mean that we will escape them. God loving us doesn't mean we suffer less. God loving us means eternal life, God loving us means we receive a promise, and that promise is salvation through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Abraham received this promise… Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Moses… all of these were given the same promise WE are given today.

Heb 11:39  And these all, having obtained a good report through faith, received not the promise: 

Heb 11:40  God having provided some better thing for us, that they without us should not be made perfect. 

We will all receive the promise when our Savior returns and takes us home with  Him. Until that expected end, while we quietly wait for the salvation of the Lord, we hope and we pray to endure all this temporary life gives to us. May we all look beyond this world, to the world to come in time, to Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior. Please, Lord, give us this hope, give us Your peace because this world is trying to take you from Us, to keep Your peace from us. All in Your love, all through Your will- now and forever.

We Are Sacrificed On the Altar of Your Will- God.

We must present ourselves to God as if we were offering Him the sacrifice of ourselves.  We are no stranger to sacrifice, are we? Surely there have been things in life you've had to sacrifice for one reason or another, yes? Some make sacrifices in their lives of such seeming great importance they can never stop thinking about it- through regret. Some start the mind crippling cycle of - if only I hadn't had to give that up- do you know where I'd be today? My life would have been so much better if I hadn't had to sacrifice that, for that reason. Obviously people fill in the blanks for their own personal sacrifices.

Some sacrifice their time, giving their services to others. Some sacrifice their possessions, giving what is theirs to another at a loss to themselves.

Sacrifice is what? According to the dictionary sacrifice can mean- giving up something valued, the loss involved in giving up something valued, offering to God to appease God. Now, I'm not sure I have to agree with the last one when we are speaking of God, our Heavenly Father. Yes, sacrifices were needed- ritual animal sacrifices were made all the time before our Savior sacrificed Himself. The animal sacrifices were made to symbolize the need for the death of an innocent for the sins of the people. A wrong was committed and in order to right that wrong there needed to be an atonement made, a sacrifice given in order to preserve the eternal life of the one offering the sacrifice. When we accept the sacrifice of our Savior, we accept that He suffered and died in our place so that we could be atoned, and become one with God again.

We need to become LIVING sacrifices. Christ Jesus died so we could become a living sacrifice offering God our LIVES while we live, to do with AS HE WILLS.  And if some make the mistake of believing it is not a sacrifice it truly is because you are giving up a worldly life. You are giving up the self-serving that we are so incredibly prone towards.

God will give us all we need to be a living sacrifice for Him. The spirit that God gives us will be one that counts everything loss, but serving God. The power of God, the power of God's love, the power to be whole in our minds for God, this is what we are given.  We choose to give up self-serving, and lay ourselves on the altar of God's will.  Please, Lord, let us live to this end- to be wholly YOURS.

All through Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior! Always!

2Ti 1:7  For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind. 

Rom 12:1  I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. 

Rom 12:2  And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God. 

Rom 12:3  For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith. 

Patience.

Patience-

I can only speak from personal experience but patience is not something we possess naturally, at least most of the people I know don't possess it naturally. There are a few who I would consider more patient than others, and some who are very impatient, but the forgiving patient nature that endures time after time without wearing thin, is a rarity.  Of course, this is just my experience. I wish I had a lot more patience. I wish I had the nature of my mother, she was a very patient woman (unless I'm looking through the mother-rose colored glasses we can often possess).

Rom 2:6  Who will render to every man according to his deeds: 

Rom 2:7  To them who by patient continuance in well doing seek for glory and honour and immortality, eternal life

Rom 8:24  For we are saved by hope: but hope that is seen is not hope: for what a man seeth, why doth he yet hope for? 

Rom 8:25  But if we hope for that we see not, then do we with patience wait for it.

God is returning to take His people home with Him. Every person's case will be decided by God. Grace makes our salvation possible, without it no one would be taken home with God. Grace makes us able to have deeds where we seek well doing through those deeds. We are not seeking salvation- to earn our salvation, but we are seeking to do the will of the One who has saved us. The deeds will reveal our situation, our actions will speak louder than our words. We may have to strive to do the will of God, the good deeds, the well doing, because we have a force opposing us at every opportunity to cause us to fail.

Doing good isn't coming naturally to you? That opposing force will tell you to give up, to stop even striving towards good, that it is impossible for you. Grasping hold through faith that we are saved by the grace of our Lord, Jesus Christ and then setting about to do well no matter how often we fail, this is patience in well doing, this is continuing to seek to do well hoping that we will be victorious in Christ to eternal life. Our salvation is found in this hope, and through patience we wait for the hope to be realized. We do NOT give in!

We may be impatient in a lot of situations in our lives- waiting in a long car line, waiting in a check out line at a store, being put on hold on the phone, listening to a long winded story, watching a pot of water boil, waiting our turn for just about anything we anticipate without dread. There are a lot of situations where impatience rears its very ugly head, but we must have patience as we wait for God's plan to unfold. And that patience is our persevering no matter what we cling to the hope found in Jesus. Seriously, no matter what! You aren't the perfect Christ follower, or how you imagine a perfect Christ follower should be? Do NOT give in. Let patience have its work.

Jas 1:2  My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations; 

Jas 1:3  Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience. 

Jas 1:4  But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing. 

Jas 1:12  Blessed is the man that endureth temptation: for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath promised to them that love him. 

Endure. Let patience have her perfect work. Hold fast!

All by His grace and mercy! All by His will! All through His amazing love!

Amen!!!!!!!