“So we have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us. God is love, and whoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him. By this is love perfected with us, so that we may have confidence for the day of judgment, because as he is so also are we in this world.” 1 John 4:16-17.
I have recently come to realize that the Christian life is really very simple. Believe and abide. Have faith and remain in the Faithful One. The love of God is perfected in us because we have allowed the God who is love to conquer our lives. He now lives His life in our body and “as He is so also are we in this world.”
The Gospel is simply a Great Exchange; my sin for His righteousness, my flesh for His Spirit, my dreams for His plans, my life for His. Did you catch that? Our life for the life that God incarnate lived on this earth! When we became believers, we completely gave up all rights to our own life. We became one flesh with the living God of the universe! Jesus Christ now has every right to live His life through me! And this can only be accomplished through believing and abiding.
Ian Thomas puts it this way: “The death Jesus Christ died qualifies us to live the life that He lived.” When Jesus clothed Himself with flesh, He gave up His divine nature, His equality with God. Therefore, everything that He did in this world was a result of His choice to believe and abide. The intimacy that Jesus experienced and experiences with His Father is the same intimacy that we can experience today because of our position in Christ. Everything that He has, we also have. But we MUST abide. We MUST know our position and remain there. And that is how the impossible comes to pass. We are all incapable of doing anything that God has called us to do in our flesh. The only way that we can obey is when we walk in the Spirit (another way of saying “abide”) and have the faith to actually do it with His power.
Knowing these realities, I want to devote my life to knowing and abiding with God more and more. I want my life to be one of obedience because I believe. I know I am just beginning this grand adventure and I can’t wait to spend my entire life standing in awe as God does the impossible. From September 2015 to May 2016, I will be in a faith-filled journey to the countries of Thailand, South Africa, and Nicaragua. I will be serving the poor and lost in each country and following the Spirit as He leads me and my team with the power to do the impossible. The Lamb is worthy of the reward of His suffering and I am so excited to be a part of His mission on earth!
I am inviting you to join me in this incredible opportunity to see the nations bow at the name of our Savior. This journey costs $12,491 and between money I’ve saved, part-time employment, and donations I know God will provide! If the Spirit so leads, would you become a part of this mission to reach the nations? Click on the Support Me link if you would like to become a part of my journey!
If you are unable to donate, please pray for the Holy Spirit to move mightily in my heart and the hearts of those I come in contact with on this trip. May God bless you as you live out your days in simple obedience and sweet intimacy with Jesus!
