2/23/08

Just A Thought #4

Are We "IN" the Lord?

I was reading through Romans 8 this past week. Our church has been going through the book of Romans and I was excited to be able to share from Chapter 8 as it is one of my favorite chapters in the Bible. I started reading from verse 1 which says, "There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit."

Do you ever have one of those WOW moments when reading the Word of God? I have read this verse so many times I took it for granted that I would see nothing "new" there. Yet I could not make it past the first verse. I read it over and over. I laid in bed for at least 30 minutes that night chewing on that verse. Actually I did that 2 different nights! So what had me so excited?

The word in! IN! That's right, one little 2 letter word. It was like the hinge to a door to me. It swung open and I saw that verse in a whole new light.

Being in the tech age now I quickly opened my Bible software program and looked at the Greek meaning of the Word. This is part of what I got: denoting (fixed)position (in place, time or state), and (by implication) that is, a relation of rest.

Huh?

So what does all that mean? To me it meant that if we are In Christ Jesus we are in a Fixed position...to me that means a moment in time where the enemy can throw his worst at us and we cannot be moved! We are In Christ, fixed in a place of rest!

Rest. That word pops up a few times in the Word and always made me feel I was not living to a standard I should.

This past week I had a lot on my plate and was feeling a bit stressed. I ran into a friend and shared where I was and my friend asked if I was resting. In that exact moment the Lord spoke to me and revealed I was not resting IN Him! I was not surrendering my stress and my situations to Him and trusting He will keep my feet secure and not allow me to be moved. I was not able to relax and trust Him. Well that took me back to this Scripture again and I had my week change dramatically after that.

To Rest In Christ is to surrender our "issues" to Him and to put that trust in Him to take care of it. To let go!

So the question I ask you to ponder is, Are you In the Lord?

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