Devotional Guide
For the week of September 12, 2004
WHAT WOULD JESUS DO?
Being in Christ us not mystical
To Read: Psalms 61-63
To Know:
"Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself,
unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me." (Jn.
15:4)
What would Jesus do? is a question many ask themselves. It is a question
more easily answered than most might think. First, Jesus already did what he
would have us do. The Bible is action packed. The gospel written by Mark is
dynamic. He is breathless in showing us the public ministry of Christ that
led to his crucifixion. The word immediately hurries us through Mark leaving
the impression that hardly an hour passed when the Lord did not do something
vital. Two thousand years later we know what Jesus did during the days of
his flesh.
Second, Jesus is presently active, having risen from the dead. The apostle
Paul uses only seven words to sum up the authentic Christian life, "Christ
in you the hope of glory." (Col. 1:27) The Holy Spirit inspired the author
of Hebrews to write, "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and
forever." (13:8) The same Jesus who two millennia ago did the will of God
now abides in those who trust in his name and promises to do now what he did
then.
Anti-supernatural Christianity treats the Christian life as an exercise in
mimicry. This emasculated version of the Christian faith was taught in many
a 20th century pulpit. Liberal preachers urged their hearers to copy Christ,
but never told them the mystery or secret of godliness. The Christian life
is lived by faith. This is the faith that the very same Jesus who did mighty
deeds in ancient Israel does those deeds now by the hands of those who trust
in his promises.
To Do:
Christ in you might be translated, Christ in connection with you. Being in
Christ is not mystical, it is spiritual. Jesus Christ is a real person and
so are we. When we live in connection with him he delights in doing what we
ask him to do when what we ask is in his will. Let's ask expectantly.
09134$-09134
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