A Plan For LIfe

If you had to choose between living your own plans and God’s plan in Christ, what would be your choice?  As simple as this question sounds, it is the essence of our daily struggle as disciples of Jesus.

We must become comfortable with God’s plan in Christ.  We must become comfortable with Jesus’ perfect presence in us as being God’s plan for our life.

We have spent so much time cultivating our own plans that we truly find it strange to stop the continual planning process and rest in the singular plan that is “Christ in you the hope of glory.”

If someone were to ask you what your plan for living this day is, what would you say?  Could you honestly say your plan is to live Jesus?

To become comfortable with this kind of living just take it one day at a time.  Start today by living a plan for life that says  “ For to me to live is Christ.”.   Let living Jesus be your plan and then be ready to move at the speed of Christ.

 

 

Bud McCord

Abide International

Equality

From the beginning of our lives we begin to see the many ways that we are different from other people.  In our perceptions about reality we cannot help but find ourselves feeling unequal to some people.

Some are more beautiful than we see ourselves.  Some run faster and jump farther.  Some are taller and seem  able to draw attention to themselves with ease. No matter how beautiful, how athletic or how tall, no one escapes the sense of inequality.

There is one place, however, where inequality is defeated and must bow to Jesus’ perfect presence .  This place of complete equality is described as being  “in Christ.”   To be “in Christ” is to find the one place in our reality where we can completely lay aside all fear of comparison and inequality.

Being “in Christ” is the true Christian mystery and revelation. If the words “in Christ” were truly understood by every disciple the church would once again find  its most beautiful reality and power.

Every time you see the words “in Christ” read them as “I am in eternal spiritual union with Christ.”  Whoever is in this blessed spiritual condition has found the only equality that really matters.  If we could see each other as “in Christ”, we could literally begin to live the mystery  and revelation of Christ in us which is the hope of God’s glory appearing in all of our lives.  Only through this “in Christ” equality can we demonstrate the true power of being the body of Christ in action as one.

Those who would like to create a type of Christianity that begins with those who have spiritual equality and those who do not have the same equality destroy Christianity at its core.  We would all be wise to see every believer from the moment of their new birth as “in Christ”.  Only then we correctly see them as worthy to be considered spiritually equal to us at the core of their being “in Christ.”

“There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus.” Galatians 3:28

 

 

Bud McCord

Abide International

Good People

"Joe is really good people."

Having someone describe us as "good people" is an old american compliment.   Is it, however, a sign of Christian spirituality to be called "good people"?  Does Jesus in us as our source of spirituality produce a type of human being others would call "good people"?

Sometimes we create a vision of spirituality that measures activities linked to our church calendar, our private devotional time or our evangelistic proficiency.  Unfortunately being simply "good people" doesn't seem to describe much of our spirituality.

If we take a close look at Jesus' spirituality it becomes abundantly clear that He was "good people."  The impression He left wherever He walked was that pure goodness had arrived in human form.  When Jesus says "He who sees Me sees the Father", He was not speaking of His perfect attendance at the synagogue, His private devotional time or His evangelization of people.  He was speaking of the goodness of the Father that was continuously inspiring His goodness day by day.

The spirituality of Jesus was born in the presence of the Father that was abiding in Him moment by moment.  Jesus was "good people" because of the goodness of the Father that was living in Him.  Jesus' visible goodness 24/7 proved that God is good all the time and all the time God is good.

Jesus in us is the source of all of our goodness.  Jesus in us is what makes us "good people".  Jesus in a disciple will always inspire the disciple to be "good people".

Can you imagine Jesus applauding  the spirituality of one of His followers while knowing that His disciple was not "good people" in His neighborhood?  We would do well to be "good people" all the time and all the time be "good people".  "Jesus was "good people" and is "good people" in you right now

 

Bud McCord

Abide International