Alive in Christ

                                                     
                                               For to me, to live is Christ,
                                                      and to die is gain.
                                                                            __Philippians 1:21

Paul was in prison, a place from which most people would desperately want to escape. Not so for Paul, he saw this as an opportunity to praise His Lord, share Christ with others.

                                  But I want you to know, brethen, that the things
                                  which happened to me have actually turned out
                                  for the furtherance of the gospel, so that it has
                                  become evident to the whole palace guard, and
                                  to all the rest, that my chains are in Christ.
                                                                            __Philippians 1:12-13

Why wasn't Paul consumed with fervor to prove his innocence, make others see he didn't belong in prison? The reason was simple, but not easy. Paul had determined long before he was sent to prison that his life belonged to Christ. He made a conscious decision that Christ wouldn't just be a part of his life, someone he prayed to in addition to all his other daily activities, but he would breath, eat, and sleep Christ. He would seek His face for every decision he would make, go only where Christ would lead, and do only what he felt Christ was guiding him to do.

 How easy is it to, not only worship Jesus, praise Him for all He has done for us, pray for direction in our lives and wisdom in our decisions, but actually die to self and allow Him to have His complete way with our lives? What if we can't go where we use to go, do what we use to do?

Let's look at Paul's response to such an attitude, "For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain." Paul knew letting Christ have His way in his life, allowing Him to be his life, was finding true freedom. Paul was no longer responsible for where his life would take him, what he would eat, or where he would sleep. Christ was why he lived. Whether to live or die, Paul knew it would be gain.

"To die is gain." May we be willing to die to ourselves and live in Christ! Only then will we find true freedom.
                                              .


             

Choose Life

                                                           Philippians 4:8
                                    Finally, brethen, whatever things are true,
                             whatever things are just, whatever things are pure,
                                        whatever things are of good report,
                         if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy
                                               meditate on these things.



How often do you think about what you are thinking about? How easy is it to let your mind wander into thoughts o f discouragement, frustration, or defeat?

There is a battle going on in our minds. The enemy of our soul takes every opportunity to bring us thoughts of discouragement, defeat, and disappointment. We need to know that everything the enemy tells us is in complete opposition to the Word of God.

It can be so difficult to read our Bible, allowing the Word of God to wash over us, when we are discouraged. Nevertheless, this is exactly what we need. Our Father is a father of hope, encouragement, solutions, and instruction. When we feel we can't look up, that is what we need to do. We need to once again place our focus where it belongs, on the many promises of God. His desire is that we will allow Him to have His way in our lives, drawing us to Himself.

Because we have a free will we can choose to listen to the lies of Satan, be defeated because of what he tells us, or we can choose to meditate on the Word of God, standing on His promises. As we choose to think on the Word of God we need to not only read the Word, but take it in, swallow and digest it, allowing the Word of God to live out in our lives. Only then will we find true victory. It is a matter of life and death to our soul.

                             "I call heaven and earth as witnesses today against you,
                               that I have set before you life and death, blessing and
                               cursing; therefore choose life, that both you and your
                               descendants may live; "that you may love the LORD
                               your God, that you may obey His voice, and that you
                               may cling to Him, for He is your life and the length
                               of your days.                     Deuteronomy 30:19-20

Think about what you are thinking about and live!