Living Life for Christ Alone

  "Do not stay so far from me, for trouble is near, and no one else can help me." (Psalm 22:11) "...No one else can help me." No hope anywhere but in Him. No help unless He helps. No joy unless He supplies it. No endurance, no patience, no peace, no goodness... unless it comes from His hand. No joy, no faith, no purpose in challenges unless He Himself gives it to us. The process to get to this place is arduous. It's one we don't ask for, but as Christians we need.  You see, when trouble is near, and we find that our resources are running out, we have whatever veiled our vision of Him removed so we can really see Him. He IS all -we just don't tend to see Him that way. He is our soul's answer -but we usually just have Him in our minds as a plan B. It's usually something else and  Him we depend on -not just Him. The Christian life is a process of growing in exclusive dependence on the One who is all we need. (Read John 15 for more on this.) And some...

Today I'd like to share with you a secret. It's a secret that I know could change your life if you let it... I happened to be reading in Revelation on this one particular morning. It's a book that gets me excited, perplexed, and causes me to have a sense of awe all at once... Maybe its because it talks about heavenly things I can't imagine. Maybe its because it talks about things that will happen that I can't fully understand. Or perhaps its because there is so much promise of hope in it that gets my mind off of the here and now. 

The thin figure caught my eye as the team and I gathered back together from evangelizing on the pier in El Salvador. I didn't know if it was a he or she, but this person walked in a rather strange way. He wore tights and a green trench coat. His hair went to his shoulders, and he wore a hat that seemed to fit his look. In his hand he held a blonde doll.  The people I was with also noticed him, and we all watched as he walked by. Suddenly, he turned and saw us watching. "Don't make eye contact," someone warned us. He took a few steps toward us. In his eyes, evil danced, a grin spread across his face that seemed to say, "I see you watching..."

"Christ is all; and in all." (Colossians 3:11) Christian... Don't look for identity in what you do or who people say you are. Christ has made you a child of God! Don't seek protection in people you have in your life. Christ has made God to be your Protector in every situation. Don't look for acceptance from friends or people you respect. Christ has made you acceptable to God. Don't search for fulfillment in friendships. Christ has already said that you are His friend, and who could be a better friend than Jesus? Leave off the search for love in a boyfriend or girlfriend. Christ has made you complete in Himself! Never give in to the idea that you are as secure as the people and friends make you to be. Christ has given you eternal security in Himself! Don't seek to ease the guilt that comes when you fail by running to temporary pleasures! Christ has forgiven you once for all! You are washed in the blood and that never will need to be repeate...

"Looking unto Jesus..." (Heb. 12:2) We make everything so hard sometimes... But it all boils down to just one thing: You and your Savior, Jesus Christ. No long, elaborate answer for every question, just the simple "looking unto Jesus..." That's it. He is the answer to the salvation question. He is the answer to every other question, too! We weren't called to figure out every detail of our lives. We weren't called to know the answers to every question. We weren't called to understand why everything happens or what is going to happen. We're just invited to be still and look only to Jesus. Even when it seems like the whole world is looking to you for the answer, He is the answer. Even when you feel like its up to you -it's not. Jesus can handle it. Just look to Him and Him alone... That's it. Even when the day is filled with demands and people are pressing in on you, He is the answer. He can handle it. He's not weak -you are....