The Special of the Day… From the Orange Moon Cafe
"The Presence"
"Christ in you, the hope of glory."
(Colossians 1:27)
In the moment one receives the grace of God in the Lord Jesus Christ by faith, the greatest of all changes takes place. Presence replaces absence, namely, the living God takes residence in our spirit that heretofore had been lifeless and void.
"Because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of His Son into your hearts, crying Abba Father" (Galatians 4:6).
"And you hath He quickened (enlivened) who were dead in trespasses and sins… Christ is our life" (Ephesians 2:1; Colossians 3:4)
Such inner transformation of life and being occurs in the blessed moment of the new birth in every believer. "Ye are not in the flesh, but in the spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of His" (Romans 8:9). Indeed, of all the glories declared by the Apostle Paul as "the unsearchable riches of Christ," none compare with the indwelling presence of the Spirit of the Lord Jesus (Ephesians 3:8). God gives Himself through Christ and the Holy Spirit to the hearts of those who come to Him by faith. The breathtaking bestowal affirms an inestimable gift we presently know in the most limited measure, as compared with "the hope of glory" we will realize and experience in ever growing wonder throughout eternity.
I was presented with this truth by fellow believers in the early days of my Christian life. I have believed it, prayed about it, pondered it, preached it, written about it, and sought to live in its blessed light for nearly a half century. However, every remembrance and contemplation brings me to the place of realizing how little I actually comprehend and experience of such grace. I sense and feel this as I write these words. I could and should have known so much more of "the hope of glory." I also recognize that the truth bears such infinite reality that no matter how far we venture into responding to the gift, a shoreless ocean beckons us to journey ever further into the wonder of Christ's indwelling presence within our hearts. We can know some, and we must. We can know more, and we must. But we can never know all. Thankfully, this moment offers yet another opportunity to approach the throne of grace to give thanks for the greatest of all gifts. God gave Himself to us when we believed. All other bestowals have meaning, significance, and effect because of the Presence that changed everything in the temple of our hearts when the Lord Jesus entered therein…
"If any man be in Christ, old things are passed away. Behold, all things are become new."
(II Corinthians 5:17)
"I will dwell in them and walk in them."
(II Corinthians 6:16)
Made to be sin, who knew no sin,
Christ nailed to a cross, forsaken!
Made to be righteous because of Him,
Christ lives now in us, He dwells within.
His delight for the Father, now ours by grace.
His faithfulness revealed in us through faith.
"He lives, we live," the anthem we sing,
"Not I, but Christ!" the offering we bring.
Oh let us believe it because we received it
in the moment we entered His light,
sins were forgiven, God promised Heaven,
and Christ as the Life of our lives.
Weekly Memory Verse
Whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as unto the Lord.
(Colossians 323).
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