The Special of the Day… From the Orange Moon Cafe…
"Defined"
"And Moses said unto God, Who am I, that I should go unto Pharaoh, and that I should bring forth the children of Israel out of Egypt? And He said, Certainly, I will be with thee" (Exodus 3:11-12).
Moses, wondering why God would call him to the monumental task of delivering the children of Israel from cruel bondage, asked, "Who am I?" The Lord responded with the answer that best defines all who trust Him: "I will be with thee."
God's presence defines born again believers in the Lord Jesus Christ. He dwells with us to the degree He dwells within us. What better descriptor can express who and what we are than the fact of God's indwelling presence? "Christ in you, the hope of glory" (Colossians 1:27). How could it be otherwise, considering the centrality of the Lord Jesus in God's "eternal purpose" (Ephesians 3:11). If He looks within us and sees the Spirit of His Son as the very Life of our lives, can His first gaze be anything other than the fact of Christ's indwelling presence? Certainly, He sees the entirety of our being and our doings, including that which pleases Him, and that which does not. Ask Him about the church, however, whether corporately or individually, and we can safely surmise His first answer: "My Son is there."
We must join our Father in His Christ-centered definition of who we are. "Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord" (Romans 6:11). What other fact about ourselves, given as the most sublime gift purchased by the most sorrowful of sacrifices, can begin to take precedence over our Lord's living and abiding presence in our hearts? Certainly, the matter involves faith in a reality beyond sight, sound, and sensation. Moreover, we often do not live in accordance with being spiritual temples of the living God. If we have trusted the Lord Jesus, however, nothing changes the fact of who He is, and of how near He has drawn to us. Nor will any truth remembered and affirmed better serve to motivate and empower a life that reflects the truth that the Christ who died for us now lives in us.
After indicting the Corinthian believers for their carnality expressed in many sad forms, the first positive prescription applied by the Apostle Paul to correct his brethren reflects the truth we consider: "Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?" (I Corinthians 3:16). Paul reminded the Corinthians of that which defined them, namely, the Holy Spirit's living presence in their hearts. Who were the Corinthian believers, regardless of how well or poorly they responded to truth and reality? "The Spirit of God dwelleth in you" was Paul's answer. Far more to the point, the affirmation of the Holy Spirit's indwelling presence was God's answer. Correction ensued, as indicated by the Apostle's second letter to the Corinthians (II Corinthians 7:9-11). The same will occur in us, as the truth that defines us - "I will be with thee" - confirms and corrects, as necessary.
That which defines us - the presence of God - directs us as we grow in awareness and affirmation that our Lord has drawn nearer to us than our next breath. "Who am I?" Our Lord's presence - "I am with thee" - best answers the question.
"Because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of His Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father."
(Galatians 4:6)
Weekly Memory Verse
Thy words were found, and I did eat them; and Thy word was unto me the joy and rejoicing of mine heart: for I am called by Thy name, O Lord God of hosts.
(Jeremiah 15:16)
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