Thursday, July 11, 2024

Weekly message: Change your ideology by Rev.Katherine Liu Bruce

 Weekly message: Change your ideology                                              

By Rev.Katherine Liu Bruce

 Christian Arts Ministries: Biblical precepts & Gospel music; Pastoral ministry & Counseling 

 Date July 11, 2024

 

Faith realization in Christ Jesus is “My goal is God Himself, not joy nor peace, nor even blessing, but Himself, my God.” This realization is pretty absurd in some sense even in Christians’ field.             Being Christian minister, so often, I prayed for myself and followed members, friends to receive joy, love, blessing, and peace to be filled in their hearts, home and working place. And Jesus will be the answer for an individual's life. Today’s vision and scripture awakens me to change my ideology. The scripture says, “till we all come… unto the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ” (Eph.4:13). 

God delights a child of God to grow in Him as a full-grown man mature in life. To arrive at a measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ he or she must live in oneness with God as the Body of Christ. That Christ Himself will manifest in him (or her), and he (or she) will reflect God’s glorious image, and marvelous light, and live God’s life eternal. God wants us to be His possession and acknowledge “There is none, but Thee” as God says, “I AM your God, you are my people.” We, as His possession will affirm that “He is mine, I am His”. Facing every scenario we can totally submit to Him confidently and say, “O God Father, and my Lord Jesus Christ, I believe that you are mighty enough to control this; you are strong enough to carry these burdens that I concerns and bring healing to this; you are big enough to handle all that I concern; you are powerful enough to do this. I can just cast all my burdens and concerns to Thee, and submit myself to Thee, for Thou are the God Almighty who is able, more than able to do much more than I can ever imagine and ask.” Oswald Chambers said, “The essential thing is my personal relationship to Jesus Christ that I may know Him. To fulfill God’s design means entire abandonment to Him. Whenever I want things for myself, the relationship is distorted.” Resting in the Lord does not depend on external circumstances, but on your relationship to God Himself. It is easy to talk about “resting in the Lord” and “waiting patiently for Him”, but without oneness with God as full-grown man and the measure of the statutes of the fullness of Christ, our soul life will keep fretting, fearing, worrying and anxious about all things. Oswald’s thoughts are right that “Fussing (or complaining, protesting, grumbling, griping) always ends in sin” and “fretting is wicked if you are a child of God.”

All the fret and worry occurred because without oneness with God. Psalm 37:5 says, Commit thy way unto the Lord; trust also in Him; and He shall bring it to pass.” Or “Commit your way to the Lord trust in Him and He will do this.” (NIV). “I was young and now I am old, yet I have never seen the righteous forsaken or their children begging bread.” (Psalm 37:25) “Even to your old age and gray hairs I am He, I am He who will sustain you. I have made you and I will carry you, I will sustain you and I will rescue you.” (Isaiah 46:4). When we live in oneness with God, His way will be our way, His thoughts will be our thoughts, and His truth will be our reality. You will be developed as a full-grown man as the body of Christ to reach out to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ. And your inner man will say “I am His, He is mine”, your soul will remind you that “My goal is God Himself, not joy nor peace, nor even blessing, but Himself, my God.” Your soul will rest in God, for His promise is “I will never leave you, nor will I forsake you.” “Though the mountains be shaken, and the hills be removed, yet my unfailing love for you will not be shaken nor my covenant of peace be removed.” (Isaiah 54:10). Then, you will boldly declare For my Maker is my husband the Lord Almighty is His name.” (Isaiah 54:5)

        My friends, do you need to change your ideology? Let go of your fussing, fretting, fear, worry, and anxiety about life, families, relatives, friends, society values, and people’s thinking. Replace God in your mind, and heart, let Jesus be your life, your way, your truth and your reality. Anything you ask Him for is not better than God Himself. God wants to give you - God Himself.

How to let God dwell in you? As a traditional hymn named, “Take the Name of Jesus with you” it says,

1)      Take the name of Jesus with you, Child of sorrow and of woe;

It will joy and comfort give you take it, then, wherever you go.

2)      Take the name of Jesus ever, as a shield from every snare;

It temptations round you gather, breathe that holy name in prayer.

3)      O the precious name of Jesus! How it thrills our souls with joy;

When His loving arms receive us and His songs our tongues employ!

4)      At the name of Jesus bowing, falling prostrate at His feet,

King of kings in heaven we’ll crown Him when our journey is complete. 

Refrain     

        Precious name, o how sweet! Hope of earth and joy of heaven

         Precious name, O how sweet! Hope of earth and joy of heaven

 Is it that simple? “Whatever you do...do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus.” (Col.3:17).

  

Bibliography,           

Bauer, Walter. A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature. 3rd Chicago: The University of Chicago press, 2000.

Brown, Robert, Philip W. Comfort and J.D. Douglas, ed. The New Greek English Interlinear New Testament. Carol Stream: Tyndale House Publishers, Inc.1990.

 

Chambers, Oswald. My utmost for His highest, NY: Dodd, Mead & Company, Inc. 1935.   

Friberg, Timothy, Barbara Friberg, and Neva F. Miller et al., eds. Analytical Lexicon of the Greek New Testament.1st ed. Victoria BC: Trafford Publishing, 2005.

            King James, The Holy Bible, Cleveland, OH: The world publishing company

            Ryrie, Charles C. The Ryrie study Bible (NIV). Chicago, IL: The Moody Bible Institute, 1986. 

 Strong, James. Strong’s: the expanded exhaustive concordance of the Bible. Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 2010. 

 

 

 

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