Pastoral Prayer Ministry

Did you know what "Christian" means?  Yep, it means "little Christ"...  Wierd eh?  Or is it?  Think... little Christ.  That's what the early Christians were sometimes called: "little Christs".  I'd be fine with being called that!

So why doesn't the Christian life work for you?  Maybe, just maybe, it is because YOU are trying to live it out... YOU may be trying to live out your Christian life, when it is Jesus who needs to be living in and through you...  Am I being ironic here or hyperbolic or playing with words?  No!  It's a paradigm shift, of sorts, it is a spiritual and mental shift as to what it means to be alive in Christ and walking in and by Holy Spirt.

Am I confusing you or is your spirit curious or intrigued?  Romans 12:1 says it clearly, look it up in the Amplified Bible and The Message, they are great ways of communicating this message that we as believers in Jesus are to be "Living Sacrifices".  Galatians 2:20 says it even more radically or bluntly: who is to be living in and through this "earth suit" (what Bill Gillham calls your body)? Jesus is!  Or take a look at what Jesus confronts His disciples about in The Message's rendering of Matthew 16:24-26!  Clearly there is a key point here to get in our hearts and lives!!!

So, if this kind of discussion intrigues you, let me add something that is a "downer", but very honest and real and needs to be said:  If WE are trying to live our own Christian lives, even the best "performers" amongst us will fail miserably (you may do a good job of hiding the failure in the short run, but all who live the Christian life in their own strength are designed/destined to fail!)...   bold words, eh?  Well, come and learn why and how to get out of that "pit" if you find yourself there!  This a key to many people's faith walk!

Come and take the course in January!  http://www.pastoralprayer.com/webinars-and-training.html

27 Stop toiling and doing and producing for the food that perishes and decomposes [in the using], but strive and work and produce rather for the [lasting] food which endures [continually] unto life eternal; the Son of Man will give (furnish) you that, for God the Father has authorized and certified Him and put His seal of endorsement upon Him.

28 They then said, What are we to do, that we may [habitually] be working the works of God? [What are we to do to carry out what God requires?]

29 Jesus replied, This is the work (service) that God asks of you: that you believe in the One Whom He has sent [that you cleave to, trust, rely on, and have faith in His Messenger]. (John 6, Amplified Bible)

In Verse 29 of John 6, Jesus is speaking of himself, Jesus Christ of Nazareth.  So tell me reader: have you investigated His claims? He is, as C.S, Lewis asserts, as a result of His claims, either a: Liar, Lunatic or Lord (one worthy of our worship and loyalty). http://merecslewis.blogspot.ca/2011/09/deciding-about-jesus-liar-lunatic-or.html

So, why do I share these verses from my readings, today? Well, I struggle with going to real earthly food that perishes, at times, versus finding my value, comfort and calling in Jesus and His Body (of believers). True emotional maturity means seeing the ways that I try to comfort and care for myself and understanding if they are truly healthy and worthy ways in my Saviour's eyes/heart, for His heart is mine and mine is His and I can do His Will in His Strength (Plillipians 4:13 & Galatians 2:20).  I can find "food and drink" that truly satisfies!

As I seek to live by faith, this idolatry of wrongly running to food as my comfort in my life has become clearer. Yes, I said idolatry. That's an old word, maybe for some.  It's meaning is to look for meaning and value in things apart from the Lordship of Jesus Christ. To look to food as what will fill the ache in my soul is to idolize.  Yes, anything can take the place of our Lord Jesus in our lives and Paul and the other writers of the New Testament frequently ask us to be wary of this carnal or fleshly detour. The Father's Ten Commandments address it as: having no other gods besides Him. So we are left to see that apart from living in Jesus Christ, our fallen nature will get us looking anywhere but to God for comfort and meaning (Romans 8:6-8).

So, I surrender again to my Lord and Master and Friend: Jesus Christ and choose to recognize and relate to Christ within as my All-in-All.  For He alone can give me what I truly need to thrive here and to live with Him in Heaven. Consider the posted site/blog above on Jesus' claims, they have the potential of revolutionizing your life and outlook, fovever.  Find the "food" that never spoils and truly satisfies.