Understanding The Profound Implication Of Galatians 2:20

"I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me." (Galatians 2:20)

An in-depth study of Gal 2:20 brings to fore one little-noticed, if not altogether missed, critical aspect of Salvation, and that is: DEATH and BIRTH.

The Apostle Paul, in as few words as he could state it, drove home the point of the need to DIE first, followed by BIRTH to a new life, as requisite to Salvation. 

It's all in the figurative sense but essentially, it has the effects of the real thing, when the implications are considered, applied and accepted as the new reality of life for the person who takes seriously his calling and desires to meet Jesus Christ when He returns and follow Him wherever He goes. (Rev 14:4).

There are no gray areas here. Either you are dead and born into the new life that will guarantee your place in the Kingdom this stage of your life or continue living, business as usual, and wait for Judgement Day -- a slippery slope and a very risky business.

Listen to Paul speak about "death" and being "alive" in no uncertain terms:

"Even so consider yourselves to be dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus." (Rom 6:11)

What was he saying here? 

Simple. When one is dead, he's dead. He is not reformed, transformed or reborn. He may be alive in the body but his old sinful self, along with its worldly interests and desires, habits, attitudes, propensities, inclinations, etc., is factually and effectively dead -- discarded for good.

But he will be BORN into a new life. No longer his old self rising like the mythical Phoenix but he is granted the great honor and privilege to be born into a new, totally different life -- the very precious life of Jesus Christ, just a very tiny part of His life that will grow with the passing of time, but remember: that microcosm of Christ's life that you will be born into is way BIGGER than the sum total of your old self now dead. How so? Because the sum total of Jesus Christ's life surpasses in size the sum total of that of the entire human race. 

Now for the question: Will the "newborn" person no longer have free will or the capacity to think, decide, act and do things independent of GOD? Will he be like the robot doing only what it has been orogrammed to do.

Definitely, the "newborn" man retains that capacity to think and act freely as he wants to (like Paul and his fellow apostles and yes, the angels) but being conscious of his new state of being -- that the life he lives is not his to do with it as he pleases -- he is no longer inclined to exercise it outside of what the Holy Spirit prompts, inspires, motivates and directs him to do. The very attributes of Jesus Christ are progressively etched in his consciousness until these become his nature as he grows into maturity.

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There is much more yet to know and understand but let this be sufficient for now.

Caveat:

THIS IS NOT AN ATTEMPT to form a "tithe-collecting" worldly religious organization. Nor are we recruiting you to form one. We are simply seeking out our fellow "other sheep" of Jesus Christ.

Can Life Be Any Better In 2021?

In the wake of all the myriad troubles happening left and right in the world now, is there any reason to be hopeful in 2021?

If anything, what happened in Washington DC, USA, on Jan 6 set the pace for events that we can, more or less, expect to happen in the world this year. 

Life is not going to get any better, that's for sure. Get ready for the worst. The sorrows have just begun. You're a lot better off when you're prepared to deal with a situation or situations happening  simultaneously, than when you're not. Be proactive, not reactive.

And how are you going to do that? The answer can be found in Psalm 91. Read it. Take it to heart and things will go well with you. It did with me when I went through hell some time back (reason why I kind of abandoned this Blog for a long while). 

I'm back to blogging again because of Psalm 91 and I look forward to more posts this year. 

See you next post and thanks for stopping by.

"A Happy Heart ..."

“A happy heart makes the face cheerful, but heartache crushes the spirit.”   – Prov 15:13 (NIV)

My friend thinks he is smart. He told me an onion is the only food that makes you cry, so I threw a coconut at his face.

On Thanksgiving day, a little boy overhears his mom and dad fighting. He hears his mom call his dad a bastard and hears his dad call his mom a bitch. He asks, "Mommy, what does bastard mean?" She answers, "Um, it means boy." Then he asks, "Daddy, what does bitch mean?" He says, "Uh, it means girl." Later that day, the boy sees his father in the bathroom shaving; the dad accidentally cuts himself and says, "Sh*t." The son asks, "What does that mean?" The dad says, "It means shaving cream." Then he sees his mom in the kitchen carving the turkey; she accidentally cuts herself and says, "F*ck." The son asks her what that word means and she says, "It means carving." That evening, the family's guests arrive for Thanksgiving dinner. The son opens the door to welcome them and says, "Welcome bitches and bastards! My dad is in the bathroom rubbing sh*t on his face and my mom is in the kitchen f*cking the turkey." 

A man walks out on his front porch one day and sees a gorilla in the tree on his front lawn. He calls animal control and about an hour later a man shows up with a ladder, a pit bull, and a shotgun. The animal control employee tells the man, "I'm here to get the gorilla out of your tree. I'm going to use this ladder to climb up the tree and shake the branch the gorilla is on to knock him to the ground. The pit bull is trained to go after anything that falls from the tree and bites their balls which calms the animal down so I can put him in the truck." The man says "Okay, I see what the ladder and the pit bull are for but what is the shotgun for?" The animal control employee says, "Oh, that's for you. In case I fall out of the tree instead of the gorilla, shoot the dog."

Way to be Happy, Healthy and Wealthy

Understanding the Concept of Work

GOD originally intended that our first parents WORK, not for daily sustenance that they may live but to be co-creators with HIM ... to create and beautify the earth and enjoy life. That explains why man, compared to animals, can design and build. They did not have to worry about food or clothing or shelter because GOD would provide all that they needed to live. HIS only condition was: that they obey HIS commands and walk HIS way.

Enter the author of lies, the Devil who deceived Eve, who, in turn, (enticed, tempted, seduced, persuaded [pick the appropriate word]) Adam who didn't know better than lower his defenses, lose control of his faculties and give in. He turned his back to GOD and willfully disobeyed HIM all for a bite of the ... you know what.

As a consequence of this transgression (Law of Cause and Effect), the undeserved, abundant support from GOD to sustain life was withheld and for man to toil all day to put food on the table. And it has been so through the ages down to our time.

But ... unfortunate and sad that one act of our first parents might have been for humanity, GOD did not totally deprive man of HIS blessings of wealth, vibrant health and happy, fulfilled life if he turns from his rebellion, repents of his crooked ways and choose to follow GOD. We get a glimpse of this in the lives of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Job, David and Solomon who worked not for sustenance but to help others in accomplishment of GOD's purpose in creating man which is to do GOOD WORKS.

What this means is that meaningful success doesn't come about by our own efforts at work though by the work of our hands, we may enjoy comfort and acquire great wealth and material possessions. Meaningful success that equates with happy, healthy, wealthy, successful and fulfilled lives is a blessing from GOD.

And ... it all begins in the mind.

Don't Wait Till It's Too Late

Join

One of the keys to successful relationship is fluid, highly interactive communication. Love may be present but if it is not conveyed properly, may not only be misunderstood, but could elicit animosity, if not outright hate. Take the case of a father, for example, who, no doubt, loves his wife and kids but is overbearing towards them and intolerant of mistakes, even little ones. Or the child who could be likened to a sponge who soaks up everything thrown at him, and doesn't speak his mind, until he can't absorb any more and explodes to violence.

Life is too short we need to make the most of the little time we have with our family, our friends and the people around us. Let's take time, everyday, to appreciate the beauty around us, to talk and to listen, to accentuate the positive and throw away the things that destroy. Let's build bridges and break down walls. Let's do it while we still have time. Tomorrow may be too late.

I want to tell you more but I thought of just let Paul Carrack, a terrific talent, complete the thought of this post with his heart-touching version of the hit song, The Living Years. You can sing along with him. I have included the lyrics below. Happy singing.

The Living Years lyrics