In Christ
People who walked with us for nearly four decades met together recently. It was our former Pastor’s 90th birthday and we came to celebrate him and his amazing influence on our lives. While we gathered to honor our hero, the reunion among guests was an added blessing. I hugged the necks of men and women who had walked by my side for many years. Some had been my children’s Sunday School teachers. Ranger leaders. Youth sponsors. Mentors. Friends. People who had prayed me through infertility, miscarriages, cancer, and loss. Believers who knew how to bear one another’s burdens and encourage each other daily. Our lives had been intertwined since the early 70’s and, even though many of us hadn’t seen each other in several years, our history united us. This was the Church.
I believe in the Church. It’s been at the core of my life since I was born. Never claiming to be perfect, the Church enriched my family’s life. My children were raised within its walls and found their own personal relationship with Jesus Christ at its altars. God ordained the Church for a purpose. It helped us to stay committed and faithful to the Lord and to understand what it meant to be believers in Christ.
Read 2 Corinthians 5:17
1. What does it mean to you to be in Christ?
Read Ephesians 1:3
2. What are some of the benefit of being in Christ?
Read Philippians 4:19
3. What promise is given to those who are in Christ?
Read Philippians 4:7
4. What will abiding in Christ do for our mental and spiritual health?
Read Acts 17:28
5. Describe what we “do” in Christ?
It takes more than attending weekly church services to growth spiritually. Cultivating an intimate relationship with the Lord should be a daily practice. We learn to abide in His presence daily through prayer and meditating on His Word. When we follow the Lord wholeheartedly, we actually live, move and have our very being in Him. Our purpose for living is found in Christ.
Stay committed and faithful to the body of believers where God has planted you. Invest your time, talent and treasures in the Kingdom of God. But don’t forget to abide in Christ at home, as well. Read and study the Bible. Pray constantly. Think about Truth. Listen to praise music. To abide in Christ, we must make intentional choices. When Jesus is the center of our lives, everything we are and do will flow out of Him. What a privilege we have being spiritually united in Christ!
The meaning of being in Christ is to let go of all things in our lives that holds us down from truly serving the LORD – I have also always been in church since I was a baby – beginning singing in church at a young age – but at that young age I did not know how to give everything in my life unto the LORD – that began when I was 10 to 12 years old – I left all of my old things behind and everything became new in my life – I began being an Children’s Church Leader in the Assembly of GOD church – then I began being the assistant Youth Lead and then the complete leader – I was a Missionette Leader of the teen age girls – then I was the director of different Holiday plays – I really began all things new and kept them that way through my life. GOD is so good to us. The benefits of being in Christi are to have a mansion in HEAVEN one of these days – all of the blessings in this daily life – the LORDS guidance in my life. My life is rich from all of the blessings the LORD has put into my life. My promise and the ones I have stood on for all my life – HE will supply all of my needs and make me a blessing in my life on this old earth. If you and I dwell on HIM in our lives then HE will keep our hearts and minds in HIM. What we do in CHRIST – my very being is living – moving and having our being in HIM – You and I are the offspring’s of CHRIST. I also believe it is not just attending Church Services every week – my living is for HIM during each day of the week also – What a wonderful lesson again – Karen – I love these – they really bring many thoughts out in our lives.