Free in Christ

We got real. 

We admitted that we are rotten.

We saw...

The truth that God's people are free in Christ.

Free to become more like Him.

Free to honor and glorify and love and enjoy God forever.

Free to put off that which is "us" and put on that which is Christ! 

I want to get even more real with you....

For me, one of the biggest rotten points in my life is ANXIETY.

I fret.

I worry.

I sulk. 

Sometimes it gets so serious that I actually get grumpy, sick, or too quiet. 

Along with anxiety comes:

unbelief

fear

uncertainty

unwillingness to trust

I know that to keep anxiety away the best thing is to stay busy. 

BUT....I also know that busyness is simply an "airfreshner" or a "candle" to my anxious spirit. The anxiety doesn't go away, it's just that the job at hand serves as a distraction for the MOMENT. 

My goal, and God's goal for me, is to REPLACE anxiety.

My Jesus was not anxious. He walked in belief, in boldness, in certainty, and total trust. 

The same Father that kept Him is keeping me. 

Because of Jesus I am able and commanded to walk in belief, in boldness, in certainty, and total trust. 

My God is keeping me. 

When I am more like Christ, I am at peace with God. I have a quiet heart. I am ready to be at peace with those people He has placed around me. 

Moments of exposure will come. 

Even though I am in Christ, the old me isn't totally dead yet.

Those moments of exposure remind me what I have in Christ and what I have in me. 

Those moments of exposure remind me that God is keeping me. 

Those moments of exposure remind me what I am here for....

To help others who face just as much exposure become aware of what is theirs in Christ. That they too make know that God is about the business of keeping His people. 

Philippians 4:6-7

Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Excuse me, I smell?

We don't like rotten smells. 

We often do whatever we can to get rid of them.

We do enjoy lovely smells.

Lotions, perfumes, colognes, candles, air fresheners, soaps, detergents....People make good money on these items because they are important to other people. 

The key to getting rid of a bad smell is finding the ROOT of the problem. Covering it up simply isn't good enough.

In our lives (who we really are underneath it all) there are smells. 

They usually come across by way of our attitudes, words, and actions. They are rooted in our thoughts and desires. 

Sometimes, something is ROTTEN. We can hide it for a while. We even get very skilled at hiding our rottenness. But then, something or someone comes along and exposes us. 

We blow up with an outburst.

We throw a nasty look at someone. 

We retreat to sulk.

We get angry, upset, and rude. 

In that single moment, the "refrigerator door" is "opened" and the "smell" is made clear. 

Sometimes it goes away as soon as we calm down....Sometimes it just hangs in the air because it has gotten so out of hand.

Let's be honest. 

We are all rotten. We all have sin that overwhelms us at times.

The answer is to identify the rotten "thing". 

To hand it over to Jesus.

To set our hearts and minds on becoming more like Him. 

The point isn't to smell good. The point isn't even not to smell bad.

The point is to be pleasing to our God and so point people to who He is and what He does with the lives of those people who are His. 

These lives, these people, are still rotten. They still have moments of exposure.

But, these people are free to rest in the fact that they are not stuck in that sin.