Meditation Chip Brogden

March 15
Every Knee, Every Tongue

"God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father."
PHILIPPIANS 2:9-11

Christ will have the preeminence in all things, but it will not be the forced submission of a dictator who forces everyone to bow down to him whether they want to or not. It is true that some seem to bow down more easily than others; some are quick to confess Jesus as Lord, others confess Him as Lord when they are older, while some seem to hold out until the last possible moment. Some apparently die having made no obvious confession of faith at all.
But in the end, we have the glorious promise. Note how Scripture includes “every tongue” and “every knee.” The Bible affirms that “He is able even to subdue all things unto Himself” (Philippians 3:21).
Source: The Irresistible Kingdom by Chip Brogden
http://theschoolofchrist.org/books/the-irresistible-kingdom.html

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March 14
Doing Flows from Being
"The Law of the Spirit of Life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the Law of Sin and Death."
ROMANS 8:2

Does a fish become a fish by swimming under the water, or does it swim under the water because it is a fish? Does a bird become a bird once it learns to fly through the air? Or does it fly through the air because it is a bird? Which is it? Of course, the bird is a bird, and therefore it flies. It does not have to be instructed per se, but when it is pushed out of the nest it flaps its wings. It is its nature to do so. So doing does not create being, doing flows out of being.
Now the Law of Life in Christ does not try to make us into something we are not. The very presence of the Life in us demonstrates that Christ already indwells us. We are not trying to be like Christ, and we are not trying to live like a Christian. Since we ARE in Him, we WALK in Him. Our works come from what we are, not what we are trying to be.
Source: Lord of All by Chip Brogden
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March 13
Remember the Loaves

"When I broke the five loaves for the five thousand, how many baskets full of fragments did you take up? ...Also, when I broke the seven for the four thousand, how many large baskets full of fragments did you take up?"
MARK 8:19,20

When you’re going through a crisis of faith, it’s not easy to remember the faithfulness of the Lord. How quickly we forget the previous victories and the former blessings.
Jesus wants us to remember. Keeping a spiritual journal or prayer diary is a good way to remember just how far the Lord has brought us and just how much He has done for us. Our circumstances may change, but He never changes! He is always faithful.
Remember the loaves and do the math, Jesus says. When you do, you will see this simple truth: the fewer loaves you start out with, the more people I can feed. My Power is strongest when you are at your weakest..
Download this book for free:
Why Do You Call Me Lord? by Chip Brogden
http://theschoolofchrist.org/freebook1
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March 12
Christ Cannot Be Hidden

"And [Jesus] entered a house and wanted no one to know it, but He could not be hidden."
MARK 7:24

When we look at the earthly ministry of Jesus we see that He did not seek to increase Himself. He actually humbled Himself and tried to be inconspicuous. Even so, when He tried to hide Himself, He could not be hidden. I want you to think about that. When God was ready to reveal Him then He could not be hidden. He could not even hide Himself.
I tell you, this idea of Christ increasing is the most powerful reality in this universe! Nothing can stand before it, nothing can resist it, and nothing can stop it.
Source: Lord of All by Chip Brogden
http://theschoolofchrist.org/books/lord-of-all.html
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March 11
Why the Fiery Trials?

"I have heard of You by the hearing of the ear, but now my eye sees You. Therefore I abhor myself and repent in dust and ashes."
JOB 42:5,6

Hearing about God from others is not the same as seeing Him with your own eyes. In Job’s story we find an answer to the age-old question of why God allows the righteous to suffer. The answer is: there are things you need to know about God, and things you need to know about yourself, that you cannot know without going through a fiery trial.
The greatest lessons will not be learned while sitting in a classroom or reading a book. They will be learned in the dark nights, the deep valleys, and the raging seas of trial and tribulation.
Source: The Irresistible Kingdom by Chip Brogden
http://theschoolofchrist.org/books/the-irresistible-kingdom.html
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March 10
Raised With Him
"In Him we live, move and have our being."
ACTS 17:28

Before my father married my mother and conceived me, he was in a serious automobile accident. Had my father died at the age of sixteen, I would have died also, because I was still in my father. His death would have been my death; and not my death only, but also the death of my children, and their children, all the way down the line. We would have all died together with him, having never even lived. But his life, his survival, his overcoming the accident was just as much my life, my survival, and my overcoming.
Spiritually speaking, this is similar to what God has done for us by placing us in Christ. Christ was crucified, dead, buried, resurrected, ascended, and seated; and since we were in Him when it all happened, God considers it to have happened to us as well. We who are His children now share in the very life of Christ, and each of us bear witness to the resurrection and overcoming of Christ. When God raised Him from the dead, He raised us from the dead as well.
Source: Embrace the Cross by Chip Brogden
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March 9
Spiritual Satisfaction
"I am the bread of life. He who comes to Me shall never hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst."
JOHN 6:35

Here we have another principle of how the Law of Life operates. The presence of this Life within the believer will create hunger and thirst for Christ. What is more, this hunger and thirst for Christ cannot be filled or quenched with anything else – including blessings, power, spiritual gifts, or Christian service.
It is hard to convince new converts of this, but those of us who have been around a long time should know by now that Christ is what makes a Christian.
Source: Lord of All by Chip Brogden
http://theschoolofchrist.org/books/lord-of-all.html
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March 8
Continue in Him
"Unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you do not have life in you [Gate]... Whoever continues to eat my flesh and drink my blood continues to live in union with Me and I in union with him [Path]."
JOHN 6:53,56 (Williams)

My burden is to see disciples brought down the Path, so I see the Path everywhere I look in the Scripture. How does this relate to our study? In this way: the Gate of eternal Life is to receive the Lord as food and drink, but the Path is to continue eating and drinking.
The Lord tells us that He is meat indeed, and drink indeed. Just how often do we eat and drink? Unless we are fasting, our eating and drinking occur daily, several times a day in fact. That is why I selected the Williams Translation of these passages, because it gives us the continuing action of the Greek verb – whoever continues to eat, continues to live. It is not just a once-and-for-all thing, but a continual thing. It is abiding. It is a Gate and a Path.
Source: Lord of All by Chip Brogden
http://theschoolofchrist.org/books/lord-of-all.html
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March 6
The Key to Ultimate Victory
“Peter remembered the word of Jesus who had said to him, ‘Before the rooster crows, you will deny Me three times.’ So he went out and wept bitterly.”
MATTHEW 26:75

Jesus was not surprised or disappointed when Peter failed. In like manner, He is not surprised or disappointed when you fail. Rather, He is waiting for you to fail so you will be reduced to Him. He has no illusions about you and He knows you through and through. He knows however much your spirit may be willing, your flesh is weak. Our weakness is not the trouble – the trouble is our unwillingness to acknowledge the weakness.
But I bring you good tidings of great joy, dear Christian friend! This failure of Self is the very key to living the Christian life. As painful as it is, the bitter tears of failure provide the water for nurturing the Precious Seed that is planted in your heart of hearts and making it grow. To despair of ourselves is the very key that opens the door to all the power, the victory, and fruitfulness in Christ that we seek.
Source: Embrace the Cross by Chip Brogden
http://theschoolofchrist.org/books/embrace-the-cross.html
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March 5

Why Christ is Irresistible

"I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all peoples to Myself."
JOHN 12:32

The increase of Christ does not coerce, it compels; He does not push, He merely draws. The increase of Christ actually enables a person to choose the right way, the way that leads to Life. It is evil that deceives people into choosing the wrong path. Everyone born into this world comes into it as a fallen creature. If they had a full understanding of their spiritual condition, and the deliverance that is offered by and through the Lord Jesus, then they would, of course, choose to be delivered.
People only resist what they do not know and understand. Jesus does not have to manipulate anyone. Once a person with eyes wide open sees Him for Who He is, they will always choose Him. He is irresistible. And as He increases, as He is lifted up, He will draw all men unto Himself.
Source: The Irresistible Kingdom by Chip Brogden
http://theschoolofchrist.org/books/the-irresistible-kingdom.html
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March 4
An Accomplished Fact

"But of Him you are in Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God— and righteousness and sanctification and redemption— that, as it is written, 'He who glories, let him glory in the Lord.'"
1 CORINTHIANS 1:30,31

We must be clear: these things are not the “reward” for years of faithful service, or the fruit of walking with Jesus after a long period of time. If I have Him now, then I have all that pertains to Him now. My Wisdom, my Righteousness, my Sanctification, and my Redemption has a personality, for He is all those things in me.
It is not a question of my behavior, or my conduct, or my feelings one way or the other – those things will come into line soon enough – but it is all based upon this accomplished fact. Christ is God’s Gift. I repeat, we have much to praise God about!
Source: Lord of All by Chip Brogden
http://theschoolofchrist.org/books/lord-of-all.html
©1997-2013 TheSchoolOfChrist.Org. Permission is granted for non-commercial (free) distribution provided this notice appears. Share this message with your friends!

March 3
The Overcomers
"And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, and they did not love their lives to the death."
Revelation 12:11

It is helpful to identify the three enemies that present themselves to us, and then the above verse will make even more sense. The overcomer must learn how to defeat each one. So what are they?
First, there is the enemy of Sin. Second, the enemy of Self. Third, the enemy of Satan. All contrary things, whether they be of spiritual, natural, or human origin, find their root in one of these three sources.
The glorious thing, of course, is that God’s provision meets all three enemies and defeats them in order to demonstrate the preeminence of Christ. This, in essence, is what it means to overcome. It is to demonstrate the preeminence of Christ over all things.
Source: The Irresistible Kingdom by Chip Brogden
http://theschoolofchrist.org/books/the-irresistible-kingdom.html
©1997-2013 TheSchoolOfChrist.Org. Permission is granted for non-commercial (free) distribution provided this notice appears. Share this message with your friends!

March 2
God's Ultimate Intention
"Paul dwelt two whole years in his own rented house, and received all who came to him, preaching the kingdom of God and teaching the things which concern the Lord Jesus Christ with all confidence, no one forbidding him."
Acts 28:30,31
Apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers must point people to Christ. Otherwise they are not fulfilling the purpose for which God placed them in the Body to begin with. Apostolic ministry is not an end unto itself, but is a means to an end. Prophetic ministry is not an end unto itself, but is a means to an end. Evangelistic ministry is not an end unto itself, but is a means to an end. Pastoral and teaching ministries are not ends unto themselves, but are a means to an end.
What is the end? What is the purpose? What does it all lead to? It leads to “the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ” (Ephesians 4:13). The fullness of Christ, the full-knowledge of Him – this is God’s Goal and His Ultimate Intention.
Source: The Church in the Wilderness by Chip Brogden
http://theschoolofchrist.org/books/the-church-in-the-wilderness.html
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March 1
Forever Linked
"If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new."
2 CORINTHIANS 5:17

When God placed us in Christ, He forever linked us to Christ’s death, burial, resurrection, ascension, and being seated in the heavenlies. So God considers us to have been crucified, dead, buried, resurrected, ascended, and seated as well. It cannot be otherwise. So long as we remain in Him (John 15:5) our destinies are linked.
I once placed a $20 bill inside of a book. I then misplaced the book. What happened to the $20 bill? The bill was lost when the book was lost. The bill and the book were linked together because I placed one inside the other. In order to find the bill I had to find the book. Once I found the book, I also found the bill. In like manner, God has placed us in Christ. When Christ was crucified, we were also crucified. When Christ was raised, we were also raised. The two have become one, and what is true of Him is true of all those who are one with Him.
Source: Embrace the Cross by Chip Brogden
http://theschoolofchrist.org/books/embrace-the-cross.html
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February 28
Into His Hands
"Father, into Your hands I commit My spirit."
LUKE 23:46

Death by crucifixion cannot be accomplished by suicide. We cannot crucify ourselves.
The instrument of our death is chosen for us, as well as the manner in which it is carried out, the timing, and the duration of the execution – all is controlled by Another. There is nothing to be done, for we must submit to the Unseen Hand and cast ourselves completely upon Him.
Source: Embrace the Cross by Chip Brogden
http://theschoolofchrist.org/books/embrace-the-cross.html
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February 27
Growing in Christ

"Let that abide in you which you heard from the beginning. If what you heard from the beginning abides in you, you also will abide in the Son and in the Father."
1 JOHN 2:24

There is still much of Him to learn and to experience. There is much growing which must take place. The Path is a process. We are hardly ever as far along as we imagine ourselves to be. But we have not been talking about spiritual maturity, but spiritual satisfaction. If, in abiding continually in the Lord, He becomes our food and our drink, then we will grow.
Growth is not the result of time, it is the natural result of Christ increasing and us decreasing. The Law of Life says that Christ must increase. Now we can do nothing to speed up this process, but we can certainly hinder or quench it.
Source: Lord of All by Chip Brogden
http://theschoolofchrist.org/books/lord-of-all.html
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February 25
The Cure for Complaceny

"Then these men assembled, and found Daniel praying and making supplication before his God."
DANIEL 6:11

Something should be driving us to pray. There should be some unction, some inner compulsion, to seek God, to seek Him early, and to seek Him often. If that is not our daily experience then something is wrong.
Perhaps we have grown complacent, or comfortable, or cold. Whatever the reason, vision is the cure. If we have truly seen God’s Purpose we cannot just go along as before. It will consume us. A person with a small vision will pray small prayers. Daniel was a man of huge vision, and so he prayed large prayers.
Source: The Irresistible Kingdom by Chip Brogden
Dowload Chapter one here
http://theschoolofchrist.org/books/the-irresistible-kingdom.html
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February 26
The Path of Spiritual Maturity
"As newborn babes, desire the pure milk of the Word, that you may grow thereby."
1 PETER 2:2

When we realize we don’t know, then Christ becomes our Wisdom so we CAN know.
When we are children we are apt to say, I know WHAT I believe. As we grow out of infancy and begin to wrestle with the deeper questions and issues of the Christian faith we will learn to say, I know WHY I believe. The ultimate experience, however, is to be brought to a place where we can say with confidence, I know WHOM I believe.
Knowing WHAT is a beginning.
Knowing WHY is progress.
Knowing WHO is maturity.
Source: Lord of All by Chip Brogden
©1997-2013 TheSchoolOfChrist.Org. Permission is granted for non-commercial (free) distribution provided this notice appears. Share this message with your friends!

February 24
The Heavenly Order Established
"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God."
JOHN 1:1,2

When you read the first chapter of John’s gospel you discover the presence of Someone Who “in the beginning” was with God and was God at the same time. We will not attempt to explain the unexplainable; suffice it to say, the Word that was with God, and was God, and eventually “became flesh and dwelt among us” (John 1:14) is the Lord Jesus Christ.
When God created man, it says He breathed the breath of life into him (Genesis 2:7). Here, John states that the Light (Jesus Christ) is the Life of men. What is the point? That before anything was created, God determined in advance that the universe, and everything in it, would be established, presided over, and governed by, through, and for Jesus Christ – and God has never altered from that original intention and purpose. This forms the basic principle of the Heavenly Order, which in turn governs the Irresistible Kingdom.
Source: The Irresistible Kingdom by Chip Brogden
http://theschoolofchrist.org/books/the-irresistible-kingdom.html
©1997-2013 TheSchoolOfChrist.Org. Permission is granted for non-commercial (free) distribution provided this notice appears. Share this message with your friends!
February 23
One Body, Many Members
"God has set the members, each one of them, in the body just as He pleased."
1 CORINTHIANS 12:18

A Christian should realize that he or she is a unique member of the Body of Christ and not the entire Body all at once. We are many parts that together make up the whole. Each individual member has its own unique purpose, function, and role. The responsibility for God’s work is divided among many members.
We are not called to be all things to all people. We are not called to meet every need. God sets each person in the Body of Christ as it pleases Him, and He is the One Who sends us. We do not send ourselves. We do not determine what we would like to do. We do not analyze the situation with our limited understanding and come up with a solution. The Head determines what needs to be done, and the members simply perform it.
Source: The Church in the Wilderness by Chip Brogden
©1997-2013 TheSchoolOfChrist.Org. Permission is granted for non-commercial (free) distribution provided this notice appears. Share this message with your friends!

February 22
Believe the Impossible
"Where is your faith?"
LUKE 8:25

What is faith? Is it a spiritual force? Is it a creative power? Is it a special gift from God, or something we have to develop on our own? According to the Bible, faith is simply believing that God is Who He says He is, and trusting that He will do what He says He will do. When Jesus says, “Where is your faith?” He’s saying, “Don’t you trust Me?”
I’m convinced that we have plenty of faith. The problem is we have faith in all the wrong things. Where is your faith? In yourself? In other people? Can you only trust what you see, hear, and experience, or will you dare to trust Someone you can’t see? Believing the impossible makes the impossible possible.
©1997-2013 TheSchoolOfChrist.Org. Permission is granted for non-commercial (free) distribution provided this notice appears. Share this message with your friends!

February 21
One With Christ
"You also have become dead to the law through the body of Christ, that you may be married to another — to Him who was raised from the dead, that we should bear fruit to God."
ROMANS 7:4

You may wonder how this union with Jesus was accomplished. I do not have the answer to that, but I consider it to be so because God says it is so. God placed us in Christ. I do not fully understand how He did this, but I know that He did it, and I thank God for it. The Bible says that “because of [God] you are in Christ Jesus” (1 Corinthians 1:30). Disciples of Jesus are one with Christ because God has placed us there. We are in Christ, and Christ is in us. We may not understand how this can be so, but it is so. We are spiritually one with Christ. This oneness, this union, this partnership and fellowship with Him is the basis of our spiritual life and our walk with God.
Source: Embrace the Cross by Chip Brogden
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February 20, 2013
February 20
Hope for You

"I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.
PHILIPPIANS 4:13

We don’t have to imitate His Life, we only have to trust His Life! Trust in His Life to do it in, through, and on behalf of us who cannot do it! If you have ever once trusted in His Life to keep you from losing your temper, you can trust in His Life every single time you are confronted with it, and He will bring you through. Without exception. Along those lines, I can say with all confidence, that if you can trust His Life to overwhelm your temper, you can trust His Life for everything else. What do you need? Do you worry too much? Are you fearful? Are you bitter?
His Life indwells you right now, and longs to make you into something totally new, to transfigure you into something entirely different than what you are now. Thank the Lord that I don’t have to be the way I am, but there is hope for me, and there is hope for you, and there is hope for the worst sinner on the face of the earth, because it is not a question of my effort, but of His sufficiency!
Source: Lord of All by Chip Brogden
©1997-2013 TheSchoolOfChrist.Org. Permission is granted for non-commercial (free) distribution provided this notice appears. Share this message with your friends!

February 19
Seasons of Preparation
“Rise and stand on your feet; for I have appeared to you for this purpose…”
ACTS 26:16

The Lord has a purpose for you, and a destiny for you to fulfill. But things will not always go the way you think they should. That is because the Lord calls you to something bigger than yourself, something beyond your ability, something you cannot originate or perpetuate without Him. It takes time. Noah walked with God for five hundred years and spent one hundred years building the ark. Abraham was one hundred years old before he finally saw God’s promise come true. Moses spent forty years in Egypt, then forty years in the desert, before God sent him to Pharaoh. Jesus prepared thirty years for an earthly ministry of three and a half years.
Dear brother, dear sister: walk with God. Find Grace. Discover the One Thing. Focus on being, not doing. And when it IS time for you to do something you can be confident that your labor of love will be the work that God blesses.
Source: The Church in the Wilderness by Chip Brogden
http://theschoolofchrist.org/books/the-church-in-the-wilderness.html
©1997-2013 TheSchoolOfChrist.Org. Permission is granted for non-commercial (free) distribution provided this notice appears. Share this message with your friends!

February 18
Rising Above it All

"He who comes from above is above all; he who is of the earth is earthly and speaks of the earth. He who comes from heaven is above all."
JOHN 3:31

If people come against you in the flesh, let them come against you. If they wish to rail and argue with you according to the flesh, do not respond in kind. If they attack you without cause, let them attack, because the fleshly, the carnal, the natural cannot defeat the spiritual.
The one who is submitted to the Lord has authority over those who remain unsubmitted to Him. Flesh is overruled by Spirit. Hate is overruled by Love. Darkness is overruled by Light. Death is overruled by Life. Earth is overruled by Heaven.
Source: Embrace the Cross by Chip Brogden
http://theschoolofchrist.org/books/embrace-the-cross.html

February 17
The Blessing of Spiritual Bankruptcy

"Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven."
MATTHEW 5:3

This spiritual poverty is the result of recognizing that apart from Him we can do nothing. It is a willingness to be broken and reduced to spiritual bankruptcy, which implies not only losing everything we once enjoyed, but also making a fresh start with a clean slate and all our debts erased. It is the Second Universal Spiritual Principle, which states: “I must decrease” (John 3:30). This decreasing, or as I like to say, this reducing to Christ, is the first requirement.
If we are unwilling to be emptied then we cannot have the riches of the Kingdom of Heaven. We will be like the Laodicean church, who said they were “rich and increased with goods and have need of nothing” yet in God’s sight they were poor, blind, naked, and miserable (Revelation 3:17). So the Kingdom belongs to those who readily admit right from the beginning that “a man can receive nothing unless it has been given to him from heaven ” (John 3:27).
Source: Embrace the Cross by Chip Brogden
©1997-2013 TheSchoolOfChrist.Org. Permission is granted for non-commercial (free) distribution provided this notice appears. Share this message with your friends!

February 16
Perpetual Trust
"Commit your way to the Lord, trust also in Him, and He shall bring it to pass."
PSALM 37:5

We want the Lord’s Life, but we also want to retain a little something of our life. That will never work. This is why you have such ups and downs, simply because you still love your life, and only trust in His Life for the really difficult moments. In a bad situation you will throw yourself upon His Life and it will carry you on through, but in the normal everyday situations you live according to your own life.
Instead, let us learn to trust in His Life for every moment of every day. If we will surrender everything His Life will reproduce in us more effectively, gradually transforming, renewing, invigorating, and sustaining us from the inside out.
Source: Lord of All by Chip Brogden
©1997-2013 TheSchoolOfChrist.Org. Permission is granted for non-commercial (free) distribution provided this notice appears. Share this message with your friends!

Pressing Him
"Whom are you seeking?"
JOHN 18:4

In other words, who are you looking for? This particular crowd was pressing in to have Jesus arrested and put to death. The day before the crowds were pressing in to proclaim “Hosanna!”, and before that they were pressing in to make Him their king by force (John 6:15). At other times the people pressed Him to hear the Word of God. Still other times the people pressed Him to be healed of their diseases.
Pressing Him, pushing Him, forever wanting more and never satisfied. Very few know how to sit at His feet just to hear His Word. Very few are willing to pour out the best ointment on Him, and when they do, they are severely criticized for such a “waste.”
Does anyone seek Him for His sake? Does anyone press upon Him, not for what He can give, but for Who He is? Does anyone seek Him out, not to get some need met, but so they “may know Him” (Philippians 3:10)?
Source: Lord of All by Chip Brogden
http://theschoolofchrist.org/books/lord-of-all.html
©1997-2013 TheSchoolOfChrist.Org. Permission is granted for non-commercial (free) distribution provided this notice appears. Share this message with your friends!

February 14
Overcoming the Fear of Man

"The righteous are bold as a lion."
PROVERB 28:1

Jesus sought to thin out the crowds with a difficult word, saying, “You must eat My flesh and drink My blood if you wish to be My disciples.” At this saying, the multitude and many of His disciples turned aside and no longer followed Him. Instead of running after them in an effort to make Himself understood and accepted, He watched them go. Then, turning to the Twelve, He said, “Do you also want to go away?” Here is a Man who is not afraid to be misunderstood because He is not afraid of people, what they will think, or what they will say about Him unjustly.
To overcome the fear of man, we must not only be willing to be misunderstood and unappreciated, we should expect it. Then we will be free to speak what God has given us and will not be troubled should others fail to grasp the significance of it.
Source: Fear No Man by Chip Brogden
©1997-2013 TheSchoolOfChrist.Org. Permission is granted for non-commercial (free) distribution provided this notice appears. Share this message with your friends!

February 13
God's Eternal Design
"[Abraham] was looking forward to the city that has foundations, whose designer and builder is God.."
HEBREWS 11:10 ESV

An artist sees a new painting before he picks up the brush to create it. A musician hears a new song in her head before she picks up her instrument to compose it. A writer conceives ideas, concepts, and things to be conveyed to others in his heart long before he sets words to paper. An architect designs the building before construction begins.
The creative process is the progressive, orderly arrangement of things until what is seen outwardly lines up with what has already been seen inwardly. God is the Ultimate Creator. We find that He established an order of things before He ever brought them into being – an eternal purpose that He purposed in Christ. The crucifixion of Christ was not God’s startled reaction to the unforeseen and unimaginable fall of Adam. God envisioned things straight through to the end before He set them in motion.
Source: The Irresistible Kingdom by Chip Brogden
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February 12
His Loss, Our Gain
"He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him."
2 CORINTHIANS 5:21

When we submit to the Cross, God identifies us with Christ just the same as if we were sinless. Jesus becomes our wisdom, righteousness, sanctification, and redemption (1 Corinthians 1:30). It does not say that He gives these things to us, it says He is these things to us.
Was Jesus crucified for His sins? No, He was crucified for our sins. Are we now wise, righteous, sanctified, and redeemed because of anything we have done? No, God simply identifies us together with Christ, as if we were crucified together with Him. He loses everything and we gain everything. This is why salvation begins with repentance, surrender, and faith in Christ and His finished work on the Cross. It cannot be accomplished otherwise. What a glorious Lord we have!
Source: Embrace the Cross by Chip Brogden
©1997-2013 TheSchoolOfChrist.Org. Permission is granted for non-commercial (free) distribution provided this notice appears. Share this message with your friends!