Meditation Chip Brogden

August 3

God Moves Forward

“He must increase.”
JOHN 3:30

God is not moving backward, but in the Son and through the Son, He moves steadily forward. Christ MUST increase. This is the Law of the Spirit of Life in Christ Jesus.
Just as we cannot have gravity without having the law of gravity, so it is impossible to have the Life of the Lord but not have the Law of that Life. And the Law of Life is that Christ must increase.
Source: Lord of All by Chip Brogden

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August 2

Kept By Grace

“God is able to make all grace abound toward you.”
2 CORINTHIANS 9:8

God will not LEAD you where His grace cannot KEEP you. That is to say, when we undertake the work assigned to us by the Lord we will find the Life of the Lord is present to give us all the inner spiritual strength to see it through to completion.
I am not saying everything will go smoothly and you will never have any self-doubt or fear. Far from it. But listen to what Paul says: “We are hard-pressed on every side, yet not crushed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed” (2 Corinthians 4:8,9). His secret? “I also labor, striving according to His working which works in me mightily” (Colossians 1:29). Not I, but Christ. This is the secret to the Christian life and it is the key to all fruitful spiritual work.
Source: The Church in the Wilderness by Chip Brogden


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August 1

Seeing Jesus

“When they had lifted up their eyes,
they saw no one but Jesus only.”
MATTHEW 17:8

When we SEE an ever-increasing Christ Who is destined to fill all things, then we will be delivered from smallness and narrow-mindedness. We do not overcome a thing by focusing our attention and directing our energies against that THING. “Things” will keep us busy from morning until night, and from night until morning.
May God deliver us from “things” and show us His Son! We must learn to keep the focus of our heart on the Lord Jesus Christ, Who MUST increase. Then there is no room for “things” anymore. They are simply swallowed up in Victory.
Source: Lord of All by Chip Brogden
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July 31

Radical Repentance

“If I have told you earthly things and you do not believe,
how will you believe if I tell you heavenly things?”
JOHN 3:12

The path of progress, of spiritual maturity, hinges upon our willingness to let go of the old ways and embrace the new ways; to rise above the lower order of things and walk in a higher order – a heavenly way, a spiritual way, as opposed to the earthly, natural, carnal way that we are so used to walking. Repentance is a continual process of agreeing with what God shows us about ourselves and then making the necessary adjustments.
The Holy Spirit is intent upon making radical adjustments – to create in us a willingness to look at things differently; an eagerness to begin seeing things as God sees them, regardless of how uncomfortable that may be; to value the things that He values and let go of lesser things; to align ourselves with His Mind and Will for all things; to leave our ground altogether and come onto His ground – regardless of the consequences.
Source: The Irresistible Kingdom by Chip Brogden

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July 30

The Deeper Christian Life

“He who does not take his cross and
follow after Me is not worthy of Me.”
MATTHEW 10:38

Are you worthy of the Lord Jesus Christ? Hear what the Lord is saying here. “If you do not take up your Cross and follow Me, you do not deserve Me.”
It is not merely a question of are we following Christ. The crux of the matter is: have we taken up the Cross? There is an order to this call to become disciples of Jesus Christ: first, we must take up our Cross; only then may we follow after Him. It is not, “first follow Me, and later take your Cross.” The Cross is step one. Our taking up the Cross is basic to our following Christ, not something we are called to do after many years. The so-called “deeper Christian life” is but the normal Christian life. Anything less is abnormal. There is no greater depth to the Christian life but what God expects of all of us from the beginning. If we are getting any “deeper” it is only because we have hitherto been shallow. We must take our Cross and follow Jesus.
Source: Embrace the Cross by Chip Brogden

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July 29

Christ, Not Theology

“Put on the new man which was created according to God,
in true righteousness and holiness.”
EPHESIANS 4:24

The old man (self) is put off, and the New Man (Christ) is put on – this is Christianity. Christ then becomes my Righteousness and my Holiness. But too many of us take a natural, intellectual approach to Christianity. We think if only we can instruct people concerning the tenets of our faith, or persuade them with a logical argument, or woo them with some emotional plea, then we will have disciples. This is a falsehood. That is not Spirit and Life.
Christianity is not memorizing certain doctrines or disseminating a systematic theology or having people repeat a so-called “Sinner’s Prayer.” Christianity is becoming one with a God-Man! You can have all the other in its proper place, but for too long that “other” has been offered as Christianity. And so people touch our beliefs, our doctrines, our religion, our theology, our zeal, but they do not touch a Living Christ.
Source: Lord of All by Chip Brogden

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July 28

Transformational Truth

“Pilate said to Him, ‘What is truth?’”
JOHN 18:38

We are often unprepared for Truth, which is why Truth is revealed to us progressively. We must “grow up into Him” – we could not handle it otherwise. Even the little bit of Truth which is revealed to us often upsets us at our deepest foundations. We must be willing to live with the uncertainty and pain which Truth brings. But if we accept the Truth, and totally give ourselves to it, it will begin to change us. We will begin to be conformed to it, and it will become less painful.
I am convinced that if we refuse to accept the Truth we have been given then we will eventually lose it. This is why some grow spiritually and some do not. Even though they may acknowledge the same Truth, they may not be willing to accept the consequences of being transformed by that Truth, thus what little they have soon becomes dead manna.
Source: The Irresistible Kingdom by Chip Brogden

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July 27

One Person Can Change the World

“I sought for a man among them who would make a wall,
and stand in the gap before Me on behalf of the land, that
I should not destroy it; but I found no one.”
EZEKIEL 22:30

The Lord searches the whole Earth, and when He has found a person who sees that Purpose, and daily orders their life according to that Purpose, and (here is the key!) consistently rises up to pray for the fulfillment of that Purpose, then God will move Heaven and Earth on behalf of that person; for He has found, at last, some ground to build upon.
That person is numbered with the Remnant because, I promise you, men and women like that are few and far between.
Source: The Irresistible Kingdom by Chip Brogden.

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It happens every Sunday.
Escape from Churchianity
by Chip Brogden
It’s a sunny day, the birds are singing, the church bells are ringing, and you see men, women, and children walking down the street, carrying their Bibles. You rush out into the road and grab an elderly gentleman.

“Where are you going? What’s going on? Why are you so dressed up?”

“Get your hands off me, you crazy idiot! It’s Sunday morning, and I’m going to church!”

“You’ve seen the Church??”

“Seen it? Of course I’ve seen it. My great-great grandfather helped build that church!”

“No, I mean have you SEEN the CHURCH,” you repeat emphatically. “The Church that JESUS is building!”

“I don’t know what the devil you’re talking about, young man. Now let me alone, or I’ll be late!”

You let him go and before you know it you are swept along by the crowd and find yourself sitting within the four walls of a building that calls itself “First Hypocritical Church, International.”

The service is just beginning. The pastor approaches the lectern and announces, “Let’s all stand and sing!”

Not sure what to do, you join in the chorus...
READ MORE...
http://theschoolofchrist.org/articles/escape-from-churchianity.html

TheSchoolOfChrist.Org

July 26

A Predictable Path

“Indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of
the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss
of all things, and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ.”
PHILIPPIANS 3:8

For the Christian, Christ is increasing, Christ is becoming larger and larger, Christ is becoming the focus. It is quite simple to see who is, and who is not, living up to this standard.
The more spiritually mature a person is the more Christ-centered they cannot help but become. This is the unavoidable and inevitable consequence of becoming a Christian, a disciple of Jesus. This is how the Holy Spirit leads each and every true believer, and there are no exceptions to the rule. It is as predictable and certain as the sunrise following after the darkness of night.
Source: Lord of All by Chip Brogden

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July 25

The Return of the King

“This Gospel of the Kingdom will be preached in all the world
as a witness to all the nations; and then the end will come.”
MATTHEW 24:14

Why does the Lord delay His return? Not for any lack of desire on His part to consummate His Kingdom, but because of His great love, and His compassion for all. Peter says He is not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. We have noted how the Gospel of the Kingdom is rarely preached today. Perhaps God is revealing this to His people yet again, re-emphasizing it to the Ekklesia so it can be proclaimed to all nations as His last invitation before the end of this age.
The fact that we do not know when He will return, the fact that we are to be ready at all times, means there is nothing to prevent Him from coming today. The next great event in the recovery of the Heavenly Order is the return of the King.
Source: The Irresistible Kingdom by Chip Brogden

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July 24

Christ My Righteousness

“But of Him you are in Christ Jesus,
who became for us wisdom from God — and righteousness
and sanctification and redemption.”
1 CORINTHIANS 1:30

This is a very rich verse. We have already seen how the Lord Jesus is given to be our Life. Upon that basis we can lay claim to everything else. Here we see that to those of us who are in Christ, He is made to be our wisdom, righteousness, sanctification, and redemption. It does not say that He gives these things to us, but that He is these things in us.
Source: Lord of All by Chip Brogden

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July 23

Hindered by False Humility

“Stir up the gift of God which is in you
through the laying on of my hands. For God has not given us
a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.
Therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony of our Lord.”
2 TIMOTHY 1:6-8

Paul does not tell Timothy to pray for a better opportunity, or passively wait for God to rise up within him and overwhelm him. Timothy needed to exercise the gift. He needed to stir it up. He had something to offer, something to contribute.
Paul’s exhortation was not to persist in false humility or passive waiting, but to be proactive, to stir it up, and serve the Body of Christ as a faithful steward. According to Paul’s assessment, it was not a spirit of humility that held Timothy back, it was a spirit of fear.
Source: The Church in the Wilderness by Chip Brogden

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July 22

Radical Repentance

“‘The stone which the builders rejected has become
the chief cornerstone,’ and ‘A stone of stumbling
and a rock of offense.’”
1 PETER 2:7,8

The people to whom Jesus preached already had their own ideas about what the Messiah would do, and what His Kingdom would look like. Unfortunately those ideas were utterly wrong. So Jesus said they needed to repent: to change their heart, to change their mind, to change their behavior, and to get ready to experience something that went totally against their preconceived ideas and notions.
To enter the Kingdom of God and to know the King around which this Kingdom is organized requires a radical change on many levels. The way you perceive things, the way you relate to things, the way you understand things – all of it has to be changed. At the very least it must be challenged.
Source: The Irresistible Kingdom by Chip Brogden

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July 21

Preeminent Victory

“Whatever is born of God overcomes the world.”
1 JOHN 5:4

The Overcomer demonstrates the preeminence of Christ over sin, self, and satan. How is preeminence demonstrated if we are still trying to fight our way to victory? We must stand in victory, not battle for it. If we do fight, we fight FROM victory, not FOR victory. It must be to us an accomplished fact, not a future hope, and just there lies the difference between those who are still waging warfare and those who are quietly resting in Christ and steadily praying His Will into the earth.
Source: The Irresistible Kingdom by Chip Brogden

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July 20

Spiritual Arrogance

“A dispute arose among them as
to which of them would be greatest.”
LUKE 9:46

Peter made a splendid beginning by frankly acknowledging himself as a sinner, and so the Lord took him just as he was and began to disciple him.
After making some progress, however, Peter started to lose touch with himself. He had followed Jesus for three years and enjoyed close fellowship with Him. He had both seen and performed miracles in Jesus’ Name. To all outward appearances he was no longer a “sinful man,” he was a “spiritual man.” Before, Peter considered himself unworthy to be in the presence of Jesus. In just a short period of time you find this “sinful man” arguing along with the other disciples about which one of them will be the greatest!
This ought to show us that there is a deeper death for us to die, and the more “spiritual” we become, the more easily we are deceived by our own spirituality.
Source: Embrace the Cross by Chip Brogden

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July 19

His Life Cannot Fail

“I have been crucified with Christ;
it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me;
and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith
in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.”
GALATIANS 2:20

The Law of Gravity brings objects to the ground. It does not matter to Gravity how large or small the object is. It works the same with acorns as it does with airplanes.
Likewise, I know today that it does not matter if I am called upon to wash dishes, mow the lawn, write an article, preach a message, cast out a demon, love my neighbor, forgive my enemy, or lay down my life. It makes no difference to the Life. It is not I, but Christ, Who does these things. The principle is the same, and the Life cannot fail. If I give up my life, if I give up my self-effort, then He begins to do what I cannot do. This is Christianity.
Source: Lord of All by Chip Brogden

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Hey Elaine,

Are you a man-pleaser?

I was... for many years!

There are three areas in which the fear of man finds expression.

All of us have some of this in our lives, we just need to recognize it and deal with it. 

For me, pastoring a church was one way I sought fulfillment in all three of these areas.

Do you have these 3 Symptoms?

Read this short blog post and see...
http://theschoolofchrist.org/articles/pleasing-man.html
 

I am your brother,
Chip Brogden
 
PO Box 552, Canandaigua, NY 14424, USA

July 18

I AM

“When He said to them, ‘I am He,’ they
drew back and fell to the ground.”
JOHN 18:6

When they came to arrest the Lord Jesus in the garden, He asked, “Who are you looking for?” And they answered, “Jesus of Nazareth.” He simply said, “I AM.” When they heard this they fell over backwards to the ground. No one can stand before I AM and retain any of their strength. To the ground we will all go, for that ground is holy. Every knee will bow, and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord.
This revealing of Christ is sufficient to bring saint and sinner alike into absolute surrender and submission. Friends and foes alike find themselves at His feet, quite unable to stand before Him. He does not have to raise His voice or call down fire from Heaven or do anything other than simply reveal Himself for Who He is. Every doubting Thomas eventually cries out, “My Lord and My God!” when they finally behold Him.
Source: The Irresistible Kingdom by Chip Brogden

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July 16

What Does God Want?

“I am the Way.”
JOHN 14:6

What is God after? What does He seek from us? What does He want? First and foremost, He desires a people who will be conformed to the image of His Son, that they may demonstrate the preeminence of Christ in all things. But how does He gain such a people for Himself? The first step is to reveal His Son to us. This is the narrow gate. We cannot begin to walk the narrow path until we have entered the narrow gate.
Upon entering the narrow gate He begins to change us from the inside out so that it is Christ expressing Himself through us. “Not I, but Christ.” This is the narrow path. This narrow path we call discipleship. It leads us somewhere. A path is not for standing still. It has a destination. Where does the path lead? What is the End? Christ as All in All. That is the End. All things work together according to this supreme purpose, His Purpose.
Source: Embrace the Cross by Chip Brogden

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July 17

Stir Up the Life

“Our sufficiency is from God.”
2 CORINTHIANS 3:5

How will He do it? How will He demonstrate the sufficiency of His Life to do everything in your stead? Why, the next time you feel your temper getting out of control, or the person you resent is bothering you, or things are not going right, or you are tempted to quit, decide that instead of reacting the way you always do, you will trust in His Life, then stand back and just see what happens.
If you are a Christian the Life is there, it just has to be stirred up into activity. The things we call temptations, testings, and trials are the very means through which God desires to activate the Life He has placed within you! How else would we be able to rejoice in our afflictions? How else would we be able to count it all joy when we fall into many temptations and trials of faith? Humanly speaking this is impossible! But what is impossible with man is possible with God, and easily achievable when we trust in His Life to do what we cannot do.
Source: Lord of All by Chip Brogden


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July 15

How to Get Blessings to Flow

“Noah… did all that God commanded him.” 
GENESIS 6:22 ESV

I spent many years creating and executing my own plans, asking the Lord to bless them. One day I understood that instead of always trying to get the Lord to bless what I wanted to do, it was much simpler to find out what the Lord wanted to bless, and simply do THAT. Instead of trying to get God to come down to my level and do what I wanted, it was far better to come onto the Lord’s ground and do what He wanted.
Great synergy and blessing is released when we simply cooperate with what God has already purposed to do. Heaven backs us up with tremendous power and authority. Instead of trying to make something happen, I simply flow in a current that already exists. The Lord will deny no request that is in agreement with what He Himself has originated.
Source: The Church in the Wilderness by Chip Brogden

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July 14

Fear No Evil

“I do not ask that you take them out of the world,
but that you keep them from the evil one.”
John 17:15 ESV

This prayer of Jesus is answered when we embrace the Cross. The Cross renders us dead to the world so that we can bring Life to others who are in the world and not worry that we may become contaminated or polluted by the things we encounter. Jesus was not afraid of being around sinners. He affected them for good, and they were powerless to affect Him for evil. This same Jesus lives within us, and He is greater than anything we may encounter in the world.
So if we are to follow His example then we must be as dead to the things of the world as He was. How is this accomplished? God’s solution is for us to embrace the Cross so that we can be truly “dead” to the world’s temptations and “alive” to Him. God desires a crucified people who can represent Him in the earth and be faithful to Him even in the midst of a dark, rebellious world.
Source: Embrace the Cross by Chip Brogden

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How to Yield to God
by Chip Brogden
In our daily life we come up against situations that we cannot overcome in our own strength, or with our own wisdom. We need a strength and a wisdom that comes from Above, that comes from Beyond, that comes from Another outside of us and yet rises up from within us...

READ THIS CLICK HERE
http://theschoolofchrist.org/blog/how-to-yield-to-god.html
TheSchoolOfChrist.Org
PO Box 552, Canandaigua, NY 14424, USA 

July 12

No Confidence in the Flesh

“It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing.” 
JOHN 6:63

If we grow impatient and fall into the flesh then we become weaker. To react in the flesh diminishes spiritual authority, and this must be avoided at all costs. Allowing the flesh to have its way for only a moment guarantees defeat against a spiritual adversary.
“We worship God in the Spirit, and rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh” (Philippians 3:3). To lose all confidence in the flesh is to take the higher ground of the Spirit. To meet flesh with flesh means the victory will go to the strongest, and there is always someone stronger than you according to the flesh.
Source: Embrace the Cross by Chip Brogden

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July 13

The Kingdoms of Our Lord

“The kingdoms of this world have become
the kingdoms of our Lord and of His Christ, and
He shall reign forever and ever!”
REVELATION 11:15

God will establish an Irresistible Kingdom on the earth. This Kingdom does not rise up from the earth, but it comes down from heaven. This Kingdom will break to pieces and consume all the other kingdoms. And this Kingdom will increase from a single Stone into a great mountain that fills the entire earth (Daniel 2:35). It is an Irresistible Kingdom!
Not only can this Kingdom not be stopped, but when people see the King for Who He really is, they no longer desire to resist Him. This is why the Irresistible Kingdom continues to grow and expand, so that eventually the King and His Kingdom “fill all things.”
Source: The Irresistible Kingdom by Chip Brogden

©1997-2014 TheSchoolOfChrist.Org. Permission is granted for non-commercial (free) distribution provided this notice appears. Share this message with your friends!

July 11

Strategic Spiritual Warfare

“Thanks be to God, Who gives us the
victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.”
1 CORINTHIANS 15:57

Everyone has their own way of waging warfare. Some emphasize intercessory prayer, and believe the secret is in getting hundreds of people praying for the same thing. Others lean towards praise and worship. Some stress binding and loosing. Others believe the key is in locating and naming certain spirits which supposedly control different parts of the world. Still others think there must be some prophetic act to be performed or declaration to be made.
Here is the problem with virtually all of these things: they are just that – THINGS – methods, techniques, teachings, strategies, but they are not Christ. The one in Christ is seated with Him in the heavenly places. If we see ourselves in Him then we cannot help but understand that since the battle is already won, and Victory is ours, then we do not need a method or a technique designed to “get” a victory which we already possess.
Source: Lord of All by Chip Brogden

©1997-2014 TheSchoolOfChrist.Org. Permission is granted for non-commercial (free) distribution provided this notice appears. Share this message with your friends!

July 10

True Fellowship

“If we walk in the light, as He is
in the light, we have fellowship with one another.”
1 JOHN 1:7

True fellowship is grounded in Jesus first of all. Fellowship with others on THAT basis is neither forced, nor orchestrated; it is effortless, spontaneous, and full of Life. Fellowship naturally occurs because we have all seen and heard the same thing from the Lord – we are walking in the same Path towards Christ as All in all. We are in one accord not because we all look, think, and act just the same, but because we all, in spite of our differences, have God’s End in mind.
Source: The Church in the Wilderness by Chip Brogden


©1997-2014 TheSchoolOfChrist.Org. Permission is granted for non-commercial (free) distribution provided this notice appears. Share this message with your friends!
PO Box 552, Canandaigua, NY 14424, USA

July 8

Our Loss, His Gain

“Whatever gain I had, I counted
as loss for the sake of Christ.”
PHILIPPIANS 3:7 ESV

The Lord will allow Self to run its due course, just like the tree whose branches fill the earth and whose height reaches to the heavens (Daniel 4:10-12). But a day of judgment is coming.
Now, those who love Self will hate judgment; but those who hate Self will love judgment. If our heart is “not I, but Christ,” then we will rejoice whenever we are decreased and Christ is increased. We will submit to the Lord’s dealings with us. Our focus will not be on what Self loses, but on what Christ gains, for our loss is His gain.
Source: Embrace the Cross by Chip Brogden

©1997-2014 TheSchoolOfChrist.Org. Permission is granted for non-commercial (free) distribution provided this notice appears. Share this message with your friends!

July 9

Seeing is Changing

“The Word became flesh and dwelt among us,
and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the
only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.”
JOHN 1:14

Moment by moment, hour by hour, we are being changed. This transfiguration is subtle, but powerful. How is it effected? How does God change us? When we put on the Lord Jesus then we become what we have put on. When we see the glory of the Son of God then we are changed thereby. We become what we have seen.
When we see Him as He in fact is, when we behold His glory, we will be smitten to the ground. If what we have seen thus far of the Lord has not struck us dumb and blind then we have not yet touched upon His glory. Our vision is too small. May God illuminate our hearts and grant us further revelation into His Son, that we may be transfigured.
Source: Lord of All by Chip Brogden

©1997-2014 TheSchoolOfChrist.Org. Permission is granted for non-commercial (free) distribution provided this notice appears. Share this message with your friends!

July 3

Praying Through to Victory

“Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation. The spirit
indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.” 
MATTHEW 26:41

The purpose of prayer is to get aligned with the Mind, Will, Heart, Desire, Purpose, and Aim of God Himself.
It is a fight and a struggle just to get to Gethsemane. It is a battle to get your siblings to stay awake with you for even one hour; and it is an all-out war to “pray thrice” or ten times or twenty times or one hundred times, as the case may be, until you have gotten the victory over yourself, and come away soaked with the blood, sweat, and tears of that early morning wrestling. But once the outcome is decided in God’s favor, what awesome power and Life one receives, to drink that Cup that looked so impossible before, and to go forth bearing the Cross in the strength and power of God Himself, to do whatever He requires!
Source: The Irresistible Kingdom by Chip Brogden

©1997-2014 TheSchoolOfChrist.Org. Permission is granted for non-commercial (free) distribution provided this notice appears. Share this message with your friends!

July 4

The Ultimate Purpose

“He has delivered us from the power of darkness and
conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love.” 
COLOSSIANS 1:13

This Ultimate Purpose can be summed up into a single thought, a central idea, that you find weaving its way throughout the Bible and throughout human history. It is the theme of Jesus, the preaching of the apostles, and the understanding with which those first believers became followers of Christ. And this understanding of God’s Ultimate Purpose and Intention finds expression in something that the Bible refers to as The Kingdom of God.
At the center of this Kingdom of God is a Person. Everything that God has done, is doing, and will do is centered around this Person. The Bible says that all things come from Him, through Him, and unto Him. This Person is the Lord Jesus Christ. It is God’s Will that the King and His Kingdom fill all things with His Light, His Love, and His Life; and so this Kingdom is constantly growing, expanding, and increasing.
Source: The Irresistible Kingdom by Chip Brogden

©1997-2014 TheSchoolOfChrist.Org. Permission is granted for non-commercial (free) distribution provided this notice appears. Share this message with your friends!

TheSchoolOfChrist.Org
Hey Elaine,

I get a lot of questions about what the Body of Christ IS.

Is it a place, or a people?

Is it visible, or invisible?

Is it spiritual, natural, or some combination of both?

I usually point people to this article as a starting point for a better understanding:

THE FELLOWSHIP OF HIS BODY
http://theschoolofchrist.org/blog/the-fellowship-of-his-body.html

Enjoy!


Chip Brogden

PO Box 552, Canandaigua, NY 14424, USA 

July 5

Our Weapon of Choice

“We do not war according to the flesh.” 
2 CORINTHIANS 10:3

In the heat of battle it does not always seem as if the enemy is defeated. Goliath will oppose, curse, and threaten you with all sorts of taunts to convince you that you are defeated. If we listen to him long enough we will begin to doubt and this is enough to cause us to falter. We can simply ignore the lies of the enemy and stand in the truth. Our weapon of choice is the Cross. We simply return to the victory that is ours in Christ and we stand upon that finished work, and every time we do so, we demonstrate its power. Without the Cross we are naked and unprepared for facing Goliath or anything else that opposes us; but with the Cross we can no more fail than Jesus can fail.
“Not I, but Christ” defeats anything and everything that rises up to steal, kill, and destroy. It does not matter if we face Goliath, or a bad habit, or a difficult circumstance, or even the devil himself. Sooner or later, the Cross will shine forth in victory – as long as we embrace it until the very end!
Source: Embrace the Cross by Chip Brogden


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July 6

As a Little Child

“Assuredly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the
kingdom of God as a little child will by no means enter it.”
LUKE 18:17

Make no mistake, if it is the Kingdom you seek, the Kingdom you will find, but you must be changed in order to enter it. If you seek power from God you will have to accept weakness in yourself. If you want to rule with Him you must suffer with Him. If you want His Life you must give up your life. You can have either one you want, but you cannot have both. There is no increase without decrease, and there is no decrease without increase.
Source: The Irresistible Kingdom by Chip Brogden

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July 7

In This Manner, Pray

“In this manner, therefore, pray…Your kingdom come.
Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.”
MATTHEW 6:9,10

When we pray “in this manner” we are transported and elevated beyond flesh-and-blood, beyond the natural, beyond the earthly, beyond the seen-and-felt universe in which we live. We are at once brought into alignment with Someone larger than ourselves, Someone higher, Someone greater. This Someone has an agenda, and is working all things together in one accord towards this agenda. What is the agenda? It is the Will and the Kingdom. So what is the Will and the Kingdom? The Will is “all things in Christ” and the Kingdom is the fulfillment of that Will, when Christ has the preeminence. All of God’s movements are towards this End.
Source: The Irresistible Kingdom by Chip Brogden


©1997-2014 TheSchoolOfChrist.Org. Permission is granted for non-commercial (free) distribution provided this notice appears. Share this message with your friends!