Meditation Chip Brogden

Hi Elaine!
Jesus did not come to start an impersonal, detached religion based
on His teachings.

"Follow Me" was His personal invitation to learn, grow,
and experience the Truth with Him on a deeper, more intimate level.

Jesus taught people many things in parables, but He required them
to have a relationship with Him before He revealed the deeper
truths.

He reserved His highest teaching for disciples only - for the
people who had a relationship with Him and were willing to follow
Him in friendship and fellowship.

He still does this today.

Join us for EMBRACE THE CROSS - our free online discipleship course
- and we will show you how to pursue a personal, intimate
relationship with Christ Himself.

Whether you're a new Christian or an old believer, you will
never outgrow the 7 Basic Principles of Discipleship.

Click here to learn more:
http://clicks.aweber.com/y/ct/?l=MayDZ&m=3kdAkR0Ot5pjxNq&b=vhxtEnjOmThvrcoV9krH3Q

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
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!

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.

©1997-2013 TheSchoolOfChrist.Org. Permission is granted for non-commercial (free) distribution provided this notice appears. Share this message with your friends!

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

©1997-2013 TheSchoolOfChrist.Org. Permission is granted for non-commercial (free) distribution provided this notice appears. Share this message with your friends!

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

©1997-2013 TheSchoolOfChrist.Org. Permission is granted for non-commercial (free) distribution provided this notice appears. Share this message with your friends!

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

©1997-2013 TheSchoolOfChrist.Org. Permission is granted for non-commercial (free) distribution provided this notice appears. Share this message with your friends!

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
©1997-2013 TheSchoolOfChrist.Org. Permission is granted for non-commercial (free) distribution provided this notice appears. Share this message with your friends!
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

©1997-2013 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
http://theschoolofchrist.org/books/lord-of-all.html

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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
http://theschoolofchrist.org/books/the-church-in-the-wilderness.html

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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
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!

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
http://theschoolofchrist.org/books/embrace-the-cross.html

©1997-2013 TheSchoolOfChrist.Org. Permission is granted for non-commercial (free) distribution provided this notice appears. Share this message with your friends!

Hello Elaine,

Question: Does prayer REALLY change things?

Answer: Prayer is not really meant to change THINGS. The wrong kind
of prayer actually makes THINGS worse!

The right kind of prayer changes US.

And if we will change, things will change.

It's time to think about prayer differently - not to get what
we want, but for God to get what He wants.

Read all about it and share your thoughts here:
http://theschoolofchrist.org/articles/when-you-pray.html

I am your brother,
Chip Brogden
http://TheSchoolOfChrist.Org

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
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!

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
http://theschoolofchrist.org/books/embrace-the-cross.html
©1997-2013 TheSchoolOfChrist.Org. Permission is granted for non-commercial (free) distribution provided this notice appears. Share this message with your friends!

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
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!

July 3

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
http://theschoolofchrist.org/books/the-irreisistible-kingdom.html
©1997-2013 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

©1997-2013 TheSchoolOfChrist.Org. Permission is granted for non-commercial (free) distribution provided this notice appears. Share this message with your friends!

Hey Elaine,


I formulated a quote many years ago based upon a truth I had come
to learn:

"The purpose of revelation is not to substantiate your
illusions, but to eliminate them."

When so many things are bandied about today as
"revelation" it is important to note what effect the
revelation, word, dream, or vision has upon the recipient.

If it reinforces and substantiate their illusions, makes them more
comfortable in their own world, and generally lets them think that
they were "right all along" then I would typically
question the source of that revelation.

But if the revelation causes an awakening...

A change of heart...

An elimination of what was previously held in error...

An illumination of what was previously seen dimly...

One of those "My Lord and My God!" moments...

Then you can generally trust that the revelation is genuine because
it is doing the work of eliminating illusions.

Another of my sayings is, "Blessed are the
disillusioned."

Religious folk in particular have some very strange ideas,
opinions, and illusions about God, Jesus, the Bible, and what it
means to be filled, taught, and led by the Holy Spirit.

But the purpose of God-given, Spirit-inspired revelation is not to
substantiate all those silly notions about spiritual things, but to
eliminate them - to DIS-ILLUSION you so that you see things as they
really are.

Blessed are the disillusioned, for they will see God as He really
is.

A man in one of our workshops experienced this.

After listening to what was shared he shook his head and exclaimed,
"Jesus is not Who I thought He was - He IS Who He IS!"

Peter, James and John experienced this in Matthew 17, when Jesus
"was transfigured before them."

Jesus did not suddenly become the Son of God.

He was the Son of God all along.

But they suddenly saw Him differently.

And this seeing definitely dis-illusioned them.

It eliminated all their preconceived ideas and notions about Who He
really was and is.

This revelation did not substantiate their illusions or encourage
their misconceptions; it challenged them, put them on their face in
fear, and forever changed the direction of their lives.

THAT is the kind of revelation of Christ that is missing from many
who claim Him as Savior.

They are trying to follow (and desperately trying to persuade
others to follow) a God that they really don't know apart from
what Religion has taught them.

It MUST not be so with you and me.

We MUST see Him and we MUST proclaim Him, not as we wish Him to be,
not as we expect Him to be, not as we think He should be - but AS
HE IS
I am your brother,
Chip Brogden
http://TheSchoolOfChrist.Org

©1997-2013 TheSchoolOfChrist.Org. Permission is granted
for non-commercial (free) distribution provided this notice appears.
Share this message with your friends!

July 2
Ascending Prayer

“Pray then like this: ‘Our Father in heaven, hallowed be Your name.’” 
MATTHEW 6:9 ESV

At once we are lifted up from the earthly situation and are made to focus upon a heavenly Father, a heavenly Kingdom, and a heavenly Will. I believe it is so important for us to see this. Prayer does not begin on the earth, it begins in the heavens. It does not begin with man, it begins with the Father. It does not begin with man’s need, but with God’s will.
Our praying is ineffectual because we pray as earthly men with an earthly perspective concerning earthly things. See how far and above this manner of praying is when compared to the hypocrite, praying in public to be seen of men! Prayer ought to bring us up into the heavenlies, not bring us down deeper into the earth. It ought to focus our vision on the Father, not on man, or the problems of man. Spiritual prayer begins in the Spirit; heavenly prayer begins in the heavenlies.
Source: The Irresistible Kingdom by Chip Brogden
http://theschoolofchrist.org/books/the-irreisistible-kingdom.html

©1997-2013 TheSchoolOfChrist.Org. Permission is granted for non-commercial (free) distribution provided this notice appears. Share this message with your friends!

July 1
His Government

“Of the increase of His government and peace there will be no end.” 
ISAIAH 9:7

He MUST increase. Isaiah tells us that there will be no end of the increase of His government and peace. In the beginning was the Word, and we can see how God has worked steadily from the beginning to increase Christ. From types and shadows in the Old Testament we see Christ coming into view. Then the Word is made flesh and dwells among us, and Christ is increased yet again. Next He comes to dwell within us, and this is a major increase. Finally, He begins to conform us to His own image through His indwelling Life.
If we are growing up into Him then He is increasing daily. Eventually every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord. Beyond this, we are told that God will continue to reveal His Son in the ages to come, bringing us into depths and dimensions of Christ that we cannot fathom.
Source: The Irresistible Kingdom by Chip Brogden
http://theschoolofchrist.org/books/the-irreisistible-kingdom.html

©1997-2013 TheSchoolOfChrist.Org. Permission is granted for non-commercial (free) distribution provided this notice appears. Share this message with your friends!

June 30
The Fire Has No Power

“‘Look!’ he [Nebuchadnezzar] answered, ‘I see four men loose, walking in the midst of the fire; and they are not hurt, and the form of the fourth is like the Son of God.’” 
DANIEL 3:25

Overcomers are those upon whose bodies the fire has no power (Daniel 3:27). Put them in the fiery furnace and they are not consumed, only refined, only purified. It only makes them that much more conformed to the image of the Fourth Man, the Son of God, the Lord Christ.
The fire has no power over them because the fire has no power over Him, and there He is in the midst. They do not seek the fiery furnace, but neither do they shrink from it when it comes. They do not ask for temptation and testing, but they are not afraid of it. They do not look for the devil behind every rock, but when they find him they demonstrate the preeminence of Christ over all things and call for his submission to Him. This is the Testimony of Jesus and the ministry of the Overcomers.
Source: The Irresistible Kingdom by Chip Brogden
http://theschoolofchrist.org/books/the-irreisistible-kingdom.html

©1997-2013 TheSchoolOfChrist.Org. Permission is granted for non-commercial (free) distribution provided this notice appears. Share this message with your friends!

June 29
Christ Fully-Formed in You

“Him we preach… that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus.” 
COLOSSIANS 1:28

The word perfect there means spiritually mature, having reached the full measure of the purpose for which a person is created. This, in essence, is the purpose of all ministry, whether it is the ministry of an apostle, prophet, evangelist, pastor or teacher. It is to preach Christ, and to bring all men into a spiritually mature relationship with Him.
Paul wrote to the Galatians and said they were “my little children, for whom I labor in birth again until Christ is formed in you” (Galatians 4:19). Christ was in them already, but He was not fully-formed in them yet: they were still children. Maturity in Jesus is what ministry is supposed to lead to. Christ is at the heart of everything; He is at the center of all activity; we begin with Him and we end with Him.
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!

June 27
Your Jar of Oil
“Your maidservant has nothing in the house but a jar of oil.” 
2 KINGS 4:2

Every disciple of the Lord Jesus is at a different level of growth and spiritual maturity. But may I say that no matter how long you have walked with the Lord – be it several years or only a day – you have at least one “jar of oil” in your house.
Now what you do with that one jar of oil makes the difference between a victorious life and a defeated life. The single jar of oil is not much in and of itself. It is not sufficient to meet the demands of your creditors, nor is it sufficient to sustain your spiritual life. It is only sufficient when it is poured forth. The one who “saves” his life will lose his life, but the one who “pours out” his life will really have it in abundance.
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!

June 28
Fighting FROM Victory
“Thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.” 
1 CORINTHIANS 15:57

Those who embrace the Cross have inherited the victory of Christ over all the works of the devil. This is the spiritual principle. The practical expression of this principle is seen when I demonstrate this victory in the battles of everyday life. If what God says about us is true, then we are not fighting FOR victory, we are fighting FROM victory – and actually, we are not fighting at all; we are merely standing in a victory that was given to us in Christ: “Stand therefore” (Ephesians 6:14).
Source: Embrace the Cross by Chip Brogden
http://theschoolofchrist.org/books/embrace-the-cross.html

©1997-2013 TheSchoolOfChrist.Org. Permission is granted for non-commercial (free) distribution provided this notice appears. Share this message with your friends!

June 26
Dying to Live
“If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me. For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will save it.” 
LUKE 9:23,24

Resurrection Life is that which has died, but now lives. It has the mark of the Cross upon it. It has passed through death once, and death can no more touch it. If we have not already passed through death then we are constantly fearful of dying, but the one who has already died and lives again has nothing more to fear from death. As we are decreased through the daily carrying of our cross, Christ in us is increased, and the strength of His Life is matured through our weakness.
Source: Embrace the Cross by Chip Brogden
http://theschoolofchrist.org/books/embrace-the-cross.html
©1997-2013 TheSchoolOfChrist.Org. Permission is granted for non-commercial (free) distribution provided this notice appears. Share this message with your friends!

June 25
The Field of Treasure

“The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and hid; and for joy over it he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.” 
MATTHEW 13:44

For too long we have contented ourselves with what God can do for us and what He can give us. We come to the Lord with a need in mind, and the next day we approach with another need, and the following day we return with yet another request. This pattern repeats itself continually. We return again and again to withdraw a little more from the heavenly bank.
Surely we should let our requests be made known unto God, and we must also ask, that we may receive. But think: if a man owns a field, does he not also possess the buried treasure in the field? Does it not stand to reason then, that if we receive HIM, we possess all He has? How shall He not, with His Son, freely give us all things?
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!

June 23
Right Investment of Time

“Now as [Paul] reasoned about righteousness, self-control, and the judgment to come, Felix was afraid and answered, ‘Go away for now; when I have a convenient time I will call for you.’” 
ACTS 24:25

When the time is short we must make the most of every opportunity and waste nothing. Ordinarily if we speak the Word to someone and they send us away, the best advice is to leave. Unfortunately, Paul was in prison and could not get away. Felix sent for him often but nothing ever changed. In this manner Paul witnessed to Felix for two years without any result whatsoever. Clearly this was a ruse of the enemy designed to frustrate the gifted apostle and sap his strength.
Paul the prisoner had no choice but to come when Felix called for him; we who are free ought to be careful lest we find ourselves spending all our time talking to a Felix when there is a Cornelius praying to hear us speak the very words that Felix takes for granted.
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!

June 24
Doing Flows From Being

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

What is the Christian Life? It is leaving our ground altogether and coming onto the ground of Christ. It is deeper than a changed life – it is an exchanged life. Over time we can accomplish a change, but we can do nothing to exchange our life for His Life. This, from start to finish, is God’s work, and it is a work of grace.
What, after all, is Righteousness? What is true Holiness? Christ is not righteous because He does righteous things; He does righteous things because He is Righteousness. Christ is not holy because He does holy things; He does holy things because He is Holiness. His “doing” flows out of His “being” – and OUR “doing” flows out of His “being” as well.
Source: Lord of All by Chip Brogden
http://theschoolofchrist.org/books/lord-of-all.html

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June 22
One Kingdom, One Master

“‘How hard it is for those who have riches to enter the kingdom of God!’ And the disciples were astonished at His words. But Jesus answered again and said to them, ‘Children, how hard it is for those who trust in riches to enter the kingdom of God! It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.’” 
MARK 10:23-25

The point is not that every disciple must be penniless. The point is that in this Kingdom, Christ alone has the preeminence, and you cannot serve two masters. Why are riches such a stumbling block? It all relates to Self. For the rich man, Self is mostly represented in his riches. For the wise man, Self is mostly represented in his wisdom. For the good man, Self is mostly represented in his goodness. For the strong man, Self is mostly represented in his strength.
YOU are your biggest obstacle to entering in. Why? Because there is no room in the Kingdom of God for Christ and Self.
Source: The Irresistible Kingdom by Chip Brogden
http://theschoolofchrist.org/books/the-irresistible-kingdom.html

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June 21
Having Him

“We know that the Son of God has come and has given us an understanding, that we may know Him…” 
1 JOHN 5:20

There is a difference between salvation and a Savior; between deliverance and a Deliverer; between healing and a Healer; between redemption and a Redeemer. The first is a “thing,” the second is a Person. This may sound self-evident and elementary, but before God the difference is vast, and in actual experience the difference is incalculable. If we are not clear on the matter of His Son we will find the Christian life very difficult, if not impossible, to live. I have the “thing” because I have Him; having Him, I do not need to search for the “thing” anymore.
What do you have? An experience? A word? A doctrine? A belief? Or a Man? This is the difference between a living Christianity and a dead religion.
Source: Lord of All by Chip Brogden
http://theschoolofchrist.org/books/lord-of-all.html

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June 19
Dead Men Cannot Die
“They overcame [the dragon] 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

No one can overcome a spiritual adversary unless they embrace the Cross. The ones who overcome the dragon do so by the blood of the Lamb and by not loving their own lives. Their testimony is: “not I, but Christ.” The blood, and loving not their life, and their testimony, all point to the same thing: these are people of the Cross. They did not love their own lives, but they gave up their lives; therefore God has raised them from the dead and they have entered into the victory of Christ.
You cannot kill a dead man. You cannot defeat a person who has already died. What more can you do to a man once he has died and been raised to life again?
Source: Embrace the Cross by Chip Brogden
http://theschoolofchrist.org/books/embrace-the-cross.html
©1997-2013 TheSchoolOfChrist.Org. Permission is granted for non-commercial (free) distribution provided this notice appears. Share this message with your friends!

June 20
The Five-Fold Ministry: Still Needed?

“He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers… for the edifying of the body of Christ, till we all come… to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ.” 
EPHESIANS 4:11-13

Does the Body of Christ still need to be edified and encouraged? Have we all attained to the unity of the faith? Have we all obtained the full-knowledge of the Son of God? Have we all come to spiritual maturity? If the answer to all these questions is no, then these foundational ministries – ALL of them – are still needed today. And if they are still needed, then God has not withdrawn them.
Source: The Church in the Wilderness by Chip Brogden
http://theschoolofchrist.org/books/the-church-in-the-wilderness.html

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June 18
Self-Esteem vs. Christ-Esteem

“I say, through the grace given to me, to everyone who is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think.” 
ROMANS 12:3

We do not need Self-Esteem, we need Christ-Esteem. The more we see of Jesus the less we will trust in ourselves.
That is why, once Paul learned his lesson, he wrote, “We have no confidence in the flesh” (Philippians 3:3). He then goes on to list quite a number of things that seem important in terms of religion, status, social order, education, and good works – all the things that tend to make one self-confident and self-righteous. With one grand stroke, Paul says, “Yet, I count them all as dung, that I may win Christ.” He simply discards what some people spend a lifetime trying to achieve. Here is a man who knows the sufficiency of God as well as the insufficiency of himself.
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!