Meditation Chip Brogden

May 17
Satisfied in Christ

“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

The Law of Life says that the presence of Christ within the believer results in spiritual satisfaction. If we have Him then we will never hunger or thirst again, because He is Infinite Supply.
Anything less than spiritual satisfaction indicates that there is a problem. I am not saying that one should be content with their progress and present knowledge of Christ so that they stop growing; but I am saying that no matter what stage of progress you may be at presently, Christ should be your satisfaction.
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!

May 18
The Most Basic Lesson

“I know that in me (that is, in my flesh) nothing good dwells.”
ROMANS 7:18

It is a great day for the Lord when a disciple of Jesus learns this most basic lesson: that in “me,” in myself, in my flesh, dwells no good thing.
This is a very difficult thing for people to learn. Jesus says that without Him we can do nothing (John 15:5). This verse is very well-known. Even so, Christians still attempt to do many things apart from the Lord. We feel like we simply must do something, anything. And even though the Bible says there is nothing good in our flesh, and the flesh profits nothing, we spend a lot of time doing fleshly things apart from the Spirit of Jesus, thinking they are good and profitable.
It is impossible to say for sure just how many of the things we “feel led” to do and say are actually just things we feel like doing and saying. A lot of the time the Lord has very little to do with it.
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!

May 16
Kingdom Living

“Seek the kingdom of God, and all these things shall be added to you.”
LUKE 12:31

Let us seek first the Kingdom of God – not as an idea, or a doctrine, or a theological position, but as a way of living! At least Paul could say, “my speech and my preaching were not with persuasive words of human wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power” (1 Corinthians 2:4). Is anyone frustrated by the fact that all too often the only thing we have to offer people in the name of Jesus are pretty words?
At some point sermons and songs fail and something of the very Life and power and glory and majesty of God must come forth to meet real, practical needs. Healing the sick and casting out devils was (and is) as much a part of the Kingdom of God as preaching and teaching. Everyone we pray for is not instantly healed and delivered, but let us pray for them anyway. We may not yet see all things submitted to Him, but can we not at least expect to see some things submitted to 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!

May 15
Seeing Victory

“Elisha prayed, and said, ‘Lord, I pray, open his eyes that he may see.’ Then the LORD opened the eyes of the young man, and he saw. And behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha.”
2 KINGS 6:17

Denying the existence of the adversary will not make him disappear. We acknowledge and admit that there is a real enemy, a real spirit of Antichrist, that is out to destroy the Remnant and hinder the Testimony of Jesus. We also acknowledge and admit that more often than not, this spirit of Antichrist seems to get the advantage over us.
Even so, the issue is not the enemy. We may look at the enemy, study him, and build an entire movement around different ways to fight him. We can write books and hold seminars on “spiritual warfare.” But when we look out from the mountain, what do we really see? Here is the difference between those who overcome and those who are defeated: it is not in their ability to fight, but in their ability to SEE, and this seeing is not of themselves, but is of God.
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!

May 14
Abundant Life

“I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.”
JOHN 10:10

Ask the Lord to open your eyes and show you the Life which is yours. Go to Him and say, “I have heard about this Life, but I don’t know how it works or what to do with it. Please show me, please teach me, please reveal this Life to me.” And He will do it.
If ever you see this, just once, you will discover the secret to the Christian life. You will shake your head and say, “All these years I thought I was really living the Christian life, and all I have been doing is playing tiddlywinks. This Life I have been given is greater, bigger, and more wonderful than I ever dreamed!”
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!

May 13
Ever Present Victory

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

When God is pleased to reveal His Son to us, we will learn that Victory is not a thing, but a Person; that Victory is not an experience, but a Man; that God does not give me a thing called victory, but has given me His Son in the place of victory in order to be my Victory. Then Victory will never be future-tense and far-away, but Ever Present and Now. For Victory is Christ. And Victory lives within you.
Thus, Victory has nothing to do with the devil, and everything to do with Christ. Since most Christians have more faith, assurance and reverence for the devil than they do for the Lord Jesus, it is easy to see why so many are defeated.
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!

May 10
Christ Spontaneously Revealed

“May [God] give to you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him.”
EPHESIANS 1:17

The Lord reveals Himself to us in a variety of ways, and every testimony is different. Peter received the revelation of Christ while fishing. But Thomas received the revelation of Christ only after the Lord appeared to Him and showed him His wounds. Paul received the revelation of Christ on the road to Damascus, as he was on his way to kill Christians. One man says Christ was revealed to him as he stood watching a tree in the dead of winter. Christ was revealed to me as I sat in my backyard, arguing with the Lord over the Bible.
What do these experiences have in common? They are spontaneous unveilings of Jesus Christ. Without warning the Lord simply reveals Himself, and whereas we were blind before, today we see. It is like walking out of one room and into another room, closing the door behind us.
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!
May 11

Dying Daily

“If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me.”
LUKE 9:23

Do we need the power of God today? Do we seek the Life of the Lord today? Do we desire Him to have the preeminence in our lives today? Do we long for Him today? Then now is the time for us to be unconditionally and wholeheartedly surrendered to Him. We need not drag the process out for several days and weeks, months and years. Do it today, do it now.
If we must daily take up the Cross anyway, let us bow our head and give up the ghost instead of struggling to stay alive, which only prolongs our agony. The secret to overcoming is dying daily.
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!

May 8

Through the Fire

“I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ’s sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong.”
2 CORINTHIANS 12:10

Now it does not say that Paul made himself weak on purpose. We do not have to seek weaknesses, infirmities, tribulations, temptations, or trials. We already have them. The key is how do we respond to them? We can fight them, or we can embrace them. Paul clearly shows us that it is not always God’s will for us to be saved FROM the fire. Often we are called to walk THROUGH the fire, with no assurance except that His Grace is sufficient. In the fire we learn that “Grace” is a Man, just like Victory is a Man.
To be delivered from weakness is one thing, but to meet Grace in my weakness is something else entirely.
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!

May 9
Finding Grace

“Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord.”
GENESIS 6:8

It took five hundred years of walking with God, but Noah found grace, and that made it all worthwhile. Let us learn to do nothing apart from this amazing grace. It is better to wait five hundred years for grace than to work for five minutes without it.
What is grace? I teach people that Grace is a Man. Amazing Grace is simply Jesus living in me, doing what I cannot do. It does not matter if “what I cannot do” is save myself, overcome sin, love my neighbor, or build an ark. “For by Grace (Jesus) you have been saved through faith (trusting Jesus to do what you cannot do); and that not of yourselves; it (He) is the Gift of God” (Ephesians 2:8). I am insufficient; but His Grace (Jesus) is sufficient. His Grace (Jesus) is more than enough. His Grace (Jesus) is Infinite Supply! But “without Me you can do nothing” (John 15:5).
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!

May 6
What Would Jesus Do?

“We know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is.”
1 JOHN 3:2

If we are abiding in Him then we will be as He is. If we have put on the Lord Jesus then we are being changed into His likeness, we are being made into His image, and we are in the process of being transfigured.
After some time following the Lord we should not have to stop and ask ourselves, “What would Jesus do?” If we are being transfigured then that Light and that Life will respond spontaneously and effortlessly to any demand placed upon it.
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!

May 7
God's Progressive Recovery

“Rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh.”
PHILIPPIANS 3:3

Self – meaning the innate tendency in man to put himself and his desires above God and others – is the real source of all wickedness. That explains why merely dealing with the devil is not enough to rid the world of evil. If the devil were to disappear tomorrow the problem of Self would remain. It is a condition that exists deep within every man, woman, boy, and girl. Although the Self-life is a formidable obstacle to the Christ-life, it is by no means too difficult for God to overcome.
Christ must increase, and Self must decrease. God is working to reestablish and recover that Heavenly Order in all things, beginning with individuals, then with a company of men and women, and ultimately extending to the entire creation, so that “God may be all in all” (1 Corinthians 15:28). The Bible is the story of the progressive recovery and increase of Christ in the midst of a world gone astray.
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!

May 5
Victoriously Positioned

“He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, far above all principality and power.”
EPHESIANS 1:20,21

You will find that the whole strategy of the adversary is to bring you down from your heavenly position in Christ and engage you on a fleshly, carnal, earthly level. To overcome, you need only maintain the ascended position with Christ. We are not trying to get the victory. Instead, we have been made one with Victory. If I enter into a room and sit down in a chair I do not have to wonder how I will enter the room. God has already seated us together with Christ; therefore, we do not have to try to enter in, rise up, or “get” the victory. Having already obtained this triumph through the Cross, we no longer have to attain it in our own strength. The Cross of Christ! What a marvelous provision it is!
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!
The Law of Increase
by Chip Brogden

Once God has determined to do something, is there anything, or anyone, that can resist Him? Is man more powerful than God, or does it only seem that way sometimes?
It does appear that God, in His infinite wisdom and loving-kindness and patience, chooses to delay the fulfillment of His Will. Man can try to withstand it, the devil can rebel against it, and by collaborating with man can even appear to hinder and prevent it temporarily – but in the end, God will have His Will. Let no one mistake God’s longsuffering for any inability to bring about His desire and accomplish His Purpose. His plan is unavoidable and irresistible.
Click to read more:
http://theschoolofchrist.org/blog/the-law-of-increase.html

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

May 4

Knowing Yourself

“I know that in me (that is, in my flesh) nothing good dwells.”
ROMANS 7:18

Paul knew this because he knew the Cross. Do we know it? Those who embrace the Cross have acknowledged this in themselves and have surrendered their way over to His Way.
In what areas must we acknowledge this inability to do anything apart from Christ? It must not only be acknowledged: it must be truly seen, deeply felt, and painfully experienced in every area of our life, one step at a time. This is the work of the Cross. 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.
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!

May 3

Getting Direction

“They were forbidden by the Holy Spirit to preach the word in Asia. After they had come to Mysia, they tried to go into Bithynia, but the Spirit did not permit them.”
ACTS 16:6,7

Our destination, as well as our departure, must be governed by the Spirit. How intriguing that the Spirit actually forbade them to preach the word in Asia and Bithynia! This ought to be proof enough that “need,” in and of itself, is insufficient guidance. The only thing that matters is being sent, and it is critical that we go only where the Spirit sends us.
The apostles were indeed sent forth by the Spirit, yet that same Spirit did not permit them to just go wherever they pleased. Later we see that Paul indeed went to Asia and a tremendous work was founded. This tells us that a “no” today does not mean a “no” is forever; nevertheless, when the Spirit forbids us, we dare not take matters into our own hands and go where we have not been sent. gate only opens the door to the narrow way. It is the narrow way which leads to Life, and few find it. Fewer still walk to the end of it.
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!

May 2
The Gate and the Way
“Narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it.”
MATTHEW 7:14

We cannot walk the narrow path until we have entered the narrow gate. But we cannot assume that because we have entered the narrow gate we are now finished. Most people lay stress on the gate, and their goal is to get people just far enough through the gate that they can claim salvation. But the narrow gate is only the beginning.
The narrow gate only opens the door to the narrow way. It is the narrow way which leads to Life, and few find it. Fewer still walk to the end of it.
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!

May 1
Healing the Spiritually Blind

“One thing I know: that though I was blind, now I see.”
JOHN 9:25

We are the man born blind in John 9. It is not that he can improve himself, or gradually come to the place where he can see something. He is BORN blind, and he can see nothing but darkness until the Lord, the Light of the world, makes him see.
So many blind people hope to improve their seeing through sermons, meetings, and more teachings. But one moment of seeing is worth ten thousand years of learning. It is better to sit at the feet of an ignorant man who has seen the Lord than it is to be instructed by the most educated Bible teacher who is blind to the things of God.
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!

April 30
Created for Him

"All things were created through Him and for Him."
COLOSSIANS 1:16

In the beginning, when man walked with God, there was an obvious Heavenly Order in the earth. This simply meant that Christ was in His rightful place. When Christ has the preeminence, when He has the centrality and the supremacy, then all is well.
God created all things “by Him and for Him” and installed Him as Lord of All. With Christ in His rightful place the rest of creation could proceed. Six times in the Book of Genesis God declared that what He had just made was “good.” When the work was finally completed, God judged the final state of things to be “very good” (Genesis 1:31) and by far the greatest benefit of living under this Heavenly Order was the spiritual condition of man before the fall. Spiritually he was at peace with himself and at peace with his God. In a word, the state of things as they existed in the Heavenly Order was perfect. It was, quite literally, heaven on earth.
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!

April 28
The Real Meaning of Baptism

“As many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ.”
GALATIANS 3:27

What does it mean to be baptized? It is to go down into death and to come back up into Life. We were baptized into Christ. The water of baptism does not merely signify the washing away of sins, but the death of the sinner. We go down into the water, and we are brought up out of the water. If we were to stay under the water for long we would surely die. But we are quickly lifted back up out of the “grave.” This represents death and resurrection.
The outward sign of water baptism is meant to represent an inward spiritual truth – that I am baptized indeed, not into water only, but into Christ. I died with Him, and I was raised with Him. If I am one with Him then His death is my death; when He is raised, I too am raised. God has placed us in Christ, and since we are joined to the Lord, we are one spirit with Him. The Branches will go the way of the Vine. The Body will go the way of the Head.
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!

April 28, 2013
Hello Elaine!
A new blog post has just been added to the site...

The Fig Tree Has No Figs

by Chip Brogden

A growing number of people have come to the conclusion that the social benefits of going to church can no longer compensate for the lack of spiritual life.
People are tired of going to fig trees that promise fruit, but offer a hungry person nothing but leaves to eat. They’ve been eating leaves or chewing on bark, but there is no fruit, no sustenance, no nourishment. One day they wake up and say, "No more. Whatever this place used to mean to me, whatever purpose it used to serve in my life, this place no longer represents the Lord Jesus. I can’t fully explain it, and I don’t completely understand why or how, but the religion of church is hindering my relationship with the Lord and it is time for me to leave..."
Read the rest, share your thoughts:
http://theschoolofchrist.org/blog/the-fig-tree-has-no-figs.html

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!

April 29
God's Primary Purpose

“In Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily; and you are complete in Him, who is the head of all principality and power.”
COLOSSIANS 2:9,10

Everything God has done, is doing, and will do is aimed at bringing us deeper into Christ, to finish what was begun in us when we first received Him. God is the One Who brings us through the Gate, and God is the One Who leads us along the Path.
Everything God has done, is doing, and will do has the same purpose, and that purpose explains everything you have been through, everything you are going through, and everything you will go through.
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!

April 25
The Fruit is the Evidence

“By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit.”
JOHN 15:8

An orange tree is an orange tree as soon as it is planted, even before it produces fruit. It is not an orange tree because it produces oranges; it produces oranges because it is an orange tree. The fruit is the evidence of what it already is. If it were to suddenly produce rotten apples then we know for certain that it is not what we thought it was. The one who has really been saved will produce “much fruit” and will “walk worthy” of their calling (Ephesians 4:1).
That is to say, the evidence of a “born again” person is not in what they say they believe, but in how they actually live. Even the phrase “born again” indicates more than just a change of heart; it represents a spiritual death, burial, and resurrection; a new life. Thus, no one can be truly “born again” until and unless they embrace the Cross, die with Christ, and are raised to Life in Him.
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!

April 26
Two Destinies Linked

“He died for all, that those who live should live no longer for themselves, but for Him who died for them and rose again.”
2 CORINTHIANS 5:15

Not I, but Christ. That is the goal, and the Cross is where the process begins. The crucifixion of Christ is inexorably, inescapably linked to the crucifixion of the disciple. It cannot be otherwise. This is where everything that is Christ’s becomes ours as well. On the Cross the two are made one, and the destiny of the One is linked forever with the destiny of the Many.
There in the Cross the Head is joined to the many members of the Body; the Vine is made one with the many branches. “He who is joined to the Lord is one spirit with Him” (1 Corinthians 6:17). Where are they joined? At the Cross. Paul was not there physically when Christ was crucified; yet Paul says, “I am crucified with Christ.” Obviously this is a spiritual union, a spiritual oneness.
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!

April 27
Our God Delivers
“There is no other God who can deliver like this.”
DANIEL 3:29

The Lord reveals Himself to us when we are at our end, when the fire burns the hottest. When we have reached the end of ourselves then He intervenes. He is committed to us there in the fire, because we are committed to Him outside the fire. As we have stood for His Will and His Kingdom in a state of universal compromise, darkness, and deception, so He will stand with us in our state of temptation, testing, and trial.
Toward what end? That the preeminence we have been proclaiming may be demonstrated. He will rise to the occasion and prove Himself faithful.
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!

April 24
Ever Learning, Never Knowing

“Always learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth.”
2 TIMOTHY 3:7

If in our quest for spiritual growth our idea is only to learn a few facts about the Bible, glean tidbits of information from this preacher and that teacher, fill our brains with facts and fill our libraries with more books and magazines, we run the risk of fooling ourselves into thinking that we know and understand God – when it could be that we are ever learning “truths” without knowing the Truth.
Have you met someone like this? They seem to have all the right answers, but they have the wrong spirit. They tenaciously cling to their minute opinions and cannot be persuaded otherwise. Their knowledge has not changed them, except to make them worse: for now they are puffed up in the vanity of their own mind (1 Corinthians 8:1,2). True spiritual growth is characterized by grace (not works) and an increased knowledge of Jesus Christ (2 Peter 3:18). And, we maintain that this knowledge of Jesus Christ cannot be obtained by study, but is only granted by way of revelation.
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!

April 23
Satisfied in Full
“When Jesus had received the sour wine, He said, ‘It is finished!’ And bowing His head, He gave up His spirit.”
JOHN 19:30
The phrase “it is finished” here is a single word in the Greek: teleō. It means, “paid in full,” which certainly confirms that Christ has paid the debt of our sins in full. But teleō also means the process is completed; the work is fulfilled; in other words, “I have accomplished the purpose for which I came.” God is wholly and completely satisfied forever by the one sacrifice of Christ on the Cross. May we never be satisfied with anything less.
Let us lay hold of the complete victory afforded us through Calvary! Let us endeavor to enter into the height, depth, length, width, and breadth of this Cross of Jesus Christ!
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!

April 22
God's One Gift

“In Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily; and you are complete in Him.”
COLOSSIANS 2:9,10

I am afraid that we do not truly appreciate the fact that God has never given us THINGS, but has summed up everything into Christ, having poured Himself into His Son. Having the Son, possessing the Son, being one with the Son, we have and possess everything God is. It never has been a question of seeking ten, one hundred, or one thousand different things from God.
If we do not know from our experience, we should at least know from the Scriptures, that CHRIST IS THE GIFT OF GOD. Then our experience will come into line with God’s Thought. If you are used to seeking spiritual “things” (love, joy, peace, anointing, power, blessing, etc.) then this message is particularly for you, but we all stand to benefit from being reminded constantly that Christ is God’s One Gift.
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!

April 21, 2013
Hello Elaine!
A new blog post has just been added to the site...

Today's Prophetic Mandate
by Chip Brogden

In Old Testament times, the watchman on the city wall had a mandate to warn of any dangers that approached. This was his only duty. To carry it out, staying awake and alert was mandatory. If the watchman fell asleep and failed to warn the people, their blood would be on his hands.
Similarly, the Lord has provided a prophetic mandate to those men and women who are called to the prophetic ministry in our time. This age is unique in the sense that it is considered “the dispensation of the fullness of the times,” or, “the last days.” The prophetic mandate today is not to keep watch over a city, but to keep watch over the Ekklesia (a “heavenly city” if you will) to ensure that the Eternal Purpose of God in Christ is fulfilled...
Read the rest of this article:
http://theschoolofchrist.org/blog/todays-prophetic-mandate.html


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!

April 21
Four Spiritual Seasons
“You were… buried with Him in baptism, in which you also were raised with Him.”
COLOSSIANS 2:12

We can talk about the forces of nature, observe its effects, and sometimes even predict what it will do; but we cannot control it nor do anything about it. Similarly, we can observe the spiritual truths, principles, and laws that make up the Heavenly Order, but we cannot control them or manipulate them to achieve our own ends. In actual experience the invisible seasons of spiritual growth may not be so cut and dry as the visible elements of our world.
Our spiritual journey will probably not correspond with the timely arrangement of the natural seasons. But the periods of life, death, burial, and resurrection in our spiritual walk are as vital to our spiritual growth as the four seasons are necessary to the life of creation. The Heavenly Order exists for our continued spiritual growth and maturity.
Source: The Irresistible Kingdom by Chip Brogden
http://theschoolofchrist.org/books/the-irresistible-kingdom.html

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April 20
Friend of Sinners

“Jesus said to him, ‘Are you the teacher of Israel, and do not know these things?’”
JOHN 3:10

When you read the Gospels two things become quite clear. First, Jesus is undeniably, unquestionably GOD IN THE FLESH, Wholly Other. Second, the more religious you are, the less likely it is that you will see, recognize, and appreciate Him for Who He really is.
Sinners, on the other hand, had little trouble recognizing Him. The Samaritan woman may have been a despised outsider to the Jew’s system of religion, but it only took her a few minutes to realize that she had found the Messiah. The Roman centurion, an unworthy Gentile, nevertheless knew where to go when his servant was sick, and Jesus said this man’s faith was greater than anyone in Israel. The Syrophoenician woman had enough faith to ask Jesus for only a few crumbs from the table, and even though she was technically not a Jew, Jesus gave her everything she asked for. Yes, Jesus was indeed a friend of sinners, publicans, tax collectors, and women caught in adultery.
Source: Lord of All by Chip Brogden
http://theschoolofchrist.org/books/lord-of-all.html

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April 18
The Two Become One

“[God] raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus.”
EPHESIANS 2:6

Just as certainly as the Vine was crucified, dead, buried, resurrected, ascended and seated, so the Branches were crucified, dead, buried, resurrected, ascended and seated. The whole issue is: will we abide in the Vine and share in the overcoming, or not? Overcoming is bound up with abiding. The Lord says, “Live in Me, and I will live in you.”
Now the Lord says that overcomers will sit with Him in His throne. How is that possible? Because we are in Him, and He is in us: “He who is joined to the Lord is one spirit with Him” (1 Corinthians 6:17), and “The two shall become one” (1 Corinthians 6:16).
Source: Embrace the Cross by Chip Brogden
http://theschoolofchrist.org/books/embrace-the-cross.html
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April 19
Every Spiritual Blessing

“[God] has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ.”
EPHESIANS 1:3

All we have and all that we are as Christians is based upon our union with Christ. Apart from Him, we have nothing, and we are nothing. But in Him we are blessed with every spiritual blessing.
Think upon the ramifications of that. If this is true then we have very little to ask God for, and very 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!

April 17
God Rewards Our Reckoning

“Reckon yourselves to be dead indeed to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
ROMANS 6:11

We do not reckon something to be so after we see it happen, but before we see it happen. What happens if, right after we reckon ourselves dead to sin, we fall back into sin? Does this nullify the Word of God? Does this make God a liar? We can become disappointed and quit (which is what most people do), or we can repent and go right back to reckoning.
Here’s what happens: God rewards our reckoning. He delights to see us believing in His Word when it seems impossible! And so He says, “Very well, you have believed having not seen; now you will begin to see the truth of what you have been reckoning!” And eventually we begin to see that our reckoning begins to produce fruit. Sin will be broken, not just in theory, but in actual practice. Victory will be ours, not just in principle, but in fact.
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

Hi Elaine,
We were doing some spring cleaning last weekend and discovered an
old box full of keepsakes and memories we've collected over the
years.

As we rummaged through the old photographs, papers and trinkets, we
came across a creative writing notebook my younger daughter created
when she was in the fourth grade.

(Although our kids were mostly homeschooled, they both "did
time" in Christian school and in public school.)

The three-ring binder had prompts at the top of each page to
stimulate ideas, with blank lines below for you to write your
response.

On one page, the question is: "When you get to heaven, what is
the first question you will ask Jesus?"
(This was obviously from the Christian school phase.)

I really liked her answer - and I like the fact that she didn't
limit herself to asking Jesus one question.

--------------

WHEN I GET TO HEAVEN, I would probably ask Jesus a lot of
questions, but I think the first one would be, "Where do I
live?"

The second one would be, "What do I eat in Heaven?"

The third, "Will I get to see my family here?"

The fourth one would be, "What am I wearing?"

The fifth one would be, "What time is it?"

The sixth one would be, "Do I have to go to school?"

The seventh question would be, "What can I do to have
fun?"

And the last one, "How can I serve you?"

I think we adults think too much.

The faith of a child is simple, curious, and entirely without fear
of what others will think.
Not really concerned with heady, complicated theological and
doctrinal issues.

And honest enough to think about basic necessities of living,
eating, being with family, being clothed, telling time, not going
to school and having fun... BEFORE thinking about how to serve Him.

"Spiritual" people would have said, "How can I serve
you?" first because it sounds more spiritual.
That's because we often say and do things to impress others.

We don't say what we really think; we say what we think other
Christians will approve of.
We believe what we think Christians are supposed to believe.

It's all so very tiring, isn't it?

We make it too complicated.

I think we need to get over ourselves and become like little
children again.

Oh, for the faith of a child - to not worry about acceptance or
approval from anyone other than Dad.
Because Dad loves you know matter what.

--
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I am your brother,
Chip Brogden
April 16
The Precious Seed
“Unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it produces much grain.”
JOHN 12:24

Everything accomplished by way of the Cross brings the fullness of Christ and His Irresistible Kingdom into the heart of every person who believes that He “has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ” (Ephesians 1:3). This great Gift of Christ has been deposited into the depth of the disciple the same way as a precious seed is buried into the soil. Contained within that seed is a bountiful harvest of rich fruit. But one does not plant a seed on Sunday morning and expect to find fruit on Monday.
The seed must surrender itself to the process of growth before it can mature into something that bears fruit. This amounts to a death, burial, and resurrection.
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!