Gwen From Wichita, KS ----- Original Message ----- From: "TruthMedia Women's Devotional" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: "Gwen" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sent: Saturday, November 01, 2008 6:44 AM Subject: Womens Email Devotional - Saturday November 01, 2008
: : : HAND IN GLOVE : : : **Are you spiritually dead? Are you lacking God's strength? Would you like to pray with someone? : : "Christ in you, the hope of glory" (Colossians 1:27). : : Often we treat Christianity as a religion: a set of do's and don'ts. I go to church, I give my tithe, I teach Sunday School, I try to love my neighbor as myself. Oh, yes, we do these things because we love Jesus, right? Yet what we're sometimes doing is tacking Jesus onto our own agenda. : : Christianity is much more than a religion. It's a life -- the life of Jesus Christ in us. Just think, the Risen Lord Jesus Christ is living His life in us and through us - right now. That means it's no longer me struggling to live the Christian life. It's His life, His energy, His love, His joy, His patience...flowing through me moment by moment. : : Take, for instance, a glove. It's a good glove, made well, and very useful. But by itself it's totally lifeless; it's quite useless, really. But when I put my hand inside it, what happens? Suddenly the glove springs to life. It can pick things up, it can write, it can do any number of things. Wait a minute: it's not the life of the glove, is it? It's the life of a living human filling the glove that does the work. : : That's what it means to be a Christian. The Bible says in ourselves we are spiritually dead. (Ephesians 2:1) It's only when Christ comes in and fills us completely--as this hand fills the glove--that we can do the Christ-like things. This is not just a nice concept, but a spiritual reality. The living Christ in us makes all the difference. Let me give you an example. : : When I was going through a very difficult time in my life-- when it seemed like I was going to loose everything I had worked so hard for: everything I loved and cherished--I sometimes felt overwhelmed. One day when I was doing R.N. duty on West 2--my ward--I was walking down the hall towards a room that had its call light on. A wave of total despair came over me. "I can't handle another day of emotional stress," I thought as I felt myself slipping over the edge. "Good thing I'm having a nervous breakdown here in the hospital. They can call an ambulance and take me away." : : Suddenly, I heard a voice, not out loud, but in my heart. "Is Jesus Christ still within you?" : : "Yes," I said. "That part hasn't changed." : : "Then don't worry," He said. "I can handle this." There was a tinge of humor in His voice as He added, "I've handled a lot of stress, you know." : : Immediately, the panic lifted. With great relief, I remember thinking, "Then I'm okay. Together we'll make it." Peace filled me once again. : : Are you experiencing this "Christ-in-you" life? If you have received the Lord Jesus Christ as your Savior--you've asked Him to come into your heart and to take control--then He is within you. Now give Him the freedom to live His life in you and through you. : : ~Lord Jesus, thank you that You are living inside of me. Infuse me with Your strength and Your energy today. Think Your thoughts through me. Speak Your words through my mouth. Reach out to others through my hands and heart. Amen. : : Questions: How do you interpret the thought of having God's strength and power? What does it mean to you to allow God to take control of your life? : : About the Author: Grace Lescheid : : : Comment on the devotional blog. Interact with others who are reading today's devotional. Visit http://thelife.com/blogs/experience/devotionalforwomen/2008/11/01/hand-in-glove/#comments : : Copyright : This devotional is protected by copyright laws and may not be reprinted or posted to a site without permission from TruthMedia Internet Group. All readers are welcome to forward the devotional to a friend or link to it. If you would like to seek permission to reprint the devotional in full, please see our guidelines: http://tmdevotionals.com/women/reprint-permission/ : : : : ----------End of Newsletter Text---------- : You are currently subscribed to the TruthMedia Daily Women's Devotional as [EMAIL PROTECTED] : To unsubscribe send a blank email to mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] or visit http://www.tmdevotionals.com/unsubscribe and fill in the required information. : : Feel free to forward this devotional to a friend. If you received it from a friend and would like to subscribe, visit http://www.tmdevotionals.com/subscribe and fill in the required information. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- No virus found in this incoming message. 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