Connecting to Christ's Resurrection Power

Are You Plugged In?
Connecting to Christ's Resurrection Power

This past Saturday, I was presenting one of my How to Care Like Christ seminars (http://bit.ly/3YYAR4).

About five minutes into the presentation, my computer started to go into hibernation mode! Nothing I could do would stop it. The cords all seemed plugged into the power source, but it just shut down on me.

Imagine the scene. Put yourself in my shoes as a speaker.

My entire presentation is PowerPoint driven. Most of these people didn’t know me. The whole start and set-up for the entire day could be ruined.

What would you do? What would you think? How might you respond?

That’s When God Showed Up

The tech guys (always have tech guys!) discovered that someone had accidently unplugged the extension cord from the wall hidden behind the platform. We were disconnected from the power source.

As Forest Gump might say, “That’s when God showed up.”

God’s Spirit not only calmed my spirit, He enlightened my mind.

What Satan Meant for Evil, God Meant for God

I shared with the crowd, “Satan wants to ruin our day. God wants to empower our day.”

I continued, “My computer had been disconnected from the power source. It shut down, hibernated, because it has limited battery power of its own.”

I went on to say, “A major theme of the How to Care Like Christ seminar is that we must tap into Christ’s resurrection power (Philippians 3:10). The same power that raised Christ from the dead, is within every Christian (Ephesians 1:18-20).”

“Our limited power of the flesh is nothing compared to the infinite resurrection power of Christ. His power is not some impersonal force, for our God is infinitely powerful and infinitely personal. We tap into His power by connecting to Him; by fellowshipping with and worshipping Him; and by communing with Christ through spiritual disciplines.”

All of a sudden, every person in that room realized that God had shown up!

He blessed us with a disconnected power cord that shut down my computer and could have ruined my presentation because He wanted to teach us not to rely upon ourselves but upon the God who raises the dead!

Are You Plugged In?

At the end of the seminar, I always have us spend time reflecting on and sharing together about what most impacted us, about what we will “take home with us.”

Thankfully, many things we had shared in the How to Care Like Christ seminar impacted people.

But guess what impacted many people the most? Yep. It wasn’t anything I said or did. It was what God did. It was an unplugged power cord.

So many people shared, “What God taught me today is that in my Christian life, I have to stay connected to Him.” And, “If I am going to minister to others and care like Christ, then I have to stay plugged into Christ.”

Are you plugged in?

Or are you trying to live your Christian life on battery power?

The limited power of the flesh will eventually cause us to hibernate spiritually.

Let’s stay connected to our infinitely powerful and infinitely personal God.

Let’s stay plugged in!

My Identity in Christ, Part 3

Who I Am In Christ, Part Three

Note: Knowing our identity in Christ is vital to glorifying God, defeating the lies of Satan, and ministering powerfully. As you read the following summaries:

*Meditate on the associated verses and on the truth they share about you.

*Reject the lies of Satan about your identity.

*Thank God for who you are in Christ.

*Select one verse/truth per day and specifically apply it to your life and relationships.

My Identity in Christ

Romans 3:21-26; 4:3, 5, 6, 9, 22, 23, 24; 5:17, 19; 1 Corinthians 1:30; 2 Corinthians 3:9—I have been credited with Christ’s righteousness.

Romans 5:17—I am a recipient of God’s abundant provision of grace.

Romans 5:18—I have new life in Christ.

Romans 6:2—I am dead to sin.

Romans 6:3—I am baptized into Christ’s death.

Romans 6:4—I am buried with Christ in His death to and over sin.

Romans 6:4—I have been raised to new life in Christ.

Romans 6:5—I am united with Christ in His resurrection.

Romans 6:6—My old self is crucified with Christ.

Romans 6:6—My body of sin has been done away with.

Romans 6:6—I am no longer sin’s slave.

Romans 6:7—I have been freed from sin in Christ.

Romans 6:8—I died with Christ to sin.

Note: Excerpted from Soul Physicians: http://tinyurl.com/d8grf6

Christ's Resurrection Power

Counseling and Abuse in Marriage
Part 7: Christ’s Resurrection Power

Summary: Marital abuse is one of the most traumatic issues an individual, couple, family, and church can face. Discussing it raises hotly defended convictions. How should God’s people respond to “abuse in marriage”?

Today, in my final blog post in this mini-series, I have some words to share for various individuals and groups.

*To the spouse experiencing abuse
*To the abusive spouse
*To pastors, counselors, and spiritual friends
*To the Body of Christ

To the Spouse Experiencing Abuse

Please, do not suffer in silence. Please, do not suffer alone.

I know, sometimes telling others can mean being revictimized because they disbelieve you, minimize, give pat answers, etc.

I know, depending on the situation, you’ve been told, “This is a private, family issue.” Or, you’ve been threatened if you tell anyone else.

Still, find a safe way to tell a safe person and get help for yourself, your marriage, your family.

Even if your spouse will not seek help, you need the support of others. Even one person changing—you—changing the dynamics of the situation.

We think of abuse being from husband to wife. However, my ministry experience and the private responses to this blog tell me that many wives are being abusive to their husbands. Husbands—get help. Overcome the stigma and be a shepherd in your home by facing the issue.

We care. I care. The Body of Christ cares. Most importantly, Christ cares.

To the Abusive Spouse

You can stop. Christ’s resurrection power is available.

Get help. Go to the Lord. Go to the Word. Go to your pastor. Get an accountability partner and an accountability group.

Humble yourself before God. Face reality. Deal with your inner heart issues. Change your behavior. Renew your heart and renew your home.

To Pastors, Counselors, and Spiritual Friends

Always remember 1 Thessalonians and the two “ingredients” in Paul’s “love sandwich”:

“I loved you so much that I was delighted to give you not only the Scriptures but my very own soul, because you were dear to me” (1 Thess. 2:8).

Paul starts and ends his words with love. In between these two “slices” of life, he inserts the two fundamental “ingredients” of Scripture and soul.

Truly biblical counseling begins and ends with love. It is speaking the truth in love. It is love abounding in depth of insight.

Truly biblical counseling is not impersonal; it is not preaching at, it is intimately engaging others with Christ’s pure love.

And truly biblical counseling involves both truth and love, both Scripture and soul. Engage the abusive marital situation from the context of the Word of God, not where you preach at, but where you converse, dialogue, and trialogue (you the counselor, the counselee, and the Divine Counselor).

Don’t victimize the victim. Love the spouse being abused. Equip him or her to live with bold love.

Don’t minimize the abuse, care-front the abusive spouse in love. Empower the abusive spouse to change by tapping into Christ’s resurrection power.

Be for the marriage and be for God’s glory.

To the Body of Christ

Let’s stop the silence.

Scores of people responded to me privately saying, “It’s about time someone talked about this in Christian circles.”

Preach and teach and do small group lessons on “texts of terror” in the Old Testament—which is not silent about abuse, especially males abusing women.

Preach and teach and do small group lessons on marriage.

Preach and teach and do small group lessons on God’s compassion for those who are victimized.

May we speak the truth in love so that the whole body grows together in truth and love. So that the onlooking world marvels at the way the church honestly handles this vital issue. So that the world witnesses in real life Christ’s resurrection power.