CHRIST IN YOU IS LIFE
24/04/24 08:04
John Crowder writes, “People email us all the time, and the number one question our ministry receives is this, "John, how can I experience the drunken joy of Jesus all the time?" People crave a continual, sustainable joy and fulfilment. They are made for it. But unfortunately, so many people think there is something they must do to get it. Because the church is used to selling formulas, they think there must surely be some "key" they are missing or "process" they must undergo. They think that they must fast or pray a certain way to taste the joy we are experiencing.” (1)
It’s not so much ecstasy that people are looking for. They are looking for an identity and life.
THE INITIAL BANG
We have dealt with the issue of manifestations in previous posts. Leanne Payne is helpful on this one. People come into the Spirit with manifestations. Or minister healing to a person and sense the presence as real. Some get addicted to the Presence as though this is the foundation of their life with God. It’s not. The Constant of our life in God is the incarnation which is Christ in us and us in Christ, as the eucharist indicates. As a Believer you are always in God and God is always in you.
LIFE IS A FLOW
Our life is not a continual ecstasy. No need for ‘drunken joy.’ Far from it. It’s more of a flow of ordinary things – which in Christ are never ordinary. Jesus sanctified the flesh and the Everyday by coming in the flesh and living a normal life in a Jewish town. This Jesus, by the Spirt now lives in you. Thus, Christ is our life as Paul affirms – not as a platitude but as a real companion. He infuses Himself into the ordinary.
“Whether you feel it or not, you are now one body and one spirit with Christ. Rest in that reality, and you will feel His presence. Faith comes before the feeling. And faith is simply trust. Believe that this mystical death really took place, and you will cease to act like that dead man.” (1) Just live in Christ’s life.
(1) John Crowder. Mystical Union.
It’s not so much ecstasy that people are looking for. They are looking for an identity and life.
THE INITIAL BANG
We have dealt with the issue of manifestations in previous posts. Leanne Payne is helpful on this one. People come into the Spirit with manifestations. Or minister healing to a person and sense the presence as real. Some get addicted to the Presence as though this is the foundation of their life with God. It’s not. The Constant of our life in God is the incarnation which is Christ in us and us in Christ, as the eucharist indicates. As a Believer you are always in God and God is always in you.
LIFE IS A FLOW
Our life is not a continual ecstasy. No need for ‘drunken joy.’ Far from it. It’s more of a flow of ordinary things – which in Christ are never ordinary. Jesus sanctified the flesh and the Everyday by coming in the flesh and living a normal life in a Jewish town. This Jesus, by the Spirt now lives in you. Thus, Christ is our life as Paul affirms – not as a platitude but as a real companion. He infuses Himself into the ordinary.
“Whether you feel it or not, you are now one body and one spirit with Christ. Rest in that reality, and you will feel His presence. Faith comes before the feeling. And faith is simply trust. Believe that this mystical death really took place, and you will cease to act like that dead man.” (1) Just live in Christ’s life.
(1) John Crowder. Mystical Union.
