Who am I this Week?
ALIVE TOGETHER WITH CHRIST!
I was witness to a young man giving his life to Jesus.
“I just want to be with you,” he pleaded. On his knees in the middle of the room, the young man repeated his request in earnestness, “I just want to be with you.”
His sincere plea left an indelible impression. The driving passion of our relationship with God – so simple. I just want to be with you!
Here is the spectacular truth: JESUS JUST WANTS TO BE WITH YOU TOO!
Childlike, transparent, uncomplicated! Let’s be TOGETHER!
Transgression and sin broke togetherness. We were found DEAD. DEAD to God and out of relationship with Jesus.
BUT GOD, abounding with mercy, because of His GREAT LOVE for us…
You gotta hear this!
“…even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus…” ~ Ephesians 2:5-6
God made you ALIVE. The word alive means: to bring to life conjointly. It means that God brought you back from the dead TOGETHER with Jesus! God didn’t just hand you life and say, “There you go. Make the best of it.”
The resurrection of Jesus is YOUR resurrection too!
The point of LIFE is TOGETHERNESS. Oneness with the triune God of all creation! The restoration of the relationship for which we were created. His ultimate desire fulfilled TOGETHER with YOU!
TOGETHER is emphasized in three movements:
- God made you ALIVE TOGETHER
- GOD RAISED you up TOGETHER
- GOD made you SIT TOGETHER
ALIVE TOGETHER
Abundant living is found TOGETHER with Jesus! Your place to thrive as a person is in Jesus! In Him is LIFE! Being made ALIVE is not limited to eternal life in the future. ALIVE means NOW.
“And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent.” ~ John 17:3
“He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life.” ~ 1 John 5:12
Not alone. Not a solo. Not unattended. His passion is to LIVE LIFE TOGETHER with you – in the nitty gritty, everyday details.
Abundant LIFE is yours. Tap into TOGETHERNESS:
“He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.” ~ John 7:38
By God’s GRACE (His divine influence, favor, and pleasure offered as a gift) you were saved from death and made ALIVE TOGETHER.
RAISED UP TOGETHER
God the Father exerted His divine power when He raised Jesus from the dead.
“…[Jesus] whom God raised up, having loosed the pains of death, because it was not possible that He should be held by it.” ~ Acts 2:24
Jesus went headlong into the place of the dead to defeat death. And in that moment Jesus disrupted all of creation. The veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom, the earth quaked, the rocks split, and the graves opened! After Jesus’ resurrection, the bodies of saints who had also been in the place of the dead came out of their graves too! And not only were there physical manifestations of Jesus’ confrontation with death, but the entire spiritual world was put on its head.
“Having disarmed principalities and powers, He made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them in it.” ~ Colossians 2:15
Jesus’ journey: He came to earth as a human like us. He died and descended into the place of the dead. His Father raised Him up seating Him at His own right hand in the Heavens. Jesus proved that there was no place mankind could go outside of Jesus’ reach. Jesus is Lord in Heaven, on earth, and under the earth (see Philippians 2:10-11). Jesus is the LORD of ALL!
“(Now this, “He ascended”—what does it mean but that He also first descended into the lower parts of the earth? He who descended is also the One who ascended far above all the heavens, that He might fill all things.)” ~ Ephesians 4:9-10
“I [Jesus] am He who lives, and was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore. Amen. And I have the keys of Hades and of Death.” ~ Revelation 1:18
Spectacular – right?!!!
And if that weren’t enough, Jesus was not alone. The resurrection of Jesus is YOUR resurrection too! God raised you ALIVE TOGETHER with Jesus! You were the entire point of His resurrection!
“…buried with Him in baptism, in which you also were raised with Him through faith in the working of God, who raised Him from the dead. And you, being dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He has made alive together with Him, having forgiven you all trespasses, having wiped out the handwriting of requirements that was against us, which was contrary to us. And He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross.” ~ Colossians 2:12-14
Buried with Jesus and resurrected TOGETHER with Jesus – THIS IS THE LIFE!
Hold on! I quiver as I write to you. It gets even better!
YOU ARE SITTING TOGETHER WITH JESUS in HEAVENLY PLACES!
What is even happening right now?! I wish I could put into words my inexpressible JOY!
We have been learning that our identity is IN CHRIST. TOGETHER. ONENESS.
Listen. Jesus sat down at God’s right hand and TOGETHER IN HIM, we spiritually occupy the same space!
“…and [God] made us sit together in the heavenly places…”
“…Jesus Christ, who has gone into heaven and is at the right hand of God, angels and authorities and powers having been made subject to Him.” ~ 1 Peter 3:21-22
Whatever the context of your present life, I need to remind you of your PLACE of VICTORY! It is SEATED TOGETHER with JESUS at God’s right hand! Nothing less. Your position carries His authority, His divine power, and His provision! It’s WHO you are in Jesus.
Please see this. At God’s right hand, everything is under the feet of Jesus.
“He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, far above all principality and power and might and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in that which is to come. And He put all things under His feet…” ~ Ephesians 1:20-22
Via TOGETHER IN JESUS all things are under your feet too!
When I live as if I’m conquered by the devil and/or the world – the lust of the flesh, lust of the eyes, and my pride; I live a lie. To surrender in defeat is to forget WHO I am in Jesus.
“Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us.” ~ Romans 8:37
The rock-solid truth is you are seated in the throne room of heaven under a banner of God’s love, victorious in the resurrection power of God! TOGETHER with JESUS!
ALIVE, RAISED UP, AND SEATED – TOGETHER!
Jesus joined you in death so you could join Him in life!
Go ahead and raise a hallelujah! I am.
FEATURED INSPIRATIONAL PHOTO
“Together in the Heavens”
I took a photo of S.T.E.V.E. (Strong Thermal Emission Velocity Enhancement) not even realizing what it was. It’s a distinct phenomenon that often accompanies the northern lights. STEVE is hot, glowing gas in the upper atmosphere resulting from solar emissions. You will also notice the constellation Orion along with Sirius, the brightest star in the night sky. Just because I didn’t know I was photographing STEVE didn’t make it any less real. But, knowing what it is, makes it all the more spectacular! In the same way, not knowing your identity in Jesus doesn’t rule out its reality. But what a difference in perspective and life practice when we realize WHO we are. This photo reminds me of being seated together with Jesus in glorious heavenly places.
This photo is available as an inspirational wall hanging with the caption “Together in the Heavens”.
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