Posts tagged as:

Victory

It’s a Good Day to Be Dead

by Andy Wood on April 18, 2010

in Ability,Life Currency,Tense Truths

I have a friend who used to say, every time somebody asked how he was, “It’s a good day to be dead.”

No, he was not a Klingon, or a descendent of Crazy Horse.   He was actually referring to one of the most revolutionary truths in the Christian life.  And truth be told, he wouldn’t just stop with the whole dead thing.  He’d say, “It’s a good day to be dead, and alive in Christ.”

The truth to which he was referring is expressed most succinctly in Galatians 2:20.  Here’s how the New Century Version translates it:

I was put to death on the cross with Christ, and I do not live anymore — it is Christ who lives in me. I still live in my body, but I live by faith in the Son of God who loved me and gave himself to save me.

The implications of Paul’s simple declaration are profound.  It tells me what I have received in order to live victoriously in this life, and to fulfill my purpose for which God created me and saved me.

I have received the life of Christ (“Christ lives in me”).

I have received Christ’s faith (“the faith of the Son of God” – a possible translation).

And I have received Christ’s self-giving love.

There is no situation, no bondage, no need for transformation, no frustration, no failure that the life, the love, and the faith of Jesus in me cannot respond to with power.  And the same is true for you, assuming you have trusted Christ as your Lord and Savior.

So how, then, do we apply this truth? [click to continue…]

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Hold On – He’s Coming

by Andy Wood on April 27, 2009

in Ability,LV Cycle,Life Currency,Protecting Your Investment

sun-through-clouds1During the American Civil War, General William T. Sherman was driving his troops through Georgia on his decisive march to the sea.  He had left a small contingent of men behind in a fort on Kennesaw Mountain to guard the rations.  General John Bell Hood of Texas attacked the fort, and a fierce battle followed.  One-third of the men were killed or wounded, and J. M. Corse, the general in command, was severely injured in the fighting.

Just as he was about to hoist up the white flag and surrender, a message came through the signal corps set up on a chain of mountains.  General Sherman was within 15 miles of the fort and had sent the message:  “Hold fast.  We are coming.” Those few words so encouraged the defenders that they held on and kept the fort from falling into the hands of their attackers.

You and I are a little like that contingent of Union soldiers.  We’re part of a victorious army that has been left for a season to be stewards of the resources of our Commander-in-Chief.

And we’re under attack. [click to continue…]

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How to Dispose of a Raging Corpse

by Andy Wood on April 6, 2009

in Five LV Laws,Principle of Freedom,Tense Truths

hide-behind-crossI’ve been noticing something in me that I don’t like.  It’s been around ever since somebody first said “no” to me and I ignored her or him.  But lately it’s been strutting around with a vengeance, so I thought I’d expose the big puke for the world to see.  So take that, flesh.

I first noticed it in particular when I started reading Watchman Nee’s classic, The Spiritual Man.  While I read some really good stuff, I find my mind racing with a torrent of thoughts.  Crazy thoughts.  Rebellious thoughts.  Ugly, fleshly thoughts.

I find it raging sometimes in church when I’m supposed to be the spiritual leader pointing toward Christ and instead I feel this compelling urge to point to me.

I notice it, strangely enough, when I’m with the people I love the most and I’m feeling a flood of emotions that are anything but loving. [click to continue…]

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The Resurrection Army

by Andy Wood on January 26, 2009

in Enlarging Your Capacity,LV Cycle,Life Currency,Love,Tense Truths

Tense Truth: If you are a follower of Jesus, you are a citizen of a kingdom that is always one generation from extinction, and you are that generation. On the other hand, you are part of a kingdom that will never die. Armed with the most relevant, life-giving message ever known to mankind, we reach out with urgency to a dying generation, yet with confidence in a living God.

angel-prayerBorn on the first Easter and commissioned forty days later, the history and destiny of the world has been forever changed and shaped by an army sent forth by the Lord Jesus Himself. You are now part of that army.

Conceived in the eternal heart of God, nurtured in the womb of a rich man’s grave, this army entered the world with very little fanfare. There were no parades. No marches. No legions of soldiers with their pomp and circumstance.

Rome hardly noticed; most of Jerusalem heaved a sigh of relief. The Rabble-rouser was dead, His disciples terrorized, His followers shocked numb. The Armies of Death had won again, and life(!) would go on as usual.

Then came Sunday. Oh, then came Sunday!

Then rolled the stone.

Then fell the guardians of the grave.

Then rose the Lamb, the Lion, the Prince of Peace!

Out came the cry, at first as hoarse as a whisper: “He’s alive! And He’s calling for you.”

From everywhere they came: Jews and Gentiles, rich and poor, male and female, the religious and the rebels. They saw for themselves the difference a risen Savior would make. And true to the prophecies of Daniel, out of the kingdom of Rome there rose a kingdom that would never, never die – one that would subdue all other kingdoms and fill the world. And true to God’s promise, that kingdom and its Resurrection Army – your Resurrection Army – is still alive and well today.

What gives this Resurrection Army its power to overcome? [click to continue…]

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