Plan Be
BE Excellent ~ PEACE & VICTORY
"These things I have spoken unto you, so that you may have peace. In this world you shall have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world." John 16:33 MacLaren's Expositions We shall, I think, best lay on our hearts and minds the spirit and purpose of these words if we simply follow their course, and look at the three things which Christ emphasizes here: 1) the inward peace which is His purpose for us; 2)the outward tribulation which is our certain fate; and 3) the courageous confidence which Christ’s victory gives for us! Notice how our Lord’s life was a true battle. The world tried to draw Him away from God by appealing to things desirable to sense, as in the wilderness; or to things dreadful to sense, as on the cross; and both the one and the other form of temptation He faced and conquered. The reality of His conflict is somewhat concealed from us by reason of its calm and the completeness of His conquest. We do not appreciate the force that drives a planet upon its path because it is calm and continuous and silent, but the power that kept Jesus Christ continually faithful to His Father, continually sure of that Father’s presence, continually averse to all self-will and selfish living, was a power mightier then all others that have been manifested in the history of humanity. But mark, again, that our Lord’s life is the type of all victorious life. The world conquers me when it draws me away from God, when it makes me its slave, when it coaxes me to trust it, and urges to despair if I lose it. The world conquers me when it comes between me and God, when it fills my desires, when it absorbs my energies, when it blinds my eyes to the things unseen and eternal. I conquer the world when I put my foot upon its temptations, when I crush it down, when I shake off its bonds, and when nothing that time and sense, with their delights or their dreadfulnesses, can bring, prevents me from cleaving to my Father with all my heart, and from living as His child here. Jesus Christ was not a very successful man according to the standards of New York Stock Exchange and business leaders. He made but a poor thing of the world, and He was going to be martyred on the cross the day after He said these words. And yet that was victory. Success means making the world a stepping-stone to God. The victory of Jesus Christ is of extremely little practical use to me, if all the use of it is to show me how to fight. You must go a deal deeper than that. ‘I have overcome the world, and I will come and put My overcoming Spirit into your weakness, and fill you with My own victorious life, and make your hands strong and be in you the conquering and omnipotent Power.’ My friends! Jesus Christ’s victory is ours, and we are victors in it, because He is more than the pattern of brave warfare, He is even the Son of God, who gave Himself for us, and gives Himself to us, and dwells in us our Strength and our Righteousness. Lastly, remember that the condition of that victory’s being ours is the simple act of reliance upon Him and upon it. The man who goes into the battle as that little army of the Hebrews did against the wide-stretching hosts of the enemy, saying, ‘O Lord! we know not what to do, but our eyes are up unto Thee,’ will come out ‘more than conqueror through Him that loved him.’ For ‘this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith. Amen. Take time to pray about this verse and what is happening during Jesus' final days on Earth. "40-Days of Excellence" Journal CHALLENGE We invite you on a quest to dig deeper and learn about the meaning of the death and resurrection of Friend Jesus. Over the next 40 days (of this Lenten season), join us in this Journal Challenge. You may want to "give something up" (we recommend noise in your life: social media, limited news time, etc.). Instead of focusing on what you can't have, let's focus on what we CAN HAVE walking with Jesus through the prophets and disciples through the books of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. Here is What To Do 1) Start by scheduling quiet time into your schedule every day for 40 days. 2) Get a Journal and entitle it: "40 Days of Excellence" 3) Get your Bible out (or use the YouVersion Bible app) and write out the questions and scripture mentioned in the our blogs, (you can go back and review the blog posts) 4) Around Day 30, journal what the characteristics of BEcoming an EXCELLENT Christian can look like in your life. We promise you, this will be one of the most enriching studies you can do. BE dedicated, set boundaries, and you will discover EXCELLENCE in Jesus, Others and Yourself. = JOY!! Please Note: If you are joining us well into the 40 Day Challenge, like God, we will meet you where you are at! No stress. No worries. We're just happy you are coming along for the journey. xo Christie and Sandi Be Designed to Be
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AuthorsCHRISTIE & SANDI Archives
April 2021
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