An Easter Blog – Part 3 - a podcast by David K Payne

“Forgive me for being so ordinary while claiming to know so extraordinary a God.” 
― Jim Elliot

For my Easter message this year (accessible through this web page and on Facebook), I looked at five things the word says about us because of what Jesus did by his life, death, and resurrection.  In this blog, I share the last 2 of 5 things the Word says about you and me. If you want to read parts 1 and 2 check this past Sunday and Tuesdays’ Blogs. These truths are an essential defense against the human struggle with feelings of insufficiency and unworthiness, and these points will give you the confidence to live your best life and know it is enough.

4. I Am Alive

In Galatians, Paul declares that the life people see him living is because Christ lives inside of him. This is a powerful but strange scripture that many miss the full reality of. Other places biblical writers declare that if anyone is in Christ, they are new creations, resurrected beings who are filled with the life that Christ supplies. On my view, these references are not speaking of becoming a different person, but instead, they are addressing the truth that in Christ we can renew our minds and begin to think of ourselves as dead to the struggle with being good enough or accepted or approved of by men or God. We understand that we are fully alive to give our best, do our best and just live each day to its fullest. Some days may be filled with success and faith and goodness, while others are filled with questions, doubts, failure, and fears, but each day we continue to live because of our faith in Christ fully. We refuse to get pulled into the struggle of whether we measure up or not, and we are confident we are accepted by God and thus can just be. This is how we can move past our mistakes and failures and keep living in spite of what we have done or not done.

Consider this scripture from the Message translation…

2 Corinthians 5:17-20 MSG - Because of this decision we don’t evaluate people by what they have or how they look. We looked at the Messiah that way once and got it all wrong, as you know. We certainly don’t look at him that way anymore. Now we look inside, and what we see is that anyone united with the Messiah gets a fresh start, is created new. The old life is gone; a new life burgeons! Look at it! All this comes from the God who settled the relationship between him and us, and then called us to settle our relationships with each other. God put the world square with himself through the Messiah, giving the world a fresh start by offering forgiveness of sins. God has given us the task of telling everyone what he is doing. We’re Christ’s representatives. God uses us to persuade men and women to drop their differences and enter God’s work of making things right between them. We’re speaking for Christ himself now: Become friends with God; he’s already a friend with you.

 

What a fantastic mental place to live in… accepted, confident, forgiven, loved, understood, complete and full of life. Living this way, it makes us able to share who we are, our time, talent and resources and know it is enough!

5. I Am Salt and Light

Jesus declares that we are salt and light. Salt and light are both substances that affect the things they come into contact with. Regardless of how much salt or how powerful or significant the light is, both affect their environments. When you put to rest the human struggle with worth and significance and just live, you will begin to be amazed at how significantly you affect others, and thus who you are is enough. Rather than struggling with what you’re not, or worrying about where you have fallen short, you thrive as a part of humanity and the family of faith, and your life explodes in influence on those you come into contact with.

Remind yourself often of the five things I have shared in these blogs and rejoice knowing your life matters and has a purpose. You don’t have to strain or work to accomplish your purpose, you just have “To Be”!

Just Be

David

Further episodes of "the DKP Word"

Further podcasts by David K Payne

Website of David K Payne