Praying Without Ceasing Article
Author: reborngomer0729
Times of Testing
I woke up to a sound I didn’t like, turns out it was my poor husband throwing up in the bathroom. Zechariah has just gotten over the flu, and now Michael has it. He was so uncomfortable, he said the floor was better for his stomach than sleeping in our bed! But this morning I found out, Lily has the flu too!
Michael never complained, but made his way slowly downstairs. Lily has thrown up too many times for me to count. There has been fussing, but no real complaining. As in miserable sounds, but Lily has been a good girl.
She wakes up, grimacing and fussing, her hand over her mouth and I take her to the bathroom. She empties the contents of her stomach into the toilet, I wipe her mouth, and check for splatters. Then I walk her back to bed and cover her again. Then I prayed and asked God for strength, help, and wisdom.
And He gave it to me! It was rough, but God gave me the strength that I needed to minister to my family and to get through it. The peace to know everything was going to be okay. Michael was tough and he didn’t need too much from me. Lily had a harder time, but I tried to make her as comfortable as I could, and kept an eye on our precious Zechariah. I leaned on God and He provided for me. The day passed.
The day always passes. Another day, I couldn’t sleep well the night before because I kept having Braxton Hicks contractions. I kept thinking, this is it! Our 3rd baby is finally coming! And then morning came and the baby still wasn’t born yet. I complained a bit, annoyed with myself for not getting enough sleep. I took two naps that day, but when I asked God for help, He got me through it. The day passed.
These days feel more stressful, because I’m 38 weeks pregnant. I’m lacking in energy, the baby is heavy and stretching my skin, and some people make unhelpful comments about my baby bump, but each day brings me closer to having the baby. Each day is another chance to get closer to God, show my family I love them, and to learn to control my temper.
This too shall pass. But God is faithful. So who are we trusting?
Jeremiah 17:5
Thus says the Lord: “Cursed is the man who trusts in man and makes flesh his strength, whose heart turns away from the Lord.
Who are we going to first? God or man? Sometimes I’m very good at turning to God first, but not always. Who are we leaning on for help? Where are we looking for strength to sustain us? What is our heart turned toward?
Jeremiah 17:6
He is like a shrub in the desert, and shall not see any good come. He shall dwell in the parched places of the wilderness, in an uninhabited salt land.
You won’t grow spiritually if you aren’t looking to God for your strength.
Jeremiah 17:7
“Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, whose trust is the Lord.
Happy is the man who trusts in the Lord to sustain him. God is good and He keeps His promises.
Jeremiah 17:8
He is like a tree planted by water, that sends out its roots by the stream, and does not fear when heat comes, for its leaves remain green, and is not anxious in the year of drought, for it does not cease to bear fruit.”
Dry times will come, that is the human life. But where you have made the habit of turning is still what you will be turning towards. If you have been trusting in man, when struggles come you are going to have a hard time changing that. Better make sure you are looking to God now rather than later.
Jeremiah 17:9
The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?
Don’t just tell yourself that you are trusting in God and get on with your day, self-deception is easy. I want you to pray about it and to ask God Himself if you have been leaning on Him or on man.
Jeremiah 17:10
“I the Lord search the heart and test the mind, to give every man according to his ways, according to the fruit of his deeds.”
God already knows everything about us, the only question is, what do we need to know about ourselves?
Jeremiah 17:13 O LORD, the hope of Israel, all who forsake you shall be put to shame; those who turn away from you will be written in the earth, for they have forsaken the fountain of living water.
Nothing sustains like the Lord, looking to anything else first is like leaning on a broken reed.
Jeremiah 17:14
Heal me, O Lord, and I shall be healed; save me, and I shall be saved, for you are my praise.
Jeremiah 18:11-12
Now, therefore, say to the men of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem: ‘Thus says the Lord, Behold, I am shaping disaster against you and devising a plan against you. Return, every one from his evil way, and amend your ways and your deeds.’“But they say, ‘That is in vain! We will follow our own plans, and will every one act according to the stubbornness of his evil heart.’
It always seems to come back to obeying God. If you aren’t obeying God, then chances are, you aren’t trusting in Him. And if you aren’t trusting Him, then you’re not obeying Him.
Jeremiah 22:21
I spoke to you in your prosperity, but you said, ‘I will not listen.’ This has been your way from your youth, that you have not obeyed my voice.
Dear friend, listen to God’s voice! Seek Him and study your Bible! If you try to drown out His voice, you will succeed. But you will regret it.
Psalm 52:8
But I am like a green olive tree in the house of God. I trust in the steadfast love of God forever and ever.
This is what I want for you, my dear friend. Peace and security in the Living God. The only solid rock.
In the Rock Tumbler by Rachel Jankovic
This is the second chapter in Loving The Little Years by Rachel Jankovic. It’s a short but wonderful and convicting book. I can’t recommend it highly enough to other women, especially mothers or women who are hoping to one day be mothers. This is a book I wish I had read years ago, before kids. It would have kept me from making some bad habits.
“I remember a time when I used to be much godlier. It was sometime in junior high and my room was clean. I was reading my Bible every day and feeling really good. It was clear to me that my sanctification was progressing very well.
The truth is my Christian life then was like a rock being refined by a slow river in a quiet place. It wasn’t that I was growing spiritually, but it was so easy!
But God took me out of that life and threw me into the rock tumbler. (Best description of motherhood that I have heard.) Here, it’s not easy to feel godly, because we spend our days crashing into each other and actually getting our problems addressed.” Pg. 13
As mothers we are in the thick of the action.
“Here there is very little time for quiet reflection. I do a lot of on-the-job failure and correction. Repenting and forgiving. Laughing. Because if there is anything that life in the rock tumbler will teach you, it’s that there is no room to take yourself seriously.
The opportunities for growth and refinement abound here- but you have to be willing.” Pg. 14
Are we willing to grow and be stretched? Are we willing to be convicted of our sins? And to repent?
“You have to open your heart to the tumble. As you deal with your children, deal with yourself always and first. This is what it looks and feels like to walk with God, as a mother.
God treats us with great kindness as we fail daily.” Pg. 14
But am I kind to my children when they fail? Am I as forgiving as God is with me?
“God takes the long view of our sin-knowing that every time we fail and repent, we grow in our walk with Him. It’s easy for us to accept this, because our sins are ours.
But our children sin against us, annoy us, and mess up our stuff. We want to hold it against them, complain about them (if only to ourselves), and feel put upon by their sin. We have a much harder time accepting that every failure from them is a wonderful opportunity for repentance and growth and not an opportunity for us to exact penance.
It is no abstract thing – the state of your heart is the state of your home. You can’t harbor resentment secretly toward your children and expect their hearts to be submissive and tender. You can’t be greedy with your time and expect them to share their toys.” Pg. 14
“And perhaps most importantly, you can’t resist your opportunities to be corrected by God and expect them to receive correction from you.
God has given us the job of teaching His law and demonstrating His grace. We are to be guides to our children as they learn to walk with God.
Sin is just a part of life. It’s the way we deal with it that changes ours.” Pg. 15
May the Lord Find us Faithful Hymn
for God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control.
2 Timothy 1:7
As someone rather timid in some ways, I need the reminder that God is faithful and will help me do whatever work He has given me to do. I found that reminder in this beautiful hymn.
“God has not given us the spirit of fear
But has given us the strength to obey
With power and sound mind
With love the unfailing kind
O be not ashamed of His way.”
But are we ashamed of God’s way? Of His Word? Do we hesitate to admit that we are Christians out of fear of what people will say? Or do we keep our mouth shut around family members, because we know they won’t like what God says about their life choices? It’s easy to obey flesh and fear, instead of trusting and leaning on God. To doubt that He will keep us and sustain us as He has promised.
“May the Lord find us faithful
May His Word be our banner held high
May the Lord find us faithful
Ev’ry day though we live though we die.”
God is faithful and never forgets His own. We need to make the Bible our standard for living, our guide through this life. May we be faithful to God even unto death as our Christian brothers and sisters all over the world are being.
“No man that seeketh
After things of this life
Is a soldier who passes the test
Be faithful be working
Be running be serving
Be searching His word for His best”
We can’t get distracted. Beware falling in love with the world. It’s easy to do, but spiritually deadly. It’s passing away. Only what’s done for God will last. We need to focus on obeying God. We know God will be faithful to us, the question is will we be faithful to Him.
You adulterous people! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. James 4:4
Keep yourself out of love with the world and in love and constant communication with God. The world offers lots of advice, never trust it. A little leven, leavens the whole lump.
Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. James 4:8
Stay faithful in reading and studying God’s Word, be consistent in prayer. Don’t get distracted! I know how easy it is to get distracted. But we are soldiers in the Lord’s army, life isn’t easy. Nothing worth having is easy.
“May the Lord find us faithful
May His Word be our banner held high
May the Lord find us faithful
Ev’ry day though we live though we die.”
Thankfully God is consistent
Your Identity in Christ Means War by Rachel Jankovic
This is a article I came across that really made me think.
“Christian women are a needy bunch. We are hurting, struggling, being broken, weighed down, and discouraged. Because this is so common among us (and we all know somehow that it shouldn’t be), there is much done to try to encourage, to lift up, to come alongside, to point out that our weakness is the perfect stage for his strength.
Our problems need the death of Christ, and they need our death in him.
We have real problems, and in the midst of trying to deal with them we find questions we can’t answer. Who are you? How do you know? Do you matter? Is your situation stifling you? These are real questions, real problems that many women are facing. And so, in this conversation about our troublesome needs and problems, we have often heard the great Christian comfort of identity in Christ.
Why is it, then, with so much talk about Christian identity — about how we are loved and accepted, about how we belong to God — that the women of our faith seem no stronger? No less needy? We still talk of all our struggles in the present tense. We exchange brokenness like it was good news, and comfort each other with still more brokenness. We want to declare each other “enough.” We have treated Christian identity like it was the great afghan of coziness underneath which all of humanity ought to be settling in for a long nap.
But what if our identity in Christ is not a blanket?
What if, instead of a cozy place to hibernate, what we are being handed in Christ is actually cold steel, intended for a completely different purpose? Your identity in Christ is a weapon, one that will put to death the old man that lives within you (Romans 8:13). We have been baptized in his death, in order to walk in newness of life (Romans 6:4).
If we are not equipped through Christ to fight the sin nature in all of us, it does not matter how thick or cozy the comfort blanket is. Underneath it, the cold hands of sin are still around our necks. That fight cannot be comforted away. We cannot soothe each other into relief from our problems.
Jesus loves you, which is why he would kill that part of you that loves sin.
Our problems need the death of Christ, and they need our death in him (Galatians 2:20). We must believe in the love of God, absolutely. We must believe in Jesus, absolutely. But the first thing we do in that belief is repent. Repent and believe (Mark 1:15). Turn against our old self and believe in Christ (2 Corinthians 5:17). As John Owen says, “Be killing sin, or it will be killing you.”
What we need desperately is not stand-alone comfort, but the actual source of comfort — “the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort” (2 Corinthians 1:3). We need effective tools to do battle against our own flesh. I believe this is exactly what our identity in Christ is. It is the hope of victory over sin, the confidence that Christ has done what we cannot. It is an Older Brother who saves. It is the hard edge of death to self, and the glorious comfort of new and sanctified life in him.
Sin is the enemy (Genesis 4:7). Sin is in us. Christ is the Victor. Christ is in us. When you are true to your identity in Christ, you must be the enemy of sin in yourself. You must hate those cold hands on your neck enough to make them captive to Christ, enough to cry out to your Savior in the confidence that he will see them dead. This is why all those simple platitudes have done so little to make us feel better.
Jesus loves you, which is why he would kill that part of you that loves sin. If we want to live well, we must learn to die in him. Your identity in Christ is what gives you the courage, the ability, and the desire to do this. In Christ, your sin cannot rule over you. In Christ, you do not want it to. In Christ, we have the strength to fight it. And in Christ, we will ultimately have the victory.
With so much talk about Christian identity, why do the women of our faith seem no stronger?
There are no words to convey how deep and real and free this comfort and love is. This is rest. This is joy. This is victory. This is actual life. But it is not the comfort of little lies about how beautiful we are or about how much we deserve happiness; it is the comfort of seeing the true nature of our Savior and his love for us.
It is not our beauty but his that we should be captivated by. In him, our flesh is nailed to the cross. In him, it dies. In him, we can truly live without guilt and without shame. Knowing who we are in Christ equips us to shoulder our regular burdens and steward our trials in a way that reflects the glory of our salvation — in a way that reflects our Christ!
This is the moment of victory. But we cannot expect victory when we are too afraid to fight. Christian women have not been needy as much as we have been cowards. We must no longer be squeamish or fearful about the nature of our identity in Christ. Our part in Christ is indeed beautiful — like a clear sunrise on a new day full of new hope and life — but it is that same sun rising on an execution day.
There go our sins, our great enemies — selfishness, lust, laziness, envy. There goes our flesh to die in Christ. That is the glorious day in which we can live, fully his, strong in our identity, and beneath us, the Everlasting Arms of Comfort Himself. Ladies, pick up your weapons gladly, for you belong to God.”
Rachel Jankovic (@lizziejank) is a wife and mother of seven children. She is author of You Who? Why You Matter and How to Deal with It, and is heavily involved with a Bible reading ministry for women.
https://www.desiringgod.org/articles/your-identity-in-christ-means-war
His Robes for Mine Hymn
This hymn is full of solid theology. In order to catch all of it, I have to read it slowly. I need to think about and take in the words. How often do I think about Christ’s sacrifice for me in it’s entirety? Having grown up in a Christian home, I know about the cross and the resurrection. But it’s so easy to rush through Easter and not to think about what it really means. To not think about Christ’s sacrifice.
I don’t want to do that, and I don’t want you to do that, my friend. We need to keep our eyes fixed on the author and finisher of our salvation.
“His robes for mine: O wonderful exchange!
Clothed in my sin, Christ suffered ‘neath God’s rage.
Draped in His righteousness, I’m justified.
In Christ I live, for in my place He died.”
We need to meditate on Christ’s sacrifice and what His resurrection means. We need to slow down and refocus on Him. Holidays are often very busy and go past too fast to us to focus on spiritual things. But it’s we that need to make time for those things. We that need to slow down and refocus. To renew our minds in the Word. This is one of those hymns that helps me remember. One that points me to the Bible.
“I cling to Christ, and marvel at the cost:
Jesus forsaken, God estranged from God.
Bought by such love, my life is not my own.
My praise-my all-shall be for Christ alone.”
How often do we remember that we aren’t our own? It’s so easy to forget. We belong to God and He is our master and leader. He is our all in all.
“His robes for mine: what cause have I for dread?
God’s daunting Law Christ mastered in my stead.
Faultless I stand with righteous works not mine,
Saved by my Lord’s vicarious death and life.”
Jesus has bought for us salvation and a place in Heaven. All we have to do is to accept His gift.
“His robes for mine: God’s justice is appeased.
Jesus is crushed, and thus the Father’s pleased.
Christ drank God’s wrath on sin, then cried “‘Tis done!”
Sin’s wage is paid; propitiation won.”
It’s an easy, but a dangerous thing to forget God’s justice. It’s an easy, but dangerous thing to forget that sin has a high cost. And that in order for us to be forgiven, that cost had to be paid.
“His robes for mine: such anguish none can know.
Christ, God’s beloved, condemned as though His foe.
He, as though I, accursed and left alone;
I, as though He, embraced and welcomed home!”
An Easter Email
This is a short but thoughtful email I found in my inbox this morning. I’m not endorsing anyone, but she has some thoughts that I believe were worth sharing.
“Every Friday around this time, I become fully aware of my need for rest.
But on this particular day, reflecting on the weight of Jesus’ final hours on Earth and then the glory of His resurrection, I’m prompted to think about what happened between those two events.
For the disciples, the hours and days immediately following the crucifixion were a time of confusion and despair.
“What do we do now? Are we even safe here? What is our purpose? How will we continue the mission?”
All these fears on top of the great sadness of losing a friend.
So what did they do?
Jesus was crucified on Preparation Day. That is, the day before the Sabbath, which was a day for rest. Rest from work, but also a day for worship.
The Jewish people took the Sabbath very seriously and were faithfully obedient to its rituals and requirements.
But I wonder if, after all the drama and uproar that took place on that fateful day, instead of resting, the people would still be running about in a frenzy.
Chaos and buzz and emotionally charged crowds all still clamoring around the streets shouting about what happened to “the King of the Jews”.
Perhaps those uproars were happening, but the gospels tell us of a different account.
They tell us of a man named Joseph and a few Jewish women who pleaded with the authorities to release Jesus’ body to them so they could bury him before the Sabbath began.
The request was granted.
Then, after laying Jesus in the tomb, “they returned, and prepared spices and ointments, and rested the sabbath day according to the commandment” (Luke 23:55).
They rested.
In all their heartbreak and fear, shock and hopelessness, Jesus’ followers rested.
They didn’t run. They didn’t flee. They didn’t plot a new plan for rising up against their enemies. They rested.
And surely it must have been one somber Sabbath… yet they still faithfully took the time to rest and meet with God in the midst of great sadness.
God’s timing is not random. Jesus’ death taking place right before a Sabbath was our loving Father giving us rest after a momentous event.
This is a reminder that He meets us in our deepest despair. The people didn’t yet know or understand the Gift that was given to them… and they certainly didn’t know of the great miracle that was to come in three days’ time.
So they rested and consulted with God.
The same goes for us now. God meets us in our despair. We don’t know how or when… because that’s far beyond our earthly comprehension.
But we know for certain He’s there. Moving, working, crafting miracles.
So, as you prepare for a glorious Easter Sunday celebration, I pray you also seek rest. Take the time God intentionally set aside for us this Holy weekend to rest and listen to Him.
May you feel His presence now and always,
“
Intimacy with the Almighty
Be still, and know that I am God.
I will be exalted among the nations,
I will be exalted in the earth! Psalm 46:10
But what does that mean? Be still?
Intimacy with the Almighty is a book written by Charles Swindoll about this very topic. I picked up this small book and found it both encouraging and challenging. Charles Swindoll talks about the frenzied pace of life and how it never seems to slow down. I long for the days when I could walk alone in the woods and sing my prayers to God. These days I am never alone and whenever I try to sing I am frequently interrupted. The noise of my life feels deafening to me, but I don’t know what I can do. There’s nothing I can cut out of my life.
I try to seek God. The best way for me to do this, is to wake up early to read my Bible, and go over my prayer list. It’s only in the quiet that my mind is clear enough to pray.
“Silence sharpens the keen edge of our souls, sensitizing us to those ever-so-slight nudgings from our heavenly Father. Noise and words and frenzied, hectic schedules dull our senses, close our ears to His still, small voice and making us numb to His touch.” Pg. 38
People crave the stillness of nature, but where can we go for such a thing? We’re too busy, or even too far away. Sometimes I’m tempted to lock myself in a closet just for some peace and quiet.
“Allow it to continue, and you will gravitate in one of two directions. Either you will run through the motions and cultivate a hypocritical spirituality hidden behind the mask of phony enthusiasm, or you will simply fade from involvement and distance yourself from meaningful relationships with other Christians. In both cases, you will set yourself up for a fall. I have seen it happen more often than I want to recall.” Pg. 42
Find some peace and quiet to refresh you. Maybe by waking up early or perhaps by going for a walk. Don’t be afraid to say “no” more often. Your time is limited, you can’t do everything, and you certainly can’t do everything well. It’s not possible. Slow down and pour out your heart to God, ask Him to help you. God is merciful.
If you wait for anything else to change, you’ll just crash and burn. Strengthen yourself in the Lord.
And David was greatly distressed, for the people spoke of stoning him, because all the people were bitter in soul, each for his sons and daughters. But David strengthened himself in the LORD his God. 1 Samuel 30:6
Hard times will come, but will we go to God first in those times? Seeking God in prayer requires discipline that needs to be cultivated. Can the hurried, worried mind hear God’s answer? It is only when we take the time to be alone with God and His Word, that we can listen and our spiritual strength can recover.
“Solitude has been called “the furnace of transformation.” Pg. 53
You can’t rush this. It’s not a pit stop or a quick fix. This solitude is where God opens our blind eyes to the true state of things. This solitude is where we fight inner battles and God shows us things that we have been hiding from others and even from ourselves. It reveals us as we truly are. God knows all this, but we are the ones that we don’t know.
In my solitude, there is nothing to distract me. “Just me -bare, weak, sinful, broken -nothing. It is this nothingness that I have to face in my solitude, a nothingness so dreadful that everything thing is me wants to run away. So I can forget my nothingness and make myself believe that I am something. As soon as I decide to stay in my solitude, confusing ideas, disturbing images, wild fantasies, and weird associations jump about in my mind like monkeys in a banana tree. Anger and greed begin to show their ugly faces….
The task to persevere in my solitude, to stay in my cell until all my seductive visitors get tired of pounding on my door and leave me alone. ” pg. 54
This kind of soul searching seems to us to take too long, or perhaps to be even too radical. But this type of prayer is the only way we can stop our superficial “show” and be real with God. God already knows everything, it’s we who are blind. But maybe we need to pray the Psalmist’s prayer.
O LORD, you have searched me and known me!
You know when I sit down and when I rise up;
you discern my thoughts from afar. Psalm 139:1-2 and
Search me, O God, and know my heart!
Try me and know my thoughts!
And see if there be any grievous way in me,
and lead me in the way everlasting! Psalm 139:23-24
Paul actually encouraged the Corinthians to examine themselves in 1 Corinthians 11:28.
Let a person examine himself, then, and so eat of the bread and drink of the cup. For anyone who eats and drinks without discerning the body eats and drinks judgment on himself. 1 Corinthians 11:28-29
“An inner restlessness grows within us when we refuse to get alone and examine our own hearts, including our motives. As our lives begin to pick up the debris that accompanies a lot of activities and involvements, we can train ourselves to go right on, to stay active, to be busy in the Lord’s work. Unless we discipline ourselves to pull back, to get alone for the hard work of self-examination in times of solitude, serenity will remain only a distant dream. How busy we can become… and as a result, how empty! We mouth words, but they mean nothing. We find ourselves trafficking in unlived truths. We fake spirituality.” Pg. 60
We need to take time to reflect with God. I begin to think that hard work of regular self-examination is necessary.
Charles Swindoll points out the time Jesus told the apostles to come away by themselves. They needed time to rest and reflect. Jesus, Himself, often slipped away to pray alone.
“One thing that has often helped with my own times of solitude and self examination, is keeping a journal. I have been doing this for years and the benefits are more than most would believe. A journal is a splendid way to spend time alone remembering and recording God’s dealings in your life. While enjoying times of solitude, it’s easy to think that the thoughts and insights He reveals will stay in your mind forever. Not so. It isn’t long before they are submerged under the load of responsibilities and conversations. Activities erase deep and meaningful thoughts.
Our journal entries give us historical dates marking God’s specific dealings with us. We need to preserve a written record of such divine interventions.” Pg. 63
“When I review my journal, I am humbled and strengthened to see how obviously His hand has been on the helm of my life, even though at certain times He may have seemed distant and disinterested. As that hindsight perspective occurs, serenity returns and calms my spirit.” Pg. 64
Journaling also helps you focus during your prayers.
Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways, acknowledge Him and He shall direct your paths. Proverbs 3:5-6
With all your heart. Do we trust in Him with all our heart? Or do we hold back? All is a strong word. In all your ways acknowledge Him. That means surrendering to God’s Will. God’s ways are always best. He loves us, we can trust Him.
“Nothing under His control can ever be out of His control.” Pg. 69
“Surrendering to my so sovereign Lord, leaving the details of my future in His hands, is the most responsible act of obedience I can do.” Pg. 72
Intimacy with the Almighty is a short book, but one well worth the read. I would encourage you to think about his words.
Be still in the presence of the LORD, and wait patiently for him to act. Don’t worry about evil people who prosper or fret about their wicked schemes. Psalm 37:7
Wait for God to act. Trust in Him.
Let all that I am wait quietly before God, for my hope is in him. He alone is my rock and my salvation, my fortress where I will not be shaken. Psalm 62:5-6
All that I am is in God’s hands and I need to leave it there. To trust it to God alone. To seek Him as my strength, deliverance, and hiding place.
But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint. Isaiah 40:31
What are you waiting on? Where are you looking for your strength?
You will keep perfectly peaceful the one whose mind remains focused on you, because he remains in you. Isaiah 26:3
Crucified with Christ
I wanted to know more about what it meant to be crucified with Christ, and so stumbled across this article. Do I know anything about this author? No, I’m not recommending him or anything like that, but I am recommending his article.
“How Can We Be “Crucified with Christ”?
Contributing Writer
UPDATED April 14, 2022
“I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me” (Galatians 2:20).
These are simply verses that are well-known and often quoted. I would make the case that if you have been in church for a while, you have heard this verse quoted before at some point in your life.
Whether you have heard it before or if this is your first time reading it, how do we interpret this verse? What does it mean to be crucified with Christ? Clearly, we can’t be nailed to the cross with Jesus, so this obviously means something else. Let’s figure it out.
What Is the Context of Galatians 2?
To fully understand what it means to be crucified with Christ, it is important to look at the full context of Galatians, and especially what Paul is addressing in this chapter.
The Galatian church had been infiltrated by a group known as the Judaizers. These people were teaching a mixture of law and grace as the basis for salvation. The Judaizers taught that a Gentile had to convert to Judaism – especially when it comes to circumcision and honoring the Sabbath – before they could become a Christian. Conversion and adherence to Mosaic law was necessary before conversion to Christ could happen.
This word Judaizer is found in Galatians 2:14 and it means one who lives as a Jew or who follows the manners and customs of a Jew. The reason why this is a problem is because it takes away the emphasis of salvation by grace alone. In chapter two, Peter spent time fellowshipping with his uncircumcised Gentile believers until this group of Judaizers came around. When they were showed up, he distanced himself from his Gentile brothers and sisters, causing Paul to address Peter’s hypocrisy. In calling out this hypocrisy, Paul then proceeds to let them know that no one is justified by works of the law but only by faith in Christ. This background and context lead into what it means to be crucified with Christ.
What Does it Mean to Be Crucified with Christ?
The first thing we know about this verse is that it does not mean you have to physically die with Christ. That is not necessary for your salvation.
If we are not physically dying, then what are we being crucified to or for? Allow me to address this in two ways to help potentially clarify what it means to be crucified with Christ. When I look at this verse, you can connect it to what he said before this verse and what he said after.
1. Crucified to the Requirements of the Law
Being crucified to the requirements of the law connects this verse to what Paul said before it. Prior to these verses Paul makes an argument against justification by the law. Here are some of the things he said to give you some context.
“We who are Jews by birth and not sinful Gentiles know that a person is not justified by the works of the law, but by faith in Jesus Christ. So we, too, have put our faith in Christ Jesus that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the law, because by the works of the law no one will be justified” (Galatians 2:15-16).
“For through the law I died to the law so that I might live for God” (Galatians 2:19).
2. Crucified to Self
Being crucified to self leads you into what comes after. To be crucified with Christ also means you have crucified your desires, your will, your purpose, your life with Christ. This is in alignment with Jesus’ instruction in Matthew 16:24, to deny yourself, take up your cross and follow me.
Being crucified with Christ is not just dying to the requirements of the law, it is also dying to your self and your desires. Which leads me to ask – why is this important? The answer points us to the second phrase in this verse.
What Does Paul Mean That “Christ Now Lives in Me”?
Let’s put these two phrases together so we can look a little closer at it.
“I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me.”
This second part of the statement is only possible because of the first part. If a person does not crucify their own will and desires, then Christ cannot fully live in them. You could consider this a battle for who will sit in the control room of your life. There is only one throne in your heart and life, and only one person can sit on it.
When you die to yourself or are crucified with Christ, then you give Christ permission to fully live through you. If you choose not to do this, then God cannot live out the full expression of Christ in your life. For him to do that you must first step out of the way, which is another example of what it means to be crucified with Christ.
What Would This Look Like in Our Everyday Lives?
How then do you take this understanding of what it means to be crucified with Christ and make it practical to your everyday life? For this to really take root and shape in your life, it is important to note this requires surrender.
Here is what is also necessary: While Christ died once for all to be the eternal sacrifice for sin, we must die daily to the whims of our own will and desire. This requires not just surrender once, but every day. This surrender requires a commitment to do what God says in his word, even when everything in the fabric of your nature wants to go in a different direction. Let me give you some examples to make the picture clearer.
“But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you” (Matthew 5:44).
“My dear brothers and sisters, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry” (James 1:19).
“Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you” (Ephesians 4:31-32).
“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law” (Galatians 5:22-23).
“So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. For the flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh. They are in conflict with each other, so that you are not to do whatever you want.” (Galatians 5:16-17)
“Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit.” (Galatians 5:25)
Honestly it is simple to understand, sometimes harder to do. If Christ is living in you, then your life will reflect him. That means his character takes shape in your life because you have crucified yourself and are allowing him to live in you and through you. I think Galatians 5:24 sums up what this looks like.
“Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.”
When you think about what it means to be crucified with Christ, let me sum it up for you in this manner. Our salvation is because of Christ, and we live everyday in Christ. Because of the sacrifice of Christ, the question of salvation is settled once and for all in your life. From that point forward we must still be crucified with Christ so that his life will be seen in us. As John the Baptist said, “he must increase, and I must decrease” (John 3:30). When that truth settles into your heart, then you understand what it means to be crucified with Christ.”
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The Christian Thinker 