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Wednesday, September 9, 2009

Meditations on a set-apart life...


A great many things have been whirling through my mind as of late (yes, even on top of the 13 credits at school - hooray for brain overdrive and mental exhaustion).
Discipleship. Spiritual Disciplines. Prayer. A life with a Biblical, Victorious, Christ-exalting vision.
So much to think and pray upon. It's almost overwhelming.
It's like peering over a vast canyon or ocean, ready to embark on the greatest and dangerous adventure. So much must be considered...What does it mean to live a set apart life in Christ? What will it cost? How does a set-apart life look in day-to-day life? How does one live a lion-hearted, victorious Christianity? How does one keep from being conformed to the pattern of this world? How does one (and what does it mean) to have one transformed by the renewal of his/her mind in Christ?
If one is going to truly live set-apart in Christ (in their mind, heart, and body) it must run on something very different than the fleshly works basis that most of modern Christianity is fueled by. Something truly spiritual and divine has to be at work in a set-apart life. But how is one able to find that?
It's a living that is every day, moment by moment, in utter abandonment and surrender to Christ alone and completely dependent upon His grace alone.
There is certainly more to think upon here, but for now I begin with these loose, disorderly thoughts (forgive me, it's been a long day). I'm currently working on a Biblical study post on what it means to be a disciple of Christ. This post serves as a type of preface to that entry. It's a stream of verses that came from musings and questions concerning the life that Christ has called me to, a heavenly and humbling realization of who I am now. A life that is not mine. A life crucificed in Christ. A life that is wholly and irrevocably His.
By faith through grace in Christ Jesus, I am called as...

a disciple of Christ Jesus (John 8:31, Matt 28:19),

an instrument for righteousness (Rom 6:13),

an ambassador for Christ, God making his appeal through me (1 Cor 5:28),

a servant of Christ Jesus...set apart for the gospel of God (Romans 1:1),

a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God (Rom 12:1)

a fellow citizen with the saints and members of the household of God (Eph 2:19),

a good soldier of Christ Jesus (2 Tim 2:3),

a vessel for honorable use, set apart as holy (2 Tim 2:21),

a good steward of God's varied grace (1 Peter 4:10),

a stranger and exile on the earth (Heb 11:13) with a citizenship that is in heaven (Phil 3:20),

and part of a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that I may proclaim the excellencies of him who called me out of darkness into his marvelous light (1 Peter 2:9).

For now, I highly encourage and recommend The Bravehearted Gospel blog. If you desire for the epic grandeur of the Gospel to return to the Church, then you shall love that blog.

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