Greetings again in the wonderful name of Jesus!
"No longer I, but Christ lives in me..."
The past four decades of ministry have shown us the deep need to be rooted and grounded in Christ Himself – in everything. We’ve seen too much human effort, especially in our own lives. Serving the Lord may be work, but it is His work. It is the life of Christ in us, empowered by the Spirit.
We find it peculiar that even the best of preachers and the best of books for believers frequently assume the foundation of life in Christ but don’t actually lay that foundation. It would be great if all believers were solidly rooted in Christ, His person, His redemption, and participating in His present ministry. But we have seen that this is not true. It appears to us that the complete gospel of Jesus Christ is not preached in many pulpits.
When life gets tough, too many Christians flounder or fall. It does not have to be so. Believers can be well grounded in the great reality of their redemption in Christ, the grand and glorious gospel that goes from Genesis to Revelation. The name and blood of Jesus can be more than familiar concepts. They can be more real and powerful to us than anything else that exists!
The foundation for faith is in your hidden life WITH Christ, and IN Christ. It is being rooted in Him, and He rooted in you. God never intended for you to produce anything from yourself. You don’t have a life of your own. Your life is the life of Christ Himself inside of you.
"I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loves me and gave Himself for me." Gal: 2:20
The life of Christ in heaven is prayer life.
Prayer is the priority of Jesus in heaven, and it the first priority of His life inside of us. To know Christ is to be a praying Christian. Everything else - all profitable ministry and activity - comes from that prayer fountain.
After Christ's ascension back to heaven, everything that He accomplished in His earthly life moved up into His heavenly life. There He lives forever "to make intercession”. Heb. 7:25.
For the Body of Christ there can be no more important activity than prayer. How could there be if Jesus Himself, the Head of the Body, is now “living forever to make intercession”?
The life of Christ in you is prayer life.
His intercession is not only in heaven, for Christ is within you, through the Holy Spirit. His prayer life flows through you by the Holy Spirit and back to the Father. This Holy Spirit led prayer life is the life of your salvation. It is the life “hidden with Christ in God”. Col. 3:3.
When the Church is fully involved with Christ in His intercession, the world is a different place. There are more miracles, and there is more of His will being "done on earth as it is in heaven”. Matt. 6:10.
Because of this, there are three essential things that are to characterize the life of Christians:
1) Be baptized in the Holy Spirit and constantly filled with the Holy Spirit. Luke 3:16, Eph. 5:18.
2) Know with certainty and continuously increasing understanding the finished work of Christ in His great redemption. Eph. 1:17-20 "It is finished!" John 19:30
3) Participate in His unfinished work -- His unceasing intercessory prayer life, empowered by the Holy Spirit. It is Christ's intercession, as mediator of the New Covenant, that brings into human experience the heavenly benefits and victories won by His redemption. Eph. 6:18, Col. 4:2.
The world has yet to see the Church standing fully in her appointed place of prayer. She is the body of the One who always lives to make intercession. When we “grow up into Him who is the Head” (Eph. 4:15), will we not be with Him in the place of prayer?
Thank you again...
We love and greatly appreciate you; we thank you for your friendship, your prayer, and your financial support. As you probably remember, we are not salaried by our home church or by any other organization. Our financial support depends on contributions to our ministry by friends such as you.
"May the blessing of the Lord be upon you; we bless you in the name of the Lord." Ps. 129:8
With love,
John and Jackie
p.s. Pray with us as we consider travel this year to Ukraine, China, Indonesia, and more...
Write checks to: Scarlet Thread Ministries, P.O. Box 48341, Coon Rapids, MN 55448-0341
For immediate and secure online contributions by credit/debit card, go to our website address:
http://www.scarletthreadministries.org/ContactUs.htm
Email:JohnandJackieMatthews@gmail.com
Tel: 763-755-6612
All contributions are fully tax deductible
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