Dwell In the Lord

“For it pleased the Father that in him should all fulness dwell;” (Col. 1:19)

This is a tough world. So many things are happening in the world that sometimes it is hard to recognize it as the one we grew up in. My father passed away only six years ago but I don’t think he would be able to handle the world as it is today. We are morally bankrupt. A friend of mine is mentoring a young woman who has just recently joined her church and it is amazing what this young woman has told her about what is going on out there today. The world for so many young people is full of darkness and they don’t know any other way. Luckily this young woman turned her back on it all and found Christ. She is now a new person in Jesus Christ.  “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new. (2Cor. 5:17).

It must be a very hard life today for those who do not know Jesus Christ. If we only have our own resources to rely on when trouble strikes we have a very hard battle ahead. When we have Jesus Christ leading the way and guiding us we know absolutely that we are going the right way. A Resurrection day and a judgment day are coming and we must be rooted and grounded in our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Through God’s grace we are forgiven of our sins and we are all sinners and can only become righteous through our relationship with Jesus Christ. Through Him, who took our sin upon Himself at the Cross, we became righteous. He did this for us. I believe Roman 3:10-18 describes today very well, “As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one: There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God. They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one. Their throat is an open sepulcher; with their tongues they have used deceit; the poison of asps is under their lips: Whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness; Their feet are swift to shed blood: Destruction and misery are in their ways: And the way of peace have they not known: There is no fear of God before their eyes.” This is the condition of our Israel nations today. Our people are lost and they need Jesus Christ. Our salvation is in the Lord and we need to find Him if we are to be saved. Isaiah 61:10 praises the Lord for His protection, “I will greatly rejoice in the Lord, my soul shall be joyful in my God; for he hath clothed me with the garments of salvation, he hath covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decketh himself with ornaments, and as a bride adorneth herself with her jewels.’

Our young people are very vulnerable today as they have so many things influencing them from all sides. If they do not have a strong family unit that is God centered and where they feel safe, loved and protected they can become involved in all sorts of terrible things. It is a big bad world out there but through our wonderful Lord and Saviour we can be righteous, “And the work of righteousness shall be peace; and the effect of righteousness quietness and assurance for ever. (Isa. 32:17)

Our lives are changed when we truly accept Jesus into our lives. He lives in us and we live in Him. “Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me. (John 15:4) This is a relationship that is life changing. Christ did so much for us and He wants us to know Him and build our relationship with Him.  As the hymn says, “What a friend we have in Jesus.”

Of course I can’t talk about dwelling in the Lord without quoting verses 1 and 2 from the wonderful Psalm 91, which speaks of God as our refuge and our fortress. “He that dwelleth in the secret place of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the Lord, He is my refuge and my fortress: my God; in him will I trust.”