December 23, 2024

Complete In Thee

April 15, 2015 by

Many of you have gone on Spring Break or are anticipating taking a vacation this summer.  It is a time to refresh spirit, soul, and body.  Over the next couple of weeks, our faithful bloggers will be taking a ‘spring break’ from writing so that they can come back to us refreshed and freshly anointed.
However, Girlfriends’ Coffee Hour website won’t ‘go black’!  We will be revisiting some of our favorite blogs and daily devotions which have blessed us in the past.  We pray that each of you, our faithful friends and readers, will continue to start your day meditating on the devotionals and songblogs, and be encouraged and blessed.

Let’s give each of our bloggers a big round of applause, a hug,
and the rest they so deserve.  God bless you, ladies!

psalmshymnsspiritualsongskjv

Complete in Thee, no work of mine
Could take, dear Lord, the place of Thine
Thy blood hath pardon bought for me
And I shall stand complete in Thee

Yea, justified, oh blessed thought
And sanctified salvation wrought
Thy blood hath pardon bought for me
And glorified, I too, shall be

Complete in Thee, each want supplied
And no good thing to me denied
Since Thou my portion, Lord will be
I ask no more, complete in Thee

Complete in Thee, no more shall sin
Thy grace has conquered reign within
Thy blood shall bid the tempter flee
And I shall stand, complete in Thee

Dear Savior, when, before Thy bar
All tribes and tongues assembled are
Among the chosen I shall be
At Thy right hand, complete in Thee

Benjamin Everson
written by Aaron R. Wolfe and James M. Gray/Ben Nyce

*  ~  ♥  ~  ✞  ~  ♥  ~  *

Complete!  Could that really be true?!?  Oh YES, it is!  For years I struggled, truly suffered, being tempted by the enemy of our souls to doubt the truth and veracity of this fact: I, Coleen Ann Brigit Hayden, AM complete in Him!  I am!  (And you, my friend, you are complete in Him, too!) ‘How do you know that?’ you ask?  The Bible tells me so!

For in Christ the fullness of God lives in a human body,
and you are complete through your union with Christ.
Colossians 2:9 and 10

The word complete communicates that the thing which is completed has no lack or deficiency.  So if we are complete through our union or relationship with Christ then there is no lack or deficiency in all that comes through that relationship.  It is enough.  We are fully, perfectly, completely equipped.  ‘With what?’ you ask?  Well, here are a few things that became when we had our spiritual new birth.  Among other things, we are:

  • Chosen – 1 Peter 1:2
  • Forgiven –  Colossians 2:13
  • Free – Galatians 5:1
  • Justified – 1 Corinthians 6:11
  • Redeemed – Ephesians 1:7
  • Righteous – Romans 5:9
  • Sanctified – 1 Corinthians 1:30
  • Sealed – Ephesians 1:13

It is ONLY through our relationship or union with Jesus that we are complete—there is nothing, absolutely nothing, that we can do by ourselves that will make us complete.  Remember who and what we were…

And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience—among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind.

and then…

But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved—and raised us up with Him and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages He might show the immeasurable riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.

Ephesians 2:1-8

Doesn’t that just melt your heart AND revive your heart all at the same time!?!  Read through those verses again, and pick out your very favorite phrase and praise our Great I AM through it!  (I would LOVE to hear which phrase hits your heart the most…and why!)

  • God being rich in mercy
  • By grace you have been saved through faith
  • Because of the great love with which He loved us
  • Might show the immeasurable riches of His grace in kindness towards us
  • It is the gift of God

This—His love, His grace, His mercy, His gift, His riches—is what gives us the opportunity for a relationship or union with Jesus!  How GREAT is our God!

For He chose us in Him before the creation of the world
to be holy and blameless in His sight.
In love He predestined us for adoption to sonship through Jesus Christ,
in accordance with His pleasure and will—
to the praise of His glorious grace,
which He has freely given us in the One He loves.
Ephesians 1:4-6

Hold this truth in your mind and never doubt that you are completely, completely, completely  COMPLETE through your union with Jesus—He is your Lord!

  *  ~  ♥  ~  ✞  ~  ♥  ~  *

Let’s Pray:

…that Christ may dwell in <our> hearts through faith, as <we> are being rooted and grounded in love.  I pray that <we> may have the power to comprehend, with all the saints, what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, so that <we> may be filled with all the fullness of God.  Now to Him who by the power at work within us is able to accomplish abundantly far more than all we can ask or imagine, to Him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever.  Amen.

(paraphrased from Ephesians, chapter 3)

Filed Under: Psalms Hymns and Spiritual Songs Tagged With: , , , , , , , , ,

CHRISTLife — ThirtyOne: Accepted

February 24, 2014 by

cl accepted 1

How great is the love the Father has lavished on us,
that we should be called children of God!
and that is what we are!
1 John 3:1

We ARE!  This is one of my oh-so-very-favorite verses in all 66 books of the Bible!  What comfort…what encouragement…what enablement is communicated in this one sentence!  And, as His children, He has accepted us through the accomplishments of Jesus Christ!

According as He hath chosen us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love:
Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will,
To the praise of the glory of His grace, wherein He hath made us accepted in the beloved.
Ephesians 1:4-6 KJV

Now THIS, my friends, THIS should definitely be one of the ‘images’ in your inner identity album.  “I am ACCEPTED ‘cause God says I am!”  It truly is as simple as that, y’know.  There is nothing—nada, not one tiny thing, not anything at all—that you (or I) can do to be accepted or make yourself any more accepted by God.  He has done it all…in Christ.  There aren’t too many words which communicate God’s love to us than these; they always cause tears to well up in my eyes (if not flow out of)!  Words which tell of His great love for us: chosen…without blame… adoption… His Will…to the praise of the glory of His grace…accepted in the beloved!   Amazing, yes…and TRUE!

Webster’s definition says that to ACCEPT means to ‘receive willingly, to regard with approval, to value, to esteem, to take pleasure in or to receive with favor.’ Take that and think of yourself, child of God, insert your name—“I, _______, am willingly received by God;  God regards me, _______, with approval;  God values me, esteems me, takes pleasure in me, and receives me with favor!”

C.H. Spurgeon wrote, “Are there grander words in any language than these four ‘…accepted in the beloved’?  There seems to be a sacred poem in these words.  To my heart, there is more heavenly music in those four words than in any oratorio I ever heard.”

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.
You search out my path and my lying down
and are acquainted with all my ways.
Even before a word is on my tongue,
behold, O Lord, You know it altogether.
You hem me in, behind and before,
and lay Your hand upon me.
Such knowledge is too wonderful for me;
it is high; I cannot attain it.
Psalms 139:1-6

We—every single human being who ever has been born and who ever will be born—are known by God.  Truly “such knowledge…it is high; I cannot attain it!”  But it is the truth!  And God’s desire—His love—for all is to be saved through His Son, Jesus Christ.

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son,
that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life.
For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world,
but in order that the world might be saved through Him.
John 3:16 and 17

When we are saved and brought into a relationship with Almighty God as His children, we receive access to Him.  He has completely accepted us and made us part of His family, His household.  Again, nothing we can do or could have done to accomplish this—it is all His gift of love, His doing through Jesus!

For through Him we both have access in one Spirit to the Father.
So then you are no longer strangers and aliens,
but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God,
Ephesians 2:18 and 19

This was according to the eternal purpose that He has realized in Christ Jesus our Lord,
in whom we have boldness and access with confidence through our faith in Him.
Ephesians 3:11 and 12

* ~ * ~ ♥  ~ * ~ *

Might I encourage you to take a little bit of time right now and seek your Father’s presence.  Put everything else aside and thank Him…praise Him…exalt Him…love Him.  Tell Him how thankful you are to be His child and to be accepted—because you are!   ♥  

Filed Under: CHRISTLife Bible Study Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

“I AM” Chapter 5 – Day 5: I AM…Complete

August 9, 2013 by

GFCHmemverse3

Complete!  Could that really be true?!?  For years I struggled, truly suffered, being tempted by the enemy of our souls to doubt the truth and veracity of this fact: I, Coleen Ann Brigit Hayden, AM complete in Him!  I AM!  (And you, my friend, you are complete in Him, too!) ‘How do you  know that?’ you ask?  The Bible tells me so!

For in Christ the fullness of God lives in a human body,
and you are complete through your union with Christ.
Colossians 2:9 and 10

The word complete communicates that the thing which is complete has no lack or deficiency.  So if we are complete through our union or relationship with Christ then there is no lack or deficiency in all that comes through that relationship.  It is enough.  We are fully, perfectly, completely equipped.  ‘With what?’ you ask?  Well, a couple of days ago in our lesson, Teresa gave us a beautiful graphic which contains the essence of what I am saying.  It presented ‘character traits’ that became ours when we were born-again, or had our spiritual new birth.  Among other things, it said we are:

  • Chosen – 1 Peter 1:2
  • Forgiven –  Colossians 2:13
  • Free – Galatians 5:1
  • Justified – 1 Corinthians 6:11
  • Redeemed – Ephesians 1:7
  • Righteous – Romans 5:9
  • Sanctified – 1 Corinthians 1:30
  • Sealed – Ephesians 1:13

It is ONLY through our relationship or union with Jesus that we are complete—there is nothing,  absolutely nothing, that we can do by ourselves that will make us complete.  Remember who and what we were…

And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience—among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind. But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved—and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.

Ephesians 2:1-8

Doesn’t that just melt your heart AND revive your heart all at the same time!?!  Read through those verses again, and pick out your very favorite phrase and praise our Great I AM through it!  (I would LOVE to hear which phrase hits your heart the most…and why!)

  • God being rich in mercy
  • By grace you have been saved through faith
  • Because of the great love with which He loved us
  • Might show the immeasurable riches of His grace in kindness towards us
  • It is the gift of God

This—His love, His grace, His mercy, His gift, His riches—is what gives us the opportunity for a relationship or union with Jesus!  How GREAT is our God!

For He chose us in Him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in His sight.  In love He predestined us for adoption to sonship through Jesus Christ, in accordance with His pleasure and will—to the praise of His glorious grace, which He has freely given us in the One He loves.
Ephesians 1:4-6

Hold this truth in your mind and never doubt that you are completely, completely, completely  COMPLETE through your union with Jesus—He is your Lord!

 

* * * * *

Let’s Pray:

…that Christ may dwell in <our> hearts through faith, as <we> are being rooted and grounded in love.  I pray that <we> may have the power to comprehend, with all the saints, what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, so that <we> may be filled with all the fullness of God.  Now to Him who by the power at work within us is able to accomplish abundantly far more than all we can ask or imagine, to Him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever.

Amen.
(paraphrased from Ephesians, chapter 3)

Filed Under: Women's Ministry Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , ,