March 28, 2024

The Great Exchange

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I have been crucified with Christ [in Him I have shared His crucifixion];
it is no longer I who live, but Christ (the Messiah) lives in me;
and the life I now live in the body I live by faith in
(by adherence to and reliance on and complete trust in) the Son of God,
Who loved me and gave Himself up for me.
Galatians 2:20 AMP

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I know Christ was crucified for me. But I never thought about what that really means.

  • Christ swapped places with me
  • We exchanged lives
  • He became the sinner, I became the sinless

Even as I type this…I cannot comprehend the full impact of that statement.

What does it mean to be crucified with Christ?  Galatians 5:24 NLT puts it like this:

Those who belong to Christ Jesus have nailed
the passions and desires of their sinful nature
to His cross and crucified them there.

The AMP version calls it our ‘godless human nature.’  Our sinful nature and desires have been exchanged for Christ’s holy and righteous one.  Life in the flesh is no longer life AFTER the flesh.  I Peter 4:2 AMP says we “…can no longer spend the rest of his {our} natural life living by his {our} human appetites and desires, but [he {we} lives] for what God wills.”

The NLT translates it like this…

“You won’t spend the rest of your lives chasing your own desires,
but you will be anxious to do the will of God.”

How is this possible?  Colossians 3:3 AMP states, “For [as far as this world is concerned] you have died, and your [new, real] life is hidden with Christ in God.”  Romans 6:8 NLT tells us “And since we died with Christ, we know we will also live with Him.”  A brand new life in Christ…in exchange for our old life with all its flaws and failures.  We are simply managing this new life given to us by Christ.  But how on earth can we manage this new life any better than the old one?  Faith.  It can only be done by living it by faith.  Faith intimately connects us with Christ.

Through Him also we have [our] access (entrance, introduction)
by faith into this grace (state of God’s favor)
in which we [firmly and safely] stand.
Romans 5:2 AMP

Faith is how we access God’s grace, His guidance, His directions.  In order to live by faith we must live as Jesus describes:

 …even so whoever continues to feed on Me
[whoever takes Me for his food and is nourished by Me]
shall [in his turn] live through and because of Me.
John 6:57b AMP

Quite an exchange, isn’t it?  Why would Christ sacrifice Himself in exchange for me?  Romans 8:37 NLT holds the answer “No, despite all these things, overwhelming victory is ours through Christ, who loved us.”  Christ loves us and wants us to be victorious. He laid down His life in exchange for ours, so we could spend eternal life with Him.  He chose to die for me.  Now that is amazing love.

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Lord, I am so thankful and grateful You chose to exchange Your life for mine.  I cannot fully comprehend the depths of Your love for me.  Help me live by faith so that I may manage this new life in a manner pleasing unto You.  In Your Holy name, I ask – Amen, It Is So!

Touch The Sky

psalmshymnsspiritualsongskjv

What fortune lies beyond the stars
Those dazzling heights too vast to climb
I got so high to fall so far
But I found Heaven as love swept low

My heart beating, my soul breathing
I found my life when I laid it down
Upward falling, spirit soaring
I touch the sky when my knees hit the ground

What treasure waits within Your scars
This gift of freedom gold can’t buy
I bought the world and sold my heart
You traded Heaven to have me again

Find me here at Your feet again
Everything I am, reaching out in surrender
Come sweep me up in Your love again
And my soul will dance
On the wings of forever

Hillsong United
Written by Joel Houston, Dylan Thomas, Michael Guy Chislett

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Then I fell on my knees and spread out my hands to Yahweh my God.
Ezra 9:5 HCSB

Let them take hold of My strength and make complete surrender to My protection,
that they may make peace with Me!
Yes, let them make peace with Me!
Isaiah 27:5 AMP

“God said, ‘No, it doesn’t matter who you are,’ and because of that, we don’t have to try and elevate ourselves in order to find God. We find God from a position of surrender.”
– Joel Houston
(Read more here.)

I got so high to fall so far…
I bought the world and sold my heart
.”

Ever wonder why we let it get to this point before we surrender to God’s will?  Why do we insist on trying to do it on our own and then run to God as a last resort?  Why does it take abject failure to bring us to our knees?  As Christians, we know the rewards of turning our lives over to God.  So why do we keep taking it back again?  Our attitudes change and our focus shifts from the wonders of heaven to the realities of this world.  We seek happiness and meaning through earthly desires, instead of falling at the feet of Jesus.  What we need to remember is found in Galatians 2:20 AMP:

I have been crucified with Christ [in Him I have shared His Crucifixion];
it is no longer I who live, but Christ (the Messiah) lives in me;
and the life I now live in the body I live by faith in
(by adherence to and reliance on and complete trust in) the Son of God,
Who loved me and gave Himself up for me.

Christ loved us enough to die for us so we could live by faith rather than chasing earthly desires and passions.  Galatians 5:24 NLT tells us that “Those who belong to Christ Jesus have nailed the passions and desires of their sinful nature to His Cross and crucified them there.” True meaning and happiness can only be found in our total surrender to Him.  We can find new life only when we fall at the foot of the cross in complete surrender.

My heart beating, my soul breathing
I found my life when I laid it down
Upward falling, spirit soaring
I touch the sky when my knees hit the ground
Find me here at Your feet again
Everything I am, reaching out in surrender
Come sweep me up in Your love again
And my soul will dance
On the wings of forever

This is my favorite part of the song.  When we hit our knees and spread our hands to Yahweh, we find peace and protection in Him. Then we can touch the sky and our souls can dance on the wings of forever.