tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29606082.post6046289766053005095..comments2023-10-03T06:25:41.357-05:00Comments on Grace Roots Blog: 10 Exchanged Life truths that will change your lifeJoel Bruesekehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10395847887953875757noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29606082.post-72508755421215648972014-03-21T07:39:36.350-05:002014-03-21T07:39:36.350-05:00Hi Matthew,
Perhaps you will find that my little ...Hi Matthew,<br /><br />Perhaps you will find that my little series entitled <a href="http://blog.graceroots.org/2009/02/practically-speaking-part-1-of-3.html" rel="nofollow">Practically Speaking</a> speaks to what you're saying.Joel Bruesekehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10395847887953875757noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29606082.post-39209931742524439692014-03-21T03:01:09.350-05:002014-03-21T03:01:09.350-05:00From my own experience, I have found it is importa...From my own experience, I have found it is important to address behaviours in a practical way. This is very important especially when seeking to deal with destructive sinful patterns in a persons life. For example, if I was mentoring a christian struggling with watching pornography, I would encourage him or her to take steps to remove access to sexual explicit materials, along with encouraging the individual to cry out to God for deliverance from this sin and meditate on relevant scriptures. In other words, belief and action go hand in hand. Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16036919005926026316noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29606082.post-66684952401482245952011-11-18T11:10:25.748-06:002011-11-18T11:10:25.748-06:00Hi Kay,
Those are good questions. What you are a...Hi Kay,<br /><br />Those are good questions. What you are asking, in essence, is "what does all this mean to me in a practical sense?"<br /><br />I'll first start by saying that there are indeed pages and pages of NT behavior passages, but there are even more pages and pages of "identity" pages and "exchanged life" pages (going along with the theme of this post). The biblical truths contained in this post, that are spread all throughout the New Testament, are <i>foundational</i> truths for life and living as Christians. <br /><br />They are the essence of what life in Christ is about. Many people seem to think that <i>behavior</i> is the essence of what life in Christ is about, but really behavior is simply the fruit (or 'outflow') of life in Christ. And so many people go straight to the "behavior" verses and focus on those, without knowing (or at least hardly knowing) the foundational truths of grace and our identity in Christ.<br /><br />These foundational truths are very necessary, so that we don't go trying to live this life on our own! What the verses in the post show us is that since we died, and have been raised together with Christ, our life is no longer "ours." Our life is now "Christ in us." He is in us and we are in Him. It's a union. And so I don't go about trying to change my behavior for Him. Rather, as I reckon the truth of my new life in Him and His life in me, I find that victory over the flesh isn't about "me" trying to overcome flesh, but rather is His life in me that does it. This is all lived out by faith, not by my own fleshly attempts to do it.<br /><br />And so all of this makes a huge difference! I died and it is no longer I who lives but Christ lives in me.Joel Bruesekehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10395847887953875757noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29606082.post-15636768020620321312011-11-18T10:10:33.761-06:002011-11-18T10:10:33.761-06:00I love this so much - but I've been thinking t...I love this so much - but I've been thinking through the implications of some of these and have some questions. If I really want my behavior to change, but am stuck in some perpetual loop, how does the truth that my behavior is irrelevant help me? Since the New Testament is pages and pages of writings about the Christian's behavior, lots of instruction, I have to think that behavior is not irrelevant. Knowing that I am fully, just absolutely fully accepted already, that any wrong-doing or wrong-being past, present, and future, has already been atoned for by my Jesus, and not feeling in the dog-house about it one bit, but just sincerely wanting it to change - how do these truths help?Kayhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17970695479862339589noreply@blogger.com