God has put all things under the authority of Christ and has made him head over all things for the benefit of the church. And the church is his body; it is made full and complete by Christ, who fills all things everywhere with himself. (Ephesians 1:22-23) What does it mean to have Christ as our authority in life? In a very simple sense, it means we no longer try to run our lives the best we can and hope everything will come out all right. We trust a higher power to actually orchestrate our lives, keeping watch over us, guiding us in all that we do. The church is his body. Are you the church? Yes, if you have said 'yes' to Jesus. The church isn't a building or a denomination. It is believers everywhere, under his authority, living life together in Christian community. As his church, we have a mission - to grow in Christ, sharing his grace with others who haven't experienced it as we have. The church (you and I) is made 'full and complete by Christ. He fills us with...
Stay alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour. Stand firm against him, and be strong in your faith. Remember that your family of believers all over the world is going through the same kind of suffering you are. (I Peter 5:8-9) Stay alert - that suggests we are to be aware of the fact our enemy is going to target our lives for attack after attack. He isn't content to just sit back and watch us grow closer and closer to Jesus. In fact, we most likely wouldn't grow quite as quickly or as well if he didn't formulate those attacks against us! In case you hadn't noticed, we draw closer to Jesus when under attack. He may roar, but his teeth aren't sharp, his bite isn't penetrating, and his pounce has lost its bounce! Jesus took care of all of that at the cross. The moment we say "YES" to Jesus, like it or not, Satan sits up and takes notice of what we will do from that point forward...