The Him in Me

There are three great powers in the universe, I am told: God, satan and the human mind. God creates and destroys; satan destroys; humans basically can receive the truth and act upon it or just screw everything up. When God created us, He created us in His image. We were whole, holy, and healthy. Unfortunately when we chose the apple over obedience, we became like satan--unwhole, unholy, and unhealthy. It is only through the shedding of the blood of God's Son that we can regain the image of God. Only through the wooing of God's Holy Spirit can we turn to Him for our salvation. The beauty of this operation is that Jesus is in God, we are in Jesus and that becomes a Trinity of holiness. We play a part in the work of salvation. We enter His presence through our worship and He enters our life through the work of grace. The Him in me is the Hymn in me: Jesus love me, this I know!

Coping v Conquering

There is a beautiful old hymn that has this line: "Lo, He is the mighty Conquerer since He rent the veil in to." What does it mean to "conquer"? It means to win, to subdue, to beat the odds, to come out on top. Years ago I heard a preacher talk about the important of coping with life and the battles on the journey. I was struck then and still am with the subtle difference between coping and conquering. To cope means to accept what is in your life and work around it. One has to have certain "coping mechanisms" in order not to be defeated. For me, I want to conquer, not cope. I want to win, not settle. I want to be on top of the circumstances,not under them. In order to conquer, I need to know the Great Conquerer of the universe. I need His power, His strength, His wisdom, His peace. I need His ever-abiding Spirit dwelling in my temple to which I have invited Him. Lo! He IS the Mighty Conquerer!