"Wasting" Yourself on Him

“A woman came to Him having an alabaster flask of very costly fragrant oil, and she poured it on His head as He sat at the table. But when His disciples saw it, they were indignant, saying, ‘Why this waste? For this fragrant oil might have been sold for much and given to the poor.’”
MATTHEW 26:7-9

We want to appear to be busy doing for God, busy at our “ministry.” But there is a place where we simply “waste” ourselves on Him, and outwardly we appear to be doing nothing.

Would that more believers would “waste” themselves more often, ministering to the Lord, sitting at His feet, hearing His word, ministering to Him in secret prayer and fasting! Then when they do rise up to work, how much more fruitful they will be!

Source: Lord of All by Chip Brogden

One Body, Many Members “Now you are the body of Christ, and members individually.” ROMANS 8:32 There are different members in different places with different purposes: each distinctive but each working together, united beneath the same great Purpose and Intention of God, working under the direction of the Head like a great spiritual symphony. “God has set the members, each one of them, in the body just as He pleased.” (1 Corinthians 12:18). This results in a spiritual oneness and unity (for better or worse) so that “if one member suffers, all the members suffer with it; or if one member is honored, all the members rejoice with it” (1 Corinthians 12:26). Everything you do (or do not do) as a member of the Body of Christ affects all the other members. No one is an island. The Difficult Path may be lonely at times, but we are never truly alone. Source: The Irresistible Kingdom by Chip Brogden » Like this? Post your comments...

Receiving Christ As All “Because of Him you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption.” 1 CORINTHIANS 1:30 ESV Have you ever seen a brother or a sister try to act sanctified? They wear themselves and everyone else out. It is a burden to be around such a person. That is not Christianity. Christianity is this: not that I am trying to be wise, but that I receive the Lord Jesus as my Wisdom; not that I am trying to be righteous, but that I receive the Lord Jesus as my Righteousness; not that I am trying to be sanctified, but that I receive the Lord Jesus as my Sanctification; not that I am trying to be redeemed, but that I accept the Lord Jesus as my Redemption. Henceforth I cease trying to be anything, and I allow Him to be Who He is through me. Source: Lord of All by Chip Brogden » Like this? Post your comments...

Two Become One “He who is joined to the Lord is one spirit with Him.” 1 CORINTHIANS 6:17 To the Ephesians, Paul compares this spiritual union to the union that exists between a man and a woman when they are married: “And the two shall become one flesh. This is a great mystery, but I speak concerning Christ and the [Ekklesia]” (Ephesians 5:31,32). Certainly this is a great mystery. How God is able to make us one spirit with Jesus is beyond human knowledge. But this we know: however it is accomplished, it has its beginning in the Cross. The Cross is the starting point of our union with Christ. In the Cross, God sees us in the place of Christ and sees Christ in the place of us. That is to say, in the Cross, all our sinfulness is attributed to Christ, and all His righteousness is attributed to us. How wonderful for us – but how terrible for Him! Source: Embrace the Cross by Chip Brogden » Like this? Post your comments...

What Lies Beyond “God… Who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.” 1 TIMOTHY 2:4 Here we see one will of God with two expressions – a gate and a path. We enter the gate in a moment, but we walk the path over time. We are saved in a moment, but we come to the full-knowledge (Greek: epignosis) of Christ over time. So John 3:3 is not telling us about our ending, but our beginning. Birth is the beginning of Life, not the goal of Life. The goal in view here is not being born-again, but entering the Kingdom. Jesus does not just say, “You must be born again.” If He did then we might be correct in saying that is all there is to it. But Jesus says, “Unless you are born again, you cannot see or enter into the Kingdom of God.” It is clear that the Kingdom is what we are trying to gain entrance into, and while being born again is the gate, the ultimate destination of the Kingdom of God is at the end of the path. Source: Embrace the Cross by Chip Brogden » Like this? Post your comments...

The Heart of a Father “And I will very gladly spend and be spent for you; though the more abundantly I love you, the less I am loved.” 2 CORINTHIANS 12:15 Paul gave us an example to follow. Don’t just look at his calling and his gifting and his revelation. Look at his heart of love. He gave all – not just for the Lord, but for the Lord’s people. And they were a most carnal, unappreciative bunch of people. Even so, the heart of a father is demonstrated. That is the reason he had authority. I tell you his authority was not in his title, his position, or his status as having taught the believers there. His authority was not in his calling, gift, or revelation. His authority was in the abundant love he showed. Make no mistake: I am not there yet. I still struggle with how to be a good brother, much less a spiritual father with abundant love for everyone. I obviously have a long way to go, but now I see the missing ingredient and I am following after Love. How about you? Source: The Church in the Wilderness by Chip Brogden » Like this? Post your comments...

Manifesting Christ “What things were gain to me, these I have counted loss for Christ. Yet indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ.” PHILIPPIANS 3:7,8 The ones who have been sufficiently broken eventually manifest very little of their self, and very much of Christ. God must work long and hard with us to bring us to this place, but what a glorious day it is when we are able to bow our heads and finally surrender everything. What joy it is to look back over all that the Lord has led us through and realize His purpose in both the good times and the bad times, to behold the goodness and the severity of God in His dealings with us. Source: Embrace the Cross by Chip Brogden » Like this? Post your comments...

My Cup Overflows “If you knew the gift of God, and who it is who says to you, ‘Give Me a drink,’ you would have asked Him, and He would have given you Living Water.” JOHN 4:10 We must know the Gift of God. The one who knows will not only be satisfied, but will have an abundance of Life springing up from within. If we are mainly interested in being filled for ourselves then we will have little to offer anyone else. Yet when we know the Gift of God the Life will overflow. “You anoint my head with oil; my cup runs over” (Psalm 23:5). Are you an overflowing Christian, with all of God you can hold, and much left over? Sadly, this does not describe many of us. To drink is a beginning, but God’s goal is an overflow. How we need clear revelation into the Son! How we need to see just how precious and worthy He is!. Source: Lord of All by Chip Brogden » Like this? Post your comments...

A Fresh Start “That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’” JOHN 3:6,7 Jesus said that to see His Kingdom “you must be born-again.” To enter His Kingdom, He requires us to “become as little children” (Matthew 18:3). That is another way of saying, “You have to start all over again. You cannot make any progress with Me so long as you cling to the old way of thinking, perceiving, understanding, and interacting. I cannot pour new wine into old wineskins because it would ruin both. You need a new wineskin – a new heart, a new mind, a new understanding of things in order to receive what I wish to give you.” Source: The Irresistible Kingdom by Chip Brogden » Like this? Post your comments...

The Heavens DO Rule

“Yours is the Kingdom, and the Power, and the Glory forever. Amen.”
MATTHEW 6:13

What assurance are we given? It is this: that in spite of nation rising up against nation, kingdom rising up against kingdom, political tumults and global confusion, “YOURS IS THE KINGDOM” – Your Throne is everlasting, Your Kingdom is established, and of the increase of Your Government there shall be no end (Isaiah 9:6,7).

In other words, as Daniel would say, the Heavens DO rule, and it is the Most High God Who governs the affairs of men. THAT is the heart of the matter. THAT is what we are moving towards, from our day-to-day affairs as followers of Jesus, to the course and direction of this entire age.

Source: The Irresistible Kingdom by Chip Brogden

Deliver Us from Distractions “I fear, lest somehow, as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, so your minds may be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ.” 2 CORINTHIANS 11:3 I have said many times that we do not need more of the Lord, since we are already complete in Christ – we just need less of everything else. There are many things that spoil, hinder, distract, and lead us away from the simplicity of an abiding relationship with Jesus. Many of them are spiritual and religious. The spirit of Antichrist is not necessarily seen in something that is obviously satanic or demonic. Instead, the spirit of Antichrist is revealed in anything that seeks to spoil us by taking our eyes off of Christ – it is anti-Christ, against Christ, antithetical to the great Purpose of God. How easy it is for us to become distracted into something less than Christ! Are you centered on Christ? Is Jesus your obsession? Is He your focus? Or have you set your sights on something beneath Him? Source: The Church in the Wilderness by Chip Brogden » Like this? Post your comments...

Gof's Simple Solution

God's Simple Solution “Put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to fulfill its lusts.” ROMANS 13:14 God’s Solution to the problem of sin, self, and satan is to have us put on the Lord Jesus. Only through Him can we “make no provision for the flesh,” and only through Him can we “stand against the wiles of the devil.” We dare not make it more complicated when the Lord has made it simple. To focus on our flesh and on our enemy is a huge waste of time. Instead, we must perceive just how glorious the Son of God is, and press deeply into Him. Do you have a method, or a Man? It is not about me, my flesh, or the devil – it is all about Christ, and as He is increased, none of these other things can do anything but be decreased. Source: Lord of All by Chip Brogden » Like this? Post your comments...

Don't Instruct the Master “Far be it from You, Lord; this shall not happen to You!” MATTHEW 16:22 See how many times the disciples tried to correct the Lord. See how many times they argued with the Lord. See how many times their thoughts contradicted the Master. See how many times they urged Him to take action. And the Lord, ever patient, would correct them. In every case we see that He is the Lord, and they are the disciples. The roles must never be confused. He is the Master, and we are His servants. We do not command Him, but He commands us. We do not lead Him, but He leads us. He was not created for us, but we were created for Him. He does not serve us according to our pleasure, but we serve Him according to His pleasure. So we must be adjusted to Him, and not the other way around. The Lord will never apologize to us and say, “I’m sorry, I was wrong. We’ll do it your way.” How laughable! How absurd! But we often live as if we expect Him to do that very thing. We have not humbled ourselves. Source: Embrace the Cross by Chip Brogden » Like this? Post your comments...

The Eyes Must Be Opened “There was an army, surrounding the city with horses and chariots. And his servant said to him, ‘Alas, my master! What shall we do?’ So he answered, ‘Do not fear, for those who are with us are more than those who are with them.’ And Elisha prayed, and said, ‘Lord, I pray, open his eyes that he may see.’ Then the Lord opened the eyes of the young man, and he saw.” 2 KINGS 6:15-17 When the servant’s eyes were opened, he saw what Elisha saw. When Elisha said, “Those who are with us are more than those who are with them” it must have sounded like lunacy. It cannot be understood with words alone: the eyes must be opened. If words were enough then Elisha would not have prayed for the eyes to be opened. We should spend less time trying to understand “words” and more time praying for God to open our eyes. When our eyes are opened, then the words will make sense. Until then, words are like hieroglyphics – we know there is something significant there, but we cannot understand what it means. Source: The Strength of Seeing by Chip Brogden » Like this? Post your comments...

Overcoming the fear of man

Overcoming Fear of Man “The righteous are bold as a lion.” PROVERB 28:1 Jesus sought to thin out the crowds with a difficult word, saying, “You must eat My flesh and drink My blood if you wish to be My disciples.” At this saying, the multitude and many of His disciples turned aside and no longer followed Him. Instead of running after them in an effort to make Himself understood and accepted, He watched them go. Then, turning to the Twelve, He said, “Do you also want to go away?” Here is a Man who is not afraid to be misunderstood because He is not afraid of people, what they will think, or what they will say about Him unjustly. To overcome the fear of man, we must not only be willing to be misunderstood and unappreciated, we should expect it. Then we will be free to speak what God has given us and will not be troubled should others fail to grasp the significance of it. Source: Fear No Man by Chip Brogden » Like this? Post your comments...

The Treasure Within “The mystery which has been hidden from ages and from generations, but now has been revealed to His saints. To them God willed to make known what are the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles: which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.” COLOSSIANS 1:26,27 H ere is an amazing fact: the Bible says that we carry this Treasure (Jesus) within earthen vessels. In other words, the Living Christ indwells us now. We are His House, His Temple, His Dwelling Place, His Body. I doubt if we really comprehend that. Do we really know that we are in Him, and He is in us? Source: Lord of All by Chip Brogden » Like this? Post your comments...

His Loss, Our Gain “He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.” 2 CORINTHIANS 5:21 When we submit to the Cross, God identifies us with Christ just the same as if we were sinless. Jesus becomes our wisdom, righteousness, sanctification, and redemption (1 Corinthians 1:30). It does not say that He gives these things to us, it says He is these things to us. Was Jesus crucified for His sins? No, He was crucified for our sins. Are we now wise, righteous, sanctified, and redeemed because of anything we have done? No, God simply identifies us together with Christ, as if we were crucified together with Him. He loses everything and we gain everything. This is why salvation begins with repentance, surrender, and faith in Christ and His finished work on the Cross. It cannot be accomplished otherwise. What a glorious Lord we have! Source: Embrace the Cross by Chip Brogden » Like this? Post your comments...

God's Eternal Design “[Abraham] was looking forward to the city that has foundations, whose designer and builder is God.” HEBREWS 11:10 ESV An artist sees a new painting before he picks up the brush to create it. A musician hears a new song in her head before she picks up her instrument to compose it. A writer conceives ideas, concepts, and things to be conveyed to others in his heart long before he sets words to paper. An architect designs the building before construction begins. The creative process is the progressive, orderly arrangement of things until what is seen outwardly lines up with what has already been seen inwardly. God is the Ultimate Creator. We find that He established an order of things before He ever brought them into being – an eternal purpose that He purposed in Christ. The crucifixion of Christ was not God’s startled reaction to the unforeseen and unimaginable fall of Adam. God envisioned things straight through to the end before He set them in motion. Source: The Irresistible Kingdom by Chip Brogden » Like this? Post your comments...

Perpetual Trust “Commit your way to the Lord, trust also in Him, and He shall bring it to pass.” PSALM 37:5 We want the Lord’s Life, but we also want to retain a little something of our life. That will never work. This is why you have such ups and downs, simply because you still love your life, and only trust in His Life for the really difficult moments. In a bad situation you will throw yourself upon His Life and it will carry you on through, but in the normal everyday situations you live according to your own life. Instead, let us learn to trust in His Life for every moment of every day. If we will surrender everything His Life will reproduce in us more effectively, gradually transforming, renewing, invigorating, and sustaining us from the inside out. Source: Lord of All by Chip Brogden » Like this? Post your comments...

Spiritual Bankruptcy “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven.” MATTHEW 5:3 This spiritual poverty is the result of recognizing that apart from Him we can do nothing. It is a willingness to be broken and reduced to spiritual bankruptcy, which implies not only losing everything we once enjoyed, but also making a fresh start with a clean slate and all our debts erased. It is the Second Universal Spiritual Principle, which states: “I must decrease” (John 3:30). This decreasing, or as I like to say, this reducing to Christ, is the first requirement. If we are unwilling to be emptied then we cannot have the riches of the Kingdom of Heaven. We will be like the Laodicean church, who said they were “rich and increased with goods and have need of nothing” yet in God’s sight they were poor, blind, naked, and miserable (Revelation 3:17). So the Kingdom belongs to those who readily admit right from the beginning that “a man can receive nothing unless it has been given to him from heaven ” (John 3:27). Source: Embrace the Cross by Chip Brogden » Like this? Post your comments...

Above All “He who comes from above is above all; he who is of the earth is earthly and speaks of the earth. He who comes from heaven is above all.” JOHN 3:31 If people come against you in the flesh, let them come against you. If they wish to rail and argue with you according to the flesh, do not respond in kind. If they attack you without cause, let them attack, because the fleshly, the carnal, the natural cannot defeat the spiritual. The one who is submitted to the Lord has authority over those who remain unsubmitted to Him. Flesh is overruled by Spirit. Hate is overruled by Love. Darkness is overruled by Light. Death is overruled by Life. Earth is overruled by Heaven. Source: Embrace the Cross by Chip Brogden » Like this? Post your comments...

Hope for You “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” PHILIPPIANS 4:13 We don’t have to imitate His Life, we only have to trust His Life! Trust in His Life to do it in, through, and on behalf of us who cannot do it! If you have ever once trusted in His Life to keep you from losing your temper, you can trust in His Life every single time you are confronted with it, and He will bring you through. Without exception. Along those lines, I can say with all confidence, that if you can trust His Life to overwhelm your temper, you can trust His Life for everything else. What do you need? Do you worry too much? Are you fearful? Are you bitter? His Life indwells you right now, and longs to make you into something totally new, to transfigure you into something entirely different than what you are now. Thank the Lord that I don’t have to be the way I am, but there is hope for me, and there is hope for you, and there is hope for the worst sinner on the face of the earth, because it is not a question of my effort, but of His sufficiency! Source: Lord of All by Chip Brogden » Like this? Post your comments...

One With Christ “You also have become dead to the law through the body of Christ, that you may be married to another —to Him who was raised from the dead, that we should bear fruit to God.” ROMANS 7:4 You may wonder how this union with Jesus was accomplished. I do not have the answer to that, but I consider it to be so because God says it is so. God placed us in Christ. I do not fully understand how He did this, but I know that He did it, and I thank God for it. The Bible says that “because of [God] you are in Christ Jesus” (1 Corinthians 1:30). Disciples of Jesus are one with Christ because God has placed us there. We are in Christ, and Christ is in us. We may not understand how this can be so, but it is so. We are spiritually one with Christ. This oneness, this union, this partnership and fellowship with Him is the basis of our spiritual life and our walk with God. Source: Embrace the Cross by Chip Brogden » Like this? Post your comments...

Seasons of Preparation “Rise and stand on your feet; for I have appeared to you for this purpose…” ACTS 26:16 The Lord has a purpose for you, and a destiny for you to fulfill. But things will not always go the way you think they should. That is because the Lord calls you to something bigger than yourself, something beyond your ability, something you cannot originate or perpetuate without Him. It takes time. Noah walked with God for five hundred years and spent one hundred years building the ark. Abraham was one hundred years old before he finally saw God’s promise come true. Moses spent forty years in Egypt, then forty years in the desert, before God sent him to Pharaoh. Jesus prepared thirty years for an earthly ministry of three and a half years. Dear brother, dear sister: walk with God. Find Grace. Discover the One Thing. Focus on being, not doing. And when it IS time for you to do something you can be confident that your labor of love will be the work that God blesses. Source: The Church in the Wilderness by Chip Brogden » Like this? Post your comments...

Pressing Him “Whom are you seeking?” JOHN 18:4 In other words, who are you looking for? This particular crowd was pressing in to have Jesus arrested and put to death. The day before the crowds were pressing in to proclaim “Hosanna!”, and before that they were pressing in to make Him their king by force (John 6:15). At other times the people pressed Him to hear the Word of God. Still other times the people pressed Him to be healed of their diseases. Pressing Him, pushing Him, forever wanting more and never satisfied. Very few know how to sit at His feet just to hear His Word. Very few are willing to pour out the best ointment on Him, and when they do, they are severely criticized for such a “waste.” Does anyone seek Him for His sake? Does anyone press upon Him, not for what He can give, but for Who He is? Does anyone seek Him out, not to get some need met, but so they “may know Him” (Philippians 3:10)? Source: Lord of All by Chip Brogden » Like this? Post your comments...

One With Christ “God has set the members, each one of them, in the body just as He pleased.” 1 CORINTHIANS 12:18 A Christian should realize that he or she is a unique member of the Body of Christ and not the entire Body all at once. We are many parts that together make up the whole. Each individual member has its own unique purpose, function, and role. The responsibility for God’s work is divided among many members. We are not called to be all things to all people. We are not called to meet every need. God sets each person in the Body of Christ as it pleases Him, and He is the One Who sends us. We do not send ourselves. We do not determine what we would like to do. We do not analyze the situation with our limited understanding and come up with a solution. The Head determines what needs to be done, and the members simply perform it. Source: The Church in the Wilderness by Chip Brogden » Like this? Post your comments...