Christ's Sole Possession

This is what the Apostle Paul talked about in third chapter of Philipians and then stated in v. 12 (NASB) "Not that I have already obtained it or have already become perfect, but I press on so that I may lay hold of that for which also I was laid hold of by Christ Jesus". Read the preceding verses and you will see that Paul is talking about being Jesus' sole possesssion. Where everything else has come to mean nothing and Christ is everything!
I believe that God is turning things around in this area and He is doing it speedily and powerfully. Paul speaks about this turning of things in Hebrews chapter 4 and refers to it as the "entering His rest". God has spoken something to my heart about this passage that I have never seen before. This rest is not the afterlife nor is it a time of just peace and no troubles here on earth. It is a place where we have come to an end of our work and finally allow God to do and be who He is within His people.
Paul states in verse 10 that anyone who enters God's rest also rests from his own work. He then immediately follows this up with "Let us, therefore, make every effort to enter that rest, so that no one will fall by following their example of disobedience." What was Israel's disobedience? Trusting in themeselves and their resources and not in God. Therefore, we see that our rest will come when we get to the end of ourselves and fully trust in the Lord in every area. Then and only then do we enter into a rest where it is God, by His Holy Spirit, that does the work within us and through us.
This doesn't mean that circumstances will change and things get easier. On the contrary, things will get harder and tougher but within us there will be a peace that passes all understanding and nothing that we face will be able to overcome it because it is not us anymore but the power of God at work within. Hallelujah! God is preparing it and setting it into motion. We just need to surrender every area that the Holy Spirit puts His finger upon and allow Him to have His way.
Then we can echo Paul's cry, "I consider all things as loss just so that I might know you Jesus and be completely and solely Yours"!

Wrought in God

John 3:21 (NASB) 21“But he who practices the truth comes to the Light, so that his deeds may be manifested as having been wrought in God.”

These three words, "wrought in God" have been ringing in my spirit for months. The focus of the above scripture is not the first part of the scripture but the last. You see, the one who practices the truth and comes to the Light is a natural result of having something "wrought in God" within them. This is the key: Surrendering to the Holy Spirit and allowing Him to form Christ within us. This definately sounds more glorious in word than it feels in action. It is a place of death and agony. But the beautiful result is the image of Jesus Christ being brought into a clearer view within our lives. Then, and only then, our lives will follow the pattern of Christ's as He is manifested through the very things we do. We will feel a drawing in our spirit to come more and more into the light of His presence so that all things will be revealed as having been "wrought in God".