Carrying out Application!

Christ unites us to God not only by his Person and his passion but also by his Presence. He brings God’s righteousness to us and lives his pure and perfect life in our responsive and yielding hearts.

Have you ever considered what results from the presence of Christ in our hearts? Many things of course but conceder just one: his presence unifies our personality. As people we are horribly complicated.

One psychologist said... we are not the same person from one minute to the other. Our moods and thoughts are constantly changing. Edwin Sanford Martin penned the following lines:-

Within my temple there’s a concord:
There’s one that’s humble and there’s one that’s proud;
There’s one that’s broken hearted for his sins,
There’s one who unrepentance is its end gain.
There’s one who loves his neighbour as himself.
There’s one who cares for naught but fame and self.

When Jesus comes into the heart however all this is changed. The multiple personalities are unified. Then we can say with the apostle Paul, “I have been crucified with Christ, and it is no longer I who love but Christ lives in me. That life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God who loved me and gave himself up for me” (Gal. 2:20)

And he went throughout all Galilee preaching in their synagogues and casting out demons (Mark 1:39). It is so easy to form an assumption about the meaning of the last verse in this section.

It’s not just a review of what was said in the previous verse, “And he said to them.. let us go to the next towns that I may preach there also for that is why I came out” (vv 38). Verse 39 is the pay off of the whole passage.

Jesus actually did what he said he was going to do. He went to the synagogues and preached. The word preaching would be used over and again within the pages of the New Testament as the apostles multiplied and duplicated the same pattern of our lord of preaching the good news in expanding circles of outreach.

Jesus targeted the region of Galilee for his ministry and the apostles would expand that influence to the ends of the earth. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem in all Judea and Samaria and to the ends of the earth (acts 1:8)

It’s important to apply what comes out of our prayer time. Meaningful fellowship with Christ comes when we follow him completely and we apply his word in the power of the Spirit (1 Pet. 2:21) ...

To this you were called because Christ suffered for you leaving you an example that you should follow in his steps. Jesus said... One who has my commandments and keeps them that person is one who loves me. One who loves me will be loved by my father and I will love him and reveal myself to him (Jn. 14:21)

If we see our QT as a once a day thing we may fall into the trap of compartmentalizing our spiritual life. From the Garden of Eden until now God has desired to walk with his people in life’s journey.

And they heard the sound of the lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the lord God among the trees of the garden (Gen. 3:8)

So it’s essential that we take what we learn in our devotional time with us throughout the entire day.