WORDshop: Sessions 20 – 22, Christ in Us – Identity In Christ, Through Christ & with Christ

Scripture references.

Aspects of identity to explore:

1 – Who is Christ?

2 – Who am I with Christ in me, in Christ. through Christ, with Christ?

John 1:1-5, In the beginning the Word already existed. The Word was with God, and the Word was God. He existed in the beginning with God. God created everything through him, and nothing was created except through him. The Word gave life to everything that was created, and his life brought light to everyone. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness can never extinguish it.”

John 1:14, So the Word became human and made his home among us. He was full of unfailing love and faithfulness. And we have seen his glory, the glory of the Father’s one and only Son.”

Revelation 19:11-13, “Then I saw heaven opened, and a white horse was standing there. Its rider was named Faithful and True, for he judges fairly and wages a righteous war. His eyes were like flames of fire, and on his head were many crowns. A name was written on him that no one understood except himself. He wore a robe dipped in blood, and his title was the Word of God.”

John 14:6, “Jesus told him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me.”

John 15:5, Yes, I am the vine; you are the branches. Those who remain in me, and I in them, will produce much fruit. For apart from me you can do nothing.”

CHRIST IN ME

John 14:20, On that day you will know that I am in My Father, and you are in Me, and I am in you.”

Romans 8:8-11,Those controlled by the flesh cannot please God.You, however, are controlled not by the flesh, but by the Spirit, if the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ. But if Christ is in you, your body is dead because of sin, yet your spirit is alive because of righteousness. And if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, He who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit, who lives in you.”

Colossians 1:27-28,To them God chose to make known how great among the Gentiles are the riches of the glory of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. Him we proclaim, warning everyone and teaching everyone with all wisdom, that we may present everyone mature in Christ.

Galatians 2:19-21,For through the law I died to the law so that I might live to God. 20I have been crucified with Christ, and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me. 21I do not set aside the grace of God. For if righteousness comes through the law, Christ died for nothing.”

Ephesians 1:15-23, “15For this reason, because I have heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your lovetoward all the saints, 16I do not cease to give thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers, 17that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him, 18having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, 19and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to the working of his great might 20that he worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places, 21far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come. 22And he put all things under his feet and gave him as head over all things to the church, 23which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all.


***Ephesians 2:4-10, “But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, 5even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— 6and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, 7so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. 8For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, 9not a result of works, so that no one may boast. 10For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.

Ephesians 3:17-21, “For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, from whom every familyin heaven and on earth is named, that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith—that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen.

IN CHRIST

***Colossians 2:6-7,Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him, rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving.

1 Corinthians 1:30, “It is because of Him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God: our righteousness, holiness, and redemption.

1 Corinthians 5:17,Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.”

2 Corinthians 5:21, “God made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God.”

2 Timothy 1:9, “He has saved us and called us to a holy calling, not because of our works, but by His own purpose and by the grace He granted us in Christ Jesus before time began.”

2 Corinthians 1:19-22, “19For the Son of God, Jesus Christ, whom we proclaimed among you, Silvanus and Timothy and I, was not Yes and No, but in him it is always Yes. 20For all the promises of God find their Yes in him. That is why it is through him that we utter our Amen to God for his glory. 21And it is God who establishes us with you in Christ, and has anointed us, 22and who has also put his seal on us and given us his Spirit in our hearts as a guarantee.”

THROUGH CHRIST

1 John 4:9, This is how God’s love was revealed among us: God sent His one and only Son into the world, so that we might live through Him.”

Philippians 4:13, “I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength”

WITH CHRIST

Colossians 3:1-4, “If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.”

Matthew 19:26, “But Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”

Romans 8:31-37, “31What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? 32He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things? 33Who shall bring any charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies. 34Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died—more than that, who was raised—who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us. 35Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? 36As it is written, “For your sake we are being killed all the day long; we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.” 37No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. 38For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, 39nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.


What does it mean to live in Christ and through Christ?

How do you do it?

What does that look like each day?

WORDshop: Session 10 – Only Believe: God’s Wisdom vs. Man’s Wisdom

James 1:5-8,(ESV)If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him. But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind.For that person must not suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.”

It’s quite simple, but I missed it for decades. God will give us wisdom if we will just believe in Him, without wavering. If we are double minded, looking to God, then to the flesh, we can’t expect to receive ANYTHING from God. We will be unstable in ALL our ways. Ouch! Does that explain a few things in your life? It sure did in mine. My thoughts were not fixed on the right things.

Romans 8:5-6,Those who are dominated by the sinful nature think about sinful things, but those who are controlled by the Holy Spirit think about things that please the Spirit. So letting your sinful nature control your mind leads to death. But letting the Spirit control your mind leads to life and peace.”

What we think determines whether the sinful nature controls our minds or the Holy Spirit. One leads to death and one leads to life. It’s either or, not both. We just established that we can’t be double minded and expect to receive anything from God.

Ephesians 4:20-21, “Since you have heard about Jesus and have learned the truth that comes from him, throw off your old sinful nature and your former way of life, which is corrupted by lust and deception. Instead, let the Spirit renew your thoughts and attitudes.

“Lust and deception” refer to the desires of the flesh – our appetites and the wrong beliefs that we hold. We’ve already discussed gluttony as a lust of the flesh. But in what other ways are you deceived? What do you believe about your weight, gluttony, your ability to walk in freedom, or even the power of the Word? What thoughts and attitudes do you need to let the Spirit renew?

We have spent a lot of time on what we think and feel, but we need to continue looking at what our mind/thoughts and heart/feelings should be. What else has God said about these things? How do we manage them? In this chapter, we will explore these things through the lens of belief, looking and what we believe about what God has said, versus what man has said. What is our source of wisdom, understanding and knowledge?

How many diet, nutrition and exercise books have you read? How many magazine articles have you consulted for weight loss advice? What customs, traditions and systems of man have you turned to for help? Who’s wisdom, knowledge and understanding are you applying to your eating, weight loss and life? Where has God’s Word and His wisdom, knowledge and understanding fit into the equation? He is who we are to seek primarily, but have we given Him even equal time and attention to bring about transformation?

Since the point of all of this is to be transformed, let’s remind ourselves what Romans 12 says about how to be transformed.

Romans 12:2, “Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.”

In this verse, we see the compare and contrast of the wisdom of the world and it’s customs, versus changing how we think. God wants to transform you into “a new person”, but it begins with your mind, not your behavior. When we get our heads straight and begin to dwell in the Word and place our focus and priority in the right place, the transformation will necessarily begin. We will be compelled and led by the Holy Spirit to do what is right – in all areas of our life. As we change the way we think, aligning our thoughts with His, we are transformed. Not only that, but we learn to know God’s will through this process.

What does that look like in a practical sense? How do we let God transform us by changing the way we think? How do we learn His will?

1 Corinthians 2:10-16, But it was to us that God revealed these things by his Spirit. For his Spirit searches out everything and shows us God’s deep secrets. No one can know a person’s thoughts except that person’s own spirit, and no one can know God’s thoughts except God’s own Spirit. And we have received God’s Spirit (not the world’s spirit), so we can know the wonderful things God has freely given us. When we tell you these things, we do not use words that come from human wisdom. Instead, we speak words given to us by the Spirit, using the Spirit’s words to explain spiritual truths. But people who aren’t spiritual can’t receive these truths from God’s Spirit. It all sounds foolish to them and they can’t understand it, for only those who are spiritual can understand what the Spirit means. Those who are spiritual can evaluate all things, but they themselves cannot be evaluated by others. For,“Who can know the Lord’s thoughts? Who knows enough to teach him?” But we understand these things, for we have the mind of Christ.”

We could spend hours just on this single passage of Scripture. In earlier chapters, we established, by the Word, that we have the Spirit of God in us. That fact is reiterated in this passage. Here we discover that that same Spirit “shows us God’s deep secrets”. His Spirit, in us, reveals to us God’s own thoughts. We have the “mind of Christ”. Christ means, “the Anointed One”. We have the mind of the Anointed One. If we believe that and walk in that, thinking thoughts of the Anointed One, what an impact that will have on bringing transformation!!! Notice too, that we are specifically told that all of this revelation is not through human wisdom. We must be spiritual to know and understand what God has given us. Truth – all truth – is a spiritual concept. John 16:13-14, “When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on his own but will tell you what he has heard. He will tell you about the future. He will bring me glory by telling you whatever he receives from me.” There is no truth apart from Him.

Ephesians 5:15-17, So be careful how you live. Don’t live like fools, but like those who are wise.Make the most of every opportunity in these evil days.Don’t act thoughtlessly, but understand what the Lord wants you to do.”

How do we know that our minds are being renewed and that we are walking in the Spirit?

Proverbs 4:20-24, “My child, pay attention to what I say. Listen carefully to my words. Don’t lose sight of them. Let them penetrate deep into your heart, for they bring life to those who find them, and healing to their whole body. Guard your heart above all else, for it determines the course of your life.Avoid all perverse talk; stay away from corrupt speech.”

Philippians 2:13, For God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases him.”

Does it please God for us to be depressed, frustrated, overweight, unhealthy and in constant war with food and our own flesh? Of course not! We are told in Galatians 5:24 to “crucify the flesh”. God sent His son so that we can have abundant life! (John 10:10) He wants to give us the desire to do what pleases Him and the power to do it! He is pleased when we have faith in Him. Hebrews 11:6, And it is impossible to please God without faith. Anyone who wants to come to him must believe that God exists and that he rewards those who sincerely seek him.” He wants to reward us, we just need to believe it – believe in Him and seek Him!

Proverbs 16:1-3, “We can make our own plans, but the LORD gives the right answer.People may be pure in their own eyes, but the LORD examines their motives.Commit your actions to the LORD, and your plans will succeed.”

Maintenance Success Found in Focus on Habits

In order for a weight loss outcome to be maintained, the habits that produced it must be flexible, healthy, sustainable and enjoyable.

“In order for a weight loss outcome to be maintained, the habits that produced it must be flexible, healthy, sustainable and enjoyable.”

Kim

After four decades of dieting and being steeped in diet culture, I have made many mistakes, celebrated many successes and observed many people’s journeys. Finally, I have learned a few things! One of the most important things I have learned is how to maintain my weight loss.

As someone who has gained and lost over 100 pounds, fives times, plus many other 25+ pound gains and losses, my own track record clearly shows that there is a disconnect between weight loss and weight loss maintenance. The more I interact with others who have battled weight for a lifetime, or who have had to lose at least 40 pounds, the more I have seen this theme of Maintenance Perplexion emerge.

I have watched countless times as someone breezes to their goal weight, only to completely lose control and gain it all back, plus some. It’s the classic dieting yo-yo. According to research from 2019, successful weight loss maintenance is elusive for a large majority of people, regardless of what method they used to lose it. “Substantial weight loss is possible across a range of treatment modalities, but long-term sustenance of lost weight is much more challenging, and weight regain is typical13. In a meta-analysis of 29 long-term weight loss studies, more than half of the lost weight was regained within two years, and by five years more than 80% of lost weight was regained 4. Indeed, previous failed attempts at achieving durable weight loss may have contributed to the recent decrease in the percentage of people with obesity who are trying to lose weight5 and many now believe that weight loss is a futile endeavor6.” 7

We’ve all heard disheartening statistics like these, so why is there not more focus on maintenance? Maybe it’s because weight loss is a multi billion dollar industry. I know that’s a cynical take on it, but the love of money is the root of all evil. Thankfully, the why is irrelevant for this conversation. Let’s just look at what we can do.

In my experience, the secret to maintaining weight loss is this: focus on maintaining healthy habits, rather than maintaining weight loss. During the weight loss process, there is a constant pay off for seeing the number on the scale go down – at all costs. I’ve witnessed people surviving on 500 calories per day and injecting hormones lose lots of weight, only to gain it back because the habits failed to meet maintenance criteria. In order for a weight loss outcome to be maintained, the habits that produced it must be flexible, healthy, sustainable and enjoyable. All of those criteria need to be present to cultivate a lifestyle of true and lasting change.

In extreme methods of weight loss, even the outcome is not actually desirable, because body composition has been changed for the worse. This is what perpetuates yo-yo dieting and makes us feel like each subsequent attempt at weight loss is harder. It is harder, because we have less muscle. Muscle is more metabolically active and requires more fuel to sustain. It is imperative to maintain as much lean body mass as possible, while losing fat. For long term weight loss success, we need to change our goal to fat loss and muscle building, not simply weight loss. This makes the process look far different, both during the weight loss phase as well as during maintenance.

Our bodies need to be nourished to a healthy weight/body composition. The strict deprivation, extreme calorie deficits, excessive activity and endless rules associated with most diets set us up for failure, over and over again – even if we do manage to reach that magic number on the scale for a minute or two. Think about it, if we are always afraid of breaking a rule, falling off of a wagon, being off track or simply relying on someone else’s plan, we will always have a reason to stumble. If normal, daily, weekly and monthly fluctuations in weight have the power to throw us off of our intended trajectory, we are allowing the external to guide us in a very unhealthy way.

Successful maintenance and a lifestyle change are cultivated over time. I am fully persuaded that the reason most people regain their weight is that they never take full ownership of their own journey. As a Christian, for me that means being led by the Holy Spirit to what is best for me, personally. That is the only way to make sense of the endless, contradictory advice from experts and overcome Maintenance Perplexion for good. Here is what that looks like for me:

FLEXIBLE:

I have learned that no particular food philosophy fits me at all times and under all circumstances. I am knowledgeable about many plans and philosophies and am no longer afraid to use what works for me and give myself the freedom for that to change. A change in a season of life almost always has me shifting gears, but always continuing toward my goal of being healthy, strong and lean. There is not a simple path that is always perfect for everyone under every circumstance. I am no longer dogmatic about “plans” and “programs”, but I am dogmatic about my goals and glorifying God in my body.

HEALTHY:

What does that even mean, really? So many food and exercise philosophies claim to be the healthiest and tell us that if we are doing anything else, we are killing ourselves, or at the very least, missing out on some panacea of health. But here’s the thing, there is so much conflicting information out there – all supposedly backed by science – and I have decided that I am more successful when I look at myself – my experiences and outcomes. Anecdotal evidence in my own life and journey will help lead me to what is healthy for me. (Especially if I am bringing God into it and asking Him to lead me.) I pay attention to how I feel physically and emotionally in response to different foods. Am I satiated? I pay attention to how I sleep. How is my gut? Do I have energy? Are there things I eat and do that have a positive or a negative impact? Whatever I am doing must yield health for ME, not just the majority of people. Sometimes, whatever keeps me walking this path is “healthy”, even if others might not judge it that way.

SUSTAINABLE:

Successful maintenance, is by definition, sustainable. That’s what it means to be in maintenance. You are maintaining and sustaining – protecting your progress. That means that you have to find what habits you can actually live with long term, which is why I said “healthy” can mean whatever keeps me walking toward my goals. A lifestyle that does not allow me to celebrate with foods that some would declare as “unhealthy”, is not sustainable for me. It’s also not flexible. My definitions have changed over time, and the ways I celebrate with food have changed, as well as the foods themselves, but I gave myself the space to grow in that, rather than living in this place of black and white, good and bad, when it came to my food choices or my activities and activity levels. I have periods of time with a LOT of activity, but I can’t maintain that all of the time. I had to find a rhythm that worked for me and have the freedom to throw in some syncopation from time to time! Sometimes rest is the priority. Having the freedom and confidence to adjust brings sustainability. Ideally, we are always learning and growing, so when we know better, we can do better. Sustainability comes from remaining willing to try new things and get better at maintenance, while sometimes shifting back into weight loss mode. A big part of getting better for me was learning to find the balance between healthy and enjoyable! I gave myself grace and time to practice this skill. It’s a life long process.

ENJOYABLE:

This is the driver for my other points. If we focus on cultivating a healthy lifestyle that is enjoyable, we are building a solid foundation for maintenance. For some of us, that means we simply cultivate a heart of gratitude. I have learned to enjoy vegetables, walks and weight lifting. I am thankful for things that used to be things that I felt forced to eat or do. How? I shifted my focus to the goodness that God has provided. I focused on my blessings, instead of what felt like restrictions. Plus, I learned to be flexible and live in a sustainable way that included all of the things that some diet plan or another had taught me were bad. The journey became so much more enjoyable when I stopped letting so-called experts tell me what to do and applied available knowledge with the help and leading of the Holy Spirit. I also stopped saying anything to myself that was condemning, judgmental, critical or discouraging. Basically, I shut up the voice of my past and began telling myself what God says about me and my life in His Word. That has definitely made everything more peaceful and enjoyable!

Maybe you lost your weight in a way that does not meet the four criteria I have shared. That’s OK. It’s just time to get them aligned, so that you can protect your progress and continue to improve. How do you need to address or change your daily habits to make them flexible, healthy, sustainable and enjoyable?

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