OUR METHOD:
I was busy painting a floor one morning in my one hundred and fifty year old house on Cape Breton Island in Nova Scotia when I prayed, “Lord Jesus, please help me. You know best how to live the Christian life.” How astonished I was when the answer came back, “My child, it is not the Christian life you need to live, but Christ’s Life. The Christian Life is not a method…but a Person—the Personhood of Jesus Christ.”
“How do I live Christ’s Life?” you might ask. “Only Christ can live His own life.” “Exactly!” I would answer. “You need to invite Christ to come live His Life in your body, soul, and spirit, because it is not about improving your Self, but exchanging your Self for His Self.” “And how exactly do I do this?” might be your next question. “Come, follow me, I will show you how.”
“Christ, who fills all things everywhere with Himself” (Ephesians 1:23).
EMBRACE: First, you need to embrace the person you are, right now, at this time of your life: not only what you DO, but also what you THINK. Who are you? What does your heart feel? What does your mind believe about you, those around you, and God? Do you feel loved, accepted, worthy? Or do you believe you have been abandoned, condemned, shamed?
EXPOSE: Next, in order to invite Christ to come live His Life in You, you need to expose your Self to Him. Show the Lord Jesus what you have found out about your Self. Confess your negative thoughts of abandonment, condemnation, and shame that live in your mind, to Him. Acknowledge your feelings of angst, anger, and animosity that live in your heart.
EXCHANGE: Finally, allow the Lord Jesus Christ to exchange your Self for His Self. This is not something YOU do, but what HE does, all by Himself. Exchanging is the act of giving or taking one thing in return for another. HE takes your negative, destructive beliefs of abandonment, shame, and condemnation that you exposed to Him, and exchange them for new beliefs of acceptance, worth, and belonging. He takes your feelings of angst, anger, and animosity that you submitted to Him, and give you new feelings of Peace, Love, and Joy in return.
This is a miracle. This is an adventure. This is Christ’s Life.
Read DISCOVER HIS MAJESTY to find out how the process of exchanging my old Self for the new Self of the Lord Jesus Christ manifested in my life.