"Fill in the Blanks"

EPISODE 46

Bring God Into Your Whole Life

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If you've ever been on a long road trip with young kids, you've probably passed the time with an old fashioned fill-in-the-blank game of Mad Libs. These sometimes silly starter stories are given new meaning when you add your nouns, pronouns, verbs, and adjectives to the mix. And with all your additions filled in, the template story becomes your story!

"I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me" (Gal. 2:20).

Christ's death on the cross transformed Paul. His old man of sin has been killed. Paul speaks as if he hung with Jesus on that hill of Calvary. Now he's living a new life with the Messiah as his master. He's a vessel for Christ, entirely under his control. In a sense, Jesus provides the template, Paul adds his life to it, and his story develops a whole new meaning!

His Template

Jesus is our model. He's our starting place, our daily teacher. He trains us and molds us into what we could never become on our own. As he loved the unlovable, we reach out even to our enemies. As he served with humility, we kneel and wash each other's feet. And as he gave up his life on the cross for us, we put our sinful selves to death alongside him. When he says, "... If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me" (Matt. 16:24), we obey!

Your Additions

Now add your new life to his. Make him part of your daily walk. Ask yourself, "How can I honor him in ?" The blank is yours to complete. So, how can I serve him in: doing the laundry, putting my child to bed, shopping for groceries, or my morning meeting? Even in all the ordinary, mundane areas of your life. How does he give these activities new meaning? How can you glorify God in them? As Paul said, "And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus ..." (Col. 3:17). Nothing is off the table. Nothing is too small to use in his service.

Your New Story

Real faith which fills in the blanks with action! As James said, "... faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead. " (James 2:17). Move beyond knowing, toward doing. Submit all your earthly actions to his control and discover the deeper meaning of your life. He loves you and died for you — so will you empty yourself and let Christ fill in the blanks?