Foundations - Episode One Hundred and one  - Growing in Grace.  

[00:00:00] Hello. Welcome to your Daily Grace by Timothy Wilder Foundations Episode 101 Growing in Grace Living from Christ within One of the most life giving truths in the new covenant is that Christ doesn't just save us, he lives in us. Galatians 2:20 says, it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. I don't read that as poetic language. I read it as the heart of the Christian life. We we aren't trying to imitate Jesus from a distance. [00:00:34] We are learning to live from his life within us. [00:00:37] Over the years this truth has become deeply personal to me. [00:00:42] There are days when my strength feels thin, when my emotions feel heavy, or when my confidence wavers. And in those moments I've learned to pause and remember. Christ is in me. His life is my life. His strength is my strength. His peace is my peace. I'm not trying to produce something for God. I'm learning to receive what Christ is already supplying. [00:01:07] Colossians 1:27 calls this Christ in you the hope of glory. That phrase has carried me through seasons when I felt anything but glorious. [00:01:18] The hope isn't in my performance, the hope isn't in my consistency. [00:01:24] The hope is in Christ living his life through mine. He is the source of every good thing that grows in us. [00:01:31] Jesus himself spoke of this in John 15:5. He who abides in me and I in him bears much fruit. [00:01:39] Fruit doesn't come from effort, it comes from connection. [00:01:43] When we live from Christ within, fruit becomes the natural overflow. Love grows where fear once lived. Peace grows where anxiety once ruled. Strength grows where weakness once discouraged us. Christ produces what we could Never manufacture. We second Corinthians 4:7 says, we have this treasure in earthen vessels. I've always loved that picture. We are ordinary jars, fragile and imperfect, yet carrying the very life of Christ. [00:02:16] The treasure isn't the vessel, it's the presence within it. And that presence is what shapes us, sustains us and transforms us. [00:02:25] Philippians 4:13 says, I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. I used to read that as a motivational verse. Now I read it as a reminder of dependence. I don't do all things because I am strong. I do all things because Christ strengthens me. His life empowers mine. His spirit guides my steps. His grace carries me through what I could never handle alone. [00:02:52] Living from Christ within changes how we see everything. [00:02:57] It shifts our focus from self effort to trust. [00:03:00] It turns pressure into peace. It turns striving into rest. It turns fear into confidence. [00:03:08] Not confidence in ourselves, but confidence in the One who lives in us. [00:03:13] This is the heart of the Christian life. Christ in you. Not beside you, not above you, not cheering you on from a distance. Christ in you, shaping your desires, strengthening your steps and living his life through yours. [00:03:30] Thanks for listening. If you are being fed and or uplifted by these messages, we encourage you to like, comment, share and subscribe. These things help us spread the message of grace.