Align Your Thoughts under Him
Dr. Tony Evans
I love cream in my coffee. I never drink my coffee black. Whenever I pour myself a cup of coffee, I always add the white cream and mix it together. At that point, a union has occurred. I once had black coffee and white cream, but now I have brown coffee. If I take the coffee with me into my office, the cream comes too. If I take the cream with me into my den, the coffee comes too. Nothing can separate these two once they have been joined.
Jesus Christ brings all things together in heaven and on earth.
God’s will is to “to bring everything together in the Messiah” (Ephesians 1:10, HCSB).
Paul stated it this way in the Book of Colossians: “He is before all things, and by Him all things hold together” (Colossians 1:17, HCSB).
As I preach I often repeat things to emphasize a point. Parents often do the same thing with their children. Paul did just that in Ephesians 1.
“ in Him” (verse 7)
“in Him” (verse 9)
“in the Messiah” (verse 10)
“in Him” (verse 10)
In Him, the One who stands exalted like no other, you will discover both the fullness and the summation of everything you will ever need in heaven and on earth. It’s all there—in Him.
Everything you need for victorious living is in Jesus.
We so often forfeit Jesus’ power and authority simply because we do not remain in Him. Colossians 1:13 tells us God “has rescued us from the domain of darkness and transferred us into the kingdom of the Son He loves” (HCSB). You used to belong to Satan’s kingdom, but now, as a believer, you are part of a new kingdom, and Jesus Christ is its King. Satan can do nothing to remove you from God’s kingdom, but he will do his best to get you to ignore the kingdom rule of Jesus Christ.
How can this happen in the life of a Christian? It happens when we participate in church on Sunday under one kingdom but go out into the world Monday through Saturday and function under the influence of another kingdom. It happens when we study the Bible in one kingdom but socialize in another kingdom.
Many believers participate in this flip-flopping and then wonder why they don’t have victory in their lives.
Satan is influencing believers’ lives because they are yielding the power to him; not because of any rightful authority he has, rather simply because of a failure to align their thoughts and decisions under the lordship of Jesus Christ. By not exalting Jesus Christ to the proper place in our lives, homes and churches—the first place He deserves—we miss out on the benefits of His covering.
Do you want the benefits He provides to His people? Then remain in Him and reflect Him in all you do.
Dr. Tony Evans is the pastor of Oak Cliff Bible Fellowship, and founder of The Urban Alternative. He is also the author of over 100 books and Bible studies. His radio broadcast, The Alternative with Dr. Tony Evans, can be heard on more than 1,300 US outlets daily and in more than 130 countries.