Meditation Chip Brogden

Good morning!
Today's meditation is taken from:

The Ministery of One-Anothering
by Chip Brogden

http://www.theschoolofchrist.org/articles/oneanother.html
"And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you" (Ephesians 4:32)

Every Christian is called to the ministry of One-Anothering. We are to love one another, serve one another, submit to one another, instruct one another, encourage one another, help one another, forgive one another, and so forth. This is our spiritual service. This is your ministry to the Body of Christ and the basis from which every spiritual gift should operate. People ask me all the time, "How do I know if I'm called to the ministry?" I answer by saying you are definitely called to the ministry. They think perhaps I am a prophet or I can see something that they cannot. Then I have to clarify it by explaining that all of us are called to the ministry of One-Anothering. No one is exempt. How that will eventually work itself out in your life is a wonderful mystery that you will have to discover for yourself. Only don't look to do some great thing to begin with, just find some brothers and sisters and begin your practice of One-Anothering.

Others will ask, "But how do I know if God is calling me to a full-time ministry?" My response is that He is calling all of us to the full-time ministry of One-Anothering. I'm missing the page in my Bible that talks about a part-time commitment. There's no such thing as a part-time ministry, a part-time minister, or a part-time Christian. It is either all the time or none of the time.



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Today's meditation is taken from:
The Need for Brokenness
by Chip Brogden

http://www.theschoolofchrist.org/articles/need.html
"The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise" (Psalms 51:17).

We must never seek the power of Pentecost without first tasting the suffering of the Cross. The Cross is Power disguised in Weakness. There is a saying, "Absolute power corrupts absolutely." We can just as well say that spiritual power obtained apart from the weakness of the Cross will corrupt also. This is why the Lord leads us first to Calvary, then on to Pentecost. We dare not bypass Calvary in our haste to experience Pentecost.

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.......................

Good morning!
Today's meditation is taken from:
The Need for Brokenness
by Chip Brogden

http://www.theschoolofchrist.org/articles/need.html
"Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me" (II Corinthians 12:9).

Observe how little attention is paid to the necessity of brokenness among those who so eagerly speak of the power of God. We should be afraid of listening to anyone who teaches us about the power of God but does not teach us about the necessity of brokenness. Invariably the power, once received, will pollute the spirit and pride will set in. Weakness, humility, brokenness, suffering, pouring out our lives, taking up the Cross - this language seems to be lost among the seekers of power. How tragic that is!

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Today's meditation is taken from:
The Gift of Christ
by Chip Brogden

http://www.theschoolofchrist.org/articles/gift.html
"Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, Who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in heavenly places in Christ" (Ephesians 1:3).

For most of my life as a Christian I sought God for THINGS. When depressed, I would seek joy. When worried, I would seek peace. When weak, I would seek strength. When angry, I would seek self-control. When defeated, I would seek victory. Most Christians are taught to approach God and seek these things when they are conscious of some lack. For a time it seems they are given what they ask for, but soon they are back asking for more of the same thing. Today we ask for patience, and tomorrow we ask again, and the day after that we have to ask yet again. So it is with peace, joy, victory, and everything else.

Eventually we must learn that we have everything in Christ already. That thing called "patience" that we are so diligently seeking is not a thing at all, it is Christ. "Victory" is no longer a "thing", it is a Man. And so it is with everything else we need. It is certainly possible to seek spiritual blessings from God apart from Christ, or in addition to Christ. What a difference it makes to realize that He HAS (past tense) blessed us already - not with three or five or twenty blessings - but with EVERY spiritual blessing. However many there may be, we have them all. Where and how has He done this? Thank God, it was done the moment we received Christ and entered into Him as our All in All. God would have us seek Him first, and not His things. To Him there is no "thing", for they are all summed up into Christ.

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Today's meditation is taken from:
The Prisoners of the Lord
by Chip Brogden

http://www.theschoolofchrist.org/articles/prisoners.html
"Paul, a prisoner of Jesus Christ" (Philemon 1a).

It is a glorious thing to be the prisoner of the Lord, for in our bonds we find liberty. In our weakness we find strength. In our foolishness we find wisdom. In our poverty we find prosperity. By losing everything we find everything. By giving up all things we inherit all things. By accepting the sentence of death we find the Life of the Lord. Let us stretch forth our hands and allow Him to dress us and lead us where He wishes us to go, in the way we would not choose for ourselves, for that is the Narrow Way, and it is the path of blessing, though it be disguised.

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Today's meditation is taken from:

Lonely, But Never Alone
by Chip Brogden

http://www.theschoolofchrist.org/articles/lonely.html
"I am with you always, even until the end of the age" (Matthew 28:20).

It is true that "whenever two or three are gathered in My Name, there I am." Praise God for such truth. It is equally true that, "I am with YOU always (singular)." We do not want to be lone ranger Christians who do not seek fellowship with other members of Christ's Body. At the same time, we cannot allow the absence of such fellowship to make us despondent or depressed, should we be deprived of it. If it causes us to fall away, then perhaps this is the reason God allows us to go through periods of solitude, that we may be reduced to CHRIST as our Fellowship.

When we find ourselves in such a place, let us not be too quick to seek out others until we have reaped the benefits of being alone with God. Let us remember that Christ's Body is a spiritual Body. Being in the physical presence of other members does not make us more of a member, and being removed from the physical presence of other members does not make us any less a member. Of course the exact opposite is true for those meeting together as an institution; without their physical presence and support they lose place as a member. But not Christ's Body, the Ekklesia. We are not more or less of a member by reason of our physical contact or lack of physical contact with one another.

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Today's meditation is taken from:

The Prisoners of the Lord
by Chip Brogden

http://www.theschoolofchrist.org/articles/prisoners.html
"I, Paul, the prisoner of the Lord, implore you..." (Ephesians 4:1a).

To be the prisoner of the Lord means that we accept the sentence of death and are resigned to our fate. We are not the Lord's prisoner if we are still protesting our innocence. If we do not agree with the Lord that Self is worthy of death then we unnecessarily delay the inevitable. If we must take up the Cross and be crucified, it is better to submit ourselves to it as Christ did, giving up our spirit into the Father's hands, and bowing our head in peace. So let us drink the Cup that the Father gives us. If we struggle and protest, like the two thieves, then we only prolong our agony, and the soldiers must come and break our legs. Either way, the Cross means death. The sooner we surrender to it the sooner we find Resurrection.



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Today's meditation is taken from:
The Priests of the Lord
by Chip Brogden

http://www.theschoolofchrist.org/articles/priests1.html
"And the child Samuel ministered to the Lord before Eli. The word of the Lord was rare in those days, and there was no revelation" (I Samuel 3:1).

In every respect the times in which we live are comparable to I Samuel 3. A genuine word from God is rare, and there is no open vision. In other words, most of the people who see something do not have revelation to really know what they are seeing - hence, it remains closed, or worse, it is misinterpreted and becomes a delusion. There is an abundance of words, dreams, visions, and prophecies today, but I repeat: a GENUINE word from God is rare, and there is little REVELATION. Do you understand my meaning? And the priesthood as represented by Eli is old, fat, and blind: operating as always, still standing in the place of the priest, but already under judgment.

What is the problem? No one ministers to the Lord. Everyone is for themselves. Except for one child who ministers to the Lord - and THAT is the one to whom the Lord revealed Himself. There is no revelation apart from relationship. I learned this the hard way.

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Today's meditation is taken from:
The Law of Life
by Chip Brogden

http://www.theschoolofchrist.org/articles/law.html
"I am the Vine, and you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, will produce much fruit: for apart from Me you can do nothing" (John 15:5).

It is amazing the number of Christians who believe it is up to them to produce fruit. This teaching is, to them, like trying to force a square peg through a round hole. They become obsessed with making something happen, thinking it is all up to their effort, their willpower, their determination, to grow up into Christ. To suggest that they cease from their labor is to make light of all their hard work up until now, and this offends them! They begin in the Spirit, but look to the flesh (self-effort) to complete the work. That is not the Christ-Life! The fruit will come of its own accord, provided we abide in Him.
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Today's meditation is taken from:
The Law of Life
by Chip Brogden

http://www.theschoolofchrist.org/articles/law.html
"My yoke is easy, and My burden is light" (Matthew 11:30).

The Law of Life is more powerful and active than anything generated or maintained by self-effort. With self-effort I am always at the mercy of how I feel. If I feel spiritual then I can pray for hours at a time. But if I do not feel spiritual then I cannot even pray five minutes. This is why so many believers live their lives like a roller-coaster. They do not live according to principle, according to the Law of Life. Thinking it is up to them to become Christlike, they turn an easy yoke and a light burden into a difficult yoke and a heavy burden - difficult and heavy for themselves, and for those who must live and work around them. The one who rests in Christ will produce more fruit than the one who strives with self-effort.
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Today's meditation is taken from:
Good For Us
by Chip Brogden

http://www.theschoolofchrist.org/articles/good.html
"...Peter said unto Jesus, Master, it is good for us to be here: and let us make three tabernacles..." (Luke 9:33ff).

The reason we do not attend or sponsor meetings with any regularity is simply because the Lord's Need is often not met in these meetings. Self permeates so much of what we do (or do not do), even in spiritual matters where Self is supposed to be denied. Peter is a man full of himself. So his reaction to the glory of the Lord is, "It is good for us! Let us build for You..."

This is how many works, denominations and ministries are begun. The Lord sovereignly reveals something of His glory to a handful of people, and they begin to build something - a church, a movement, a denomination - in order to contain that glory. Or, the Lord visits His people in a particular meeting or setting. It is good for us: so we decide to meet again the next week in hopes that we can experience more of the same. And so on. We believe if only we can find the right combination of music, or teaching, or worship, or people, then it will be "good for us" every time we meet. Soon, however, the Life is gone and the glory is departed, but the meetings continue!

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Today's meditation is taken from:
Good For Us
by Chip Brogden

http://www.theschoolofchrist.org/articles/good.html
"...Peter said unto Jesus, Master, it is good for us to be here: and let us make three tabernacles..." (Luke 9:33ff).

"I will build My Church," Jesus says. That is Life. "Let us build for You," Peter says. That is Death. To see if a thing is living or dead we need only trace its source. Not only is "let us build" wrong, but "let us build FOR YOU" is equally wrong. Each is motivated by the same thing: "It is good for us." What Peter did not realize, and what we, too, fail to perceive, is that the glory is in Christ, and not in a method, a meeting, or a movement: and it is for Him, and not for us. How quickly "It is good for us..." turns into "Let us build for You..." How subtle our flesh is! How often in the name of "fellowship" have we have built something "for" the Lord Jesus that really serves our own agenda?

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Today's meditation is taken from:

Feet of Brass
by Chip Brogden

http://www.theschoolofchrist.org/articles/brass.html
"As soon then as He had said unto them, 'I am He' they went backward, and fell to the ground" (John 18:6).

When they came to arrest the Lord Jesus in the garden, He asked, "Who are you looking for?" And they answered, "Jesus of Nazareth." He simply said, "I AM." When they heard this they fell over backwards to the ground. No one can stand before I AM and retain any of their strength. To the ground we will all go, for that ground is holy. Every knee will bow, and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord.

This revealing of Christ is sufficient to bring saint and sinner alike into absolute surrender and submission. Friends and foes alike find themselves at His feet, quite unable to stand before Him. He does not have to raise His voice or call down fire from Heaven or do anything other than simply reveal Himself for Who He is. Every doubting Thomas eventually cries out, "My Lord and My God!" when they finally behold Him.
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Today's meditation is taken from:
Feet of Brass
by Chip Brogden

http://www.theschoolofchrist.org/articles/brass.html
"Peter and they that were with him were heavy with sleep: and when they were awake, they saw his glory, and the two men that stood with him" (Luke 9:32).

We can talk about His presence and His glory and His majesty - yes, we can even sing songs of worship which incorporate these words into the lyrics - but we do not really conceptualize or comprehend what it means. If we really did see something of the majesty and the glory of the Christ of God we would not be so casual. We would be reverent. We would not take the Presence for granted. If we can take Him for granted then we have failed to apprehend Him. We have not yet seen Him. We do not yet know Him. We need to spend some time sitting at His feet.
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February 17, 2009
Good morning !
Today's meditation is taken from:

The Remnant Principleby Chip Brogden

http://www.theschoolofchrist.org/articles/daniel5.html
"Now when Daniel knew that the writing was signed, he went into his house, opened his windows towards Jerusalem, and kneeled down three times a day to pray and give thanks to God, just as he always did" (Daniel 6:10).

I have found through personal experience that the lion's den usually comes about the same time as the revelation. The burden to pray comes with the edict forbidding prayer; Daniel labors for God's purpose while Daniel's enemies labor for his death; the answer comes along with a death sentence. This is not unusual, but quite common.

What is my point? Apostolic revelation and apostolic persecution go hand-in-hand. We cannot have one without the other. Revelation does not come to us apart from our circumstance, our environment, our struggle, our wrestling. Many want the revelation but they do not want the lion's den. They want the angels but not the enemies. Yet the depth of the revelation is measured by the depth of the suffering, and if our sufferings are light then our revelation is shallow.



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February 16, 2009
Good morning!
Today's meditation is taken from:

The Strength of Seeing
by Chip Brogden

http://www.theschoolofchrist.org/articles/seeing.html
"And when the servant of [Elisha] was risen early, and gone forth, behold, an host compassed the city both with horses and chariots. And his servant said unto him, 'Alas, my master! How shall we do?' And he answered, 'Fear not: for they that be with us are more than they that be with them'. And Elisha prayed, and said, 'Lord, I pray thee, open his eyes, that he may see'. And the Lord opened the eyes of the young man; and he saw: and, behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire round about Elisha" (II Kings 6:15-17).

To be an overcomer does not mean that we deny the existence of the enemy. We are not going to overcome by pretending we are not really surrounded. Denying the existence of the adversary will not make him disappear. We acknowledge and admit that there is a real enemy, a real spirit of Antichrist, that is out to destroy the Remnant and hinder the Testimony of Jesus. We also acknowledge and admit that more often than not, this spirit of Antichrist seems to get the advantage over us.

Even so, the issue is not the enemy. We may look at the enemy, study him, and build an entire movement around different ways to fight him. We can write books and hold seminars on "spiritual warfare". But when we look out from the mountain, what do we really see? Here is the difference between those who overcome and those who are defeated: it is not in their ability to fight, but in their ability to SEE, and this seeing is not of themselves, but is of God.



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Today's meditation is taken from:
Fear No Man
by Chip Brogden
http://www.theschoolofchrist.org/articles/fear.html
"Are you going to leave Me, too?" (John 6:67).
When Jesus spoke to the multitude, He did not glory in how large the crowd was. He did not congratulate Himself on having such an influential ministry. Instead, He sought to thin the numbers out by sifting them with a difficult word, saying, "You must eat my flesh and drink my blood if you wish to be my disciples." At this saying, the multitude and many of His disciples turned aside and no longer followed Him. Instead of running after them in an effort to make Himself understood and accepted, He watched them go. Then, turning to the Twelve, He said, "Will you also go away?" Here is a Man who is not afraid to be misunderstood because He is not afraid of people, what they will think, or what they will say about Him unjustly.
WE can discern His meaning, but THEY could not. Why did He not explain what He meant? Because He had no love for Himself, no desire to be understood. He only called for those who had ears to hear. He spoke the Word and allowed the hearers to exercise their own judgment and spiritual discernment. He had no desire to be appreciated or accepted. He would not have them accept HIM while rejecting the WORD He brought. If they rejected His Word, they rejected Him. To overcome the fear of man, we must not only be willing to be misunderstood and unappreciated, we should expect it. Then we will be free to speak what God has given us and will not be troubled should others fail to grasp the significance of it.

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Today's meditation is taken from:
The Way of the Disciple
by Chip Brogden
http://www.theschoolofchrist.org/articles/way.html
"But I certify you, brethren, that the gospel which was preached of me is not after man. For I neither received it of man, neither was I taught it, but by the revelation of Jesus Christ" (Galatians 1:11,12).
When the Lord revealed Himself to me I realized that such experiential, intimate knowledge cannot be found in a book, or I would have had it years ago. It cannot be found simply by reading the Bible, or everyone who has a Bible would know the Truth experientially, and we know that is simply not the case. It is a revelation of Truth as a Person, not as a philosophy, and from that day forward I understood that MAN cannot add to it or take away anything from it. That is when I stopped seeking the affirmation or confirmation of man.
I understood then (for the first time) that there is only one Teacher, and I am His disciple. I do not belong to anyone else, and no one else belongs to me. This was not something I would have understood automatically. As a pastor I was used to talking about "my sheep" and "my congregation" and "my church" as if I owned something. But when I discovered that there is One Flock guided by One Shepherd I knew then that I owned no one, and no one owned me. I belonged to Him, and they belonged to Him. What liberty! For me certainly, but more so, for the ones who were formerly "sitting under my teaching." People would come to me to be taught instead of others because they claimed they could not be fed by others, only by me. What a tragedy! Who is your source? Where did the manna come from? Moses? No, "Moses did not give you the bread from heaven, but my Father gives you the True Bread." When will we look away from Moses the man and towards Christ the Living Bread?

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Today's meditation is taken from:
To Him That Overcomes
by Chip Brogden
http://www.theschoolofchrist.org/articles/overcomes.html
"Be faithful unto death, and I will give you the crown of life... he that overcomes will not be hurt by the second death" (Revelation 2:10b,11b).
Practically speaking, Resurrection Life can be seen in our actions and in our words. When some people open their mouths you sense death. Their presence contributes nothing living. Instead, you have a hollow, empty feeling when you are around them. The words may be correct, but there is no life in what they are saying. It is as though you are handling a dead thing. There is no Spirit and Life.
On the other hand, there are brothers and sisters who are naturally very excited, bold, gifted, talented and persuasive. They seem very much "alive", but this is not Resurrection Life either. How so? They have not passed through death yet, and you cannot be resurrected until you have died. They do not have the imprint of the Cross on what they are doing. They have never been broken. They may be naturally gifted at whatever they are doing for the Lord, but they have not yet died. Outwardly speaking they may appear to be doing some good, but the issue is not good versus bad, but life versus death.

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