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Reference : http://christnearandnow.com/

"I have become the church’s servant
by the commission God gave me
to present to you the word of God in its fullness—
the mystery that has been kept hidden for ages and generations,
but is now disclosed to the Lord’s people…
… the glorious riches of this mystery,
which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.

He is the one we proclaim,
admonishing and
teaching everyone with all wisdom,

so that we may present everyone
fully mature, fully bloomed and transformed
in Christ.

To this end I strenuously contend
with all the energy Christ so powerfully works in me." Colossians 1:25-29 (NIV)

Part 1

For over three decades,

Paul relentlessly lived his commission

“to present the word of God in its fullness”.

And the full word was this.

“Christ in you, the hope of glory.”

His mission was to

present the mystery,

hidden through history,

but made available to everyone

when Christ died, was buried

and raised to appear in and around us.

He proclaimed

the message of the mystery

everywhere

to anyone who would listen.

He held back nothing,

the madman proclaiming

the full opulent glory of the mystery

that Christ in believers

is their only hope of transformation

into the abundant life of Christness.

The Mystery was hidden from Paul until

Christ burst in a blaze from the space right in front of him

stopping him in his tracks,

slamming him to the ground and

jamming his paradigm into a new dimension.

He had been combating against Christ,

but from that moment forward,

he would contend for Christ

with every ounce of his life ‘till there was nothing left.

From the blinding blaze until his execution

Paul presented the mystery of

Christ living in people

to transform them into the

full fragrant bloom of his glory.

The mystery remains hidden until it is announced.

But when the mystery is presented, perceived and believed

the paradigm shifts and we are never the same.

The Mystery is the thing above all things.

When it sinks in that

Christ in me is the thing above all things

I can enter into the process to be fully transformed.

This is the ultimate good life.

“He is the one we proclaim,

admonishing and

teaching everyone with all wisdom …”

Overwhelmed with gratitude we broadcast Christ

to whoever will listen or observe the way we

adore, worship, celebrate and enjoy

our moment to moment Christ connection.

To persist in the process

we learn to practice admonishment of the mind.

We learn to persistently place the mind

on the presence of Christ.

The mind is ever wandering

but Christ is always near.

Therefore we take our mind and

bring it back to the light of Christ over and over again.

In his presence we hear him beckon,

“Learn of me”.

His Followers live a life of learning his ways.

Christ is the warehouse of wisdom

and school is always in.

“… so that we may present everyone

fully mature, fully bloomed and transformed

in Christ.”

The endgame, the prize we pursue,

is the coming into the full fragrant bloom of Christness.

This is indeed, the thing above all things,

the thing for which we count all other things as loss.

“To this end I strenuously contend

with all the energy Christ so powerfully works in me.”

When we place Christ above all else,

when our moment to moment is immersed in the mystery

we find ourselves both transforming and fighting.

The ultimate thing is the ultimate threat to Diablos.

He will fight to the finish

to distract and derail us from

the path of Christ’s presence.

He cannot stand the thought of the human

transforming into full bloom

and the thief will stop at nothing to wither yours.

And so we are contested.

Each day is combat.

The “war in the soul” is fought

on the battleground of attention.

Where is your mind most of the time?

Setting and resetting

and resetting again

the mind’s attention on the presence of Christ

is the thing that makes possible the thing above all things.

If we choose to engage in the battle

we’re in for an exhausting fight.

Christ is the energy of all life and

his fire in our interior

is the energy that powers us

in the battle for our soul.

When we lift our longing eyes to the surrounding hills

we find they are in fact blazing

with the presence of Christ, our certain aid.

The Thief is relentless in his distortions and distractions.

But Christ in me provides the energy to

maintain focus on his transforming interior presence.

This lavish mystery has been hidden for ages

but is now playing in the space near you.

So,

step in why don’t ya.