"In and out of Christ represent two worlds -- the world of heaven and the world of hell, the world of creation and the world of decay, the world of life and the world of death.
Take, for example, the disciples: As long as they stayed in Christ, obeyed His will, caught His ways, and showed His spirit they were happy, constructive, and creative. The moment they stepped out of Him even in thought and attitude they became unhappy, destructive, and non-creative." In Christ

Why does it seem so easy to step in and out of Christ? Will this life be a constant balancing act where I step lightly and keep walking back and forth? Michael had maybe a better idea - that as we mature, we wander less far from the center. I pictured that like I'm standing in the middle of a teeter totter and as I grow in my faith, instead of walking all the way to one end and then overcompensating by walking all the way to the other end, I start balancing back and forth closer and closer to the middle. It certainly doesn't seem as though spiritual heroes like Paul were tormented by a constant struggle to remain/abide in Christ... He definitely describes his war with sin, but I don't see glimpses of the internal struggle to live within God's will and favor. Probably because, more than any other, Paul REALLY grasped hold of His grace.

"Therefore, having a humble and submissive heart is a choice we make. That means as born again believers we daily make a choice to submit ourselves unto God for the work that the Holy Spirit does in us to "conform us to the image of Christ" and God will use the situations of our lives to bring us the opportunity to submit to him (Romans 8:28-29). The believer then accepts His grace and provision for us to walk in the "Spirit" and not after the manner of our old nature. That work is accomplished by choosing to apply ourselves to the Word of God and to learning about the provisions that God has made for us IN Christ Jesus. From the moment we are born again, we have all the provisions we need, IN Christ, to become a mature believer but we have to make the choice to learn about those provisions - through study of the Word and to apply those provisions to our daily walk as believers...
...God does not require us to submit because He is a tyrant but because as a loving Father. He knows what is best for us. The blessings and peace that we gain from humbly surrendering and submitting ourselves to Him daily are a gift of grace that nothing in this world can compare to." Got Questions?

Submitting myself to my husband, my leaders (church, government, etc), and to You daily must be at least part of what I lack? Maybe more to the point, it's humility? For a few days there, Your Word wasn't even humbling me. Your Spirit must've been suppressed for that to happen, and probably mostly because of pride... Although I don't remember being especially proud. But I do think I have been hanging onto my guilt. When will I finally see myself as I really am? I know that self-loathing is just another form of pride, and it's disrespectful to You because You made me the way I am and You have a purpose for making me this way. But I also know that just when I start to feel better about who I am, I start self-exalting.

Perhaps it's not my actual SELF, but You within me that You want me to love. After all, what personality traits, talents, gifts, etc do I have that weren't given to me by YOU? I know I turned a corner in earlier struggles by realizing that I don't need to work on changing my feelings about something, but just submitting, obeying, and believing YOU about it.

Thank You in advance for the work that will be completed in me. I can't wait for "perfection" at the conclusion of the life You've allotted to me. But in the meantime, I'd love to be able to enjoy Your daily provision - the abundant life In Christ. That's not my focus, though. That's the byproduct of a life seeking after You. You to the fullest. Lovable You. Wondrous You. Majestic You. Wise You. Holy You. It's You that I long for. More! More!