SEPTEMBER THEME — “SEEING THE CROSS FROM GOD’S PERSPECTIVE”

Join us in praise and thanksgiving as Belmont Baptist Church celebrates our Year of Jubilee—fifty years of God’s unwavering faithfulness. Together, we will rejoice over prayers answered, souls saved, lives changed, grace that has sustained us, and the finished work of Christ at Calvary. With grateful hearts, we joyfully declare, “Thank You, Lord, for fifty faithful years—to God be all the glory!”

BEATS FROM YOUR PASTOR’S HEART

NOT I—BUT CHRIST

“I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me…” — Galatians 2:20

THE CHRISTIAN LIFE IS CHRIST LIVING THROUGH ME

Galatians 2:20 may be one of the clearest exchanged-life verses in the Bible. Paul does not say, “I am trying harder for Christ.” He says, “Christ liveth in me.” That changes everything. Christianity is not primarily imitation; it is participation. The same Christ who saved me now intends to live His life through me. The Christian life is not me trying to produce enough patience, enough love, enough strength, enough holiness, or enough faithfulness to please God. Sooner or later, all of us come to the place where we discover something humbling: I cannot live the Christian life in my own strength. But that realization is not defeat. It is the doorway to freedom. The answer is not, “Try harder.” The answer is, “Not I—but Christ.”

 “NOT I” MEANS I STOP DEPENDING ON MYSELF

Paul says, “Yet not I.” Those words confront one of the deepest instincts of the flesh. We want to handle life ourselves. We want to control outcomes. We want to solve every problem. We want to be strong enough, wise enough, disciplined enough, and spiritual enough. But the exchanged life begins when I stop placing confidence in myself. That does not mean I become passive. It means I stop living independently of Christ. There is a difference between effort and dependence. Effort says, “I can do this.” Dependence says, “Lord, I need You to do through me what I cannot do by myself.” There are many things I cannot manufacture in my own strength. I cannot manufacture the patience of Jesus. I cannot manufacture His love. I cannot manufacture His humility. I cannot manufacture His peace. I may imitate those things for a while, but eventually the pressure of life exposes what is really inside me. That is when I must return to the truth: “Not I.” My weakness is not the greatest obstacle to God using me. My unwillingness to surrender my weakness may be. Profound truth: God is not waiting for me to become strong enough for Him to use me; He is waiting for me to become dependent enough for Christ to live through me.

“BUT CHRIST” MEANS HE IS MY SUFFICIENCY

Paul does not stop with, “Not I.” Thank God he continues, “But Christ liveth in me.” If the exchanged life were only about denying myself, emptying myself, and trying not to live in the flesh, it would become discouraging very quickly. But the answer to self is not emptiness. The answer is Christ. When I do not have enough patience, Christ does. When I do not have enough wisdom, Christ does. When I do not have enough strength, Christ does. When I do not have enough love for someone difficult, Christ does. When I do not know how to respond, Christ knows. The Christian life is not about asking, “How much ability do I have?” It is about asking, “How much am I yielding to the Christ who lives in me?” Jesus did not save me and then say, “Now go live this life by yourself.” He gave me Himself. The exchanged life is not me becoming sufficient for Christ; it is Christ becoming my sufficiency. That is why I can face situations that are beyond my ability. I may not be enough, but He is.

CHRIST LIVES THROUGH A SURRENDERED LIFE

Galatians 2:20 becomes practical when I surrender the right to run my own life. Christ lives in me, but I can still resist Him. I can insist on my own way. I can hold onto bitterness. I can demand control. I can choose pride. I can react in the flesh. That is why surrender matters. Surrender is not how I get saved. I am saved by grace through faith in Jesus Christ. But surrender is how I learn to live under the Lordship of the Christ who has saved me. Each day I must choose: will I respond in my flesh, or will I yield to Christ? When someone hurts me, will Nolan respond, or will Christ respond through Nolan? When I am afraid, will fear govern me, or will I yield to the peace of Christ? When I am tempted to control, will I insist on my way, or will I say, “Lord Jesus, You are Lord of this too”? The exchanged life becomes visible one surrendered choice at a time. Christ does not merely want to be present in my life; He wants to express His life through my surrender.

Think of a glove lying on a table. That glove may be beautifully made. It may be expensive. It may be perfectly shaped. But by itself, it cannot do anything. It cannot pick up a Bible. It cannot comfort a hurting person. It cannot serve anyone. It cannot reach out in love. The glove has no ability in itself. But place a living hand inside it, and suddenly the glove can do what the hand enables it to do. That is a simple picture of the exchanged life. The glove does not become stronger by trying harder. It becomes useful by yielding to the hand within it.

In the same way, God did not design me to live the Christian life independently of Christ. He designed me to yield to the Christ who lives within me. The exchanged life is not me working harder for Jesus; it is Jesus expressing His life through a surrendered me. There comes a point in the Christian life when trying harder must give way to trusting deeper. I do not need a stronger version of myself. I need a more surrendered life. I do not need to promise Jesus that I will try harder. I need to say, “Lord Jesus, live Your life through me.” When I am weak, the answer is not I, but Christ. When I am afraid, the answer is not I, but Christ. When I am angry, the answer is not I, but Christ. When I do not know what to do, the answer is not I, but Christ. When I feel completely inadequate, the answer is still not I, but Christ. That is the secret of the exchanged life. I still live. I still think. I still choose. I still serve. But now my life has a new Source. “Yet not I, but Christ liveth in me.”

WARFARE PRAYER

Father, in the mighty name of Jesus, I renounce the lie that I must live the Christian life in my own strength. I surrender my pride, my self-dependence, my fear, my need to control, and every place where I have tried to live independently of You. I agree with Your Word that I am crucified with Christ and that Christ now lives in me. Lord Jesus, be my strength where I am weak, my patience where I am frustrated, my peace where I am afraid, and my love where I struggle to love. Tear down every stronghold of self-rule and teach me to live in daily dependence upon You. Let my life increasingly declare, “Not I, but Christ.” In Jesus’ mighty name, Amen.

DAILY CHALLENGE

Several times throughout the day, especially when you feel pressure, frustration, fear, temptation, or weakness, stop and pray, “Not I, but Christ. Lord Jesus, live Your life through me.” Then ask yourself, “Am I trying harder, or am I surrendering deeper?” Today, choose surrender. Not I—but Christ.

TUESDAY’S PRAYER NEEDS

Pat Chupp

Britany Smith

Daniel Cooper

Darlene Kelley

Darlene Thaxton

Ginny Ford

Kim’s McClain’s Mother

Lee Cronan

Nancy Brown – Rehab

Rob Davis

Susan Bankston