Questions & Answers
by Editor(s)

Q. In the January/February issue someone asked, how can I say Christ lives as me? Could you please say more about this, because the answer was not clear to me.

A. This statement is only true for Christians. The Bible says that when a person becomes a Christian, Jesus comes to live in his or her heart. A Christian is any person who chooses to believe that God sent His only Son Jesus Christ to die on a cross for his or her own sins and that He rose again from the dead three days later. By believing this, we invite Jesus to come live in our hearts.

But once Jesus comes to live in my heart, what is He there to do? The Bible says that He is there to live. The word "live" in and of itself implies some kind of action, not just a state of being or just "hanging out." Galatians 2:20 explains that because I am a Christian "I am crucified with Christ." To be crucified means to die by being hung on a cross. It goes on to say however that I live, but explains that it is not I that actually lives, but "Christ living in me." The Bible also says that for me to live
is Christ (Philippians 1:21). So even though it looks like just me living my life, it is really Christ who is doing the living through my body.

What makes this hard for me to believe is that it does not feel like I die or that Christ comes into my heart to live. I never feel any differently, and it feels like just me and not Christ. But the Bible says Christ lives in me, so this must be a true fact no matter how it feels. I must take it by faith that Christ is in my heart and lives my life for me. Only when I dare to believe this does it actually become real in my life.

Q. I am jealous and resentful of a close friend to the point that it is destroying our relationship. I hate feeling this way toward her. Help!

A. Jealousy and resentment are thoughts and feelings. Feelings are neutral. They are neither good nor evil. The problem is how you handle these feelings. It is important here to make a distinction between your soul and spirit. Your soul is where thoughts and feelings come up. In your spirit you choose what you believe about your
feelings. Your true identity is in your spirit where you and Christ are joined as one. Satan casts doubts on our true Christ/I identity by tempting us to believe we are self- operating-selves. As a result of this wrong believing, we think we are our feelings. For example, in your case you believe you are jealous and you are resentful. You only feel jealous and the truth is Christ is operating in and as you. When you believe you are self-operated, then Satan misuses you and you (really Satan) lives jealous and resentful. This is destroying your relationship and is sin. The answer is no matter how you feel, your spirit never changes. You are whole, complete and lacking nothing. If you are believing Christ is living in and as you, then you are perfect love to your friend, no matter how you feel.

Q. My friends say I drive too fast, talk over other people and make myself the center of attention. I don’t know why I do it. How am I ever going to stop?

A. I am assuming you are a born again Christian so therefore, Christ’s Spirit is living in you and as you. We know that Christ doesn’t drive recklessly or make Himself the center of attention. So, what is the root problem? We know that there is no "just you" to drive the car too fast and no "just you" who shows off. The Bible says we
never operate ourselves, it is either Christ or Satan operating us (Romans 6), depending on what we believe. So if Christ wouldn’t do these things and there is no "just me" to do them, who is doing them? Satan. The way he does this is to tempt us to believe that we are "just us." Once we accept this temptation as true, we are in sin and Satan works through us as he pleases. In your case, believing that you need to be the center of attention or drive recklessly, in some way puts yourself first. The solution is to understand how Satan misuses us and when he does, be aware of what is happening. Once we know what is happening, what Satan is doing, we can then make the choice to either believe Satan’s lie or to choose to believe that Christ’s Spirit and ours are joined, that there is no "just us," and that Christ/I does not need to be the center of attention, talk over others or drive too fast.

So, the next time you are driving in your car, know this is an area where Satan has misused you. Make a conscious choice that Jesus Christ does and will drive at a safe speed. Then drive at a safe speed, knowing it is really He doing it. The same is true for talking over other people and being the center of attention. You can make a choice when with others, that Christ is living your life so you do not have to be the center of attention.