Wednesday, October 18, 2006

Blogs of Interest and another Maj. Ian Thomas Excerpt…

an Blogs of Interest and another Maj. Ian Thomas Excerpt…

Jason Clark on What’s Right/Wrong with the emerging church

Bob Hyatt is having issues with Yoko

Harleyghost let’s us know of something most of us never learned in school… what to do if a gunman enters the classroom…


Here is some great thoughts on what this Exchanged Life is about by Major W. Ian Thomas.
Blessings,
iggy


EXCHANGED LIFE
By: Major W. Ian Thomas

Christian living is not a method or technique; it is an entirely different, revolutionary principle of life. It is the principle of an exchanged life" not I, but Christ liveth in me" (Galatians 2:20).
This is all part of our Gospel - it is not the Gospel plus! We must not get our terminology wrong. To divorce the behavior of the Christian from the Gospel is entirely false and is not true to the Word of God, yet all too often such is the characteristic of gospel preaching.
I would like to explore with you what is the true spiritual content of our Gospel ¬ not just heaven one day, but Christ right now! Christ in you, on the grounds of redemption ¬ this is the Gospel! To preach anything less than this must inevitably produce "Evan-jellyfish" ¬ folk with no spiritual vertebrae, whose faith docs not "behave!"
Do you remember what James says in his epistle? "As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead" (chapter 2:26). The "spirit" there means breath, and a body without breath is dead. Stop breathing ¬ and folk will bury you! In other words, a living body breathes, and a living faith breathes, and a living faith breaths with divine action. A living faith breathes with the activity of Jesus Christ. That is why the Lord Jesus, in John 6:29, said, "This is the work of God, that ye believe on Him whom He hath sent."
That is the work of God. It is your living faith in the adequacy of the One who is in you, which releases His divine action through you. It is the kind of activity that the Bible calls "good works," as opposed to "dead works."
"Good works" are those works that have their origin in Jesus Christ - - whose activity is released through your body, presented to Him as a living sacrifice by a faith that expresses total dependence, as opposed to the Adamic independence (Romans 12: 1,2).
It is only the life of the Lord Jesus -- His activity, clothed with you and displayed through you, that ultimately will find the approval of God.
From: The Saving Life of Christ. Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House. ©1961.





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7 comments:

Anonymous said...

Iggy,

good stuff. thanks. Ian has a new devotional book out, have you seen that?

thanks for your words.

Mike Messerli

Unknown said...

Most of the stuff I have read or heard by Maj Ian Thomas has been these excerpts... I really want to get some of his books. I have a good number of sermons by him and just love them.

I was introduced to Maj Ian through Bob George of People to People ministries. Bob is the only other one that seems to voice Grace and the exchanged life like Maj Ian...

Without these men and some not so famous ones I would be still that judgmental abusive person... My wife says I am being a bit too hard on my self about that time of our life... yet I know my heart and how I judge people... in a way I was two people... that "smiley loving guy" at church, yet if they had just came early they would have seen me angerly doing my "service" to the Lord...

God is a wonder to love us... it is incredible that such a loving God, would love such a lowly creature as man.

There is more to the "my story" that I will share sometime about living in the freedom that comes in Christ yet not growing in Grace... it is a bit tricky to explain...

Blessngs
iggy

Anonymous said...

Torchbearers has a video series by Major Ian Thomas called Rediscovering Christ that I'm using with a small group.

Another writer who goes even further than Ian Thomas is Norman Grubb. I especially recommend his book Yes, I Am.

Unknown said...

myears ago my wife and I had looked into going to Ian Thomas' school in Estes Park (? it has been a while I think that is the town) yet we were not able to due to financing and that we were a bit... too old (this is a memory, there may no longer be any age restictions.

blessings,
iggy

Anonymous said...

Just came across your blog. i am very interested in Ian Thomas's teachings. i came across him through Peter Wade, In Christ radio. You may want to connect with him at peterwade.com

Don Curtis

Unknown said...

Thanks Don...

I will look into Peter Wade. I found Ian Thomas through People to People with Bob George out of Dallas Texas.

I am glad that there are those who understand what I am saying as far as the exchanged life... and why I speak out against a performance oriented faith.

I do desire to read more of Ian Thomas' writings... most as funds for books are low when you have two toddlers a toddlin' !

Blessings,
iggy

Anonymous said...

Look out for secon hand books by Major Thomas. Also you could have a look at Sermon Audio or Sermonindex. Both are excellent.
It was my previlege to hear Christ spek through this man many years ago.
Many blessings in Jesus who is our life!