It’s been awhile since I’ve blogged. In an attempt to catch you up on how I’ve been changing, I thought I would do a series of posts on my greatest influencers in the last five years.
There’s the obvious theological education. Then there are the people along the way you haven’t heard about and might not know. Bill Vanderbush is one of them. His online Tuesday night Bible study coupled with his podcasts have helped me reorient myself in Scripture, opening myself to a more mystical experience of God.
God has predestined your destiny; it requires your agreement to step into it. That’s his thought, not mine.
Bill focuses heavily on the union with God brought about through Jesus Christ. “On that day you will realize that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you.” Jesus’ words in John 14:20
“Nothing missing. Nothing broken. No distance. No separation.” Bill Vanderbush
I don’t always live like I believe the reality of the finished work of the cross, but I know my reality is that God is closer to me than my skin. That God, once incarnate in the human body of Jesus the Anointed One, is now incarnate in all the human bodies of those who believe on the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Filled with the Holy Spirit, they are Christ’s body on earth. Christ in us, the hope of glory. (Colossians 1:27)
Right now my body is tired. I’m feeling sad as I grieve the transition of my grandparents into the cloud of witnesses. I ought to be happy for them, but I miss having them here with me. Frequently I feel embarrassed by my short temper and lack of social skills.
Viewing myself through my own eyes, it’s hard to imagine that Christ, the hope of glory, permeates my being. Yet, it is true. I can abide in the truth. I trust that surrender to the Divine Presence within me will transform the lives of those I love.
I can choose to no longer see anyone from a worldly point of view, including the Divine, Christ, and myself. 2 Corinthians 5:17
Christ is in me. I am in Christ, and Christ is in God. I live in the heart of God. (John 14:20)
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