Therefore, I will always be ready to remind you of

these things, even though you already know them

and have been established in the truth

which is present with you.

II Peter 1:12

When I read something important (my “books before bed time” are not important), I use a yellow highlighter, a red pencil, and a red pen! Sometimes a blue pencil, an orange pencil, or a green pencil – you get the idea. And yes, I do this in my Bible. Needless to say, I have a very colorful Bible!

I was reading Pres’ book, Grace in Ungracious Places [1] just this morning. I’ve read each chapter numerous times and I keep finding new thoughts that I want to plant firmly in my thinking processes. Consequently, his book is one of my “most colorful”.

I sometimes underline just a phrase in a verse of scripture. If the context of the verse is interrupted I check to make sure the underlined phrase is in keeping with the basic teachings of the Word. This is what I have done with II Corinthians 13:3. The message of the entire verse is not the message I want to share with you, so I have cross-referenced and studied just the phrase to be completely confident that I am not saying something unintended. I like the J.B. Phillips paraphrase best, but I’ll give you three different interpretations.

NAS . . .Christ . . .who is not weak toward you, but mighty in you.

Taylor’s Living Paraphrase: . . . Christ is not weak in His dealings with you, but is a mighty power within you.

J.B. PHILLIPS: The Christ you have to deal with is not a weak person outside you, but a tremendous power inside you. (Read that last one again. Isn’t it wonderful?)

Just how “tremendous” is this power that lives inside of me? Phillips goes on in the next verse to say: He [Jesus] was “weak” enough to be crucified, yes, but He lives now by the power of God. That is the Christ who lives in me, that Christ living by the very power of God lives IN ME! Why, oh why, do we doubt our ability to live in any circumstance or to accomplish a task that appears to be so far beyond me as to be impossible? It doesn’t depend on OUR ability! It is His tremendous power through me – inside of me!

I have just recently become a “care-giver”. I always knew the people whose names were on this list were going through a difficult time and I would give them a special hug, write a note, or listen while they told me what was going on in their life. I did not have the slightest notion of what the role of “care-giver” was. Oh, I know now! It is a demanding, difficult, exhausting, self-sacrificing role. You are a “care-giver”? I understand – now. But I have this incredible Power living in me to face life for me – just as you do as a care-giver, just as you do in your personal trials; as you do in your tangled relationships; as you do with your scarred body; as you do in your shattered home; as you do facing frugality you’ve never known; as you do walking every day with loneliness and fear; you do – you do -you DO! Believe it! Walk in it! Thank God for it! Expect nothing of yourself, give Him complete control (much easier said than done – but absolutely necessary).

Christ is not a weak Person outside you but a tremendous power inside you! Read it again – and again – and again . . .

Your assignment?

Write this statement fifty times:

The Christ who lives in me is a tremendous power!

Stand in front of your mirror and repeat that statement ten times. Look yourself straight in the eyes. On #8, smile! After #10 bow your head and say, “I know this is true.” (Make this declaration five times – forcefully!)

Then say, “Thank You, precious Jesus for living through me from this moment on throughout my day. I am going to cling tenaciously toYour Tremendous power living through me.

[1] A marvelous book of encouragement, instruction, and comprehension of our life IN Christ.