CRUCIFIED WITH CHRIST
When the Messiah was executed on the stake as a criminal, I was too; so that my proud ego no longer lives. But the Messiah lives in me, and the life I now live in my body I live by the same trusting faithfulness that the Son of God had, who lovedG25 me and gave himself up for me.
Galatians 2:20 (Complete Jewish Bible)
The logo for Precious Jewels Ministries is designed to depict our three foundational scripture verses, one of which is Galatians 2:20 which in the King James Version begins, “I am crucified with Christ.” If you look at our logo, you will see the letters PJM as if they are hanging on the cross. It is our way of visualizing that Christ nailed our sin to the cross thus crucifying our sin nature when we trusted totally in Him. What exactly does it mean in terms of our daily lives on this planet to be “crucified with Christ?” It means that we are no longer ego-centric (self-centered). We choose, instead to be Christ-centered and love selflessly. It means His Holy Spirit is working to make us more like Jesus every day, or as Paul put it, “to be conformed to the image of his Son” (Romans 8:29). What does that look like? It involves exhibiting the Fruit of the Spirit found in Galatians 5:22-23, “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Against such things there is no law.” Becoming Christ-like can only be achieved when the Holy Spirit lives in us. The Holy Spirit enters our lives when we trust completely in Jesus just as He trusted in and obeyed the Heavenly Father completely. We must let go of selfish ambitions and instead have “the mind of Christ” (Philippians 2:5) which means loving sacrificially as He did. We were crucified with Christ the moment we surrendered our lives to Him, but dying to self and living in Christ is a daily choice. Each day we must “take up our cross” (Matthew 16:24) and walk the path Jesus shows us. Yes, the logo advertises our ministry, but for us, it is a reminder to make that daily surrender to be “living sacrifices, holy, acceptable unto God, which is our reasonable service” (Romans 12:1) and to love others as He loved us.
Take a moment to visualize yourself (ego, self-centeredness, sinful nature) hanging there on the cross with Jesus. Remember that if you have surrendered to Jesus, He now lives in and through you in the person of His Holy Spirit and enables you to exhibit the Fruit of the Spirit beginning with love.
Father, thank You for nailing our sin on the cross by sacrificing Your only begotten Son, Jesus. Thank You, that His death and resurrection enable us to be at peace with You, Holy God, and live daily as You would have us live. Help us to wake up each day with praises on our lips and the determination to be completely surrendered to Your will, to live as ones who have been forgiven and purchased with the blood of Jesus.
Phillips, Craig, and Dean have a beautiful song based on Galatians 2:20. You can listen to it here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8T3EySH-o7w