Jesus is the first born of God’s children (Revelation
1:5; Romans 8:29). Our hope of resurrection comes through Him (1 Peter
1:3; Ephesians 1:1,5; Romans 6:11). He laid down His life for His
brethren and conquered death, so that He could provide us with the life of His
Spirit through His resurrection (John 5:24, 6:63, 11:25; 1 John 3:14; Acts 2:24;
Philippians 2:8: 1 Corinthians 15:4). God separated the light from the
darkness during creation and now He uses His Word as a sharp, two-edged sword
to separate the carnality of our soul and our union with Christ in our spirit (Hebrews
4:12).
Even the good that is in our human heart must be laid at
the altar of God, so we do not take pride in it or count on it for our
salvation (John 1:13). We work out our own salvation only through the
desire and power given to us by God (Philippians 2:12–13). It is
through the regenerative work of God’s Spirit that we are renewed; separated
from the temptations of the world, the flesh and the devil; transformed into
the likeness of Christ; sanctified in our soul and eventually glorified in our
body.
God leads us to live in a realm of life deeper than our
thoughts and emotions, which is influenced by His Spirit within our spirit. We
move beyond the petty, superficial existence and concerns of this world and
into the profound reality of life in the Spirit. He creates for Himself a holy
habitation within our spirit in which He dwells. Now we are actually dead to
sin, and united with Him in His resurrection (Ephesians 2:6; Romans 6:5;
Colossians 2:12). Jesus gives us newness of life forevermore (Romans
6:4; 1 John 5:12).
He slowly manifests Himself through our regenerated soul.
He heals our mortal body by His abundant divinity within us (2
Corinthians 4:10-11; Romans 8:11; John 10:10). His Spirit gives us a new perspective on life and we start to do
everything without complaining or arguing. We display the fruit of God’s Spirit
and the peaceful fruit of righteousness to the world around us as we submit to
His cleansing work each moment of the day (Galatians 5:22-23; Hebrews
12:10-11).
He transforms us into shining stars and makes us blameless
and pure as His dear children, even in the midst of a depraved sea of humanity
surrounding us throughout our daily life (Philippians 2:14-15). We lead
as many of these drowning people to Christ as will humble their pride and
surrender their life to Him (Philippians 2:16-18). We add to our prayer list
those who refuse to accept Jesus, and until our dying breath we pray for them to
find this unity with Christ.
Prayer:
Father God, we find rest for our soul only in a life lived
for You. The trials of life discourage us. The tribulation of life threatens to
overcome us. Without You, we are hopeless and undone. Thank You for salvation
in Christ and encouragement from Your Spirit. Lead us by Your Spirit moment by
moment throughout the day so that we can shine as stars in Your universe, as we
walk in victory as overcomers because of Christ within us.
Thought for the Day:
Surrounded by the trivial concerns of life, we
stand the chance of losing our perspective of eternity. Guard it with your
life.
