We receive Christ as our Savior and Lord, but then we have
no idea what to do with Him after that! Paul tells us to walk in Him, to sink
our roots into Him and to be built up in Him. In this way, He establishes our
faith and we abound in Him (Colossians 2:6-7). This has nothing to do
with the exercise of self-discipline (Galatians 3:1-3). It has
everything to do with the grace and mercy of God. Our only command is to
believe (John 3:16-18). Yet, God even helps us in our
unbelief (Mark 9:23-25). We do not deserve Christ,
but He loved us even while we were still sinners (Romans 5:8).
There are impediments to our Christian walk. Our guilt, our
penchant toward sin, our carnal flesh, our pride and willfulness, our fears and
doubts all plague us. They build a wall around our spiritual growth. However,
over the years, God slowly cleanses us from all unrighteousness (1 John
1:7-9). He builds our faith by allowing trials in the areas of our deepest
fears and insecurities. He whittles away at our pride, and allows us to
experience humiliation until we are humbled. We come to realize that we did not
earn our salvation and neither can we earn our sanctification (Galatians
3:1-3). God slowly empties us of our self and fills us with all of
His fullness (Ephesians 3:19).
Jesus leads us into a walk of intimate fellowship with
Himself. He pours His love over us like a waterfall, until we are saturated
with His affection and care. He fills us with His joy, holiness and spiritual
fruit as we come to a place of abiding in His presence each moment of the day.
It is no longer we who live, but Christ who lives in, through and instead of us
(Galatians
2:20). He holds us securely in His everlasting arms. We can depend on Him
for all of our needs, even the strength and wisdom to walk in His will moment
by moment throughout the day. We walk in confidence in Him as His Spirit
directs our paths (Proverbs 3:5-6).
If we are in Christ, we lack no good thing (Psalm
34:10). He lives the Christian life through us. Due to His presence, we deny
our flesh, obey His Spirit’s direction and study His Word to show our self
approved and not ashamed. We realize that nothing is impossible to those who
believe in Him (Luke 1:37). Our life depends upon every Word that ensues from
His mouth to our ears (Matthew & Luke 4:4). God
grafts us into the Vine of Christ, so that we partake of His divine nature (2 Peter
1:4). As our thoughts permanently dwell on Him, His living Word transforms
our life into the image of Christ (2 Corinthians 3:18).
Prayer:
Father God, even in our times of remorse and despair, You
remind us that we are Your beloved children. You breathe hope, peace and joy
into our soul regardless of our circumstances (Jeremiah 29:11). You
accomplish Your wondrous work in us and for us, as You work all things out for
our good (Romans 8:28). We rejoice in Your divinity
within us and we thank You for Your presence forevermore (1 Peter
1:4).
Thought for the Day:
We can thoroughly depend upon Christ to fulfill His
promises to us both now on this earth and also in eternity. Thank you, Matt Milligan for the use of your photo.
http://www.mattmilliganphotography.com/
