In God’s three-fold plan of salvation, He starts by
justifying our spirit, which happens the instant we repent. Eventually, He will
glorify our body when we see Jesus, because we will see Him as He is (1 John
3:2). In between, He sanctifies our soul a little more each day. Our soul
is sanctified as we lay down our life, will and goals; we completely surrender
to Christ in us. We are crucified with Christ; and therefore, we live in this
world for the glory of Christ (Philippians 1:21).
Yet, it is not we who live, but Christ who lives in and through us (Galatians 2:20). Christ is in us, but we
are also in Him. We are totally surrounded by Jesus, inside and out. Nothing
can penetrate that shield, unless we allow it to, by living in the flesh
instead of in the Spirit. Christ in us prevents the stress of life from
negatively affecting us, because we are not dealing with it; He is. Christ in
us is working out His perfect will for us through every issue we experience.
God wants to fill us through all of our being with all His
fullness, so that we may obtain the richest portion of His presence in our life
(Ephesians
3:16-19; 4:13). Therefore, we no longer spend time in prayer; instead, we
live in prayer without ceasing (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18). We no
longer spend an hour in devotional reading; instead, we meditate on God’s Word
constantly throughout the day no matter what we are doing (Psalm
119:11). We no longer go with the flow of life; instead, we live
in the flow of the Spirit.
This way we react to life first in the Spirit and no longer
in the flesh. We live in the fruit of the Spirit rather than by the works of
the flesh (Galatians 5:16-25). God removes the veil from our
eyes and we can clearly see spiritual truth. We reflect the glory of God in our
thoughts, words and deeds. God’s Spirit changes us from glory to glory a little
more each day (2 Corinthians 3:18). We slowly mature until we
totally walk in the divine nature of Christ, who is our life (Ephesians
4:13; Colossians 3:4).
Jesus, Elijah and Enoch walked in God's Spirit all the
time...we can too. We are the offspring of God. Through Christ, God’s divine
nature infuses every part of our body, soul and spirit (Acts
17:28-19). As our focus on our self decreases, the fullness of
Christ increases within us (John 3:30). We express to the world around
us, the character of Christ within us, which is the fruit of the Spirit. We
walk in obedience moment by moment throughout the day. We no longer sin or
fulfill the lusts of the flesh. Jesus lives our life instead of us.
Prayer:
Father God, negative emotions illuminate the areas in our
life where we have idols. As we lay them down, Satan has fewer and fewer areas
where he can hinder our walk in Christ. Show us the ways in which we prevent
You from using us each day. Remind us to walk moment by moment and allow us to
decrease, so that You may increase in our life. We want to be filled through
all of our being with all of Your fullness, so that we may have the richest measure
of your presence and become a body wholly and completely filled with You (Ephesians
3:19-21 – Amplified Bible).
Thought for the Day:
God is faithful to us, even in times of our
unfaithfulness to Him. – 2 Timothy 2:13
