There are people who claim to be Christians, but they live
for their own benefit and advancement. They have little time for God’s Kingdom,
because they are too absorbed in amassing worldly benefits for their earthly
life. They take pride in their good behavior, but have no problem committing
sins of the flesh. Their behavior gives the church and Christianity a bad name,
and they cause people in the world to criticize the church and falsely label
all of us as hypocrites.
Then, there are those who come to Christ in truth, but they rely on their self-effort to work for God. Self-effort relentlessly drives them and leaves them spiritually, physically, mentally and emotionally depleted. Self-effort has no place in the Kingdom of God. A true child of God eventually learns that we have no confidence in our flesh. We trust only in Christ within us for our righteousness, peace and joy (Romans 8:14). He is all we need.
We are saved from hell to enter heaven by the sacrificial
blood of Jesus Christ (1 Peter 1:18-19). We are no longer our own; we
are purchased by God for His own purposes (Ephesians 2:10). We
struggle with our flesh (Romans 7-8), but we all come to realize that
God calls us to take up our cross daily and to follow Him. We are not signing
up for a life of trials, but of simply nailing our will to the cross and
surrendering to the life of Christ within us (Matthew 16:24).
Our identity is no longer found in our human capabilities,
but in our kinship with Jesus as our brother, and with God as our Father (1 John
3:1-3). The blood of Christ completely cleanses us from all
unrighteous thoughts, words and behavior (Hebrews 8:12, 9:14). We can
approach the throne of God with confidence (Hebrews 4:16). We have
fellowship with our Father as children of the Most High God, and Jesus Christ,
whom He sent (1 John 1:3). He is our shepherd, and we
follow Him with trust in His faithfulness (John 10:27).
God does not strip us of anything, but we simply relinquish
our flesh to Him. He restores us to the spiritual position where Adam and Eve
were in the Garden of Paradise. We turn away from all self-confidence,
self-serving and self-adulation and follow the leading of God’s Spirit instead (John
6:63). We experience true peace and joy for the first time in our life (Romans
15:13). Each moment of every day, we purpose in our heart to live
in obedience to, as well as dependence on God’s Spirit.
Prayer:
Father God, our entire purpose for living is to glorify You
as our Father and to function as a good and faithful servant through Christ in
us. We live in the center of Your perfect will for us (Romans
12:2), functioning by the leading of Your Spirit within us. We are dead, and
our life is now hidden with Christ in You, because Christ is our whole life (Colossians
3:3-4). Totally immerse us in Your life, because it is greater
than secular status, financial fortunes and material possessions. We desire
nothing more than Your will for our life.
Thought for the Day:
The Spirit in us is a mirror, which causes those who live
in sin to reject us, because they are convicted by the presence of Christ in
us. – James 1:23