Even as Born Again Believers, we do not always walk in the
fullness of the Spirit of God who dwells within us. We are so full of our own
dreams, goals and desires that we block out what the Spirit wants for our life (Matthew
23:27). We live empty lives, never satisfied and always wanting
more worldly possession, a better job or more money; no matter what we have to
sacrifice to get it! Our focus is on the carnal, material aspects of life. We
are also spiritual babes, still feeding on the milk of the Word (1
Corinthians 3:2).
Some Born Again Believers live with a strict adherence to
the Law of God. They add restrictions to the Law like the Pharisees, and they
keep Christians in bondage to dead works. The law keeps us from enjoying a relationship
with God Himself, because we are too busy working to please Him. We find our
self separated from God by a chasm of physical, mental and emotional exertion.
We run our self ragged all day long and fall exhausted into bed every night,
too tired to sleep.
God calls us to come out of the realm of works and the law
and to rest in Him (Hebrews 4:10). He tells us to “be still” and
to realize the immense meaning of the fact that “He is God” (Psalm
46:10). He is actually in control of all things, orchestrating
life from creation to Armageddon. He will lead our individual life as we sit at
His feet and worship Him above all else. You may say, “I worship no other god.”
However, anything that takes your time, energy and love away from God is an
idol; so in reality, we are worshipping other gods.
Until we realize our union with Christ in us, we live with
a separated mindset. We live independently from His Spirit, because we rely on
our own abilities and talents. We view God way up on His throne in heaven,
while we are down here struggling to find success in life before we die. Satan
does everything in his power to propagate these lies, so we will not live for
God. We all come to the place in our life, however, where God calls us out of
the world to serve Him. Many of us reject His call with a string of excuses a
mile long.
The Spirit continually calls on us from within to lay our
life down and to live for Jesus. We constantly reject this call, or put it off
until another day. Some put off our service to Him until we retire. Then we are
so tired and busy with our grandkids that we continue to put Him off. Our focus
is on our self rather than on God’s Kingdom. We forget that our family, our
vocation, our neighborhood and our hobbies are our mission field for the Lord.
We do what we please regardless of the needs around us.
Prayer:
Father God, purge our soul of every ungodly thought that is
from the flesh and the devil. Lead us into Your truth and cause us to walk only
in Your ways. Reveal Yourself to us on an ever-deepening level until we know
You intimately (John 17:3). Help us to come to the place where You are our
every thought, and that our every word and action are directed by Your Spirit
within us. Our goal is to no longer depend on our intellectual understanding of
You, but to enter into the spiritual realm, and love You with our whole heart
and lives. We want to follow Your Spirit moment by moment throughout our day.
Thought for the Day:
The law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus sets us free
from the law of sin and death, which motivated us prior to our Salvation. –
Romans 8:2 