The Jewish culture looked for powerful signs to follow, and
the Greek culture craved the latest tidbit of wisdom (1
Corinthians 1:21). When Christ came, He served as a stumbling block for both
cultures. To those of us, who are called in Christ, however, Jesus is both the
power and the wisdom of God for us (1 Corinthians 1:22-24). To know
God personally is to relate to Him in the same way that a man “knows” his wife (Genesis
4:1). This is not an intellectual pursuit, but an intimate union.
Once we know the Lord, we enter into eternal life with Him (John
17:3). We labor with all the powerful energy of Christ working in
us (Colossians 1:29). This is the same power, which manifested through
Christ when God raised Jesus from the dead and seated Jesus at His right hand (Ephesians
1: 19-20). God does not look for excellence, eloquence and elegance
in His people. He simply looks for a surrendered life. He does not need our
natural talents. He gives us supernatural abilities.
God does not call those who want the credit, only those who
humbly give Him the glory. He wants a submissive person, emptied of him/her
self and filled with all the fullness of the Godhead bodily (1
Corinthians 15:10; Colossians 2:9). This takes a work of God’s
Spirit in our life. For instance, when the soldiers came to take Jesus, Peter
unsheathed his sword to defend Jesus to the death; however, just a few hours
later, he denied Jesus three times, just like Jesus said he would (Mark
14:66-72).
Jesus knew Peter’s habit of depending on the flesh to fight
his battles. That is why the transformation in Peter after Pentecost is so
amazing to me! For the first time, he preached by the Spirit, unashamed of the
gospel (Acts 2:14-36). Peter learned that it is not by
our human talents or abilities through which we accomplish great works for God,
but only by God’s Spirit can we ever make an impression on anyone for the Lord (Zechariah
4:6). We can learn from His example.
Prayer:
Father God, when I lay down to sleep, I remember all that
You do for me. I cannot help but to worship You with all of my heart (Psalm
86:5). Remind me that You want all of the glory for what You accomplish
through me. I surrender my flesh, which wants to take the credit for Your
accomplishments through me, and I ask you to give me Your humility in its
place. Do not cast me from Your presence, but create a clean heart in me, and
renew me with a righteous spirit (Psalm 51:10-11). Unite
me with You in the power of Christ in me (Colossians 3:3).
Thought for the Day:
As Born Again Believers, we intimately know the joy, which belongs to God's Saints, instead of the fleeting happiness provided by the world, the flesh and the devil.
