Our Eternal Destiny

Life is full of trials and opposition. We come out of one trial and slide right into another one, which is just waiting to engulf us in discouragement, loss and often physical, mental, emotional or financial ruin.

Jesus may send us into a trial, but He is right there with us - sleeping in the same boat or walking out to us on the choppy waves. He draws us close to Himself and calms the raging seas.

He sends us into the storm to prove our faith as genuine and to give us opportunities to praise, glorify and honor Him through it all. He refines our faith as gold in the smelter's pot (1 Peter 1:7).

As we look at life from God's perspective, rather than our lowly human viewpoint, He showers us with continual revelations of His love, care and provision.

His eternal plan will bring every Born Again person, as well as nature back to Himself; and restore our union with Him such as Adam enjoyed in Paradise.

We abide in Him through Christ in us and find our true identity in this personal relationship with the Trinity (Galatians 2:20; Colossians 3:3-4). We have an eternal perspective and walk in God's will for our life.

We are spiritually alive through Christ in us, and we abide in Christ. Nothing can every pluck us out of His hand (John 10:28). He is eternal in the heavenly realm, and we dwell there with Him even now.

We possess eternal life by knowing God intimately and Jesus Christ whom He sent (John 17:3; 1 John 5:12). We will never die. Our last breath on earth is followed by our next breath in Heaven (John 11:25-26).

He gives us His divine life in exchange for our carnal one (1 John 5:11-12), His Spirit to guide us and His love to envelop us so that we may rejoice through every circumstance.

Prayer:

Father God, our glorified body will be ours when we see Jesus, either in eternity or when He returns for His Bride. Just as Jesus ate, spoke and was recognized by His disciples, we too will look very much like our self now. Our glorified body will be like His. He could walk through walls and rise into heaven unassisted. His new body was no longer subject to death.

We look forward to that immortal, resurrection body and to serving You for all of eternity. We cannot even fathom the wondrous world You prepared for us, which we know is even better than the majesty of this universe in all of its splendor. Remind us to keep a Kingdom focus through all of the trials we experience now here on earth and to look forward to spending eternity with You.

Thought for the Day:

As we live each day with eternal values and viewpoint, we mature spiritually until we come to the fullness of the stature of Christ in us. - Ephesians 4:13

God's Perfect Will

Sometimes we actually hate our life. Too many trials and disappointments rip at our heart and smother us with a blanket of insecurity, fear and trouble.

We attempt to control our circumstances, but that is not any easier than grasping for the wind (Ecclesiastes 2:17). It is impossible to do; and therefore, crazy to attempt.

Solomon, the richest and wisest man who ever lived on this earth, realized that he could not buy happiness. He tried to find it by amassing worldly goods, marrying a multitude of wives, and even by worshiping false gods.

Eventually, he applied the wisdom from above to his own life and realized that this world's riches are fleeting at best. Total surrender to God is our only hope of attaining unending joy in this life.

Before He even created the universe, God specifically chose each one of us to walk in holiness according to His will for our individual life and to live for His praise and glory (Ephesians 1:4; Isaiah 43:21).

God created us for a purpose (Ephesians 2:10), not just as a cruel joke or at some random selection. He designed each of us with His perfect will in mind and He attempts to lead us to walk in His ways (Hebrews 13:21).

Too often we take a sidetrack from His intended route and waste valuable time and resources on pursuing our own dreams and goals. We end up spinning our wheels and making our self miserable.

We can walk in lasting happiness only as we follow God's plan for our individual life. It takes time to seek His will for each moment of our day, but the results are totally worth any effort on our part.

Prayer:

Father God, help us to receive what You offer to us rather than trying to manipulate You into giving us what we want. Work in our life to draw us closer to Your heart each day. Create in us a clean heart and renew a Godly spirit within us (Psalm 51:10) until we can truly say with conviction and veracity, "Lord, You are all I need".

Show us the times that we attempt to manipulate You and use You for our own gains. Remind us that You have our best in mind (Jeremiah 29:11). You remove our defenses and affirm Your love for us by Your acceptance of us even while we were still sinners (Romans 5:8). You build us up and meet all of our needs until You remove all doubt from our heart (Colossians 2:7).

Thought for the Day:

Once we decide to totally submit to God's will for us, regardless of where, with whom or how it plays out, we eventually find true contentment and fulfillment in this life.

Great and Precious Eternal Promises

By His divine power, God has given us everything we need for living a godly life. We have received all of this by coming to know Him as our only true and living Savior (John 17:3).

He called us to himself by means of his marvelous glory and excellence (2 Peter 1:3). All of our accomplishments in this life pale when compared to what we gain when we surrender our life to Christ (Philippians 3:8).

God called us into His Kingdom to share in His glory and He shields us by His power (2 Thessalonians 2:14; 1 Peter 1:5). He encourages and comforts us as He urges us to live lives worthy of His name (1 Thessalonians 2:12; Psalm 23:3).

In this world we have tribulation, but Christ always restores us and makes us stronger, more stable and unfaltering (John 16:33; 1 Peter 5:10). The more we read His Word and learn of Him and His ways, the more abundantly we experience His grace and peace (2 Peter 1:2).

If we escape the corruption of this world through an intimate relationship with Jesus Christ, and then allow the world to entangle us again and overcome our resolve to follow God, we are worse off than we were before we heard about Him (2 Peter 2:20).

However, as God's Spirit increases Christ's character in us, we are more effective and productive in this life. He confirms our calling and election and keeps us from stumbling (Philippians 2:12-13; 2 Peter 1:5-10).

Prayer:

Father God, thank You for delivering us from the corruption of this world by allowing us to personally know our Savior Jesus Christ. Keep us from the entanglements in this world, which attempt to overcome us again (2 Peter 2:20). Lead us into the unity of the faith with Your family as we mature in our knowledge of and intimacy with the whole measure and fullness of Your Son (Ephesians 4:13).

We want to grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior and to live our life to give Him all the praise and glory forever (2 Peter 3:18). Thank You for the great and precious promises that You give us, which enable us to share in Christ's divine nature and to escape the human desires which attract us to the corruption of this world (2 Peter 1:4).

Thought for the Day:

The Lord is not slow in keeping His promises as our human standards often accuse Him of being; but He is patient with us, not wanting anyone to perish in the torment of hell, but for all of us to come to Him in repentance. - 2 Peter 3:9