Freed from Bondage

 

As we contemplate the Lord’s glory, which comes from the Spirit of the Lord, we are transformed with ever increasing glory into His likeness (2 Corinthians 3:18; Romans 12:2). In Him we live and move and have our existence (Acts 17:28).

He dwells in us and lives through us (2 Corinthians 6:16), being glorified in us (John 17:10). We are freed from the chains of bondage to this earth into the glorious liberty of the children of God (John 1:12; Romans 8:19-21).

Since we abide in Him, we now walk just as He walked (1 John 2:1-6). In our flesh, we are still able to fall into temptation; but in Christ all the fullness of the triune God dwells in us.

Nothing this world has to offer has any appeal to us any more (Titus 2:11-14). If we take the time to walk in the Spirit, we can enjoy the same spirit-led existence that Jesus and the Biblical characters and writers did (Luke 6:40).

We have fellowship with the triune God all of the time, just as Adam and Eve enjoyed in the Garden of Eden (Genesis 3:8). There is an unbroken tie that transcends barriers of time and space.

As we walk in the Spirit, Jesus lives through us. We follow God's will for us in the smallest details of our life, seeing His Spirit's power and anointing lived out in our lives.

It is not a matter of legalism or dead works, but of abiding in the Spirit in our every waking moment. We listen and we obey and we see the salvation of our God played out in our life and in the world around us.

Prayer:

Father God, Christ, who dwells in us, is Your exact image, even though You are our invisible God. Jesus contains all of Your attributes and character, and since Jesus dwells within us by Your Spirit, then all of Your attributes and character dwell within us as well (Colossians 1:15; 2 Corinthians 4:4).

Your Holy Spirit sanctifies us throughout our lifetime until we are perfected according to the fullest measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ in us (Ephesians 4:13). We can walk in Your holiness and abide in Your Spirit every moment of every day.

Thought for the Day:

We are adopted sons of God (Ephesians 1:5), joint heirs with Jesus (Romans 8:17) and one with our triune God (John 17:22).

Entertaining Idols

If we obsess over some issue in our life, this issue blocks our view of God and blinds us to the presence of Christ in our life.

We make an idol of the negative emotion we are consumed by and see nothing but this and other negative emotions.  This situation rules our life.

We are overcome by our trials and tribulations and lose our connection to God's Spirit within us. Anything other than God that commands our attention proves we are not dead in that area of our flesh.

God often gives us trials to reveal that we still carry idols around with us, and that they are taking His place in our life (2 Corinthians 3:18). The more we surrender these idols on the altar of God, the freer our life becomes.

When we step outside of God's will for us, surrendering to Him is the only factor which can restore our spirit and soul (Psalm 23:3). Then, God grace and mercy victoriously and tenderly transport us through every trial and temptation.

We gradually grow to realize that our humanity is dead to this world and that Christ’s divinity takes supremacy within us (Colossians 3:3). We want nothing more than to please Him with our life.

Eventually, our days are consumed by following God's Spirit's direction. We live in praise to His glorious name and His bountiful deeds toward meeting our every need.

The Spirit of Christ unifies us with the Trinity, and this union cannot be dissolved or separated in any way; although idols grieve God's Spirit and break our intimate fellowship with Him.

When we live and walk in God's divine presence, the issues of life no longer overwhelm us (John 16:33). We safely hide under the shadow of His wing (Psalm 17:8).

Prayer:

Father God, we each possess our own individual and personal distinction, even though You abide within every Believer. Our union with You, as the personal, living, omnipresent Lord can never be broken. Help us never to allow some idol of negative emotions to block You from our view or to draw us away from Your intimate presence.

Allow us to feel Your love, peace and joy flowing over us like a waterfall, refreshing our spirit, soul and body in this world that often frightens and overwhelms us. Remind us that Christ in us is a reality, and we can function in Your will through every moment of our day.

Thought for the Day:

Our vital union in Christ is begun in regeneration and completed through sanctification; in conversion we are declared justified and in sanctification we prove our perseverance towards righteousness.

Eternal Springs of Life

Jesus Christ lived in meager circumstances on this earth, died a horrendous crucifixion for our sins, raised triumphantly over death and ascended into heaven with an immortal body.

With this same Christ abiding within us, Authentic Christians share in His suffering, fellowship in His presence, are led by His Spirit, experience His power and pass from death to eternal life instantly (Romans 8:9-10; John 14:16-17).

His living water within us never dries up (John 7:38-39). It waters the garden of our life as a never ending spring (Isaiah 58:11). This water quenches our thirst and provides us with eternal life (John 4:14).

God planned each step of our life before we were ever born. Nothing takes Him by surprise and He has a perfect plan for each one of us (Ephesians 2:10). Even on a dry and dusty road, off the beaten path, He provides us with a brook to nourish and revive us (Psalm 110:7).

This spring flows from the throne of God and the Lamb in heaven and forms a river with the tree of life on either side of it, bearing a different fruit every month and having leaves that heal the nations (Revelation 22:1-2). Every living creature and a multitude of fish dwell by and in the river of God (Ezekiel 47:9).

We joy in the God of our salvation and drink from the springs which our salvation provides for us (Isaiah 12:3; John 4:10). Our salvation in Christ gives us the right to enter the gates to the city of God, drink from the eternal river of life and to partake of the tree of life (Revelation 22:14).

Prayer:

Father God, thank You for providing us with the same Spirit which the disciples received on the day of Pentecost. He baptizes all believers into one Body, regardless of race, creed or social standing (Galatians 3:3; 1 Corinthians 12:13). We belong to You because of Your Spirit within us (Ephesians 1:13-14, 4:30). You fill and seal us with the gift of Your Spirit, which You sent once Jesus rose into heaven (Ephesians 1:13-14).

Thank You that Your Spirit provides us with His fruit and gifts and transforms our carnal nature into Christ's divine nature from one stage of glory to the next (1 Corinthians 12:7-11). You provide riches for those who love You (1 Corinthians 2:9-10), and You shower us with every spiritual blessing from Your throne (Ephesians 1:3).

Thought for the Day:

God provides us with everything we need to walk each moment of the day under the direction and control of His Spirit, so that we effectually perform the works which He created us to do. - Ephesians 2:10; Galatians 5:25

God's Kingdom Within Us

God gives us His salvation, so that we might share in His divine nature (2 Peter 1:4). Before we came to Christ, our spirit was dead in our sins, but Jesus delivered us from eternal damnation in hell (Ephesians 2:5).

He provides pardon for our sins, comfort in our affliction, strength to overcome adversity, the promise of a glorious resurrection, and life everlasting with Christ and all of the Saints.

Jesus spoke the words of God so that we can obey them and believe that God sent Him (John 17:8). When we choose to love Christ and to keep His statutes, He comes to make His home in us (John 14:23).

In our union with Jesus, we live in His divine nature and His divine nature lives in and through us (2 Peter 1:4). Since Christ dwells in our spirit, we become one Spirit with Him (1 Corinthians 6:17).

Through His divine power, God gave us everything we need to live a godly life (2 Peter 1:3). Although we live physically in this earthly realm, the reality of our life is that we live in the Kingdom of God (Luke 17:21).

We no longer view our life from a temporal standpoint, but from an eternal perspective. We live as partakers of Christ’s holiness as He puts His mind within us (Hebrews 12:10; 1 Corinthians 2:16).

The Father is in Jesus, Jesus is in the Father and we are in Jesus; therefore we are also in union with the Father (John 14:20-23, 17:21-23). The best part about life is that God loves us and shows Himself to us (John 14:21).

Prayer:

Father God, our attitudes about life and eternity change once we come to Christ in salvation. You created our new self to exist with the purity and holiness of Christ (Ephesians 4:23-24). Each day we come a little closer to complete unity in the faith and in our knowledge of Jesus, which will also eventually bring us to the full stature of the maturity of Christ in us (Ephesians 4:13).

Because of Your promises, we look forward to Your new heaven and new earth where righteousness dwells forever (2 Peter 3:13). We long for the day when there is no more sighing or suffering, where complete unity occurs between nature and mankind, and where Your Body is ready, willing and able to serve You.

Thought for the Day:

Just as Jesus was fully human with God’s divine nature fully abiding in and through Him, we are fully human with Christ’s divine nature fully abiding in and through us.