Union with Christ - Out of This World

 

As long as we dwell in the realm of the flesh, we will continue to experience defeat at the hands of tribulation. However, we do not belong in Satan’s grip.

If we are living in Satan’s pit, it is because we allow Satan's thoughts to infiltrate our mind. We give in to his defeatist thinking, and we buy into his lies and follow his direction, forsaking God’s truth in the process.

However, authentic Christians are not of this world. We dwell with Christ in the Kingdom of God and we are no longer limited by the parameters of this earthly realm (Galatians 2:20; John 18:36).

Our citizenship is in Heaven and Jesus is our Savior and our King (Philippians 3:20). The Lord Himself called us to live in His eternal glory now as well as in eternity. The possibilities are out of this world.

Jesus is our strength and He confirms us and establishes our place in His Kingdom (1 Peter 5:10). Our life on earth is simply a momentary breath on a cold day (James 4:14).

In the realm of the Spirit, our body experiences occasional negative circumstances, but these trials do not influence our spirit or our soul – our mind, choices and emotions.

God delivers us through any trial, and we have joy in it as we accept that He is using it to do its perfect work within us and through us (James 1:4).

Prayer:

Father God, we see You working out all things, even the negative things in our life, for our good (Romans 8:28). We look to You to supply all of our needs and we keep our focus off our self and on You through every moment of our day. You are our exclusive supply, our inspiration and our guide.

We give You all of the praise and honor and glory for Your provision, love and care for us each day of our life. We look forward to Christ's return to the earth and the culmination of all things. Thank You for allowing us the privilege of living as the bride of Christ and for the opportunity of spending eternity in Your service as well.

Thought for the Day:

When we step out of this world - out of the temporal realm of the flesh - and enter into the eternal realm of the Spirit right here on this earth, we finally find eternal rest for our soul and provision for our every need through Jesus Christ our Lord. - Psalm 116:7

Victorious Living

 

In this life, we often struggle with victory and are overcome by negative circumstances and trials. We focus on the negative aspects and surrender to Satan's lies, ending in depression and defeat. We cannot allow the devil to win victories in our life.

If we consciously embrace the fact that we are blood-bought children of God, we get a glimpse of what it means to live in abundance in body, soul and spirit. We find this life of freedom only through total submission to Christ in God.

God is our Father and He made Jesus our all, who is above all - even the angels - and lives in every authentic Believer. He also lives through us as we totally surrender our plans, goals and desires to Him.

Jesus and our Father are one (John 10:30); and in Christ we too are one with Jesus and our Father God (John 17:21), led by the Holy Spirit and fulfilled in both this life and the next (Galatians 5:15-25). We no longer live, but Christ lives in and through us (Galatians 2:20).

Jesus came to live, suffer and die so that we might have abundant, victorious life on earth and for eternity (John 10:10). We are born of the flesh and are hindered by the flesh, but as authentic Believers we are also born of the Spirit (John 3:6).

We cannot see the wind, but we can see the effects of the wind. In this same way, we cannot see the Trinity at this time, but we can see and feel the effects of their presence within us and as they use us to further God's Kingdom on this earth (John 3:8).

Jesus made the point with the rich, young ruler that no one is good regardless of how closely we keep the precepts of the law. Jesus even told the young man that only God is good. Only as we recognize God's presence in us can we accomplish anything for the glory of God (Luke 18:19).

Prayer:

Father God, You call all of us who are weary and heavily burdened to come to You to find rest - not as this world gives, but only as You supernaturally give us in abundant supply. As we share Your yoke, we learn from You and You shoulder and take the burden of our load of worries and cares and give us Your light and easy yoke in its place (Matthew 11:28-30).

You are our God of peace and you wholly sanctify us as we totally surrender our life and our burdens to You. We live a victorious life of abundance in You. You preserve our spirit, body and soul - our thoughts, choices and feelings - and make us blameless when we stand before You at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ (1 Thessalonians 5:23).

Thought for the Day:

God is faithful, and He calls us to Himself and provides us with eternal salvation for our entire body, soul and spirit now and throughout eternity. - 1 Thessalonians 5:24

Heaven Can't Wait

Heaven is a place that may or may not exist. We cannot prove it is there; although several people say they went there during a near death experience, came back to life on this earth and wrote a book to tell about what they saw.

If heaven is not a real place, then our view of eternity is dim and our troubles on earth are intensified and depressing. Paul mentions that, in Christ, our trials on earth are a drop in the bucket compared to eternity (2 Corinthians 4:17); but if there is no heaven, then tribulation is hopeless.

Believing in Heaven takes faith, which is hope for unseen things (Hebrews 11:1). Yet, we have more than blind faith. Jesus lived on earth, suffered crucifixion, died, rose again, lived on earth for about 40 more days, and then was translated to heaven in His immortal body in front of eye witnesses.

When we surrender our life to God in salvation, we are joint heirs with Jesus of everything pertaining to God's Kingdom, including heaven. We are freed from the penalty as well as the penchant to sin and freely given the righteousness of Christ in exchange (Romans 3:22; 2 Corinthians 5:21).

God calls us to remove from our life the distractions on this earth, which compete with our relationship with Him. He invites us to draw nearer to Him each day as He fills us through our entire being with all of His fullness (Ephesians 3:19, Amplified Bible).

We will finally grasp the reality of heaven when we pass from this life into eternity. First, we have the privilege of abiding in the presence of God moment by moment for the rest of our life on earth. He satisfies our longing and fills our hungry soul (Psalm 107:9).

Prayer:

Father God, as we grow spiritually, our intimacy with You increases daily, and our unity with You is more focused and dominates our thoughts, words and deeds. When You are our delight, You put Your desires in our heart (Psalms 37:4), and You shower us with Your love and blessings. As we commune with You each day, Your Spirit fills us with the divine nature and character of Christ who dwells within us (Galatians 2:20; 2 Peter 1:4). We decrease and He increases as we surrender our life, goals, plans and desires to You (John 3:30).

You help us to reject a life imprisoned in the here and now on this earth. We no longer concentrate on the temporal, but keep the eternal in constant focus; give us a consuming love for eternal rewards; fill us with Your Spirit and Your presence and walk in us through every trial we face in this life. Help us to draw nearer to You, and to live in eternity now (John 17:8).

Thought for the Day:

Eternal life is knowing God and Jesus whom He sent, which begins with the moment of salvation and continues in everlasting life in God's presence. - John 17:3