Not of This World

 

People ask me if I miss my former home and all of my friends; and I explain that social media keeps us connected no matter where we live. I love that technology gives us this gift.

I also have to say that I feel so at home here in my new home that I do not feel any loss. ”Home" to me is wherever Jesus is calling me to live, no matter where that happens to be.

When we put our trust in other people, places or things, we are constantly disappointed. Yet, hoping in God provides us with the faith and love that we need to joyfully survive in this world (Colossians 1:5).

He helps us to adjust and to embrace our new lifestyle with joy in our heart, wings on our feet and purpose for our days. Heaven is our true home, so no matter what state or country we live in on this earth, we are always at home in Christ.

God has prepared a wonderful and eternal home for us in Heaven. He is even now creating New Jerusalem that will come down out of heaven and provide a mansion for all of the Saints - past, present and future - to dwell in together. What a glorious day that will be.

Imagine having Moses or Noah or Enoch for a neighbor; but even more so, imagine dwelling with Jesus as His bride for eternity. When we gain an immortal focus, we lose the anxiety and stress of living in this present world (Isaiah 63:15).

Prayer:

Father God, so often we spend our whole life accumulating earthly treasures, when it is the treasure that we store up in heaven that really counts (Matthew 6:20). Help us to sever our attachment to things and people and places in this world and to keep our eyes on the prize of living in eternity with You (Philippians 3:14).

Give us Your strength to take each day in stride, to keep Jesus as our focus and to maintain our hope in You. Help us to realize those divine appointments that You supply in order for us to share Christ with others and to win the lost to a life of peace and joy that only an authentic life with You can provide.

Thought for the Day:

This world is not our home, we are only here to accomplish God's purpose for our life; then, we will spend eternity with our Father God and with all of our family and friends who trust in Jesus as their Savior; we look forward to this eventful reunion.

Living in the Moment - God's Ultimate Purpose

The good thing about living in the moment is that once the moment passes, it is gone forever! Each moment is a gift from God - even the negative ones - and walking in God's will for each minute is our gift back to God.

Scripture has many references to the topic of God's Will for us: giving thanks, knowing God and Jesus whom He sent, living a holy life which is set apart from sin.

God also has a specific will for each of us (Ephesians 2:10). As we obediently align each moment of our day with His will, He leads us in the way we should go - even inspiring our activities and which road to take to get there.

The key to walking in all of the fruit of God's Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23) is patience. I'm learning that when we finally walk in patience, we will exhibit all of the Holy Spirit's fruit.

We wait on the Lord and follow His perfect timing and way so that we can rise on eagle's wings, run and not get weary and walk in His paths and not get faint in doing good (Isaiah 40:31).

God reveals to us His ultimate purpose for our life one moment at a time. We come to a revelation of the true meaning of eternal life, realizing that it starts for us at the moment of our salvation and continues on throughout eternity (1 Timothy 6:11-12).

Thankfully, Jesus is the Vine and God grafted us to that Vine when we humbled our self and called out to Him for salvation (John 15:4). When we realized our depravity and our need for a Savior, we came to Christ and received the fullness of His life, fruit, wisdom and strength in addition to eternal rewards (John 15:8).

 We totally trust in God's goodness, direction, provision, love, joy and peace through every moment of our day. He conforms us the divine nature and image of His Son (Romans 8:29) as we totally surrender to His will for us.

Prayer:

Father God, You call each of us to live with thankful hearts and to wait on You each moment of our day. We sing songs of gratitude and praise, read Your Word and grow and mature spiritually and follow the direction of Your Spirit in order to walk in Your ways.

There is no scenario in our life that would prevent us from walking in Your will for us. Even if we lose our ability to walk, talk, see or hear, we can live a life of praise and prayer. We rejoice regardless of the trials we face, because Your entire Trinity abides within us. We praise You with every breath we take.

Thought for the Day:

Viewing our life from God's perspective frees us from unrealistic expectations of Him that are obviously not His perfect will for us; they may be our desires, but if He is not providing them, they are not His will for us in this moment of time.

Winning Spiritual Warfare

God gives us the privilege of His invitation to draw near to Him and to resist the devil, so that he will have to flee from us (James 4:7-11). This gift is the key to winning spiritual warfare.

We are often so blinded and consumed by the guilt and burdens from our past, the confusion and turmoil of the present, and the fear of the unknown elements of the future, that we give the devil permission to destroy our body and soul - our thoughts, choices and emotions.

God's Spirit gives us the desire to live a fulfilled Christian life, as well as His power to overcome successfully (Philippians 2:12-13). With Christ in us, we are more than conquerors (Romans 8:31-39).

Christ dwells in our spirit by His Spirit and changes us from the inside out (2 Corinthians 5:17). This combination reigns supreme over our weakened body and scattered soul, bringing order and spiritual maturity to our life.

God's Spirit improves our health, exchanges our negative thoughts and emotions with pure, peaceful ideals and feelings (Philippians 4:8), and fills our spirit with His fullness (Ephesians 3:16-19).

Prayer:

Father God, Your Word is spirit and life to us (John 6:63). You complete us with the truth of Your salvation (John 1:1-18). We have Your Trinity in our spirit from the moment of salvation (1 John 4:17). We lack nothing that we need to accomplish Your will for our life.

Remind us not to allow Satan to conform us to the mold of this world or to tempt us with the lusts of our flesh, but to walk in Your Spirit each moment of the day (Galatians 5:15-25). Your presence in us allows us to experience victory over the tests of our faith, and Your grace gives us the ability to traverse the trials of this life and to walk in Your will all the days of our life (Romans 12:2).

Thought for the Day:
Even when we do not see the purpose of the current circumstances of our life, we know they will work out for our good as we follow the direction of God's Spirit and trust in Him with our whole heart. - Romans 8:28