Satan and his demons are in mortal combat with
God. They fight in opposition to everything God is and that for which He
stands.
The devil enlists our help to discourage people
from leaving his kingdom of darkness and devastation in order to enter God's
Kingdom of eternal light. We unwittingly become his tools to discourage people
from changing their lifestyle and coming to Christ.
This is due to our carnality, and lack of interest
in spiritual things and the welfare of others, as well as our occasional rude
behavior toward others.
God's forgiveness eliminates all of our confessed
sin – past, present and future. The more we experience Christ as our life, the
further away we run from the world, straight into our Savior’s waiting arms
(Colossians 3:4).
Resting in Christ is not another religious
activity to perform. It simply involves complete surrender of our human life to
the kingship of Jesus Christ (Matthew 11:28-29). We bow before our God and
Maker (Psalm 95:6).
As God replaces our carnal nature in our soul -
our thoughts, choices and feelings - with the nature of Christ, we manifest God
in ever-increasing levels of maturity and glory (2 Corinthians 3:18).
Gradually, God replaces our human boundaries with
His eternal power and divinity. We do not allow our conscience to guide us,
because it is faulty and human at best.
Our conscience can be riddled with shame
perpetuated by Satan's lies, as well as guilt heaped on us by other people (Revelation
12:10). Therefore, we listen instead to God's still, small voice within us and
follow His peace in our spirit.
When we walk in the Spirit, we escape the confines
of condemnation, we are freed from demonic strongholds such as perfectionism,
and the need to prove our self, and also the drive to be better than anyone
else (Romans 8:1).
Prayer:
Father God, we do not need the affirmation of our
superiors or any other person for a job well done. When we follow Your Spirit's
direction, we may even reap disappointment from other people; but we smile
through this persecution, knowing that we are walking in the very center of
Your will (Galatians 1:10).
We are no longer a slave to Satan and his demons,
because the resurrection of Your Son set us free from the law of sin and death.
We now walk in the freedom of the law of life through Your Spirit (Romans
8:1-2). Thank You for keeping us in the center of Your will and leading and
guiding us through all the days of our life.
Thought for the Day:
Together with Christ, our spirit is made alive by
God, forgiven of all of our transgressions of the law of God, and raised up
with Jesus to sit with Him in heavenly places.
- Ephesians 2:4-6
