In All of Our Tomorrows

God's eyes are upon us every moment of our life. He is never too busy to notice us, our circumstances, and our needs. We can take refuge in His faithful presence, because He will never abandon us (Psalms 141:6; Deuteronomy 31:6). He is our God and our Lord, and He lifts us up in His right hand (Isaiah 41:10).

Our Father God encourages us with the realization that we never need to fear, because He will help us (Isaiah 41:13). He faithfully loves us with an eternal love, and He calls us into fellowship with His Son and our Lord, Jesus Christ (Jeremiah 31:3; 1 Corinthians 1:9). He provides all of our needs as we wait on Him.

Our Heavenly Father never changes, and He is with us even to the end of our life in this world (Malachi 3:6: Matthew 28:20). In our darkest hour, He gives us treasures hidden in secret places within out trials, and He gives us continual rest for our weary soul (Isaiah 45:3; Matthew 11:28).

Blessed be our God of comfort and our Father of mercies. He gives us joy in our tribulation, so that in turn, we can comfort our fellow sojourners who are suffering with the same trial (2 Corinthians 3:4, 7:6). His Word teaches us patience, comforts us, and gives us hope (Romans 15:4).

In our weakest moments, our reliance on Him makes us strong (2 Corinthians 12:10). His grace is sufficient to carry us through any ordeal, and His strength is made perfect in our weakness. His power rests upon us during our times of infirmity (2 Corinthians 12:9-10).

He strengthens us on our sick bed and in times of grief, and He sustains us through every negative experience we will ever endure on this earth (Psalm 41:3). Therefore, we cast our burdens on His capable shoulders, because He sustains us and never allows one of us to slip from His hand (Psalm 55:22).

Every good and perfect gift comes to us from our Daddy God, who is the Father of lights (James 1:17). It is good for us to draw closer to Him each new day, and to put our trust in Him alone, as we declare to others His intervention on our behalf (Psalm 73:28).

There is no need for us to experience anxiety about what will happen to us tomorrow, because God will faithfully care for us in all of our tomorrows, just as He did in all of our yesterdays. When we completely surrender our life to Him, we can live each moment of our life to the fullest (Matthew 6:34).

Prayer:

Father God, You are a refuge for the oppressed in every time of trouble. Your children know Your name and Your reputation, and we put our trust in You alone. You will never forsake those who seek You. We sing Your praises, Precious Lord, and we declare Your mighty works to anyone who will listen (Psalm 9:9-11).

We know that You have perfect plans for our individual life, to bless us and never to hurt us. You give us hope for our future, just as You did in the trials of our past. You listen to us when we pray to You, and we earnestly seek You in all of our trails. We also bless You through all of our good times, and praise You for all that You do for us each day of our life (Jeremiah 29:11-13).

Thought for the Day:
God is our refuge and strength, and a continual help in any time of trouble; therefore, we have no reason to fear what life or mankind may do to us, because when we call upon Him, He always delivers us through any trial; and for this reason, we give Him all of the praise and glory due to His name.

- Psalm 46:1-2, 50:15; Isaiah 40:29

No Random Act

Humanity and our cosmos did not accidentally appear. We are God's handiwork, created in Christ to accomplish the works, which God created in advance for us to do (Ephesians 2:10). Each of us is unique, special and unconditionally loved by our Daddy God (1 Peter 2:9-10).

Although every person ever born sinned and fell short of God's glory, and the consequences of sin is death, God's free gift - to anyone willing to believe in Jesus as the Christ - is eternal life in His service (Romans 3:23, 6:23). In Christ, we are a new creation (2 Corinthians 5:17).

In the midst of our troubles and trials, issues and pain, God always provides us with His grace, wisdom, refuge, strength and courage to accomplish everything that He created us to do (2 Corinthians 12:9). We are incredibly and wonderfully made by Him to bring Him praise, honor, and glory (Psalm 139:14).

Our true identity is in Christ. Jesus is our life, our reason for living, our all in all (Colossians 3:3-4). His Spirit begins perfecting us at the instant of our salvation, and He continues throughout our lifetime until His work in us is finished when we see Jesus face-to-face (Philippians 1:6).

We can replace the lies of our flesh, the world and the devil with the truth that we find in God's Word. We reject doubt, depression, discouragement, and defeat, because we live in continual victory in Jesus Christ - by the power of His name and through His shed blood on Calvary's cross (Proverbs 13:12).

Prayer:

Father God, when we are discouraged, we look to You, because You are working out all things in our life for our good (Romans 8:28; Jeremiah 29:11). You never answer our requests with a "No" unless what we asked for is harmful for us, or not according to Your will for us (James 4:1-3). You are not vindictive and mean, but gracious and merciful. Your love and mercies for us are new every morning (Lamentations 3:23).

You have only our best interest in Your heart, even when You allow loss, heartache, suffering or deprivation into our life. You always plant a seed for a miracle in every trial that we ever face. Although at times, we have to wait for Your blessings to come our way, Your ways are so much better than anything we can ever desire for our self. We give You the glory, honor and praise for who You are and all that You do for us.

Thought for the Day:

When we face a detour or a thick wall impeding our path in life, we can trust that God has a higher purpose for that detour or wall that will work out for our ultimate good; rather than grasping for His gifts, we can wait patiently with outstretched hands to receive all that He has for us.

- Romans 8:28

Finding a Bible Believing Church

When we move to a new location, it is often hard to decide which church to attend. We may be drawn to the largest church, thinking that they must be right since they are so big and have so many ministries for members and for the community.

Visiting around to several churches in your local area is always a good way to take the spiritual temperature of your options. Make an appointment to meet the Pastor, and ask for their "statement of faith." If they do not have one, ask for their "constitution," which should include what they believe.

Their stance on several issues is very important. Do they believe that Jesus is God who came to earth in human form? Our Emmanuel - both God and the only begotten Son of God. Asking if Jesus was born by the Holy Spirit and the Virgin Mary is another vital piece of information.

Ask them if there is any other way to get to heaven besides trusting in Jesus as our Savior; is the Bible the inspired and infallible Word of God; do they have a cross in their sanctuary; do they preach about repentance and about Jesus taking our sin and giving us His righteousness?

Then, ask if they believe that we can lose our salvation. If they do, then they are basing Salvation on works, and not only on the shed blood of Jesus. This negates what Jesus did for us on the cross, and making us our own savior, rather than Jesus.

Saying a prayer for forgiveness out of conviction, and even getting baptized, do not guarantee our Salvation. If we do not make a commitment to believe in Jesus as the Christ, and if our life is not changed by conversion from our old life, we are not Born Again (Acts 2:38-39, 16:31).

Finding a church family with a similar worldview, Biblical understanding, evangelical outreach into the world, and who have a converted mindset as new creations in Christ will give us a "home" in which to worship together with fellow, authentic Believers.

Prayer:

Father God, Your plan to save mankind was to send the Lord Jesus to vanquish sin and death by His triumph over them on Calvary’s cross. He is now our Victory as we walk in Him. Eternal life is to know You in an intimate relationship provided for us through Christ, who abides within us by Your Spirit. We are united with You in Christ (John 17:21-23; Galatians 2:20). He is our whole life (Colossians 3:3-4).

As You are, so are we in this world (1 John 4:17). You express Yourself through Your Body as we live, move and have our being in You (Acts 17:28). Help us during times of transition to stand firm on Your Word, and to find a Body of Believers that does the same thing. Jesus is our pearl of great price, and we treasure our relationship with Your Trinity (Matthew 13:44-46).

Thought for the Day:

Many people work FOR God, but He does not work IN and THROUGH them; they were not changed inwardly as well as outwardly; even Bible scholars are not saved unless they surrender their life to God, believe God's Word in its entirety, and have been Born Again - otherwise all they have is head knowledge and not a spiritual heart relationship.

- Matthew 7:21-23; Ephesians 4:14-15; John 5:39-40

God Cares for Us

When we face negative circumstances in life, God's Word gives us a new perspective. Roman soldiers conscripted Jewish people to walk a mile with them in order to carry their burdens. Jesus told the Christian Jews to walk two miles with them instead, in order to exhibit a living testimony of God’s love (Matthew 5:41).

As sinners we are burdened with a load of guilt that is impossible to bear alone (Psalm 38:4). Jesus is our ultimate burden bearer. He refreshes the weary and satisfies the despairing soul (Jeremiah 31:25). He wants us to cast all of our cares upon Him, because He always cares for us (Psalm 55:22; 1 Peter 5:7).

God adopts Believers into His family, so we will continually enjoy having someone to go the extra mile with us. We can help one another when anxious thoughts burden our hearts, because a kind word always cheers us up (Proverbs 12:25).

Jesus tells us to lay our burdens down and to take up His yoke instead, because it is easy and light (Mathew 11:30). When we come to Christ, it is effortless for us to trust Him for our eternal destiny. However, trusting Him in the daily drudgery of life is a bit harder.

We believe God is able, but we struggle with believing that He actually wants to meet our earthly needs (Mark 9:24). When we pray, God’s answer is not always what we really want, but we eventually see that He continually works out everything even better than we desired.

Rather than to apprehensively make our requests from a place of discouragement and fear, Paul instructs us to thank God in faith for His eventual answer to our prayers (Philippians 4:6). These negative concerns cause anxiety and worry to form in our soul, which affects our spirit and body as well.

However, when we place our cares in the heart of God, we trust Him to work out all the details for our ultimate good (Romans 8:28). With large issues and small, they are all the same to our Daddy God. If we request His help, He is delighted to be there for us.

Prayer:

Father God, as we view our earthly needs through the lens of eternity, we find that fewer issues really bother us anymore. We discover an excitement and expectancy in each new morning, anticipating what You have planned for us. We no long attempt to control life, because we know that You care about every aspect of it that pertains to Your children.

Jesus told us not to even worry about what we will eat or wear, but to seek Him and His Kingdom instead. When we do, this attitude opens the door for You to shower us with blessings (Matthew 6:25,34). Remind us to keep our faith in Your faithfulness during times of deprivation and trouble. This change in focus allows us to breathe deeply in the midst of turmoil, and to joyfully maintain our confidence in You, our living Lord (Hebrews 4:11; Galatians 5:16, 25; Romans 8:14).

Thought for the Day:

In these troubled end times, I always thank God that He gave us another normal day to experience life, because someday, maybe soon, we will wake up to a collapsed economy, chaos in the streets, governmental indecision and general insecurity in every facet of life; however, when this happens, we can look up, because Jesus promises that our redemption is very near.

- Luke 21:28

A Good Marriage - Common Ground

Winning is not the ultimate prize of life; it is the manner in which we finish the race that counts the most. It is often the last straggler across the finish line that receives the most attention, because they persevered to the very end.

Winning an argument is not necessary to feel validated either. We can concede that we are wrong, if indeed we are, without any shame or recrimination. Our mate is not our competitor, but our helpmate and supporter.

We have a viewpoint that differs from our employer's, friend's, neighbor's, child's, parent's or spouse's perspective; but it is no less right or wrong than theirs. It may be different, but it is just as valuable as their perspective.

There is nothing heroic about destroying a marriage with our intolerance, condescension, bitterness, dislike, or lack of appreciation of our mate. We soon realize that we were acting as pawns on Satan's game board, playing right into his hands and wreaking havoc for generations to come.

If both parties in a disagreement are willing to bear with one another, and to lay our life down for each other, there is always a way to peacefully resolve all issues and to avoid fighting and drama. We brainstorm together about a third alternative upon which we can both agree.

Neither of us is the enemy, we are simply fellow sojourners in this life with equal rights and privileges in the family of God. Quickly apologizing from the heart for any hurt that we cause during a disagreement, and readily forgiving one another, goes a long way in keeping unity in our relations (Colossians 3:13).

Repairing our relationships is so much more mature than rending them in half and going our separate ways - leaving a trail of broken hearts and lives behind us. Seeking wisdom from God's Word and His Spirit during mutual times of prayer can also help us to breach any gaps in our unity.

A trained counselor can also help us to negotiate our differences if we are both willing to be vulnerable, honest and dedicated to changing in ways that will benefit our relationship. The key is to negotiate until we find common ground on which to stand, and to walk together in the Spirit.

Prayer:

Father God, Your Son reminded us not to separate what You bind together (Mark 10:9). You admonish us not to break any vow that we make, but to honor our commitment to one another with charity, patience and kindness (Ecclesiastes 5:4-6). You want us to work together to find an equitable solution to any conflicts in our marriage, as well as in our affiliations at work, in our community, and in Your Body (Psalm 133:1).

Give us Your wisdom to maintain peace, and to show Your agape love to those who wound us; to turn the other cheek and to bear with one another's idiosyncrasies and foibles (Ephesians 4:2). Give us patience to love one another as Christ loves the church; so that we can represent a living sacrifice as a testimony to an unbelieving world.

Thought for the Day:

There is nothing heroic in winning at the cost of someone else's expense; however, in laying down our life and patiently serving one another with the love that our Heavenly Father shows toward us, we serve together as victors in this sinful and perverse world in which we live.

- Matthew 17:17; John 15:12-13

Conformed to Christ's Image

God's desire for every Believer is to conform us into the image of His first born Son, Jesus Christ (Romans 8:29). He adopts every Born Again Believer into His family as His beloved children (Colossians 1:27). We are co-heirs with Jesus, and we inherit with Him the entire Kingdom of our Father God (Romans 8:17).

God's Spirit sanctifies us from one stage of glory to the next until we are conformed to the image of Christ in us (2 Corinthians 3:18). We must choose to cooperate with this transformation, because it is a voluntary exercise that calls on us to submit to God's individual will for each of us.

This allows us to humbly seek God's plan for each moment of our day. The Holy Spirit reveals God's will to us, and He gives us understanding of all of God's ways. He empowers us to live righteously by changing our desires from carnal to spiritual (Philippians 2:12-13).

He also gives us knowledge of His Word, which is healing to our body, and provides life to our bones (Proverbs 3:8, 22; 4:22). His Light comes from His life within us (John 1:4). We mature spiritually and our intimacy with Him increases, as we desire more of Him and less of this world.

Seeking Him with all of our heart enables us to discover that He is ready, willing and able to give us the victory over all things. God gave us a free will to choose the steps we take into His holiness as a way of life for us. His plans for our life are so much better than ours.

We can fast-track this process as we daily submit to His perfect desires for us (Ephesians 2:10). As His life forms in us, we walk in peace and joy through every trial (2 Corinthians 13:5). Jesus left this earth, forty days after His resurrection from the tomb, so that He could send His Holy Spirit to fill each of us (John 14:16,26; 16:7).

He is the Spirit of truth, and He helps us to understand that Christ now abides in us, just as the Father was in Him, which means that we are also in Him (John 14:20, 17:23). He is our hope of living in glory with God's Trinity for all of eternity (Colossians 1:27).

Prayer:

Father God, thank You that Jesus is our life (Colossians 3:3-4; John 14:6). Remind us that we know that Christ lives in us when we recognize that the Holy Spirit moved into our spirit. We are not the person that we used to be, because You continually change our heart and desires (1 Corinthians 6:19; 2 Corinthians 13:5; Romans 8:9, 16; John 14:17; 2 Timothy 1:14; James 4:5). The presence of Your Spirit works in us to perfect us, even as You are perfect (Ephesians 3:20; Philippians 2:13; Colossians 1:29).

We only have true life when Christ abides within us (1 John 5:12). We are born again by Your Spirit (John 3:3-7). We appreciate You for our salvation, and we enjoy the intimacy of Your presence in us. Thank You that Your Spirit in us even gives life to our mortal body (Romans 8:10-11), and eradicates the spirit of error and disobedience by giving us Your Spirit of truth (1 Corinthians 2:11-12; 1 John 4:6).

Thought for the Day:

God gave us Christ in us to redeem us, and to regenerate a spiritual exchange within our spirit, which was once dead in sin; we turn from the darkness of the dominion of Satan to the Light of life in God's service by submission to Him, and He gives us the righteousness of Christ in exchange for our sin nature.

- Acts 26:18; Romans

Standing Our Ground

Life in this sin-cursed world does all in its power to knock us down, to pull our legs out from under us, to discourage us and to take away our hope. God's Word gives us a solution to this problem when we read Paul's truth of consistently wearing the armor of God (Ephesians 6:10-18).

He mentions several protective devices to guard us from the devil's constant attacks on us. The belt of truth, the breastplate of righteous living, feet firmly standing our ground, the helmet of salvation, and the shield of faith.

Then He gives us the ultimate weapon to face any type of adversity: The sword of God's Holy Spirit, which is the Word of God. When trials oppress us from every direction, we will not be crushed as we feast on, as well as retain, the Word of God (2 Corinthians 4:8).

Tribulation has no power over us once we repent of our sins in salvation, protect our innermost being with the belt of truth, guard our heart with the breastplate of holiness, and ward off spiritual warfare with the shield of faith. We walk out our own salvation without haughtiness or self-reliance, as we trust in the Lord to give us the desire and the power to do so (Philippians 2:12-13).

Even if we have no food to eat, no provision laid up, no prospects for our future; yet, we can still rejoice in the Lord, the God of our salvation. He alone is our strength, our provision, our protection and our sustainer (Habakkuk 3:17-19). We completely trust in God and maintain our faith in His faithfulness.

Strife, stress, sickness, situational ethics, natural disasters, troubled relationships, financial insecurity, etc. cannot remove the peace and joy, which we have through our intimate relationship and union with Jesus Christ our Lord.

The presence of the Trinity of God abides within us, and strengthens us with His power, wisdom, and righteousness to accomplish everything that He calls us to do. He provides us with all that we need to perform the ministries, which He prepared for us before we were ever born (Ephesians 2:10).

Prayer:

Father God, at times we feel the weight of the world on our shoulders. We can barely put one foot in front of the other due to discouragement and weariness. Remind us to take Your yoke, rather than to carry one of our own making, because You pulling the load of life with us makes the burden easy and light (Matthew 11:30).

Your support enables us to stand our ground in the face of any adversity. As we maintain our relationship with You through prayer, our dependence on the Truth of Your Word, and the comfort of Your presence within us, we can weather any storm, face any adversity, and live victoriously - even when life often scares us.

Thought for the Day:

When we are hidden with Christ in God, His Holy Spirit replaces our human weaknesses with the strength, character and divine nature of Christ who abides within us; He is the bread of life, and He gives us His living water of life, so we will never thirst again.

- Colossians 3:3-4; John 4:14

Healing from Negative Beliefs

What we believe - both negative and positive - colors our life. Some beliefs, such as salvation through Christ, positively impact us; others, such as we are "not enough" or "flawed" in some way will have the opposite effect on our daily quality of life.

Our beliefs about our self, and about life, limit our fulfillment and the prosperity in our soul (3 John 1:2). Negative lies nestle into our subconscious mind and slowly poison our soul with their false and destructive thoughts. These thoughts then affect our emotions and behavior.

Negative thoughts and beliefs sabotage our faith in God, our reliance on the truth of God's Word, and our victory each moment of our day. Some of these falsehoods come from other people both in our past and in our current life. They lodge in the recesses of our subliminal mind and steal our ability to succeed on a daily level.

Our identity and our patterns of thought, attitude, motives, desires, way of communicating, behavior, and the health of our body and soul and spirit are tainted by these limiting lies, which bind us to these destructive, demeaning beliefs.

There is hope, however, because we can exchange the lies with God's truth about us, if we are willing to spend uninterrupted time with God's Spirit as He cleanses us from all iniquity (1 John 1:9). Our identity then becomes based in His truth rather than in satanic deception.

Awareness of the lies that demonic forces perpetuate in our mind is half the battle. Once we identify the lie, we ask God to reveal to us His truth about the concept, which we formerly adopted as our own belief system, and He heals us of it for eternity.

(https://www.transformationprayer.org/preparing-journey-introduction/)

Prayer:

Father God, scientists teach us that negative beliefs put ruts into our sympathetic nervous system, and perpetually impair us from functioning mentally, emotionally and spiritually in these areas. Remind us that these beliefs are only repaired through truth communicated by Your Spirit's intervention to change our beliefs and to repair these breaches in our body and soul.

Help us to understand that our beliefs about current issues in our day run through the files of thoughts in our subconscious mind. These beliefs then influence our reactions to the person or event we are currently facing. We often act from our flesh, and wound the very people whom we profess to love and care about. Remind us that Jesus died to free us from this devastation caused by sin, and that we can walk in Your wisdom and compassion for our self and others in our life.

Thought for the Day:

These and other false beliefs color our daily patterns of thoughts, words, emotions and actions:

·       You’ll never win. I always lose.

·       You’ll never get it right. I'll never learn.

·       You’ll never amount to anything. I’ll never be successful.

·       You’re wrong. I’m never right.

·       You’re just like… (your father, mother, etc.) I can’t change my genes or who I am.

·       You’re not to be trusted. I can’t trust myself or God.

·       You’ll do as I tell you. I have no control. I’m always the victim.

·       Money goes through your hands like water. I’ll never have enough money to pay my bills.

·       You’ll never be able to succeed… I'm not smart enough to make a difference in my life.

·       You’re worthless. My life has no value, and I can't contribute to my world.

·       Who do you think you are? I’m a no-body, and I do not matter.

·       You’re a loner and always will be. I’ll never have close friends, associates and family members, etc.

·       You’ll never change. I will always be flawed and useless.

·       You can’t have that. I am not worthy to receive what I need.

·       You’re such a loser. I am worthless.

·       Not now, I’m busy, we’ll talk about it later. Someone or something else is always more important than I am.

·       You are hopeless. I'm not enough, and never will be.

God's Truth is the only way that we are totally set free from these and other negative "tapes" that constantly replay in our subconscious mind; counseling mind-to-mind, and words that are taught to us, are not usually cleansing, because only the truth that is caught by our spirit from God's Spirit will truly change our beliefs, behavior, thoughts, emotions, desires, etc.

Successfully Navigating through Life

God cares about every aspect of our life. If we try in the flesh to perfect our self, all we have is more flesh. We often attempt to purify our self by giving up what we consider worldly pursuits, and disciplining our self to adhere to religious practices.

However, the perfecting process belongs to the Spirit of God. He will totally prune us even of our subconscious thoughts, words and choices that grieve the Trinity. We only successfully navigate through life as we allow God to lead us into a balance in body, soul and spirit.

As humans, we relate to our physical world with our five senses, and we also involve our desires, instinct and intellect. We interact in the spiritual world through our spirit, which is Born Again at the moment of salvation.

The spiritual world is intangible and invisible, but very vital to our existence. God desires that we live a spiritual life, and to carry our spirituality into every detail of our daily life (Colossians 3:17). God has specific plans for our life, and when we live in His will, we enjoy His blessings (Ephesians 2:10).

We can only develop true stability when we obey the direction of the Spirit of God for each moment of our day (Galatians 5:15-25). Not a legalistic, petty structure of religious works, but a fluid stream of God’s gifts and character flowing through us into the world around us.

Regardless of our circumstances, our Heavenly Daddy is the perfect Father. He nurtures, provides for, and blesses us with every good and perfect gift (James 1:17). When our Messiah, who is our very life (Colossians 3:2-4), returns to the earth, we will be with Him in all of His glory and exalt His name forevermore (Revelation 19:11-16).

Prayer:

Father God, as You search our heart, You understand the motives behind our thoughts, words and actions (1 Chronicles 28:9). Your ways and thoughts are higher than ours (Isaiah 55:8-9). As we trust in You, we come to realize that in times of stress and trials, You hide us with Christ in You (Colossians 3:3-4).

What is evident to every authentic Believer is that this is not a negative concept to belittle us, or to force us to abandon our true self, but it is actually teaching us that our true identity is in Christ alone. Thank You for revealing Yourself to us (Ps 18:2; 62:6; Exodus 33:22). Help us to live as imitators of Christ, and as Your beloved adopted children (Ephesians 5:1; 1 Corinthians 11:1).

Thought for the Day:

God's love and truth flow generously from a spirit connected to God though Christ; we are simply the container from which God pours out His Spirit in us and on everyone around us; we are a vessel of His love to everyone we meet, regardless of how we meet them or how long we spend with them.

Spending Eternity with God

Death is a transition that many people fear. Will it hurt, will it be swift or included a long spell of pain and suffering? We despise the idea of leaving our loved ones, especially those not yet walking with our Lord.

Life on this earth includes the beauties of nature and the fulfillment we receive from the hand of the Lord. It also includes ministries to our friends, relatives, associates and neighbors. However, this world is not our true home (Hebrews 13:14).

Living means more opportunities to serve the Lord on earth; yet, dying gives us the joyful opportunity to live in an immortal body in the physical presence of our Lord (Philippians 2:21-24).

This earthly "tent" in which we now abide is folded up in death, and we receive a new body, made for us by God Himself. We grow weary from the pain in our mortal body as it ages, but in Heaven the mortal is replaced by everlasting life (2 Corinthians 5:1-4).

Every moment spent in this earthly body is time away from our eternal Home with Jesus. We have nothing to fear in death, knowing that our last breath on earth is immediately followed by our first breath in Heaven (2 Corinthians 5:6-9).

In death, as in life, we follow the Lord's will for us (Romans 14:7-9). God's Spirit within us, who raised Jesus from the dead, will raise us up as well (Romans 8:11). He will wipe away all of our tears and fears forever (Isaiah 25:8).

Prayer:

Father God, we give thanks to You, because You are such a good, good Father. Your loving devotion to us endures forever (Psalm 118:1). Even if we sow with tears, we will always reap with excited shouts of joy (Psalm 126:5). You keep our tears in a bottle and record the cause of them in Your book (Psalm 56:8-11). Vengeance is Yours, and You will repay those who hurt us (Romans 12:19).

In Your presence is fullness of joy, and at Your right hand are pleasures forevermore (Psalm 16:11, 126:5-6). Your loving kindness is excellent and better than life itself, and we find our hope in the shadow of Your wings (Psalm 36:7-9, 63:3). You are our defense and our refuge in our times of trouble on this earth, but we look forward to spending eternity with You in Heaven (Psalm 59:16).

Thought for the Day:

There is a season for every transition in our life, and God has a purpose for us in each one of them; therefore, we can set our mind on spiritual aspects, realizing that we already died and are hidden with Christ in God, and eventually and inevitably, we shall spend eternity with Him in glory.

- Ecclesiastes 3:1-2; Colossians 3:2-4

A Deeper Walk

Sinners are in mortal combat with God. They fight in opposition to everything God is, and that for which He stands. Once we come to Christ in repentance, asking for forgiveness for our sins, He exchanges our sin for His righteousness.

We do not simply create a superficial contract with God, but we enter an intimate relationship with Him, which includes a unified life. Developing this union with Christ in God (Colossians 3:3-4) allows God's triune presence to permeate our spirit and soul, and to heal our body.

We unite our life with the Spirit, and He carries out God's plans in and through us. God purifies us in increments, going deeper with each penetration of His holy fire, until we radiate Christ’s nature from within us.

He replaces our carnal nature with the fruit of His Spirit, which is actually the very nature of God (Galatians 5:22-23). This gives us the wisdom and courage to face life's challenges. We cling to His presence in us with our thoughts, choices and emotions.

The less we function out of our humanity, and the more we wait on God, the more He expresses His character in us and through us. As we embrace His divine nature, we are filled to overflowing with all of Him, and His very life flows out of us (Ephesians 3:16-19 Amplified Bible).

Our human way of thinking and feeling passes away, and we are now an entirely new creation (2 Corinthians 5:17). We walk in communion, fellowship and accord with Christ within us (2 Corinthians 6:14-15). We belong to God’s household as co-heirs, priests and saints.

Prayer:

Father God, unbelief separates us from You for eternity (John 3:18). Therefore, our union with You is based on our faith in Your faithfulness. When our trust fuses with the faith of the Son of God, who loves us and gave Himself for us, we have perfect unity with You (Ephesians 5:2; Galatians 1:4).

Our intimate bond with You is broken only by our propensity to sin. However, if we walk in accord with the direction, wisdom and love of Your Spirit, we will never fulfill the lusts of our flesh (Galatians 5:15- 25). We thank You that Your forgiveness totally eliminates our confessed sin – past, present and future.

Thought for the Day:

The degree to which we exhibit the fruit of the Spirit in our life corresponds with the depth of our love for and obedience to Christ within us; the more we experience Christ as our life, the further away we run from the world, straight into our Savior’s waiting arms.

- Colossians 3:3-4; John 14:15

A Good Marriage -A Healthy Interdependent Relationship

There are four types of human relationships: Independent, Codependent, Dependent, and Interdependent. At times, our relationship with someone is a mixture of two or more of these. The healthiest type, though, is an interdependent relationship.

In an interdependent relationship we are capable of meeting our own needs without an unhealthy expectation of having to wait for our spouse to meet our needs for us. We share mutually fulfilling activities, but we are free to pursue our own interests as well.

We enjoy being together, and equally give to and take from the resources in our marriage. We graciously serve one another. We form a budget together and discuss any deviations one of us wants to make. We are capable of standing alone, but we prefer each other's company.

Our intimacy with one another grows with each passing year, but we are also fulfilled with our personal life in Christ. We share the same values financially, mentally, emotionally and spiritually. We help each other to feel safe, understood, respected and cherished.

If one of us has a dysfunctional attitude or belief, we help one another to find healing from the wounds of our past, and we do all in our power to keep from increasing those wounds in each other by our own behavior.

This requires us to be vulnerable with each other, and honest in relating our past experiences to one another, as well as our current feelings and needs. We have no desire to control our mate and our circumstances, because we are mutually caring, pray together, and seek God first before making any decisions.

Prayer:

Father God, teach us that our value has no dependence on our bank account, worldly goods, or prestige. Help us not to allow our appearance, abilities, mental capacity, etc. to change the way we view our self and one another. Remind us that our worth comes from Christ in us, and not from our own accomplishments (Ephesians 2:8-10).

Help us to see that people will let us down, break their promises, make mistakes, and change over the years because they are human; but we can love them unconditionally with Your Agape love. Teach us that patience is a virtue, and we can allow patience to do her prefect work in us, rather than to get stressed about things in life that we cannot change. Our trust is in You, Lord, and we live to serve You together because You are our life (Colossians 3:3-4) ????

Thought for the Day:

Seeking God's will for our life changes the choices that we make, helps us to have faith in His faithfulness to meet our needs, and to unify us with our mate in an intimate, interdependent relationship.

Peace in the Storm

Have you ever found yourself in the middle of the stormy seas of life? The blustery winds and driving rain threaten to blow us right out of the boat into the tumultuous seas all around us. However, there is always hope in the Lord, regardless of our circumstances.

Each morning we start by spending time chatting with the Lord and meditating on His Word before we ever get out of bed. Five minutes to an hour of peaceful introspection, surveying our thoughts and emotions, will give us a clue about our soul's true condition.

This gives us a chance to listen to God's truth, which heals us, and to center our focus on Him throughout the day. Taking time for a few deep breaths also helps. We breathe in air to the count of 6, hold our breath for 6 seconds and breathe out until all of the air is removed from our lungs.

This practice cleanses our lungs of the stale air in them, and helps us to calm our nerves, reduce blood pressure, and restore equilibrium to our soul. When we get out of bed, we have more peace to get our children ready for school, commute to work or to do our daily chores at home, as we stand against the spiritual warfare that the devil has planned for our day.

We do not need to have our TV tuned to the 24-hour news cycle. Listening to the negative broadcasters fills our mind with their slant on the events in our world. Playing praise music is so much more edifying and positive. We can catch the news once a day to keep us informed on how to pray for our world.

Seeking God's will, as we jot down our to-do list for the day, helps us to stay organized, in touch with God's Spirit as He directs each moment, and joyfully singing praises to God in our mind. We have more order, energy and stamina, and we are prepared for the divine appointments that God planned for our day.

Prayer:

Father God, remind us to spend time feeding our soul each day too. We can read an uplifting book, watch and informative documentaries or positive movies or follow our sports team, listen to praise music, start a blog with positive info for our contacts on social media to read, build a campfire, gaze at the stars, soak up the sun's rays, plant a flower garden that attracts bees and butterflies, dance around the house as we do our chores, learn useful hobbies, etc.

Remind us that no matter how many friends we have on our social media accounts, we do not have to read everything that everyone posts every day. Help us to choose to follow those who are uplifting and positive, and to peruse the notifications from our closest friends and family. We can check in with everyone else when You put them on our heart. This gives us more time to listen to Your Spirit as He directs our day.

Thought for the Day:

We can mitigate the persistent stress that accompanies our daily life by increasing our intimacy with the Trinity of God who lives within us; we do this through prayer, Bible reading, singing melodies in our heart to the Lord, and giving Him all of the honor, glory and praise that is due to His name; this positive behavior will reduce our anxiety, give us positive thoughts, minimize negative emotions, and keep us connected to God's Spirit each moment of our day.

Our Gift to God

By living in the moment, we practice paying attention to the here and now. The key is to concentrate on what is happening to us in this very present second. It is through this attentiveness to what is actually going on around us, that we become completely aware and fully alive.

We also become more effective in ministry, because we are in tune with God’s Spirit moment by moment. His awesome presence permeates our being as we learn to consciously live each moment by faith in His love (Matthew 6:25-34).

God did not put us on earth to amass worldly goods, but to be His vessel from which He can change our world. We serve as a lifeline to all those around us. Perfection or complete spiritual maturity are not prerequisites for helping others in their walk with the Lord. We just need to be willing for God to use us.

When the Holy Spirit leads us moment by moment throughout our day, we truly make a difference, which also brings fulfillment to our spirit and soul. We will exercise when the Spirit leads us, in the manner in which we need, in order to be physically fit. We also eat what He leads us to eat, resulting in physical health (1 Corinthians 10:31).

We become fulfilled spiritually by what He leads us to read during our devotion, and by the church to which He leads us to make a covenant. He will lead us to minister to people and to be ministered to by people according to His timely schedule, and here we find our emotional and spiritual fulfillment.

As we give our prayerful attention to the moment as God gives it to us to enjoy, we are aware of God’s presence in our life. What we do with each minute is our choice and our gift back to God. This allows us to follow the leading of His Holy Spirit moment by moment throughout the day.

Prayer:

Father God, if we think about it, in actuality the present moment is all we really have. Your Spirit leads us to make the most of each minute for Your glory. We draw our strength from You, and You are our refuge in every negative circumstance that we face. We can trust in Your love, enter into Your rest, relax in Your peace, and exult in Your joy.

Thank You for making us as a vessel for Your honor and glory (Romans 9:23). We never want to do or say anything that could tarnish Your name (Psalm 23:3). We want to live for Your glory and to join You in our heavenly home the moment that You are finished using us in this earthly realm. We look forward to serving our King Jesus for eternity.

Thought for the Day:

When we put our trust in Him, God causes us to hear His loving kindness each new morning, and as we lift our soul to Him, He shows us the way that we should go during every moment of our day.

- Psalm 143:8

Life-changing Ministry

So often we put on a mask, a persona, and give a false impression to the rest of the world. We may do this on purpose, or without any conscious thought. We put up boundaries, and hide behind busyness in order to project an image that we have it "all together."

Yet, inside we are torn apart by a wounded soul full of negative thoughts, attitudes, and lies from the devil. Fear, anxiety, insecurity, resentment, self-doubt, etc. plague each step that we take. At times, we cannot relax, because we are holding our breath without realizing it.

God always sends the right people at the right time to speak His truth into our life. My former husband had a lightbulb go off in his head one day, and he said, "I understand now. You act and appear on the outside to be confident and assured, but inside you are a very fearful and insecure person."

Truth in its first form may feel false, so I had to think about that for a while. As the truth of his words sunk into my soul, however, a calm peace settled over me. Finally, someone unlocked the door of my soul and let me out.

I was so relieved that he finally understood my deepest need, and I hoped that he would help me to find my way out of the dark forest that I had lived in my whole life up to this point. Unfortunately, this never happened.

It merely caused him to feel more disdain for me, and it erected another wall between us until he finally saw no option for us but divorce. God did not give up on me, though. He sent our worship leader who taught me through God's Word that Christ lives within us.

Then He provided me with a new husband who recognized from the first day we met that fear and insecurity plagued my life. He reacted to me with devoted understanding. His unconditional love and devoted attention helped me to change the way I reacted to the world.

I gradually realized that I could truly trust God with my vulnerability, rather than to attempt to control my life to keep myself safe. Dread and uncertainty diminished as I hid under the shadow of His wing (Psalm 91:4). I learned to trust Him with my whole heart (Proverbs 3:5-6).

Thankfully, my new husband also encouraged me to go to a prayer counselor who helped me to access the lies from the devil that were the root of my fears and insecurities, and to discover God's personal truth for me about them, which set me on a path of serenity and fullness (Ephesians 3:16-19).

( https://www.transformationprayer.org/preparing-journey-introduction/  )

Prayer:

Father God, thank You for your divine appointments, and for making all things beautiful in Your way and time (Ecclesiastes 3:11). Your Spirit inspires our choices, behavior, and conversations; and You fill our days with Your mercy, love, peace, joy and grace. We find it easy to be vulnerable with You about our thoughts and feelings, because Your goodness humbles us and melts our heart.

You never give up on us, and You set us free with Your truth (John 8:36). We know that You have ultimate control of our life, and that we have no need to fear, because You are with us and in us (Colossians 1:27; Philippians 4:6). Your unconditional love fills the cracks in our life caused by both life's circumstances as well as the people who maintain influence over us. We give You all of the praise and worship due to Your name.

Thought for the Day:

When we relinquish our plans for our life, God's Spirit is able to direct our steps, and we find our self ministering to our self and others, and receiving ministry from others that is life-changing and eternal; God cares about every aspect of our body, soul and spirit.

- 1 Thessalonians 5:23

Spiritual Battleground

Most spiritual warfare occurs in our mind. Satan loves to plant his lies in our soul through our thoughts. He whispers a lie that sounds plausible, we consider it, and either cast it away or receive it as truth. He belittles us, redirects us from God's plans, and feeds our fears.

Due to Adam’s sin, Satan is now the prince of the power of the air (Ephesians 2:2). Tempting us to dwell on the worse-case scenarios of any situation is one of the devil's chief tools. These negative thoughts discourage us, depress us and defeat us.

Blasphemous, sexually deviant, unholy, angry, bitter, resentful, belittling, and other negative thoughts are straight from the pit of hell. A searching inventory of our thoughts allows us to take the negative ones captive, so the devil does not make us a captive of his plans for us (Philippians 2:5, 4:8).

When we entertain and then believe these lies, Satan knows that he has us right where he wants us. Another issue is the carnal sin nature in our soul that is being sanctified by God's Holy Spirit. As we cooperate with the Spirit, holiness happens much quicker (Romans 6-7; 1 Corinthians 3:3; Colossians 3:1; Galatians 5:15-25).

When we believe Satan's lies, we exhibit negative attitudes. We get "stinkin' thinkin'." Satan knows that if he captures our mind, then he can control our emotions and actions also. Our only hope of success in life is to bring our thoughts into obedience to Jesus.

When we do this, we put on the mind of Christ (2 Corinthians 10:4-5). We win every spiritual battle when we listen to God's Spirit, as well as when we consult the Bible for God's truth about every negative thought that we are tempted to entertain.

Prayer:

Father God, thank You for the purifying fire of Your Spirit in our soul, cleansing us from all ungodliness and giving us the mind of Christ. He guides us into Your truth as He teaches us to discern the difference between the devil's lies and Your plans for our life (John 14:26-27, 16:13). He allows Your peace, which transcends all human understanding, to guard our heart and mind through Christ Jesus (Philippians 4:7).

We can reject Satan's condemning, shaming thoughts in our mind too, because in You there is no condemnation (Romans 8:1-2). There is a big difference between his shaming condemnation and Your conviction of our sin. You give us instruction in righteousness through Your Word (2 Timothy 3:16). Teach us to care for our needs when we can, and to leave the rest in Your capable hands (2 Corinthians 13:5-6; Colossians 2:13-15; Lamentations 3:40-42; Ezekiel 36:2-27).

Thought for the Day:

As we mature spiritually, we no longer conform to the lies or the temptations of the flesh, the devil or the world, we refocus our thoughts to dwell on whatever is true, noble, right, pure, lovely, excellent, admirable and praiseworthy;

- Romans 12:2; Philippians 4:8

Life's Unpredictability Resolved

When people focus on Paul's lament in Romans chapter seven to the exclusion of the other verses around that chapter, I am so sad for them. They find an excuse in chapter seven for their sinful penchants, and they cling to it, limiting the fullness of their relationship with God.

However, if we read that chapter in context with Romans chapters six and eight, we realize that Paul was not making a doctrine out of chapter seven, but simply lamenting that he was not yet walking in the fullness of what authentic Believers enjoy as a new creation (2 Corinthians 5:17-21).

We are not hopeless sinners, doomed to fail; but victorious Saints bought by the blood of Jesus and co-heirs with Him of the Kingdom of God (Romans 8:17). Romans six and eight open our eyes to the availability of an amazing, fulfilled life that is hidden with Christ in God (Colossians 3:3-4).

When we attempt to squeeze life into our mold for it, issues inevitably slip out of our control. At times, we feel like we are drowning in overwhelming tribulation, until we change our focus from the issues, and squarely center it on the Lord (Isaiah 26:3).

God grants His adopted children every right and privilege that He gave His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ. The entire Godhead dwells within each and every Believer, and He is all we need to survive and to thrive in this world.

We are more than conquerors over every trial and circumstance (Romans 8:31-39), because Christ abides within us (Colossians 1:27). Our carnal, human wants and desires no longer hold much meaning for us, when we trade them for God's perfect plans for our life.

Prayer:

Father God, You work in us and through us to bring about Your will for us, and in those whom You bring into our life. Jesus is the answer to all of our questions, and He resolves all of our problems in Your timing and way. This gives us confidence to totally trust in You (Micah 7:5). We love how You work on our behalf at the same time that you simultaneous glorify Yourself through our life (Isaiah 43:7).

We no longer seek our own agenda, make lists of our earthly desires in our prayers, or use You as our Aladdin's lamp. We decrease more and more, so that You can increase in our life. You are our focus, and furthering Your Kingdom is our daily goal. We cherish You for who You are, Your intimate presence in our life, and we praise You with every breath we take.

Thought for the Day:

Unity with our Creator God is the most fulfilling relationship in this world, and He is our portion of our inheritance as authentic Believers; we immerse our self in His grace, we rely on His mercy, and daily we seek His face - He is all we need.

- Psalm 42:1-2