Reciprocal Love

 

We give to each other and we share the love of God with one another, hoping that others will help us to meet our needs too. Many of us think that if we meet the needs for other people, then they or someone else will reciprocate and meet our needs for us. This usually backfires on us. Givers keep on giving, and takers keep on taking.

 

I used to grieve, because I was under this same delusion. As a codependent, I felt that if I gave, I would receive. This did not happen, however, and I was disappointed most of the time. I yearned for someone to care about me as much as I cared for others.

 

I soon learned that it is not someone else’s “job” to meet my needs. It is our responsibility and privilege to meet our own needs or to kindly ask for help in areas where we cannot meet them. In some cases, we can use the Serenity prayer, and turn our needs over to God to meet them for us. As our Loving Father, He is always ready to do so.

 

We live in our own skin, so who knows what we need better than our self? We know all of our failings, insecurities and fears, so we can accept our self just the way we are. This helps us to minister to our self and to meet our needs without criticism and judgment.

 

We view our self with the same care and love that we care for others. We stop the negative self-talk that runs through our mind most days, which comes from years of criticism from others, and we believe what God believes about us instead. We receive His nurture and love through the blood of the Lamb of God who abides within us.

 

I also learned through this experience that codependence is a trap that Satan uses to keep us exhausted in serving others and bitter that others do not reciprocate and minister to us. God taught me that He always faithfully shines His light and love into our darkest moments, redirects our thinking and the feelings in our heart, and draws us deeper into our union with Him.

 

Prayer:

Father God, You are our Savior and our Redeemer (Job 19:25; Isaiah 60:16), and You live in our heart, surround us with Your presence, and invite us to enter into Your rest and to trust You to meet our needs. You make Your grace available to anyone willing to humble our self and to call out to You for Your salvation through Jesus Christ’s sacrifice on Calvary’s cross (John 3:16-18).

 

Help those who do not know Jesus as their personal Savior to come to the end of their trust in their own human resources to change their life, to be still and to acknowledge that You are God (Psalm 46:10), and to trust their concerns and needs to Your capable care. You are our Father of lights and You always give good gifts to Your children (Matthew 7:11-12).

 

Thought for the Day:

God willingly exchanges His beauty for the ashes of our life, redeems our spirit and soul and body, and uses our brokenness for His glory both now and in the future; we start this process by listening to His Spirit’s conviction about the sins in our life that block His blessings from our life, so that He can separate us from a bondage to sin, restore us with His grace, and remember our sins no more. 

- Isaiah 61:1-3; Psalm 103:12-14, Hebrews 8:12, 10:17

 

Invitation to Rest

 

 

Feeding the multitude of people, who followed Jesus to hear His wisdom, and collecting the 12 baskets full of leftovers was an exhausting chore for His disciples. Jesus saw the weariness in His disciples’ countenance and felt compassion for them. He invited them to come with Him to a quiet place of rest (Mark 13:1).

 

We have a standing invitation from Jesus to come away with Him to a tranquil place (Matthew 11:28). The first step of entering this utopian state of existence is to silence the “to do” list in our head, to say “no” to more busyness knocking at our door, and to fixing something simple for dinner rather than a big, involved meal.

 

Storms often have a way of clearing the air, removing debris from our yard, tearing down limbs and branches that are broken or rotting, blowing away dead leaves that are smothering new growth. God is the God of the valley, the storms, and the sunny days that ultimately return.

 

We can always trust God in our trials. We may be exposed to the elements and suffering in unimaginable ways, but He is always right with us, in us, and all around us. Through every issue we learn to see Him in a new light, and to gratefully expect Him to provide for us in the midst of our concerns (Isaiah 43:2).

 

Storms force us to change our focus from what is seen to what is not seen. We stop relying on our human resources and trust in our benevolent, competent, and trustworthy Father God. God uses trials to increase our endurance, and to make future matters less scary due to our increased faith in Him (Romans 5:3).

 

Taking time to refuel in God’s presence is the best gift we can ever give to our self. We have to give our soul time to rest, to catch up with our hectic schedule. In fact, if we make simpler choices in the future, we can learn to continually abide in God’s rest. We start by listening to His Spirit and committing our life to doing His will instead of our own. 

 

Prayer: 

Father God, remind us to focus on these truths that we all have in common, rather than on the insignificant details, which we choose to allow to separate us from one another. Help us to realize that the multitude of protestant religions and the treatment that many visitors and even members of any particular church family receive from one another is a poor example to the unbelieving world all around us (Psalm 133:1).

 

At times, we are burdened by all the cares of this world, our responsibility in it, and the expectations that other people place on us. We forget that You, our Heavenly Father, care for us implicitly and that You invite us to take Your yoke, which is easy and light (Matthew 11:28-30). This way, the weight of our load is eased, because we partner with You, and You share it with us.

 

Thought for the Day:

As adopted children of God, we enter into His rest and find our joy and delight in doing His will for us; we make a list of all of our responsibilities and prayerfully find out which of them is actually part of His perfect plan designed specifically for our gifts and talents; then we separate our self from the clutter all around us. 

- Ephesians 2:10; 1 Corinthians chapters 12-14

 

 

 

A Good Marriage - The Right Motive

 

 

Many people enter marriage lightly. They have various motivations, such as: it is convenient, they are tired of being alone, they want companionship, it is that time in their life for this next step, they want someone to complete them, they need someone to cook and clean for them, they know the person will say “Yes,” they are tired of their parent harping about grandchildren, the person they are dating is beautiful/handsome/desirable, or they make sense and look good “on paper,” etc. 

 

There is little concept of long-term commitment, cherishing the individual they propose to, realizing they do not want to live without the other person, having shared interests and goals and ideology about life, feelings of passion and compassion for their fiancé, delighting when the person walks into the room, missing them when they are apart, etc.

 

God created marriage to be honored (Hebrews 13:4) between two people who reject any option of future divorce, believe it is a permanent arrangement through thick and thin, look forward to growing old together, value the institution of marriage, love one another more than they love themselves and loving God more than they love their intended, plan to invest time and emotion in their relationship, look forward to facing challenges in life together, plan to put effort into uniting together as “one flesh”, etc.

 

There are a few key concepts discovered in long-term relationships that enable a couple to endure through a lifetime of challenges to their relationship. Foremost is the belief that God founded marriage as a symbol of His relationship to His future bride (Ephesians 2:20). The couple actively pursue intimacy with God, as well as with each other.

 

They seek God’s will for their life together, never insisting on their own way, but finding God’s plans for them through prayer and waiting on the direction of the Holy Spirit. If they do not feel the peace of God in any decision, they wait on the Lord and pray together about the decision until God reveals to them a choice that is bathed in His peace.

 

Prayer:

Father God, remind us as couples to continue to grow in our intimacy with You and with one another. Help us to respect and to value the input from our mate as an individual who matters. Teach us to cherish our mate’s strengths and to pray for each other’s weaknesses. Help us to always see our mate as our greatest treasure on this earth. Prompt us to show gratitude and to withhold criticism of one another (Philippians 2:3). 

 

We want to value each other’s place in our life, to enjoy each other’s company, to support each other’s vocation and ministry, and to compliment one another’s strong points and talents. Help us to appreciate our family unit and to share the demands of parenthood, household chores, and to guard our times of individual relaxation as well as couple and family times.

 

Thought for the Day:

Marriage is not a requirement for everyone, because God calls some people to remain single in order to have more time in God’s service; however, those who feel led to marry open a door for an entire lifetime of service to those in their immediate and extended family.

- 1 Corinthians 7:9

 

God Watches Over Us

 

God’s Word tells us that He is vigilantly watching over each of us, as we honor Him with our life and daily wait for His faithful love. He provides for all of our needs and does not allow us to suffer intense deprivation (Psalm 33:18-19). 

 

Even during our most injurious trials, He supports us. He does not rejoice over injustice of any kind, because He focuses only on truth, love, trust, hope and endurance (1 Corinthians 13:6-7). He delivers His Saints from death, because though our body goes to the grave, our spirit and soul are immediately present with the Lord (2 Corinthians 5:8).

 

When we realize that we are struggling with weariness, depression and fearful circumstances, we can change our focus to hoping in God alone. We thank Him in all the issues that we face, even the negative ones. His saving presence within us and all around us are just a prayer away (Psalm 42:11).

 

We shed our discouraging, negative attitudes and fill our heart with praises to our God who continually strengthens us and places us in His Body with other authentic Believers who are united with us as one body and in one spirit. God is our Father and Lord, and He calls us to walk in His hope (Ephesians 4:4-6).

 

Once we find our true rest in God alone, He gives us supernatural hope in the direst of circumstances. He is our rock, our stronghold and our salvation, and He helps us not to allow any situation to shake our faith and trust in Him (Psalm 62:5-6).

 

God is faithful, and we can trust Him to give peace to our anxious soul as we patiently wait on His faithful love, intervention, redemption, and provision. He never leaves or forsakes us (Hebrews 13:5; Psalm 130:7). He is our living God, who is worthy of our love; the only true Savior of everyone who put their trust in Him and believe in Him (1 Timothy 4:10; John 3:18).

 

Prayer:

Father God, remind us that our trials teach us to endure, which produces Your divine character in us, and which gives us unfailing hope in Your care for us. We are never ashamed when we trust in Your love that You pour out into our heart through Your Holy Spirit, whom You give to everyone who trusts in You for salvation of our spirit, soul and body (Romans 5:3-5).

 

You give us eternal hope and comfort through Christ’s sacrifice on our behalf. You encourage our soul and strengthen us in every way (2 Thessalonians 2:16-17). Our faith in Your faithfulness is the reality of what we hope for, and proof of answered prayers, which we have no finite proof will ever occur in our favor (Hebrews 11:1-2). We love You and trust only in You to care for us in every circumstance that we will ever experience. 

 

Thought for the Day:

God chose Jesus before the creation of the world, to bless those who are faithful to Him and who believe that He raised Jesus from the dead and restored Him to His former glory in Heaven; therefore, we can totally rest in God and trust our hope in His faithfulness to us both now and throughout eternity.

- 1 Peter 1:20-21

 

 

Self-centered People

 

When we try to explain to someone how their behavior makes us feel, they usually get instantly defensive, accuse us of doing worse things toward them than they ever did regarding us, and they adopt an attitude of resentment and anger toward us and often hold a grudge.

 

They defend their rights, make excuses for their poor judgment, feel like we are taking their motives out of context, and believe that we are abusing, neglecting and misunderstanding them. It is easy to fall into Satan’s trap of the “blame game.” We easily give-in to his temptations to sin against God, others and even our self.

 

These people see things from their own point of view and refuse to entertain thoughts that they may be at fault in some situation. They get irritable, critical, angry, and cause further pain to those who love them more than we love our own self. They adopt a prideful attitude and refuse to pray together about alternative behavior.

 

They fail to see God’s grace working in another’s life, because satanic lies are quick to point out to us another’s faults and irritating qualities. They get too busy with their own lifestyle to develop a caring relationship, and they focus more on their own goals and agenda than on spending time cherishing someone else.

 

They fill up their time with busyness and end up neglecting their relationships with others. They want to feel productive all the time, and they forget to “chill”, relax, and live in the moment. They have no concept on how to make someone else feel cherished, special, like they really matter, or to affirm them. In fact, they do not feel like they really matter either.

 

The sad fact is that the world is full of people who care more about their self than anyone else. They have a shallow relationship with God, and they are not interested in changing their attitude, behavior or becoming more Christ-like. If we can share the love of God with these individuals, we may make an eternal difference in them.

 

Prayer:

Father God, this world is full of broken people who perpetuate their wounds by inflicting them on others. The world needs more love, sweet love, and it is up to Your children to share Your love with everyone that You bring into our life. We do not need to change their life by dedicating our self to them, but simply by making our self available to Your Spirit’s guidance as we interact with them.

 

We look forward to Your return to set the world in its proper order with Jesus as King and all of us as joint-heirs with Him of Your Kingdom. We look forward to no more trials, pain, sorrow, suffering or negative issues involving our spirit, soul or body. Your ways are higher than our ways, and Your Truth sets us free from the bondages of this life.

 

Thought for the Day:

A loveless heart is not only void of fulfillment and Godly purpose, but real value and meaning; it is only as we totally surrender to the pre-arranged will of God for our life that we find more serenity, joy and love than is possible on this earth through any other source.

- Ephesians 2:10

 

Focusing on the Unseen Blessings

 

God gives us life, His unfailing love, His protection, His deliverance and His abundant mercy and grace, even when our oppressors taunt us, ridicule us, and abuse us. If we keep our focus on His ever-present help in our times of trial and trouble, we live a life of praise to His worthy name as our Savior and our God (Psalm 42:8-11).

 

God raised Jesus from the dead, and He will raise us together with the Lord Jesus and present us to Himself together with our Brother and Co-heir (Matthew 12:46-50; Romans 8:16-18). God uses us as instruments of his praise and glory, and there will be great thanksgiving as His grace reaches a wider and wider audience through our life (2 Corinthians 4:13-15).

 

We trust that God will enable us to never give up, though our body is dying, because our spirit is renewed in Christ every single day. Regardless of the momentous troubles we experience on this earth, they never last very long in the larger scheme of things (2 Corinthians 4:17). 

 

We know from experience that we share in the Psalmist faith in God’s faithfulness. Our trials also produce in us a glory that vastly balances out our suffering now and surpasses the ill-effects of what we are experiencing (2 Corinthians 4:16-17).

 

We are wise to ignore the issues that our trouble causes us, and to focus instead on the eternal weight of glory that they are producing in us. The issues that we can see now are not worthy to be compared to the rewards we shall reap from them, and which will last into eternity (2 Corinthians 4:18).

 

In Romans chapter seven, Paul makes it very clear that in our flesh there is found no redeemable qualities. We often put an abundance of human effort into reaching perfection, and never quite measure up. We are helpless, hopeless, and incapable of attaining any lasting goodness on our own (John 5:30). 

 

The Good News comes from Paul’s words in chapters six and eight were he points out that our success depends solely on God’s redemptive work in us through His revelation of Jesus Christ in our life. As we enter God’s rest and establish our union with His Spirit, we reap bountiful blessings each and every day.

 

Prayer:

Father God, thank You for birthing in us the presence of Your Holy One, the only wise and perfect God, Jesus Christ. As we imitate Him, and He lives and performs through us, we exhibit His righteous and divine nature through our Spirit-controlled thoughts, words and behavior. Remind us not to seek our identity in our own worth, but in our relationship and intimate union with You.

 

Thank You for removing condemnation from our soul for the failings in our life (Romans 8:1). Remind us that being led by Your Spirit is our ultimate goal in life. Of our self, we cannot bear fruit, but in You we can accomplish all things that You require of us (Romans 8:2). We no longer spin our wheels to produce lasting achievements through our human effort, but we walk in Your Spirit each moment of our day.

 

Thought for the Day:

God’s Spirit allows each of us to be controlled and guided in His perfect plans for us; Christ in us is uniquely Himself and He works in and through us, in restful freedom and with a clear conscience, free of religious works and void of the influences of satanic lies and attempts to thwart our effectiveness for God’s Kingdom.

 

A Good Marriage - Our Thought Life

 

 

Our thoughts are influenced by trauma and words spoken to us that are buried deep within our subconscious mind, lies whispered to us by Satan - the master of deception, worldly philosophy that once resonated with our soul, and expectations from our self and our significant others in our life.

 

That is a great deal of negative influence that our mind regurgitates day after day and year after year. Mental health advisers call this “self talk,” and they have various remedies to help us to overcome these destructive sources. Some of their advice is helpful; yet, some of their advice sounds good, but does not heal the root of our impressions.

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

 

God’s Word has the perfect “plumbline” to compare with our thoughts. It encourages us to focus on helpful wisdom, as it forcefully divides unhelpful thoughts from our mind (Philippians 4:8). God’s Spirit enables us to discern a negative thought that we can replace with a positive one: is it true, honorable, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent, and worthy of praise?

 

If not, then we can change our focus about the negative issue, as we embrace it and treat it like a positive idea or as a matter for our daily prayers. Irritations, embarrassments, unholiness, impurity, immorality, grievous events, failings, satanic deception, etc. may be true in and of themselves, but we cannot change the event or anyone other than our self. 

 

The Holy Spirit’s job is to sanctify and to perfect each of us. We can only pray about it or alter how we view another’s words and behavior. We can trust God to cause His Spirit to convict unwholesome actions in our spouse or to bring circumstance to bear to change our spouse’s issues or our reactions to them. 

 

If he/she does not respond to the Spirit’s pruning, then God will show us ways to meet our needs in spite of their words or behavior. We may even find that God’s Spirit will do a work in us to change our expectations of our mate, and to appreciate or to better understand their behavior, which we once found offensive. 

 

Prayer:

Father God, thank You for honoring our prayers for one another and helping us to bond in ways that we never dreamed possible. Anoint our union to be a witness of Christ’s union with His bride (body, family). Allow us to influence other marriages for their improvement and intimacy. Enable us to see our mate as the person we originally fell in love with, and to be less offended by their personality and habits.

 

Teach us to take the time to appreciate what makes our spouse the unique child You created him/her to be. Help us not to force our spouse to live with our criticism, lectures, disgruntlement, a lack of respect, etc. but to honor one another, to sacrifice for our mate, to cherish him/her, to positively regard our spouse’s place as co-heirs with us and Jesus in Your Kingdom, and to delight in our mate’s differences and strengths that make up for our weaknesses. We thank You for Your place in our marriage.

 

Thoughts for the Day:

God is the only being that can love us perfectly as we spend time in His Word, in His presence within us, in conversing and listening to His wisdom, etc. This occurs as we walk in His power by His Spirit, and as we affirm our self and our spouse as His beloved children; when we cherish our spouse, this does not require us to deny the reality of his/her words and behavior, but to focus on their best qualities and to pray for their weaknesses and ours.

 

Searching for Happiness

 

Many people in our current society are perplexed. They are searching for answers that they have no life-experience from which to draw the answer. Some of them abandon their search, and others employ a counselor or life coach to teach them what they do not understand.

 

One of the best “Life Coaching” experiences we can ever use is to procure our answers from God’s Word – from both the Bible and from the Holy Spirit who moves into our spirit at the moment that we turn away from our sinful lifestyle and ask Jesus to be our eternal Savior. 

 

Our conversion and commitment to Him are the doors that open this valuable reservoir for us. These sources give us wisdom for living on every subject about which we can ever wonder. They enable us to prioritize our views on relationships, financial success, managing emotions, career opportunities, life choices, etc.

 

God had perfect plans for our life before He ever formed us in our mother’s womb (Psalm 139). Living within the parameters of His will is not restrictive but protective, and insures our ultimate, fulfillment and success in this life and the next. Abiding in the center of His will for us is the happiest place on earth.

 

God’s viewpoint is usually opposite to the wisdom of this world. He tells us to rejoice in tribulation, to be content with weakness, to welcome insults and persecution and tragedies, etc. (2 Corinthians 12:10). This is why most people reject these truths: they do not make any human sense. 

 

However, our strength actually comes from our weakness, because we place our complete trust in God and not in our human resources (Psalm 37:4-5). Ultimately, we rejoice when we see God’s hand in our life, working out everything for our ultimate good (Romans 8:28; 1 Peter 4:13).

 

Prayer:

Father God, remind us to keep a journal of the goodness that You shower our life with every single moment of our time on this earth. We can develop times of centered communion with You each moment of our day, because fulfillment only comes through our deepening relationship with You. 

 

Teach us that these victories will strengthen our joy and peace, as they give us concrete reminders of Your all-consuming love for us. Increase our passion for You, our patience in waiting on Your timing in our life, and our compassion for those that You bring into our life. Thank You for helping us to hone our listening skills so that others know that we truly care about them.

 

Thought for the Day:

The deeper and more intimate our relationship is with God, the more joy we experience in our soul and in our daily walk with Him (Matthew 22:37); as we yoke up with Christ in us, His burden is light and easy, because He helps us to walk victoriously through all of life’s circumstances.

-Matthew 11:30; 1 Corinthians 15:57; John 17:3

 

 

 

Freedom in Christ

 

We often make plans, write out “to do” lists or “bucket” lists, make long-term goals, and do so without ever consulting the Lord (Proverbs 3:5-6). We do this, because achieving our goals gives us a false sense of achievement, control, and empowerment. They give us a fleeting sense of hope and an attitude of endurance.

 

Obstacles to our plans certainly arise more often than we like. This is either because Satan is hindering us in spiritual warfare, or God is working out His plans for us, regardless of our choices (Ephesians 2:10). God uses adversity to change our direction, teach us lessons, and to strengthen our faith in His faithfulness to care for us in every circumstance.

 

God’s Spirit within us enables us to overcome the obstacles that Satan uses to discourage us. This spiritual warfare is real, and at times, very intense. As we persevere in Jesus’ name, we learn to put our complete trust in God’s faithfulness, which cultivates hope and resilience that flourish in our soul.

 

Even when a tree is cut down and its stump dies, its roots often age in the ground and sprout the new life of a plant at the first sign of water (Job 14:7-9). Our circumstances and losses do not control our life, because God keeps us growing and flourishing. Even in our old age we continue to produce fruit, because we are planted in house of the Lord (Psalm 92:13-14).

 

When we have the hope of eternity written on our heart and inspiring our spirit and soul (Revelation 21:4), we purify our self and walk in an authentic spirit-filled life, just like Jesus is pure (1 John 3:3). Even in lean times or vulnerable seasons of discouragement, God rescues us and gives us hope (Job 5:15-16).

 

A deep relationship with the Trinity of God within us gives us spiritual understanding; and the security of this intimacy with God allows us to be our true, authentic self rather than wearing masks and measuring up to someone else’s standards for us. This freedom in Christ permits us to walk in physical, emotional, mental and spiritual health (Romans 15:4).

 

Prayer:

Father God, remind us that when Jesus is revealed in us, our hope is firmly planted in Your grace (1 Peter 1:13). This helps us to focus on You rather than on our circumstances. Even when we struggle with concerns and issues, as we focus on You, You provide us with restoration, strength, power and success (1 Peter 5:10). You fill us with Your joy and peace so that we overflow with hope by the power of Your Spirit (Romans 15:13).

 

Enlighten our spiritual eyes to see the hope that we have in Your calling on our life, as well as the wealth of our glorious inheritance of Your Kingdom (Ephesians 1:18-19). Help us to cling to Your reliable promises that give us unwavering hope (Hebrews 10:23). When we are surrounded by trials, we can rest safely and lie down in peace, because of Your favor on our life (Job 11:17-19).

 

Thought for the Day:

We never completely lose our hope, regardless of our circumstance, because we know that God will never forget us forever; we are saved by our hope in Him, even if we see no end to our trials, and we wait patiently for our deliverance, thanking Him for what we cannot see as reality at this moment.

- Psalm 9:18; Romans 8:24-25

 

Invitation to Rest

 

Feeding the multitude of people, who followed Jesus to hear His wisdom, and collecting the 12 baskets full of leftovers was an exhausting chore for His disciples. Jesus saw the weariness in His disciples’ countenance and felt compassion for them. He invited them to come with Him to a quiet place of rest (Mark 13:1).

 

We have a standing invitation from Jesus to come away with Him to a tranquil place (Matthew 11:28). The first step of entering this utopian state of existence is to silence the “to do” list in our head, to say “no” to more busyness knocking at our door, and to fixing something simple for dinner rather than a big, involved meal.

 

Storms often have a way of clearing the air, removing debris from our yard, tearing down limbs and branches that are broken or rotting, blowing away dead leaves that are smothering new growth, etc. God is the God of the valley, the storms, and the sunny patches that ultimately return.

 

We can always trust God in our trials. We may be exposed to the elements and suffering in unimaginable ways, but He is always right with us, in us, and all around us. Through every issue we learn to see Him in a new light, and to expect Him to provide for us in the midst of the concerns (Isaiah 43:2).

 

Storms force us to change our focus from what is seen to what is not seen. We stop relying on our human resources and trust in our benevolent, competent, and trustworthy Father God. God uses trials to increase our endurance, and to make future matters less scary due to our increased faith in Him (Romans 5:3).

 

Taking time to refuel in God’s presence is the best gift we can ever give to our self. We have to give our soul time to rest, to catch up with our hectic schedule. In fact, if we make simpler choices in the future, we can learn to continually abide in His rest. We start by listening to God’s Spirit and committing our life to doing His will instead of our own. 

 

Prayer: 

Father God, remind us to focus on these truths that we all have in common, rather than on the insignificant details, which we choose to allow to separate us from one another. Help us to realize that the multitude of protestant religions and the treatment that many visitors and even members of any particular church family receive from one another is a poor example to the unbelieving world all around us (Psalm 133:1).

 

At times, we are burdened by all the cares of this world, our responsibility in it, and the expectations that other people place on us. We forget that You, our Heavenly Father, care for us implicitly and that You invite us to take Your yoke on us, which is easy and light (Matthew 11:28-30). This way, the weight of our load is no longer only on our shoulders, because we partner with You, and You share it with us.

 

Thought for the Day:

As adopted children of God, we enter into His rest and find our joy and delight in doing His will for us; we make a list of all of our responsibilities and prayerfully find out which of them is actually part of His perfect plan designed specifically for our gifts and talents; then we separate our self from the clutter all around us. 

- Ephesians 2:10

 

 

 

Thanking God

 

 

Gratitude is a lost art in today’s society. We are impatient, self-centered, rude and critical instead. We over-look the good that people do to bless us, demand perfection from them, and criticize their efforts rather than to show gratitude, patience and appreciation for them.

 

We are not so perfect our self, and we often frustrate others, even with our best efforts. Their ingratitude hurts our feelings, and often makes us bitter or angry toward those who criticize us and fail to show us appreciation for our efforts; yet we perpetuate this rudeness by our own attitude and behavior toward others.

 

We do this with God too. We fail to see His constant stream of love pouring over us all day long, because we are looking for grand gestures and specific results to our prayers. Yet, He is preparing a place in heaven for us (John 14:2-3), and He also took away the sting of death for Believers that unbelievers experience (John 3:18). If we allow Him to do so, He daily floods our soul with His love, joy and peace.

 

Gratitude allows us to treat our self and others with more compassion. The more gratitude we express to God, the more that He supplies our needs with His glorious riches (Philippians 4:19). He provides for us from birth to death and beyond into eternity. He is totally worthy of every bit of praise for Him that wells up in our heart.

 

Prayer:

Father God, thank You for providing for all of our needs with the abundant supply that You have in Heaven. We praise Your name for considering our needs even before You ever formed us in our mother’s womb (Psalm 139). You even know what we need before we do, and You are ready with an abundant supply. Your peace, joy and assurance are ours now and forever more.

 

We appreciate all that You did and do and will do for us: Salvation for our spirit through the sacrifice of Jesus on Calvary’s cross; Your sanctification of the negative thoughts, words, emotions and choices of our soul – our feelings, choices and ruminations of our mind; and Your ultimate salvation for our body when You give us a glorified body like Jesus had after His resurrection.

 

Thought for the Day:

We never face a minute in life or death alone, because the presence of the Trinity of God abides within us from the moment of our salvation; we yoke up with Jesus and He gives us His burden to carry, which is easy and light compared to what we usually encumber our self with during our lifetime.

- Matthew 11:28-30

 

We are Always on God’s Mind

 

 

The Lord examines our heart and knows everything there is to know about each one of us. He knows our thoughts, even when we are not thinking about Him, as well as everything that we say and do at all times. God places His hand of blessings on us as we follow His perfect plans for our life (Ephesians 2:10). 

 

He is also aware of every time that we sit down or stand up, when we go on a trip or what we do at home, because He goes before us preparing the way and He follows after us. His detailed attention to every human being on earth, throughout every generation of time, is too amazing for us to comprehend.

 

These facts make our heart sing with joy. Since He loves us this much, it is easy for us to love Him with our whole spirit, soul and body. God is light without any darkness at all. Therefore, if we say that we are united with Christ, but continue to live a disobedient life, we are actually lying (John 14:15-21; 1 John 1:4-6).

 

We fool our self if we consider our self free from the guilt of sin; yet, when we recognize our pride and rebellion, and our sin that crucified Jesus on Calvary’s cross in God’s great mercy and unfailing love for each one of us, He has compassion on us, blots out and purifies us of our sins, and washes us free of our guilt (Psalm 51:1-6). 

 

We give Him all the glory for His redemption and faithfulness to forgive us and to cleanse us from our sins, as His mighty power works in us. When we live in His light, then the blood of Jesus cleanses us from disobedience, and brings us into an intimate union with God, which brings us into the fellowship of other Born Again Believers (1 John 1:7-9). 

 

He accomplishes so much more in us than we can every ask or think (Ephesians 3:20). He also blesses us abundantly, so that we have all that we need at all times in order to abound in the works that He anoints us to perform during our lifetime (2 Corinthians 9:8; Ephesians 2:10). 

 

Prayer:

Father God, You oppose the proud, but pour out Your grace on the humble; therefore, give us Your grace and mighty power to humble our self and to come to You for salvation. We give You all of our worries and concerns, because we know that You care for us (1 Peter 5:5-7). We look forward to You lifting us up as Your adopted children when You cause Jesus to return to earth. 

 

This will occur in Your own time, and He will be our righteous King, Lord and Ruler over every leader and nation of the world. You alone are immortal, and right now we cannot see You or approach You physically; yet at Jesus appearing, we will serve You with Him as co-heirs of Your Kingdom (Romans 8:16-18). We give You all the glory, honor and power now and forever (1 Timothy 6:15-16).

 

Thought for the Day:

Jesus grew up on this earth in God’s presence, and there was nothing attractive about Him that would make anyone be drawn to Him; in fact, He was despised and rejected, a man of sorrows and grief for our sake; sadly, so many through the ages of time feel this same way about Him and turn their back on His free gift of salvation, even though He was punished for our sins, pierced in the side for our rebellion, beaten so that we can be whole, and whipped so we can be healed.

- Isaiah 53:1-8

 

Not by Our Works of Righteousness

 

 

Satan loves to play with our mind. If he can get us confused, doubtful, or convince us that his way is best for us, he has won a battle in our life. He often uses false guilt, undeserved condemnation, or shame that he bases on erroneous standards of the world. 

 

When God deals with us, He uses conviction, and always gives us way to overcome our failings and shortcomings. God’s Spirit renews our mind (Romans 12:2; Ephesians 4:23), and teaches us alternative ways of thinking, feeling and behaving that lead to life everlasting. 

 

He strengthens our inner being, so that we can overcome our pride and rebellion, and confess our errant ways as sin. His sanctification process makes us a new creation (2 Corinthians 5:17). If we rely on our shear will power to overcome our human tendencies, we will ultimately hit a roadblock. 

 

However, over time in union with God, the mind of Christ replaces our way of thinking, and the attitude of our heart (1 Corinthians 2:16). We give God the glory for all our successes in life, as well as our strides into a deeper sense of spiritual maturity (1 Corinthians 3:5; 2 Corinthians 4:7). 

 

God is never angry with us, disapproves of us, or rejects us. We can grieve His Spirit (Ephesians 4:30), but He loves us even while we are still sinners (Romans 5:6-11). Legalistic regulations are not what God’s commandments are all about. Instead, they are actually safety boundaries that God established to keep us from the results of destructive behavior.

 

God’s grace in our life forgives our failings and cleanses us from their filthy stain on our life (Colossians 2:13; Psalm 51:7; Isaiah 1:18). We do not have to strive to deserve God’s grace, it is a free gift afforded to us by Jesus’ death on Calvary’s cross (Romans 5:8). We have no condemnation, when we repent and depend on Him (Romans 8:1).

 

The key in healthy living is to forgive our self as God forgives us – freely and completely. We can enjoy the fruit of His Spirit as He replaces our shortcomings with each one of them (Galatians 5:22-23). We are no longer stuck in the hamster’s wheel of temptation and an addiction to our sinful desires (Romans 7:19), because the reality is that Jesus already set us free from our fleshly humanity (Romans 7:24-25).

 

Prayer:

Father God, we rejoice that Jesus did an eternal work in the influence that sin and Satan have over us. We are no longer slaves to sin, but to righteousness (Romans 6:15-23). It is not by works of righteous which we do, but Your mercy that saves us and washes and regenerates us (Titus 3:5), as well as the work of the Holy Spirit in renewing our mind with the mind of Jesus.

 

Teach us that when we strive to be perfect, we end up facing our inability to walk the straight and narrow road, our impossible expectations for our self, the inevitability of us falling back into a sinful lifestyle, and a redundance of failures. However, Your Spirit gives us both the desire and the power to work out our own salvation (Philippians 2:12-13). We finally come to a place of realizing our power rests in our union with Your Trinity within us.

 

Thought for the Day:

As we give up the notion of our ability to perform for God and to harness our moral behavior in order to make Him love us more, we experience a cleansed conscience granted to us by the work of God’s Spirit in us through sanctification; we come to enjoy Christ’s presence in us, which gives us a hope of glory and spiritual maturity with which to face the challenges of life.

- Hebrews 9:14, 13:18; 1 Timothy 1:5, 3:19; Colossians 1:27, 2:2; 3 John 11