As authentic Believers, our identity is no longer found in our human capabilities, but in our kinship with Jesus as our brother, with His Spirit as our comforter and guide, and with God as our Father (1 John 3:1-3). We turn away from all self-confidence, self-serving and self-adulation and follow the leading of God’s Spirit instead (John 6:63).
God does not strip us of anything, but we simply relinquish our humanity to Him. He restores us to the spiritual position where Adam and Eve were in the Garden of Paradise. We experience true peace and joy for the first time in our life (Romans 15:13). Each moment of every day, we purpose in our heart to live in obedience to, as well as dependence on God’s Spirit.
There are other people who claim to be Christians, but they live for their own benefit and advancement. They have little time for God’s Kingdom, because they are too absorbed in amassing worldly benefits for their earthly life, hobbies and interests that consume their time, and pursuits that they do not use to further God’s Kingdom.
They take pride in their good behavior, but they have no problem committing sins of the flesh. Their behavior gives the church and Christianity a bad name, and they cause people in the world to criticize the church and to falsely label all Christians as hypocrites.
Then, there are those who come to Christ in truth, but they rely on their self-effort to work for God. Self-effort relentlessly drives them and leaves them spiritually, physically, mentally, and emotionally depleted. Self-effort has no place in the Kingdom of God. A true child of God eventually learns to trust God with our whole heart, and to love Him continually.
We trust only in Christ within us for our righteousness, peace, and joy (Romans 8:14). He is all we need. We are not agreeing to a life of trials, but of simply nailing our will to the cross and surrendering to the life of Christ within us (Matthew 16:24). He makes our circumstances more bearable.
The blood of Christ completely cleanses us from all unrighteous thoughts, words, and behavior (Hebrews 8:12, 9:14). We can approach the throne of God with confidence (Hebrews 4:16). We have fellowship with our Father as children of the Most High God, as well as with Jesus Christ, whom He sent (1 John 1:3).
He is our good Shepherd, and we follow Him to living water and verdant pastures as we trust in His continual faithfulness to us (John 10:27). Wolves may attempt to devour us, storms my disturb our peace and joy, rocky ground may unstabilize our walk for a while, but He is with us and in us every step of the way.
Prayer:
Father God, our entire purpose for living is to glorify You as our Father and to function as a good and faithful servant through Christ in us. We live in the center of Your perfect will for us (Romans 12:2), functioning by the leading of Your Spirit within us. We are dead, and our life is now hidden with Christ in You, because Christ is our whole life (Colossians 3:3-4).
Totally immerse us in Your life, because it is greater than any secular status, financial fortune, or material possessions. We desire nothing more than to do Your will for our life. We are no longer our own, because we are purchased by You for Your own purposes (Ephesians 2:10). Therefore, teach us to walk in Your Spirit so that we do not fulfill the lusts of our flesh (Romans 5:15-25).
Thought for the Day:
The Spirit in us is a mirror, which causes those who live in sin to reject us, because they are convicted by the presence of Christ in us; we are all given the chance to be saved from hell and to enter heaven by the sacrificial blood of Jesus Christ; when we struggle with our flesh, we come to realize that God calls us to take up our cross daily and to follow Him.
– James 1:23; 1 Peter 1:18-19; Romans 7-8; John 3:16-18
