The Purpose of LIfe

As authentic Christians, we now live by the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus (Romans 8:2). Our transformation rests firmly on the rock of the gospel of Christ through His Holy Spirit (Romans 12:2; Psalm 18:2).

We live by His faith in love, filled with the fruit of and following the leading of God’s Spirit on a moment-by-moment basis (Galatians 5:1; 5:22-23; Ephesians 5:18).

We no longer strive to earn God’s love or to live a holy life. We simply walk in obedience. We live on earth to glorify our Father, not by our own human efforts, but only by the power of Christ within us.

Jesus loves us so much, that for our benefit he gave Himself up to the horrific death on Calvary’s cross. Through His sacrifice, we are now acceptable to God in Christ (1 Peter 2:5; Romans 15:7).

We have been crucified with Christ. Therefore, it is no longer we who live our life, but Christ, the Messiah, who lives in and through us.

The life that we now live in our body on this earth, we live by faith in, devotion to, dependence on and complete confidence in the Son of God (Galatians 2:20, Amplified Bible).

Jesus is our only hope of experiencing God’s glory (Colossians 1:27). We could never be good enough in our human effort to earn a place in Heaven (Ephesians 2:8-10).

We completely surrender our plans, goals and will to God’s will for our life and we live in perfect union with Christ. Our old sinful nature is crucified with Christ, and sin has no more power over our choices.

Prayer:

Father God, You planned, before You ever created the earth, for Jesus to give up His glory in Heaven, to take the form of a man, to humble Himself and to willingly die in our place (Philippians 2:8). You call us to follow in His example and to die to our humanity as well, exchanging our sinful desires for His righteousness.

Now, by Your Spirit's power within us, we can put on the mind of Christ (Philippians 2:5). Therefore, because of Your mercy and grace, we will no longer succumb to the negative suggestions of our carnal nature, but we live a life that is free from the destructive consequences of sin (Romans 12:2; Galatians 5:16).

Thought for the Day:

We renew our mind by reading God's Word and walking in continual obedience to His Holy Spirit.

- Ephesians 5:26; John 14:15

Drawing Near to God

 

The natural world in which we live, and everyone in it, is held captive by sin. However, through faith in Jesus Christ we are given God's promised salvation (Galatians 3:22-23). Now, with a sincere heart, we can draw near to God. Our mind, sprinkled by the blood of Christ, is cleansed from a guilty conscience and the pure water of God's Word washes us clean (Hebrews 10:22).

We can only abide in God after we first seek Him and His Kingdom, and live in the truth that He lives in and through us. He will never, ever, for any reason leave us (Hebrews 13:5). As we wait on Him day by day, He grants us the grace to abide in Him. We rejoice in His fellowship and we work in His power. We completely give up our self to Him and live by faith in His faithfulness.

God allows trials to test our faith, which increases our perseverance through them (James 1:3). Thankfully, Jesus is both the developer and the perfecter of our faith (Hebrews 12:2). Even the prophets of old knew that the righteous live by faith (Habakkuk 2:4: Romans 1:17). Since Jesus' faith and Spirit abide within us, we multiply the works of Christ on this earth (John 14:12).

The core truths of God's Word energize the authentic Christian and thrill our soul. First and foremost, we wait on the Lord, we live in His presence continually and we enter into His eternal rest on a daily basis. Once we completely surrender to Christ, God takes us up spiritually into His Holy Temple (2 Corinthians 5:1). We abide in His rest, and all of our work on earth is done only through Him.

Prayer:

Father God, even if other people refuse to believe in You, their unbelief does not make our faith in You worthless (Romans 3:3). Through the blood of Jesus, we become Your righteousness, and You wipe away our sins through Your love and forbearance (Romans 3:25). Help us not to grow weary or to lose faith in Your promises, but to remain strong in Christ's faith in us, as we give You all of the glory (Romans 4:20).

Thought for the Day:

We are justified and reconciled to God by faith, not by our own good deeds. - Romans 3:28, 4:14; Ephesians 2:8-9

The Purpose of Life

 

Jesus is a perfect example for us of the fact that Authentic Christians never die; we just pass from life on this earth, immediately through death’s door into the heavenly realm (1 John 3:14). Jesus now lives as our High Priest, our Melchizedek, making intercession for us to our Father (Hebrews 5:10-14, 7:25). Yet, He continues to perform His work on the earth through His Saints in which He resides (Colossians 1:27).

His life has the divine power of the Trinity, and He resides within us with this same dynamite power (Colossians 2:9). We are His Priests, His Body, His Saints and His anointed ones who abide in Him at the same time that He abides in us (John 15:4). He offers us an endless, unchanging life, which supplies us with all of our needs as we abide in His love (John 15:10). No matter what circumstances we traverse, we live in His abundant peace, joy and righteousness (Romans 14:17).

If we feel that peace slipping away, it is because we took our focus off of Him and put it on the circumstance around us (Isaiah 26:3). The events of our life occur simply in order to bring us to perfection and to enable us to effect the world around us. While we abide in Him there is no sin or temptation that can lure us away from walking in His righteousness (Romans 16:18). Our union with Christ brings us the unlimited blessings of His glory within us.

In His life, He triumphed over sin, and He wants to bring us into this same level of victory over those sins, which so easily overwhelm us (Hebrews 12:1). His holiness in us is greater than any evil in this world (1 John 4:4). Victory and deliverance are ours because He lives within us. Our walk is perfected as we seek our Father’s will in each moment of our day. His life flows through us to make a difference in the world around us.

We are to occupy the earth until He comes again as He receives us to Himself (Luke 19:13). He is our joy and our peace (Romans 15:13). He supplies everything we need in order to carry out His will for our life (Philippians 4:19). He alone is our strength and our song (Psalm 118:14). He is the source of our hope (Jeremiah 29:11). We watch and wait for His coming, to receive His bride to Himself for eternity (Matthew 25:1-13). Until then, we walk on this earth in the power of His might within us (Ephesians 6:10-12).

Prayer:

Father God, our life is hidden with Christ in You, and Jesus is our very reason for living (Colossians 3:3-4). We trust in You for every aspect of our life. With faith and certain anticipation, we rely on You and yield our self totally to You. We abandon our self-life and live as an act of worship to You. We live by faith in Your faithfulness as we yield to Your will for us. We glory in Your Word of Truth. We look forward to spending each moment of our day with You, and to the culmination of our relationship by serving You in eternity as well.

Thought for the Day:

We enter God rest by totally abandoning our self to His keeping and reveling in knowing Him, which is eternal life. – John 17:3

God's Delight

 

Authentic Christians do not have to pray to get back in the Spirit, nor do we have to go to a church to find God, because we continually live and walk in His Spirit (Galatians 5:16,25). God is love. Everyone who loves with God’s Agape love is born of God and knows Him intimately (1 John 4:7). God delights in and abundantly blesses those who love Him and seek after Him. Our petitions and prayers are near and dear to the heart of our Father God. He provides for all of our needs (Proverbs 8:17; Romans 8:28). He delights in the praises and adoration of His people (Psalm 147:11, 149:4).

On the other hand, God actually hates sinners (Psalm 5:5, 11:5). Why? They harden their heart against Him as they pursue a life of sin. Take Jacob and Esau, for instance. Jacob had a heart for God, although he and his mom cooked up some pretty deceptive activities to mislead his father! Yet, God went on record to pronounce that He loved Jacob and hated Esau (Romans 9:13). Why? Esau’s god was his belly (Philippians 3:19). God knows our heart; and like Esau, some people actually despise God with the choices and lifestyle, which they prefer over Him (Luke 16:15; Romans 9:13).

God gives everyone the opportunity to worship Him with all of their heart; however, many choose to turn their back on Him (John 3:18). God calls everyone to stop putting our faith in the wrong people and things, and to put it in Him instead. We exchange our self-centered efforts for Christ-centered ones. Our carnal humanity no longer controls our life, because we surrendered totally to God. As we follow hard after Him, and only Him, then He provides us with everything we need from the endless well of His glorious riches (Matthew 6:33). His peace and joy flood our soul.

Rather than to seek our own comfort or fame, we seek to further God’s Kingdom in the earth. Every part of our soul – our thoughts, choices and emotions – blesses the Lord (Psalm 103:1). We patiently listen for His voice as He wisely directs our steps according to His plan for our life (Proverbs 3:5-6). We start to despise anything that robs Him of the glory due His name. God loves it when our soul chases after Him (Psalm 63:8). We are a magnifying glass through which others see God as bigger than life (Luke 1:46). They pay no attention to us, because they look right through us at Him.

Prayer:

Lord Jesus, we decrease so that You may increase in and through us (John 3:30). We never leave the shadow of the Almighty or the shelter of Your wings (Psalm 91:1). We love you, and we keep our Father’s commandments as You manifest Yourself to us and through us, instead of us (John 14:21). You love us abundantly more than we could ever imagine being loved. We focus on You and look forward to Your Spirit transforming us into Your image (Romans 8:29).

Thought for the Day:

God transports us into higher and higher realms of spiritual delight as we give our whole body, soul and spirit in worship to Him.

 

The Secret of a Joyfilled Life

As authentic Christians, our satisfaction in life comes from accomplishing the will of God each moment of the day. We do everything, even the most mundane of things, out of our love for God (1 Corinthians 10:31). We do not seek His blessings. We seek nothing more than to know Him. We rely totally on God for wisdom and grace in everything we do and say. Once we develop this habit, we have little difficulty in walking in the Spirit and being led by His desires instead of our own carnal ones (Galatians 5:25).

We live our entire life in the presence of God within us. We start in daily prayer, Bible reading and study. Then we carry that devotional attitude throughout the interaction of earning a living; caring for our home, family and community; and serving in a ministry in the Body of Christ. This consistent life brings amazing pleasures that fill our spirit and soul – our mind, choices and emotions – and affect the health of our body as well. Even difficult times are more bearable with our mind focused on pleasing God in them and through them (Isaiah 26:3).

Our stress in life only occurs when we wander from His presence and try to achieve success in life in our own self-effort. God is intimately present within us and eager to direct our thoughts, words and actions. We go throughout our day in constant conversation with Christ within us. We consult His wisdom and direction for every object of our interest and every duty we perform. This allows our times of work to mirror our times of devotion. We achieve all of our duties while informally dialoguing with our Lord.

We accomplish everything, even our secular employment, out of our love for God. After all, He is our true employer. We serve the company at which we work and the family in which we live as unto the Lord. Our quiet times of prayer and our conversational dialogue with God all throughout the day do not differ. They are equally as devout and joyful. In this way, we live in the joy of the Lord throughout the day and night. Our facial expressions and body language reflects the calm devotion in our soul and spirit.

Even in the most hectic times of life, we enjoy the peace of God, which transcends all human reasoning. People we work and live with wonder how the calamities and abuses we endure do not disturb our peace. It is because the Master Designer of the universe is in control of our life. He keeps the earth rotating in the exact orbit and tilt from the sun, which we need for optimum living. He never sleeps, day or night (Psalm 121:3-4). We trust Him implicitly to care for us no matter what anyone else does to us or against us (Psalm 121:7).

Prayer:
Father God, You are our hiding place. You protect us from trouble and surround us with comforting songs (Psalm 32:7). You do not turn us over to the evil desires of our foes. You always deliver us in Your timing and way (Psalm 41:2). No circumstance will overwhelm us, because You give us joy and peace in the midst of them (Proverbs 12:21). You surround us with Your blessings as a shield (Psalm 5:12). You give the oppressed a refuge and the troubled a stronghold of safety (Psalm 9:9). We give You all the praise, glory and honor due Your name (Psalm 96:8).

Thought for the Day:

We live our life in calm composure and serenity, because our thoughts are focused on God as He supplies all of our needs according to His glorious riches (Isaiah 26:3; Philippians 4:19).

 

Thank you, Poetry and Love, for the use of your photo.

Divine Purpose

The spirit of man is dead at birth, buried under layers of sin since the time of Adam and Eve (Ephesians 2:1-5). We all have a living soul – our mind, will and emotions - which often fails under the weight of life, because circumstances beat us down relentlessly. Our dead spirit and our unhealthy soul affect our body as well. Without Christ in our life, we know something is missing. We search relentlessly to find it. What we lack is the vital power of God.

Without the Spirit of God rebirthing and dwelling in our spirit, we are crippled in life. No one is intrinsically good except God (Mark 10:18). However, when Christ moves into our life, we daily die to our carnal flesh (Galatians 2:20; John 12:24; Luke 9:23). We start to make choices, which last for eternity; rather than desiring options, which are carnal, temporal and momentary. Jesus is our only life and we have no meaningful existence outside of Him (2 Corinthians 13:5). This does not mean that we sit in a meditative state all day, every day.

Jesus and the apostles interacted with people. They were anointed with the Holy Spirit and with God’s power. They went everywhere the Spirit led them, and they blessed many with wisdom, healing and deliverance (Acts 10:38). Salvation is the beginning of our walk in Christ, but the next step is to develop awareness in our conscious thoughts of the reality of Christ living within us. Once we come to Christ we are totally complete in Him (Colossians 2:9-10). We live and move and have our existence in Jesus each moment of our day (Act 17:28). Christ actually does the work of God through us.

Our true identity as Authentic Christians comes from Christ living in us. Christ expresses God’s character through us, which is the fruit of the Spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, gentleness, goodness, meekness, self-control and faith (Galatians 5:22-23). We are all united with Christ in His Body. He uses us as individual members, each with unique gifts and talents, in a ministry to a corporate, church Body. He uses us to fulfill His purpose in the earth (Romans 12:15; Ephesians 1:22,23; Colossians 1:18; 1 Corinthians 12:27).

Our life is God’s love letter to the world that He cares about them (2 Corinthians 3:3). God equips us to walk in His will through Christ in us (Hebrews 13:20). With Christ living within us, we experience rest for our soul (Matthew 11:29). We stop striving to perform for God, because Christ works through us (Psalm 46:10; Matthew 6:28-33). This eternal rest is only available if we take our focus in life off the temporal aspects of our existence and place it squarely on eternal matters instead (2 Corinthians 4:18).

Prayer:

Father God, You gave us Your eternal life, which no one can take from us (John 10:28). We are joined to You, and we are beneficiaries of Your divine nature (1 Corinthians 6:17; 2 Peter 1:4). We have constant fellowship with You, the Son and the Spirit (1 John 1:3, 9; Phil 2:1). You placed us in Christ Jesus and we are seated in heavenly places in Him (1 Corinthians 1:30; Ephesians 2:6). You provide every spiritual blessing for us in Christ (Ephesians 1:3). We want to give you all the honor and glory for everything we think, say and do each moment of the day.

Thought for the Day:

The integrity of our testimony may be the difference in someone believing in or rejecting Jesus as their Savior.

Surprise Revelation

In writing to the Romans, Paul laments over his unsuccessful attempts to overcome the flesh in his own strength and to put on the mind of Christ. He realized the wretchedness of his humanity. He struggled with our need to be holy, and his inability to reach this level of consecration (Romans 7:19-24). Then, God surprised Paul with a revelation (Romans 7:25). He was thrilled to realize that we do not have to suffer under the weight of condemnation any longer, because Christ already set us all free from the law of sin and death on Calvary’s Cross (Romans 8:1-2). 

As authentic Christians we now live by the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus (Romans 8:2). Our transformation rests firmly on the rock of the gospel of Christ (Romans 12:2; Psalm 18:2). We live by His faith in love, filled with the fruit of, and following the leading of God’s Spirit on a moment-by-moment basis (Galatians 5:1; 5:22-23; Ephesians 5:18). We no longer strive to earn God’s love or to live a holy life. We simply walk in obedience. We live on earth to glorify our Father, not by our own efforts, but only by the power of Christ within us.

Jesus loves us so much, that for our benefit he gave Himself up to the horrific death on Calvary’s cross. Through His sacrifice, we are now acceptable to God in Christ (1 Peter 2:5; Romans 15:7). We have been crucified with Christ. Therefore, it is no longer we who live our life, but Christ, the Messiah, who lives in us. The life that we now live in our body on this earth, we live by faith in, devotion to, dependence on and complete confidence in the Son of God (Galatians 2:20, Amplified Bible).

Jesus is our only hope of experiencing God’s glory (Colossians 1:27). We could never be good enough in our human effort to earn a place in Heaven (Ephesians 2:8-10). Jesus gave up His glory in Heaven to take the form of a man, and He humbled Himself and willingly died in our place (Philippians 2:8).  Now, we can put on the mind of Christ (Philippians 2:5). We renew our mind by reading God’s Word, and we walk in the Spirit. Therefore, we will no longer succumb to the negative suggestions of our carnal nature (Romans 12:2; Galatians 5:16).

We completely surrender our will to God’s will for our life and we live in perfect union with Christ. Our old sinful nature is crucified with Christ, and sin has no more power over our choices. Just as the Son could do nothing of Himself, we too are nothing without Christ in us. The only effort we need to make in order to walk in the reality of this victory is to totally surrendering control of our life to God. In doing this, we successfully enter His rest (Hebrews 4:3).

Prayer:

Lord Jesus, our Father exalted You with a name above all other names. One day every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that You, Jesus Christ, are Lord (Philippians 2:9-10). We were buried with You through baptism into Your death.  In the same way in which You were raised from the dead through the glory of our Father, we too are raised to live a new life through You. We are no longer slaves to sin, because You set us free from sin’s power when we died with You on Calvary’s cross (Romans 6:4-7).

Thought for the Day:

Just as God the Father, Son and Spirit are united as one, Jesus died so we can share in this same unity of oneness with our triune God. - 1 Corinthians 6:17

 

 

 

 

 

 

Church Goers

Read: Matthew 25: 1-13

“I will search for faithful people to be my companions. Only those who are above reproach will be allowed to serve me.” - Psalm 101: 6

There are three types of Church attendees: Spiritual, Carnal and the Unsaved. There are clear differences between them, however. An authentic, spiritual Christian will hear the Word of God, believe it and obey it. They immediately start to bear fruit: some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty fold. This is the doer of the Word. They delight in the life-giving Words of the gospel. They continue producing fruit in greater and greater quantities as they mature in the Lord throughout their lives.

True Believers will grow at different rates in their spiritual maturity, but they will not remain carnal babes all of their life (1 Corinthians 3:1). Some may be slower at grasping the concept of living as an Authentic Christian, but they will gradually grow into the stature of the fullness of Christ (Ephesians 4:13). The Bible makes it crystal clear that authentic faith in Jesus Christ will produce a life of good works in a Christian Believer (James 2: 14-26; Ephesians 2: 8-10). They may fall into temptation and sin now and then, but they do not live in a sinful lifestyle.

On the other hand, if we practice willful sin after we received the knowledge of the Truth, there is no more sacrifice for our sin (Hebrews 10:26; Luke 8:5f). The Bible calls these willful sinners Apostates (Jeremiah 5:23). Some Apostates actually believe they are Born Again, because they said a prayer and attend church. These people give Christians a bad name by their hypocritical behavior. They never really experienced the power of the gospel in a life-changing way. They are not Born Again, and they are not a new creation (2 Corinthians 5:17). They participate in religious activities, which make them feel closer to God and His Saints; but they are not truly saved (1 John 2: 19; Matthew 7:21; 25:1-13; John 3:3; 2 Timothy 3:5).

Sometimes, it is hard to differentiate between an Apostate and a Carnal Christian. Only God knows for sure if someone is a Believer or an Unbeliever. Since eternal security is a fact of Scripture, the Carnal Christian is still saved. Salvation cannot be lost, because salvation is a gift from God that He will never take away (John 3:16-18; 5:24; Ephesians 4:30). However, these carnal Christians live as babies according to the elementary teachings of the Word and in rebellion to God (Hebrews 5:13-14).

The Greek word for carnal is sarkikos, which literally means “fleshly.” Paul considers them Believers, because he calls them brethren, but he describes them as “carnal” (1 Corinthians 3:1-3, 3:15; John 10: 28; Romans 8: 37-39; 1 John 5:13).   No one is without sin (1 John 1:8-9). Every time we sin we are allowing the flesh to control our behavior rather than the Spirit of God. Authentic Christians may fall into temptation and sin. However, Carnal Christians sin regularly and actually disregard many of the Ten Commandments.

Those who continue to live in rebellion to God’s Word will justify their fleshly, unscriptural behavior and try to entice others to join them in their sin. They hang out at bars, and sometimes even drink or do drugs. Some are mean and inconsiderate. They cuss, watch R- and X-rated movies, covet worldly goods, gossip and may even be unfaithful to their mate. If we hang around with carnal Christians or the unsaved who profess to be saved, we may be swayed to partake in their sin (Genesis 39:7-12; Psalm 26:5, 50:18; Proverbs 1:10, 4:23, 6:27, 13:20, 16:29, 22:3; Matthew 5:8; 6:13; 18:8,9; Romans 13:14; 1 Corinthians 15:33; 1 Timothy 6:21; 1 Peter 4:3,4;).

God constantly calls the unsaved to believe and surrender their life to Him. Carnal Christians continually receive correction from our Heavenly Father (Hebrews 12: 5-11). He is attempting to call us all to repentance from these dead works (Hebrews 6:1) and to allow Him to conform us to the image of His Son (Romans 12:1-2). As we surrender our life to God, we will exhibit more spirituality and less carnality through the sanctifying process of the Holy Spirit within us.

As Authentic Christians, we treat unsaved people and Carnal Christians with God’s love and nurture; but we should not hang out with them on a regular basis. Instead, we who are spiritual should gently exhort those who are walking in ungodly behavior by sharing God’s truth with them (Galatians 6:1). We should rise up to live as examples of a Believer (1 Timothy 4:12) and to be teachers of the solid food of the Word (Heb. 5:12-14).

Prayer:
Father God, please search my heart and know me. Try me and see if there is any wicked way in me. Then, lead me in Your everlasting way (Psalm 139:23). Helps us to be examples of Your Truth to unbelievers and Carnal Christians, so they will see our good works and Glorify You (Matthew 5:16).

Thought for the Day:

As we align our self with the truth of God’s Word, we live authentic Christian lives.