Union with Christ - Not of This World

Our life on earth is simply a momentary breath on a cold day (James 4:14). We are not of this world. We dwell with Christ in the Kingdom of God and we are no longer limited by this world (Galatians 2:20; John 18:36).

Our citizenship is in Heaven and Jesus is our Savior and our King (Philippians 3:20). The Lord Himself called us to live in His timeless glory now as well as in eternity. He is our strength, and He confirms us and establishes our place in His Kingdom (1 Peter 5:10).

God delivers us through any trial, and we have joy in it as we accept that He is using it to do its perfect work within us and through us (James 1:4).

As long as we dwell in the realm of the flesh, we will continue to experience defeat at the hands of tribulation. We do not belong in Satan’s grip.

If we are living in Satan’s pit, it is because we allow Satan's thoughts to infiltrate our thoughts. We give in to his defeatist thinking and we buy into his lies, forsaking God’s truth in the process.

In the realm of the Spirit, our body experiences occasional negative circumstances, but they do not influence our spirit or our soul – our mind, choices and emotions. We see God working out all things, even the negative things in our life, for our good (Romans 8:28).

Do not waste time wanting what you do not have. If God wants you to have it, He will give it to you. Jesus died for us all, and rose again so that we will not live for our self, but for Him (John 3:16-18; 2 Corinthians 5:15).

Prayer:

Father God, we do not have to spend one moment longing for anything or anyone but You. We do not want to love this world nor the things that it offers to us. If we really need something in our life, which we do not have, You will give it to us. You will move us to another state, or give us a different car or house, or provide us with a spouse or a child, if it is Your will for us.

Remind us to trust only in You and in Your provision and timing. You have a perfect plan for each one of us and living in the center of Your will is the happiest place on earth. We give You all of the praise and honor and glory for Your provision, love and care for us each day of our life. We look forward to spending eternity in Your service as well.

Thought for the Day:

When we step out of the realm of the flesh and enter into the eternal realm of the Spirit right here on this earth, we finally find eternal rest for our soul and provision for our every need through Jesus Christ our Lord. - Psalm 116:7

Total Surrender to God's Spirit

The Bible declares that if anyone claims to be a Christian, yet lives a worldly life, they are liars (Romans 8:9; 1 John 2:4). Even demons believe and tremble at the name of Christ (James 2:19).

We might believe in God. We might be convicted of our sin. We might like going to church and listening to religious music. However, we are not Born Again.

If we are Born Again, we live by the Spirit of God in everything we think, say and do (Romans 8:9).  There is continual intimacy with the living Lord and growth in our character and actions, which are led by His Spirit.

Our humanity is already dead with Christ in God (Colossians 3:3). God is love and if He abides in us completely, we have no need to strive to show His love to others (1 John 4:8). His love fills us and overflows into the lives of everyone we meet.

Christ in us expresses the fruit of the Spirit in and through us. We are a vessel containing the living Lord of the universe with all the dynamic power of the triune God resident within us (Ephesians 3:20).

Our Heavenly Father is always faithful to lead us in His perfect will. However, we must be willing to spend all day praying without ceasing, worshiping at His feet, communing with Him in prayer, and waiting patiently for His direction as we carry on in our daily commitments.

Prayer:

Father God, the only person that may call him/her self a Believer is one with a vital and vibrant intimate union with You. If we live according to our own plans for the day, and attempt to work You into them, we gravely miss many opportunities to allow You to work Your plans through us.

Remind us to converse with You moment by moment throughout the day as You orchestrate the adventures in our life to fulfill Your purpose in and through us. We hunger and thirst for a deeper relationship with You, so that we may walk in the fullness of Your Spirit and to enable You to accomplish Your will on the earth through us.

Thought for the Day:

Total submission to the control of Christ in our daily life is the next step after our salvation; so let's completely surrender to the work of God's Spirit. – 1 Corinthians 15:22-28

God's Kingdom Within Us

God gives us His salvation, so that we might share in His divine nature (2 Peter 1:4). Before we came to Christ, our spirit was dead in our sins, but Jesus delivered us from eternal damnation in hell (Ephesians 2:5).

He provides pardon for our sins, comfort in our affliction, strength to overcome adversity, the promise of a glorious resurrection, and life everlasting with Christ and all of the Saints.

Jesus spoke the words of God so that we can obey them and believe that God sent Him (John 17:8). When we choose to love Christ and to keep His statutes, He comes to make His home in us (John 14:23).

In our union with Jesus, we live in His divine nature and His divine nature lives in and through us (2 Peter 1:4). Since Christ dwells in our spirit, we become one Spirit with Him (1 Corinthians 6:17).

Through His divine power, God gave us everything we need to live a godly life (2 Peter 1:3). Although we live physically in this earthly realm, the reality of our life is that we live in the Kingdom of God (Luke 17:21).

We no longer view our life from a temporal standpoint, but from an eternal perspective. We live as partakers of Christ’s holiness as He puts His mind within us (Hebrews 12:10; 1 Corinthians 2:16).

The Father is in Jesus, Jesus is in the Father and we are in Jesus; therefore we are also in union with the Father (John 14:20-23, 17:21-23). The best part about life is that God loves us and shows Himself to us (John 14:21).

Prayer:

Father God, our attitudes about life and eternity change once we come to Christ in salvation. You created our new self to exist with the purity and holiness of Christ (Ephesians 4:23-24). Each day we come a little closer to complete unity in the faith and in our knowledge of Jesus, which will also eventually bring us to the full stature of the maturity of Christ in us (Ephesians 4:13).

Because of Your promises, we look forward to Your new heaven and new earth where righteousness dwells forever (2 Peter 3:13). We long for the day when there is no more sighing or suffering, where complete unity occurs between nature and mankind, and where Your Body is ready, willing and able to serve You.

Thought for the Day:

Just as Jesus was fully human with God’s divine nature fully abiding in and through Him, we are fully human with Christ’s divine nature fully abiding in and through us.