United with Christ

God originally created mankind in the image of the Trinity (Genesis 1:6). Adam and Eve lived in an existence of body, soul and spirit in close fellowship with the Father (1 Thessalonians 5:23).

They enjoyed the same immortality, which Christ exhibited after His resurrection. Yet, when they believed Satan's lies, they chose to ignore their spirit and to give in to the temptation of their human nature.

As a result, their spirit died, and we all reap the consequences of their choice. Knowing this before He created the world, God planned to become man as Emmanuel (Genesis 1:1; Matthew 1:23).

He paid the ransom for the sin debt of anyone who chooses to submit to His will rather than to our human desires or the devil's temptations (Romans 4:25, 5:6; John 3:16-18).

The reason that God's Spirit regenerates our spirit and sanctifies our soul is so that we will live in the divine life of Christ in us, rather than through our human life with its earthly thoughts and desires (2 Peter 1:4; John 1:1, 12-14).

This is possible once our spirit is Born Again. It is no longer we who live, but Christ who lives in us (Romans 12:2, 8:29; 2 Corinthians 3:18; Colossians 3:3-4). We live, move and have our existence in Christ alone (Acts 17:28).

We are united with Christ in our spirit, in the same way that Jesus' humanity was united with His Godly nature, while He lived on this earth.

The life, which we live in this body, is lived through the faith of God's holy Son (Galatians 2:20). We continue the work of Christ on this earth, and we do greater works as we function as His Body (John 3:3-6, 14:12).

We think, feel, speak and act in the will of God as we follow the leading of His Spirit through every decision we make, every word we speak and every action we take.

This affects our words and behavior in our vocation, marriage, extended family, neighborhood and church Body. We live as a city on a hill, and we never hide the light of Christ within us (Matthew 5:14-16).

Prayer:

Father God, thank You for sending Christ to redeem us from sin and its destruction. Thank You also for helping us to renew our mind through the washing of the water of Your Word (Ephesians 5:26). Since Christ set us free from sin, then help us to stay free from its demoralizing clutches (Galatians 5:1).

Teach us how to walk in the divine nature of Christ in us. Help us to live and move and have our being only in Him, so that we can walk in Your will, exhibit Your character and do the works of Christ all the days of our life.

Thought for the Day:

Since Christ abides in us by His Spirit, then even though our body will die because of the sin, which cursed this world, God's Spirit gives us His life in our spirit, soul and body, because of His holiness. - Romans 8:10 

Many thanks to Matt Milligan for the use of his photo.

To Burn Brighter Still

We often encounter winds of adversity in our life. Satan means for them to snuff out our light; but God is faithful - not only to give us grace to withstand the storms, but also to allow them to help us to burn brighter still.

We may experience discomfort from a fiery trial, a disappointing loss or a daunting challenge; but we will always have light, because the Son within us never fades.

It is human nature to respond to adversity by fighting back or by grumbling and complaining. In resorting to this negative behavior, we actually lose our serenity altogether.

Even through circumstances, which rage out of our control, God provides a place of rest for us (Hebrews 4:11). The key is to patiently accept that He has everything under His control.

As the Great Physician, our Father God often applies His scalpel to some part of our life that is sick or diseased. He makes a clean cut and leaves no scar. Though He wounds, He will never break (Matthew 12:20).

He only operates when it is absolutely necessary, and when He knows it is for our ultimate, overall good health. He uses life’s circumstances as His surgical tools to remove dead weight from our life.

He may remove some cherished person, home, job, etc, but He knows the plans He has for our future (Jeremiah 29:11), and what He chooses to remove is not part of those plans.

When we realize the truth that God is always constant and sheds His love and wisdom on us regardless of our circumstances, we learn to be content in whatever condition we find our self (Philippians 4:11-13).

This way, we will never experience the depression of hopes dashed against the cold reality of a faded dream. Instead, we will rest in the solid constancy of a never changing Son who never fails us nor forsakes us (Isaiah 60:20; Hebrews 13:5).

Prayer:

Father God, sometimes, we foolishly fill the void in our life with earthly treasures. We play the game of “if only.” “If only I could have this possession or that person, I’d be complete.”  Remind us that even when we attain our heart’s desire, the newness eventually wears off, the meaning evaporates and we are empty once again.

Help us to see that it is only when we completely surrender to Christ in our life, and when we do not try to replace Him with earthly treasures, that we remain happy and fulfilled with true joy now and throughout eternity.

Thought for the Day:

Whatever we cherish as the desire of our heart is actually our god; if Jesus is our purest desire, we will feel the fulfillment, which only comes when we live a life entirely surrendered to the will of God.

Identity Crisis

If a child does not receive the fulfillment of his/her legitimate human needs, they will look for people in their adulthood to meet them. Belonging, significance, acceptance, identity and security are the major psychological and emotional necessities in every human soul.

Our emotionally wounded parents were unable to provide these for us. As adults, we search in vain for our perfect soulmate, who has the limitless resources to make up for the deprivation from our past. In search of our fulfillment, we get too involved in earthly pursuits and change partners too often.

Those we reject suffer deep emotional scars, which are almost impossible to heal. As individuals, we attempt to perfect our personality and performance in order to find our personal worth through our human qualities, talents, intelligence, and physical assets.

The problem is that no one is capable of perfection. The key to our fulfillment on this earth is to realize that our true personal worth comes from our relationship with our supreme God and Father (Philippians 4:19). Only He provides us with a secure sense of belonging. We can trust Him and have no fear of His rejecting us for any reason.

If we cling to our deficiencies, rather than surrendering it all to God, we erect an idol, which we continue to “worship”. We allow Satan and our flesh to deceive us, which continues to cripple us. However, when we completely surrender all of our needs to God, He will meet them in His way and timing.

Prayer:

Father God, our freedom comes only as we surrender every aspect of our life to You. As long as we focus on what we lack, we continue to worship idols. Once we take our mind off our needs, and put it on worshipping and serving you, we suddenly discover that we are living a very fulfilling life. Remind us to commit our life to You, because then Jesus heals us and we are totally set free from emotional and psychological hindrances (John 8:32; Psalm 37:5). We enjoy mental, emotional and spiritual freedom, which only comes by learning to find our contentment in You (Philippians 4:11-13).

Thought for the Day:

In truth, complete fulfillment only comes when Christ is our whole life. - Colossians 3:4