A Divine Relationship

Many people attempt to develop a relationship with Jesus and are not able to completely enter into this intimate union with Him (Luke 13:23-24). This is because they seek this relationship for all the wrong reasons.

They want the benefits of the fulfilled Christian life, but they do not want to live up to the commitment. Joshua encouraged Israel to choose to serve the Lord, and that is actually what it takes to have this coveted relationship (Joshua 25:15).

God's grace provides the opportunity for salvation to every person ever born (Titus 2:11). He is not willing for anyone to perish in the flames of hell for eternity, but for everyone to come to Him in repentance (2 Peter 3:9; John 3:18).

We do not earn this stature, because it is a free gift; but it does require a choice to commit to the Lord in wholehearted dedication to His ways and His Word (Romans 5:15).

Satan will fight our choice at every turn. He is used to having us in his service and he wants us back. Therefore, spiritual battle is an ongoing event in the Christian's life (1 Timothy 6:12).

Our power of choice is still alive and well in the heart of every Believer. We make choices every day either to serve God, our flesh, the world or the devil.

Satan tempts us as he did Adam and Eve, to make choices from our self-motivated will, independently from God's will for our life (Genesis 2:1-17; Ephesians 2:10). To draw us away from God's best, he uses legitimate needs we have as human beings; but they end up being lies.

God will convict us; but it is up to us to choose to totally surrender our body, soul and spirit to Him; so that His Spirit can heal our body, sanctify our soul and regenerate our spirit.

Prayer:

Father God, remind us that conviction does not save us, it simply humbles us and brings us to the point of repentance. The good news is that Christ in us is greater than any influences outside of us (1 John 4:4). The more we understand our new identity in You as an authentic Believer, the more quickly we grow in spiritual maturity.

With maturity, we find it easier to choose to live in dependence on You for all of our needs. We realize that it is not necessary for us to sin in an attempt to meet our basic needs. When we hunger and thirst for Your righteousness (Matthew 5:6), You supply everything for us according to Your glorious riches (Philippians 4:19).

Thought for the Day:

Conversion only comes through a heart-felt commitment to follow Christ with our life; and it stirs us to read our Bible, to attend worship services, to attend Bible studies and to praise God in every moment through every circumstance - the good, the bad and the ugly.

Eternal Union

In three places, the Bible states, “Ye are gods” (Psalm 82:6; John 10:34; Isaiah 41:23). Some people take this to an extreme and declare that they are a god and equal to God. Some declare that God dwells universally in everything; therefore, we are all God.

The union between God and mankind is relational, we do not become a god or equal with God (Genesis 3:5). The verses following those statements prove that God is not referring to people as equal to Himself (Psalm 82:7; John 10:35-36).

These verses actually refer to people being God’s representatives as His Saints; or to us as children of God and co-heirs with Christ, living worthy of our calling in Christ (Romans 8:16-17).

We are not God or a god, but we achieve an intimate union with God through Jesus Christ within us. We totally depend upon His divine power filling every part of our body, soul and spirit (1 Corinthians 6:17).

The key element of living in union with Christ is to submit the absolute control of our life to God. Unconditional surrender to Christ offers us eternal life now in this life, which brings us total peace and fulfillment.

Jesus takes our sins and gives us His righteousness in exchange (2 Corinthians 5:21). He lives in us and He loves humanity through us. At the moment of salvation, we become a new creation in Christ (2 Corinthians 5:17).

Jesus gives us His knowledge of eternity. We readily believe God, not with our human faith, but with the divine faith of Christ who lives in us (Galatians 2:20).

Prayer:

Father God, we are often so busy with our own little world, that we fail You time and again. Moses requested Your presence as Israel obeyed Your directive to conquer the Promised Land. He knew that Your presence would distinguish Israel from all the other nations of the world (Exodus 33:15-17).

We have You within us by Your Spirit. Use our relationship in You to help us to win the unsaved for You. You desire a people filled with Your presence and reflecting Your glory, a living testimony of Your love and power in the earth. Teach us to be a city on a hill and to shine Your light in us for all the world to see (Matthew 5:14).

Thought for the Day:

May we be a people who demonstrate the ‘shekinah’ glory of God – the manifest radiance of His glory - to a lost and dying world all around us.

 

The Healing Business

Satan is depicted in the Garden of Eden as a serpent. We think of snakes as carriers of venom and death. Yet, when the Israelites sinned in disobedience to God, God told Moses to make a brass serpent.

He place it on a pole (Numbers 21). That took some time, and meanwhile, many died. Once the brass icon was in place, however, everyone who looked at the serpent was saved from the pestilence ravaging the camp of sojourners.

God used this experience as a foreshadowing of Christ being raised on the cross (John 12:32). The evil symbol of Satan in the Garden of Eden was now used for the promise of eternal redemption for us all.

When we fix our eyes on Jesus, who supplied us with His grace for salvation (Hebrews 12:2), we too are saved. God wants to heal every facet of our life, if we will simply trust and believe.

God heals marriages, which He designed to give us a safe haven from a world that often frightens us and stresses us out. Two become one flesh and should never be separated.

If you try, you do not split in half; you rip apart in shreds. If you purpose to stay together, there is not one issue that cannot be worked out between you.

It takes healing, forgiveness, open communication and a selfless commitment to one another. It is easy to get a divorce. It takes unconditional love to stay together.

Sure our partner is not perfect and may get on our nerves or wear us down at times; but a little understanding and a great deal of appreciation is all you need to stay together.

God also heals parent-child relationships. When mentally or emotionally stunted adults have children, they are sure to miss the mark in certain areas of parenting. Reading every book on parenting ever written is no guarantee of success - I know, I tried.

All we can do is our best. No human being is capable of doing more. At times, our best is sub-par, but we can give our parents credit for what they did give to us; sometimes at their own financial, physical and emotional loss.

God also heals individual lives. He fills in the gaps of our childhood and teaches us to meet our own needs and to allow Him to reveal to us the lies, which Satan planted along our life's path. As we replace the lies with God's truth, we are healed from the inside out ( www.theophostic.com ). 

Prayer:

Father God, You show us through the serpent on a pole not to focus on exterior symbols and make doctrines out of them, but to follow Your Spirit, which often works contrary to our human reasoning (Proverbs 3:5-6). You are God and there is no one like You (Jeremiah 10:6). You are our alpha and omega (Revelation 22:13).

We cannot thank You enough for condescending to our human level and dwelling among us for 33 years; only to offer Your own life as a sacrifice and propitiation for the punishment, which we deserve for our sins. Your mercy and grace are new every morning and Your faithfulness is as fathomless as the sea (Lamentations 3:22-23; Psalm 36:6).

Thought for the Day:

God is in the healing business as we totally surrender our life and will to His ultimate plan for us. - Ephesians 2:10

A Building Made without Human Hands

David wanted to build God a proper house on this earth in which He could visit His people. David's heart continually focused on God, and he realized that he lived in a palace and God still dwelt in a tent from Israel's days in the wilderness (Acts 13:22).

As a man of war, David was disqualified from building this holy place (1 Chronicles 28:2-3). Yet, God allowed David to gather the materials and for his son Solomon to build this grand palace for the Lord.

When they completed the temple, God's glory filled the Holiest Place and He spoke to His chosen people (2 Chronicles 5-7). His main request was that Israel repent of all sin and to live holy before Him.

Characteristically, Israel sinned before the Lord, and God did as He warned them that He would do. He anointed a warring country to destroy the temple and to take the people captive.

Yet, God allowed a faithful remnant of His people to eventually return to the chosen land. 

They were able to rebuild Jerusalem and a smaller temple. This actually grieved those who experienced the former glory, which they lost because of their sin (Ezra 3:12).

God's plan all along was to build a house for Himself using living stones, acceptable to Him through our relationship with Jesus Christ (1 Peter 2:4-12). We are His temple, and His Spirit dwells in our midst (1 Corinthians 3:16).

The building where the church meets is not holy nor is it God's house. It is simply a place for Believers to actively worship God who dwells within us. God's Spirit builds Believers together into a holy dwelling place for Him (Ephesians 2:22; Hebrew 3:6).

Heaven is God's throne and the earth is His footstool. There is no temple grand enough for us to build for Him, which is more awesome than the myriad of galaxies, which He created (Isaiah 66:1; Genesis 1:1).

Prayer:

Father God, remind us that our behavior is a reflection on You (Psalm 23:3, 1 Timothy 3:14-15). You are holy and You call us to be holy as well (1 Peter 1:16). You want us to have clean hands before we lift them up in worship to You (Psalm 24:1-6, 134:2).

Search the hidden recesses of our inner being and see if there is any wicked way in us, and lead us in Your everlasting way (Psalm 139:23-24). Heal us from the deep wounds inflicted on us by other people (Proverbs 18:8). Fill us instead by Your deep, spiritual riches (Proverbs 24:4).

Thought for the Day:

God never wanted to dwell in buildings made with human hands; but in the hearts of His People. - Acts 17:24