Our True Identity in Christ

cChrist lives in us, and we are united with Him, just as He is one with our Father (John 14:20). We are joined to and united with God's Spirit, as a branch to a vine (1 Corinthians 6:17; John 15:4-5).

We are free from the law of sin and death, by the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus (Romans 8:2). Daily, we live as a witness to others of the love and nurture of the eternal, triune Godhead living within us (Romans 8:4).

Sin no longer has power over us, because of God's grace ruling in our heart (Romans 6:14). Since the Son of God set us free, we are absolutely free to live a life of holiness (John 8:36; Romans 6:18).

His divine power enables us to excel in our vocation, spiritual calling and family relationships through His divine life within us (Colossians 1:27). The fruit of His Spirit replaces our carnality (Galatians 5:15-25).

God's Spirit also enables us to have the courage to boldly share the gospel with everyone we meet. Not in a preachy or condemning manner, but in the spirit of love and peace with the words He gives us (Ephesians 6:19).

Jesus delivers us from our sinful nature, which used to serve sin; and He gives us a mind, which is now a slave to God's nature, principles and Kingdom (Romans 7:25).

As slaves of God, we are set free from the slavery to sin in order to reap the blessings of holiness and eternal life (Romans 6:22). We belong to Christ, who was raised from the dead, so that we will bear fruit for God's Kingdom (Romans 7:4).

We pray through any rocky stretches of road by the direction of God's Spirit and we petition Him to meet our needs and for the needs of all of His Saints (Ephesians 6:18).

Prayer:

Father God, help us to actually see the reality of the fact that we do not need to sin; because the spirit of life in Christ sets us free from the law of the spirit of sin and death (Romans 8:2). When Christ sets us free, we are truly free (John 8:36). We bask in Your presence and praise You for including us in Your eternal plans.

Thank You that we are no longer strangers and pilgrims in this world, but part of Your universal family. We are fellow citizens of the Kingdom of God and Saints in Your holy presence. Our love for Your Body is very important, because You prepared us for a holy dwelling place for Your Spirit. Jesus is our chief cornerstone and You are building us into Your eternal dwelling place (Ephesians 2:19-22).

Thought for the Day:

God gave us Christ as our redemption, not so we can sit back and continue living a life of sin with the false hope of escaping eternal judgment, but so that we can enjoy an intimate union with Him filled with all of His glory and the greatest measure of His spiritual presence. - Ephesians 3:16-19

Three Warning Signs

The doctor takes a blood test, which informs him of our health issues. We have the choice to heed his advice, or to ignore it and reap the consequences. We often look in a mirror and see the stress in our soul reflected in our face; yet we do nothing about it. There are spiritual signs in our life too, which let us know that our spirit is dead in Adam’s sin (Romans 5:15).

If we ignore these three warning signs, we will perish (John 3:18). We fail to believe the blood test, the signs of stress in our face or the spiritual death of our spirit within, and we continue to live life after our own plans and goals. We struggle to find true happiness, and we neglect what is important in life to pursue the trappings of this world.

God calls everyone to come to Christ for His redeeming life. The Word of God will alert Believers in this same way. It informs us that our spirit is sick from our sin. If we surrender to God, He gives us an entirely new life. We will stop pursuing fleshly desires and worldly gain, which make us spiritually unhealthy. People see a difference in our life and they want that same blessed lifestyle, which we found in Christ.

Connected to the Vine of Christ, we produce the fruit of His Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23). We magnify the Lord in our thoughts, words and behavior, and God blesses us for our faithfulness to Him (Psalm 35:27). He wants us to come to Him with our needs and to ask Him to meet them. When we do, we receive His overwhelming love and His generous provision (John 16:24; Matthew 6:33).

Prayer:

Father God, until we completely surrender to You, we do not realize that Your plan for our life is absolutely perfect (Ephesians 2:10; Psalm 139). True significance, peace, satisfaction and success are ours, even if none of our humanistic goals are ever achieved. We feel Your Fatherly pleasure in us, and this love and acceptance mean more to us than anything this world can offer. We never have to wonder if You have a minute to listen to us, because You have a whole lifetime full of them.

Thought for the Day: 

If we pay attention to the guidance of Your Spirit within us, and walk away from our sinful lifestyle, we find spiritual life as well as physical energy, joy and clarity in our soul. - 1 Thessalonians 5:23

Filled with God Spirit - Part 1

 

Filled With the Spirit - Part 1

God promises to give us His Spirit (1 John 5:14-15). We receive the Holy Spirit from God at the moment of Salvation (John 14:16, 7:37-39; Ephesians 1:13; Galatians 3:2). Jesus sits on the throne of our life and fills us with the fullness of His Spirit (Galatians 5: 15-25). The Holy Spirit is a Believer's down payment of our inheritance of the Kingdom of God (2 Corinthians 1:22; Ephesians 4:30).

By being filled with the Spirit, I am not referring to speaking in tongues or any public manifestation of spiritual gifts. I also do not mean having God's power in order to show off how great we are. I am referring to spiritually entering the Holy of Holies of God's Heavenly Tabernacle (2 Corinthians 5:1). This is the Holiest Place, the Sanctuary where we dwell in holiness for the rest of our life.

The Bible instructs us to keep on, continually being filled with God's Spirit on a moment-by-moment basis (Ephesians 5:18), and to yield possession and control of our life to Him. Our obedience allows God's Spirit to freely work in and through our life. With the Spirit's filling, we also have the mind of Christ in every situation and decision we face (1 Corinthians 2:15).

We cannot cause the Spirit's filling by exerting our will power or by doing good deeds. God fills us with His Spirit as we completely surrender to Him. God grafts us into the Vine of Christ (John 15:5). This makes us Christ-centered Believers. We love God's Word, we trust Him in every area of our life and we are filled with His fruit (Galatians 5:22-23).

Prayer:

Father God, You promised to give us the Spirit and You commanded that we be filled with Your Spirit (Hebrews 11:6; Romans 14:22, 23.). Thank You for helping us to get off the throne of our life and to follow the direction of Your Spirit in everything that we think, say and do (Psalm 19:14). You ordained for the Spirit-filled Christian to experience Christ's abundant, powerful and fruitful life flowing in and through our life for Your glory and honor. We ask that You continually fill us with Your Holy Spirit.

Thought for the Day:

To live in the fullness of God's Spirit requires complete consecration of our life to Him.

Intimate Communication with God

 

There is no relationship available in this life that is more precious and fulfilling than our union with Creator God. We abide in Christ, and He abides in us (John 15:4). We can live in abiding fellowship with Christ every moment of our life. We are much too occupied with busy work, which Satan supplies for us to do. Much of it is religious too, and we get sidetracked into thinking we are working for the Lord.

We are actually producing more human flesh, the stench of which makes God sick to His stomach (Revelation 3:16-18). We all have to earn a living in this world, but we can do our job by the power of God’s Spirit. This occurs as we submit each moment to God and listen to Him as He directs our steps (Proverbs 3:5-6). Our soul clings to Jesus and rests in Him all day and night, even as we sleep.

Heaven’s Joy lives in and through us. The goal is for us to bypass our brain and our natural inclinations in our soul, and to function instead from our inner life in our spirit where we abide with Christ. Close, personal contact with Christ is a necessity for authentic Christians. Once we connect with the Spirit of God, His fruit flows through our life. We have close fellowship with Christ through the Spirit.

A life of absolute surrender to the Lordship of Jesus Christ and the leadership of His Holy Spirit is one of abiding love, joy and peace. God can do with us as He pleases...to sit us on a shelf, to use us at His banqueting table, to put us in the darkest mood or the foulest disease, or to send us to the far reaches of the world or right here at home.

No matter where we are, we are never alone. Christ lives in us and loves to hang out and enjoy our undistracted fellowship; and, sometimes, even our companionable silence. We not only set aside time each day to pray, but we pray without ceasing in unbroken communion with Him each moment of the day about everything that we are thinking and doing.

Prayer:

Father God, just as Jesus gave His life and death entirely to You, we desire to follow in His footsteps. We completely and absolutely surrender to Your will and we seek Your pleasure above all else. Our greatest joy is to live entirely for You. We have no will or interest apart from Your will for us. Lord, bring everything in our life in complete harmony with the Blessed Vine of Christ.

Thought for the Day:

Live in total consecration to the will of God for your life.

– Ephesians 2:10

Flowing from Our Union

 

God calls us to live as Spirit-filled Believers (Ephesians 5:18). This starts when we receive the Holy Spirit at salvation (Romans 8:9). A renewal of His fresh anointing in us each day allows rivers of life to flow from within us  (John 7:38). This Holy Ghost power enhances our life and empowers our ministry for God’s Kingdom.

Sin clogs the communication between us and God and it grieves the Holy Spirit (Ephesians 4:30). Therefore, we confess every sin, great and small, on a daily basis. The Spirit leads us to live a consecrated life and to put down addictions and vices, which cripple us. Even an unkind word, a fit of temper, an unscrupulous act or a little white lie are all things we deal with on occasion.

Staying confessed of our sins humbles our flesh and gives us greater victory over those sins the next time Satan tempts us with them. Humility allows us to willingly surrender our day for God’s purpose. Of course, we must go to work to earn a living, but we can do our job directed by God’s Spirit. This way, we accomplish more and are in the right place at the right time to live out God’s will for us.

We are branches on the Vine of Christ (John 15:5). Consider a branch. It does not work or stress or struggle. It simply rests in the vine. That is the life God prepared for us. We rest in Christ and His life flows through us and nurtures us. When we bear fruit for Christ, it does not separate us from Him, but flows from our union with Him.

Our ministry is not a drain or wearisome, but a natural outpouring of the nutrients from the Vine to the branch. Ministry does not rob us of time for prayer, but is the result of prayer and our union with the Vine. The Spirit strengthens us with might from within (Ephesians 3:16). He anoints us to accomplish God’s will for our day. He blesses us with perfect peace, rest, joy and strength.

Prayer:

Father God, as branches of the Vine we are absolutely dependant upon the life of Christ flowing through us. You are the Vinedresser and You prune us so that can bear more fruit (John 15:1; 15:8). You know just where to separate us from the aspects of our life that are dead wood and preventing our fruitfulness.

Thought for the Day:

The branch depends on the vine for everything.