God's Promises through Generations

The good things in life are often the enemy of the best things in life. We pursue worldly gain and pleasures and reject God's free gifts of Salvation, love, mercy, peace and joy.

We relegate Jesus to a holy man or a good teacher, and we have no interest in living according to His principles. We reject the concept of the absolute truth of God's Word.

Living according to the lies of Satan and the dictates of the world, we are controlled by a false system of philosophies where we are each a god unto our self. We pride our self in doing things our own way.

Thankfully, the arrogance of our humanity diminishes for many people as we experience God's presence. We realize His power, His role as our Creator and His promises through the generations to return to establish His Kingdom on the earth.

We lay down our worldly pursuits and idols, and earnestly work in the calling He prepared for us before the foundation of the earth (Ephesians 2:10). He sets us free from the power of spiritual darkness in His Kingdom of light (Colossians 1:13).

God gives us His Spirit to dwell within us, and we enjoy fellowship with the Father and the Son. We receive His eternal promise of everlasting life, and His Spirit teaches us the truths of God's Word (1 John 2:24-27).

God reveals Himself to us by His Spirit and His Word. He gives us boldness to stand for Him in this sinful and perverse world in which we exist. We stand in faith in His faithfulness.

His presence in us is certain. He is our dwelling place for all time (Psalm 90:1-2). We behold His beauty, meditate in His temple and abide in the house of the Lord all the days of our life (Psalm 27:4). 

Prayer:

Father God, in these last day, Your grace keeps us close to You, wrapped in Your mercy and love, rocked in Your everlasting arms. We dwell in Your presence now and forevermore. You are our eternal hope of salvation, sanctification and glorification. We exalt Your name in righteousness and live in faithfulness to Your Word and Your Truth.

We praise You for Your generous works for the children of men and the promises You make and keep throughout every generation (Isaiah 25:1). Thank You that we are no longer slaves to sin, but partakers of Christ's righteousness; and for freeing us from the law of sin and death by the law of Your Spirit of life in Christ Jesus (Romans 8:2).

Thought for the Day:

Jesus Christ offers us His gift of rebirth, sanctification, His own presence within us and eventually glorification when we see Him as He is. - 1 John 3:2

All Part of God's Plan

God's wrath over sin fated Jesus to a brutal crucifixion before the creation of the world (Revelation 13:8; 1 Peter 1:20). Jesus became sin for undeserving sinners like us (Isaiah 53:10). As we confess Him before our Father, He becomes our Lord (Philippians 2:11; Isaiah 53:11). His words of life bring us joy (John 15:11). He is our eternal life, and our fulfillment is in His presence both now and in eternity (Psalm 16:11).

When we come to the awesome revelation that not one thing occurs in our life that is not part of God's plan for us, we can relax and go with His flow and follow His directives during each situation, just like Jesus did (1Thessalonians 5:18). This absolute truth allows us to live in His perfect peace. Our joy is no longer affected by our circumstances, but simply by the presence of Christ within us (Colossians 1:27).

During our lifetime our thoughts, words or deeds may cause us to reap negative circumstances, but God even uses this to discipline and mature us as His Saints. The Lord is God, He made us, and we belong to Him (Psalm 100:3). He gave us Jesus as our Way, Truth and Life (Johan 14:6). God never leaves us, so our joy is always complete (Hebrews 13:5; John 15:11).

God calls His children to live with gratitude to Him in our heart in every situation, which life throws at us (James 1:2-5; Hebrews 12:3-13; 1 Peter 2:20-21). Due to God's goodness, mercy and everlasting truth, words of thanksgiving and praise fill all of our days (Psalm 100:5). This gives us continual victory. In our gratitude to Him, we sing songs of praise and we serve Him with His joy as our strength (Nehemiah 8:10).

Prayer:

Father God, we always give thanks to You, in the name of Jesus, for everything in our life, even the negative aspects (Ephesians 5:20). You did, You do and You will always do so much for us, for which we thank You. Thank You that Jesus gave His body, broken for our redemption (Luke 22:19). Thank You for Your Holy Spirit, who keeps us from living on this earth as orphans (John 14:18). Thank You for Your presence in our life. We look forward to dwelling with You in eternity (John 17:3).

Thought for the Day:

We live in praise to God, because He promises that He will work out all things, even the negative aspects of our life, for our good. - Romans 8:28

Daily Renewal

Read: Philippians 4:6-7

“Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” - John 8:32

As you know, “What we believe, determines how we act.” When we believe Satan's lies, we exhibit negative attitudes. We get "stinkin' thinkin'." Satan knows that if he captivates our mind, then he can control our actions also. Kay Arthur said, "Either you must learn to take your thoughts captive – or Satan will take you captive with your thoughts!”

Paul reminds us, “For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, we have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and WE TAKE CAPTIVE EVERY THOUGHT TO MAKE IT OBEDIENT TO CHRIST" (2 Corinthians 10: 3-5).

As we focus on God, He points out all of our negative attitudes and thoughts. These are the concepts, which we were taught in our youth or which we taught our self as we got away from home. We erroneously accepted these theories as truth. One issue at a time, the Spirit replaces these satanic lies with His absolute truth. God’s truth sets us free (John 8:32). Our only hope of mental stability in this life is to bring our thoughts into obedience to Jesus (2 Corinthians 10:4-5.). As we do this, we put on the mind of Christ (1 Corinthians 2:16).

We also discover the mind of Christ by reading the Word of God and meditating on it daily. If you have the Spirit of God living in you, you will have a hunger to read the Word. Jesus lived an example for us of a life built upon meditation and prayer. While others slept, Jesus went to the Mount of Olives and spent time alone with God. Then in the morning, He went to the temple and sat down to teach those who would listen. He went to His quiet place first and received His power from God through His time of daily renewal; then He was ready to minister.

We too need time alone with God to renew our peace and to ascertain His wisdom and direction for our lives. We need a physical, quiet place that will minister to our soul, in which we can spend time connecting our spirit with the Spirit of God. When we enter this "inner closet," we strip away all outer clutter. We empty ourselves of our “self” and focus solely on the voice of our Beloved (Isaiah 54:5). We bask in the rays of His comfort and direction and then we rise up to do His Will. We remain in this inner, spiritual place of connection all day long as we go about doing His will for our life.

Jesus did not leave us alone on this earth to accomplish His will.  As He ascended into Heaven to take back His rightful place at the Father’s right hand, He told His disciples to go and wait in the upper room for the Holy Spirit to come to them. God is the Father and the first person of our triune Deity. Jesus is the Son and the second personality. The Holy Spirit is the third person. He is our Comforter and our Guide. He changed the lives of those disciples in the upper room (Acts 2:4), and He has been changing willing lives ever since.

When worldly hostility bombards us, our hearts are tempted to faint within us. We do have the option of sharing our pain, frustration, and sorrow on a human level with friends and family. They, however, will only sympathize with us or sermonize about our feelings. It is only in the quiet place within our spirit, that we experience a profound sense of love, joy, and peace, which surpasses the comfort we can receive from any earthly entity.

Only in the still, small place within our spirit can we find true empathy and solace from the God who loves us more than He loves Himself. His love took Him to the cross to pay the penalty of our sin for us; and His love will bring Him back to earth for His Bride at the fullness of this age.

Prayer:

Lord Jesus, when we spend time with You in the sanctity of our spirit, we have renewed power to meet the needs within our own life, as well as in the lives of those You sends our way. Due to Your love in our lives, we can forgive, nurture, empathize and minister to ourselves and others by the strength of Your grace, compassion and mercy, as well as through the direction of Your Holy Spirit. Our life in You is fulfilling indeed!

Thought for the Day:

“Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.” - Psalm 51:10