No Longer a Sinner - Accepted in Christ

 

Jesus is the picture of humanity at its finest, devoid of the depravity of sin and filled with the power of God. What Satan stole from humanity in Genesis 1-3, Jesus - the Sacrificial Lamb and the soon and coming King - restores to us in Revelation 20-22.

As authentic Believers, we see God's glory with an unveiled face as He transforms us into the appearance of Christ by His Spirit. We are changed into His image from one stage of glory to the next (2 Corinthians 3:18).

Christ abides within us and redeems us from sin, as God writes His laws on our heart and adopts us as His children (Hebrews 8:10-13; Ephesians 1:5). God's Spirit gives us liberty from the flesh and fills us with His fruit (1 Peter 1:19; Galatians 5:22-23).

This is an experience common to every Believer, with no respect to one person above another. It is a free gift, just as Salvation is free (Romans 6:23; Galatians 3:1-3). We all see the face of Christ reflected in us and in one another (1 Corinthians 15:48-53; Romans 8:17; 1 John 3:2).

Christ is our whole life (Colossians 3:4). We gaze upon His face in our private moments with Him, and feel His Spirit and His presence filling us to overflowing throughout the day.

Sin no longer claims our attention; its debauchery is disgusting to us; we have no desire to continue to reap the destructive consequences of its power. We abide in Christ and He in us (1 John 4:15).

We come to know God, and Jesus whom He sent, which provides us with eternal life now as well as for eternity (John 17:3). We see His glory in us, which comes from God and fills us (John 1:14, 17:24). Sin has no part in our life.

Prayer:

Father God, it is Your plan that all of humanity enjoy the benefits of Christ's death on Calvary, the glory of His resurrection from the grave, and the proximity to You from His vantage point on His throne in Heaven as we walk in the ever-increasing glory of holiness.

We are accepted through Christ into Your beloved family (Ephesians 2:19-22), pure, as He is pure; and our life reflects His perfect image. You provide us with every good thing that we need to fulfill Your will for our life (1 Timothy 6:17); and You sustain us through every trial that we encounter in life. For this we give You all of the praise and glory that is due to Your name.

Thought for the Day:

Through the processes of Justification, Sanctification and Glorification, we move from obscure sinner to sacred Saint in Christ, as we are filled with an increasing measure of the fullness of Christ through God's Spirit who abides within us. 

- Ephesians 3:16-19

Set Apart for God

Without God's Spirit within us, we do not belong to Christ or His family (Romans 8:9). God's Spirit in us makes us His children. We no longer live under the dominion of the flesh, the world or the devil, and we are not our own.

God owns our time, energy and resources (1 Corinthians 6:19). We are set apart for God. Though we live on this earth, we no longer have anything in common with sinners or the world (Psalm 4:3; 2 Corinthians 6:16). 

If we continue to offer our self as slaves to sin, it leads to death; if we obey the dictates of holiness, we are part of God's holy temple and He dwells in us by His Spirit (Romans 6:16; 1 Corinthians 3:16-18).
 

We are more concerned with spiritual aspects in our life than carnal ones. We have a new heavenly name (Revelation 2:17). Do you know the meaning of your earthly name? ( http://www.ohbabynames.com )
 

I like my name, Kathleen Anne. It means: pure one, innocent, God's favor and grace. Someone with this name is usually dependable, solid, practical, hard-working, industrious, studious, conservative, spiritual, wise, peculiar, intuitive, imaginative, philosophical and solitary. This fits me to a "T".

As a child, I yearned to be a good girl, so my parents would love me. I even wished on the first star every night that I would be a good girl, so I could be cherished and accepted.

At 18, I realized that no one is ever good (Romans 7:18-25), and that I could not do enough good to be valued and approved. That is when I turned to Jesus Christ as my Savior. He loves me unconditionally (1 John 4:16).

God takes up residence in our spirit. He abides in His children and walks with us. He is our God and we are His people (2 Corinthians 6:16). We live as the church of the living God, and are the pillar and foundation of His truth (1 Timothy 3:15).

Prayer:

Father God, You accept us as part of Your beloved family (Ephesians 1:5-7). Our spirit, once dead in Adam's sin, was Born Again by Your Spirit, and You came to live in us for the rest of our life and throughout eternity (Romans 8:10; Galatians 5:15-25).

Thank You for building us into Your house, as we firmly hold to our confidence and hope in Your glory. Christ is the faithful caretaker of Your House (Hebrews 3:6) and we realize the privilege, which You afford us, to allow us to take a part in all of Your plans.

Thought for the Day:

Anyone who leaves their sinful lifestyle, and believes that Jesus in God who came in human flesh as Emmanuel, will have a new name written down in Heaven. - 1 John 4:4

Grafted

 

A gardener will take a young vine and cut the trunk off at ground level. Then, he will graft a new branch into the trunk, just where it rises from the earth. The sap from the trunk flows into the new branch until the old sap from the branch is embedded completely as one with the trunk. Similarly, God cut Jesus down to His roots on Calvary’s cross to give us new life. He grafts us into the vine of Christ (John 15:1-17). God’s Spirit totally renews us until we are completely consecrated and surrendered to Christ with wholehearted faith and devotion (2 Kings 10:3).

If we forget that we are in Christ and that He is in us (1 John 2:28; Colossians 1:27), life can get absolutely unbearable. When we live according to our will or try to do anything in our own strength, we will eventually self-destruct. It is only as we allow the life of Christ to fill us that we are able to succeed in life. God’s wisdom and power come spontaneously as our life is rooted and grounded in Christ (Ephesians 3:17). We only find true contentment as we consistently dwell in Christ with unbroken fellowship (1 John 1:6).

We recognize Christ as our life (Colossians 3:4), and without Him we have no life at all. Life is not a mystery for us to decipher. The Holy Spirit guides us throughout the day with His spiritual insight: a deep abiding understanding of what God wants to do through us. We trust His faithfulness, wait for His guidance and glorify Him in everything we think, say and do. We live in Him and He lives in, through and instead of us as we submit to the Holy Spirit’s leading throughout the day.

As God reveals His faithfulness to us, we acquire confidence that He will continue to supply all of our needs according to His heavenly riches (Philippians 4:19). As we surrender our humanity and abide in Christ, our thoughts are clear, our passions tempered, our judgment wise and our body strengthened. Our former roots are cut off from earthly temptations and worldly distractions. As we wait in our dependence on our union with Christ, He inspires us, leads us and works through and instead of us.

We dwell in the inner recesses of our spirit, united with Christ, safe and blessed regardless of the circumstances that plague our life. This keeps us from reacting in the flesh and allows us to act from the spirit instead. We cling to Him, unshaken by the storms of life, in harmony with the Spirit of God within us. His work of righteousness in our soul brings us rest, tranquility and reassurance forever (Isaiah 32: 1,17). Abiding in Christ, we stand complete and accepted in God’s beloved family (Colossians 2:10; Ephesians 1:6).

Prayer:

Father God, we are delighted that You are in us, that You quiet us with Your love and that You save us mightily; however, we are especially blessed that You take great delight in us and that You rejoice over us with singing (Zephaniah 3:17; Isaiah 62:5). We abide in Your rest because You keep us in Your perfect peace, as we trust You and keep our focus on You (Isaiah 26:3).

Thought for the Day:

God unites us with Christ to make us right with Him: pure, holy and free from sin. – 1 Corinthians 1:30

The Human Beings - Part Two of Three

What does it really means to be a Human Being? Read Part One of "The Human Beings" and then enjoy this excerpt from the full essay.  

IV. BE-ING  PARTAKERS

What is a partaker? Simply put, it is one who takes part. Have you ever run in a race, or tried out for a team?  You have to "qualify" first. You have to measure up. You have to be one of the best. Do you feel like you qualify to be in God's Kingdom?  Do you feel like one of the best? Most of you are saying, "No way!"  You are listening to all the negative comments that are left-over in your mind from childhood, from hurtful people in the present, or else you are listening to Satan’s lies. I have good news. Jesus already qualified you on the day you accepted Him as your Savior. You do not even have to try out!!!  You are already on His team.

Jesus laid down His own life on Calvary’s cruel cross to set us free from the bondage of sin, and to give us His glorious power. God delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love, in whom we have redemption through His blood. There is no sin so extreme or ghastly that it cannot be forgiven. He forgives all of our sins. Our acceptance of the redemption given to us by Jesus’ death on Calvary’s cross qualifies us to take part in His family as well as His ministry on the earth (Colossians 1:12).

V.  BE-ING AWARE OF JESUS

Jesus is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. By Him and for Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible things. Even thrones, dominions, principalities and powers are under His dominion. He lived before all things were created, and in Him all things exist. He is the head of the body, His church. He always was and always will be, the firstborn who rose from the dead. He has the preeminence and is the fullness of all things. We dwell in Him and He lives in us. He reconciled all things to Himself, whether things on earth or things in heaven, having made peace through the blood of His cross (Colossians 1:11-20).

At one time we were all alienated from God and enemies because of our unbelief; yet now, He has reconciled us in the body of His flesh through His death. In the end, He will present us to our Father - holy, blameless and above reproach in His sight (Colossians 1:21-22).  Christ reconciled us to Himself, and now He has given us the ministry of reconciliation to introduce others to Him.  Do not worry about the results. All He asks is that you tell others about what Jesus is doing for you and He will do the rest. Your life, your smile, your handshake, your listening ear may be all a person needs to bring him or her out of the kingdom of darkness and into the glorious light of the Kingdom of God.

Prayer:

Lord Jesus, we may not see the results of our ministry to other human beings right away. We may never know what happens to that person we talked to. We trust in Your promises that Your Word will never return to You without bearing fruit. We plant the seed or water the seed someone else already planted; then You give the increase.

Thought for the Day:

Preach the gospel at all times. If necessary, use words. – St. Francis of Assisi

 

WHO YOU ARE IN CHRIST

This list (borrowed, not original) made a BIG difference in my life...hope it will in yours too. It is important to view ourselves as Christ views us.... 

I am accepted... I am complete in Christ ~ Colossians 2:9-10
I have been chosen by God and adopted as His child ~ Ephesians 1:3-8
I have been bought with a price, and I belong to God ~ 1 Corin. 6:19-20

I am God's child ~ John 1:12
I am a friend of Jesus Christ ~ John 15:15
I have been justified ~ Romans 5:1
I am united with the Lord, and I am one with Him in spirit ~ 1 Corin. 6:17
I am a member of Christ's body ~ 1 Corin. 12:27
I have been redeemed and forgiven of all my sins ~ Colossians 1:13-14
I have direct access to the throne of grace through Jesus Christ ~ Hebrews 4:14-16
I am the apple of God’s eye ~ Zech 2:8

I am secure... I am free from condemnation ~ Romans 8:1-2
I am assured that God works for my good in all circumstances ~ Romans 8:28
I am free from any condemnation brought against me, and I cannot be separated from the love of God ~ Romans 8:31-39
I have been established, anointed, and sealed by God ~2 Corin. 1:21-22
I am hidden with Christ in God ~ Colossians 3:1-4
I am confident that God will complete the good work He started in me ~ Philippians 1:6
I am a citizen of Heaven ~ Philippians 3:20
I have not been given the spirit of fear but of power, love, and a sound mind ~ 2 Timothy 1:7
I am born of God, and the evil one cannot touch me ~ 1 John 5:18

I am significant... I am the branch of Jesus Christ, the true vine, and a channel of His life ~ John 15:5
I have been chosen and appointed to bear fruit ~ John 15:16
I am God's temple ~ 1 Corin. 3:16
I am a minister of reconciliation for God ~ 2 Corin.5:17-21
I am seated with Jesus Christ in the heavenly realm ~ Ephesians 2:6
I am God's workmanship ~ Ephesians 2:10
I may approach God with freedom and confidence ~ Ephesians 3:12
I can do all things through Christ, who strengthens me ~Philippians 4:13

Meditate on one of these verses every day until you actually believe it. Then go on to the next one. They will revolutionize your life and the way you view your self and other people...kat