Our Union with Father and Son

God is not as interested in what we do for Him, as He is in who we are in Him. A relationship is more important than a ministry (Matthew 22:36-40). It takes more time and effort, but worth the price.

Our human achievements do not impress Him and do not aid in our relationship or walk with Him. If what we do is not motivated by God's Spirit and done with His fruit-filled attitude, it is better left undone.

We cannot control the thoughts and behavior of other people, although we often try desperately to do so. The only one we have influence over by God's Spirit's direction is our self.

It is important to keep our focus and priorities spiritually minded and not blanketed in carnality. This is only possible because Jesus purchased us by His blood and God adopted us His children (1 John 3:1; John 8:44; Ephesians 2:3).

God, being a Trinity in nature and function, is still one God (Deuteronomy 6:4). We are joint heirs with Jesus of all that belongs to our Heavenly Father, which is hard to completely comprehend (John 16:15).

Jesus has the same relationship with our Father that we have with Jesus - He is in us and we are in Him, just as God is in Jesus and Jesus is in God (John 10:38; John 14:10, 23).

Jesus loves us as much as the Father loves Him (John 15:9). The Father loves us too, because we love Jesus and believe that He came from God (John 16:27).

Prayer:

Father God, eternal life begins when we come to know You and Jesus whom You sent (John 17:3). We are in Christ; and therefore, in You (Romans 8:10-11). Jesus loves us even as You love Jesus (John 17:23). Jesus reveals You to whomever He chooses (Matthew 11:27). Through Jesus we have access to You at any time or place (Ephesians 2:18).

Jesus was with You before the world began (John 1:1-2). He made His appearance on the earth many times, even before Abraham was born (John 8:58). You and Jesus are one. Once we see Jesus, we have seen You (John 10:30, 14:5-14). We look forward in great anticipation to living throughout eternity with You.

Thought for the Day:

Jesus is in us, and the Father is in Jesus - so that we may be brought to complete unity as One Body; then the world will know that God sent Jesus into the world. 

- John 17:21; 1 Corinthians 1:30

Overcoming Life's Hurdles

Mental, emotional and physical pain and stress, loss and grief, and wounded individuals put us at risk for reaping negative results in life. In addition, unresolved childhood trauma increases the effects of our current distress. ( www.theophostic.com )

With repeated trauma, we can even develop various degrees of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, and we view the world as a painful, alarming, treacherous place.

Separation through death, divorce, rejection, abandonment, etc. will affect our future relationships. We lose our sense of safety and security and may even live in continual fear and insecurity.

Our breathing is shallow, which affect our lungs, diaphragm and heart. Stomach, heart, lung and nerve issues cause us problems. Our mind can even affect us with physical symptoms, which have no physical source.

On guard in every situation, we are in a constant state of "fight or flight". This makes us combative and easily angered when we feel vulnerable and helpless.

A lack of trust causes us to build thick walls around our soul. Then we feel lonely, disheartened, hopeless and overwhelmed. We may even blame our self for what happens to us.

Attempting to prepare our self for the unexpected, we delve into worse case scenarios to prepare our self for any contingency; yet, we only provide our self with a false sense of power and protection from future trauma.

When events in our life are going well, we tend to rely less on God and more on our self. We have the idea that we deserve God's love and blessings, because we are so good.

However, with this attitude, we will never feel totally secure in life. We will live in constant anxiety, because we fear that if we fail in some area, we will lose His love and be lost for eternity.

The opposite is actually true. God loved us while we were still sinners, is our everlasting Savior and continues to love us unconditionally (Romans 5:8; 1 John 1:9). He is the same yesterday, today and for eternity (Hebrews 13:8).

Prayer:

Father God, thank You for allowing us to fail and to learn from our mistakes, to suffer trails for Your glory so that people can see our love for and trust in You regardless of our earthly status. Teach us to rely totally on You and not to pursue the world or the flesh.

Remind us to stop depending on our self and to begin to depend solely on You for every step we take (Proverbs 3:5-6). Help us to do only the works, which You ordained for us to achieve, rather than asking You to bless our works (Ephesians 2:10).

Thought for the Day:

When we rely on God's Holy Spirit for direction and strength, we listen to God's Spirit, step out in faith, and find all the resources we need to accomplish all that God ordained us to do.

- Philippians 2:12-13, 4:13; Matthew 7:7-8

The Search for Fulfillment

 

Every human is born with basic needs, drives and desires. We seek for esteem, identity, friendship and love, to be heard and to achieve, to give and to receive, to be creative and resposible, and to find meaning and security, as well as having physical needs and desires met. These are all justifiable needs and require fulfillment in order for us to live as healthy, neurosis-free beings. When these needs are not met, our soul – our thoughts, choices and emotions - ends up underdeveloped, immature, and unhealthy.

As adults, we usually seek fulfillment from relationships, material possessions and success in life. However, these aspects actually provide little more than self-satisfaction and self-righteousness in a humanistic sense. Then when these facets disappoint us, we turn to addictions and self-defeating behaviors, which further weaken our psyche. We resort to casual sexual encounters, accumulating possessions, plastic surgery, multiple college degrees, and bigger and better cars and houses; but these only result in an eventual broken heart, fading beauty, loss of wealth and power, and failure to reach our desired goals and aspirations.

Even if we happen to attain our goals, we end up with empty glory, fleeting happiness and disappointment and bitterness. When we strive to fill our desires through carnal idolatry and corruption, our soul is troubled and finds no rest. Conversely, God promises to supply all of our needs according to His glorious riches (Philippians 4:19). We can look to Him to bring our life to the point of receiving fulfillment in all of these legitimate areas of need. Our selfish patterns of behavior soon bow to the anointing of God’s Spirit within us.

On the other hand, many church people teach us to deny these legitimate needs as coming from the flesh and fueled by sin. However, this only occurs when we focus only on meeting our needs to the point of disregarding the spiritual aspects of our existence. If these human needs consume us or are high-jacked by Satan’s temptations, we sin (Ephesians 2:2). It is only when we resort to immoral means to indulge a selfish satisfaction of these needs, that we cross the line into idolatry. If we submit to God, He fulfills us and releases us from our habitual sins and the strongholds we allow to take over our life (Hebrews 12:1; Psalm 89:40; Jeremiah 48:18, 41).

Prayer:

Father God, we thank You for changing our orientation from self-consciousness to Christ-consciousness. We are no longer slaves to sin because You exchanged our sin nature for Christ’s righteousness (Romans 6:17; Acts 26:18). You won the battle for us and give us a victorious life as You manifest Your character in us through the fruit of Your Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23). We give You all the praise and honor and glory due Your name.

Thought for the Day:

In the battle between good and evil, God is always the victor. - 1 Samuel 17:47

Grasping or Receiving

Read: Ephesians 3:20-21

“To our God and Father be glory for ever and ever. Amen.” – Philippians 4:20

I used to grasp at God's gifts, jumping into the air to grab them out of His hands! I never could reach them, however. The more I demanded the further back God stepped. His face grew solemn and His pleasure in me diminished. He wanted to give me the gift. He already had it wrapped and prepared just for me, but my attitude grieved His heart. He had to withhold his blessings from me and to try again another day to interact with me.

I lived in frustration. I saw the gifts…peace, joy, honor, stability, kindness, financial security and cherishing love. They rested in God’s hands just a few short feet from my reach. I wanted them so much. I yearned for them. I clutched at them repeatedly, but I never quite attained them. They stood aloof, just a bit further than my arms could reach.

Then, I learned what God yearned for from me all along. He did not want me to grasp, but to receive His gifts. He wanted me to sit quietly with expectancy, my hands open, but waiting patiently in my lap. He desired for me to want Him more than His gifts, to light up in His presence, not simply because of His presents. He taught me to live in the moment as He gave it to me, rather than living in regret over the past or hungry for abundance in the future.

The result of learning this lesson is that my Heavenly Father now spoils me rotten. I receive priceless gifts from His hands many times throughout the day. The first was serenity, which I originally looked for in all the wrong places with all the wrong people. Achievement, which I once took for granted, took on a precious new aura now, because I actually felt the power of God’s Spirit using me. Financial security came as I learned to give cheerfully and spend frugally. The Body of Christ became my family and took on the role of my parents, children and siblings. Close relationships came from the most unlikely places.

Then, there were the many smaller gifts, which took on a whole new meaning for me because I actually took the time to notice them. The moon shimmering on the lake, the tinkling giggle of a child, the effortless flight of birds across the sky, meaningful shapes in the clouds, a phrase from a song that spoke to my heart, a lonely flower growing from a crack in the sidewalk, a warm hug from a friend, a cheerful email or phone call, a request to pray for a friend, a question to answer from a new Believer, the perfection of a rose, a smile from a stranger, a sale at the retail store, the purr of my cat and the wag of my dog’s tail. All of these and so much more are special gifts from my Heavenly Father who loves me more than He loves Himself.

God went on to give me contentment in the circumstances in which I found myself living. He trained me to adapt, to compromise my desires, to adjust to changing situations and to survive devastation. He instructed me to freely give His love to others as He gave it to me. He guided me to walk in His footsteps of peace and fulfillment. He gave me a vision of eternity and caused me to trade my finite thinking for eternal values. He taught me to focus on each moment as if it was the last one I would have.

He loves you just as much as He loves me. He keeps us as the apple of His eye (Psalm 17:8). He makes us more than conquerors (Romans 8:37-39). He rejoices over us with gladness and exults over us with singing. He quiets us with His love (Zephaniah 3:17), and He takes away all of our anxiety and fears, because He cares about us so much (1 Peter 5:7). He has plans to bless us and He gives us a future filled with hope (Jeremiah 19:11).

Prayer:

Father God, we humans are so ungrateful. We cry and complain that we do not have what we think we need. We grasp at Your promises and claim them for our own, rather than sitting back and receiving from You our daily bread. We rarely even thank You for sending Jesus to save us from hell and to make us a part of Your eternal family. Lord God, we thank You from the bottom of our heart. We receive all that You desire to bless us with and we thank You for providing it in Your timing and in Your own way.

Thought for the Day:

Patience and gratitude open the way for receiving.

 

 

 

 

Thank you, Susan Holsinger, for the use of your photo.