Union with Christ - Fully Human and Fully Divine

Jesus was fully human and fully divine when He lived on this earth. This same Christ is fully divine in us (1 Corinthians 2:12). As we live in union with Christ, we are also one in Spirit with Him (1 Corinthians 6:17; 1 John 5:12; Hebrews 3:14, 6:4).

Our belief in Jesus secures this merger (I John 4:15,16). We are now dead to sin because of Christ in us, and He lives His divine life in and through us (Galatians 2:20; 2 Corinthians 13:5; 2 Timothy 1:14).

In fact, the entire Trinity takes up residence within us (John. 14:23). God’s Spirit seals us and dwells in us, confirming our union with Christ and our adoption into God’s family (Romans 8:14; Galatians 4:6; Ephesians 4:30; 2 Corinthians 1:22).

When this fact becomes a reality in our life, God’s peace permeates our thoughts, choices and emotions. As we mature in Christ, we grow deeper in the wisdom and knowledge of God, and we realize that Jesus within us already overcame Satan and his kingdom of darkness.

In the same way that Jesus denied His humanity and walked in the Spirit of His divinity, we too consider our humanity dead in Christ. We allow Christ to crucify the deeds of our flesh and to integrate us with Himself in God (Colossians 3:3; Ezekiel 36:26).

Christ in us conforms our spirit and soul into an expression of Himself, and this affects our body as well. Jesus functions in His gifts and ministries through us, and He gives us the power and direction to walk in His will (Romans 12:8; 1 Corinthians 12:7).

Prayer:

Father God, remind us that all the power and authority of Christ’s divinity reside within us (Matthew 28:18). You pour out Your love into our hearts (Romans 5:5). You teach us all things (Ephesians 5:17). You prepare us for Your service, You strengthen us for the work and You give us victory over every challenge and obstacle as we walk in Your Spirit.

At Salvation, You crucify our humanity and fill us through our entire being with all of the fullness of Christ's divine nature. You give us the desire and the power to do Your will with our life (Philippians 2:12-13). All of this comes from Christ in us, who is our Lord and Savior now and for all of eternity (Romans 10:9; Colossians 1:27; Philippians 2:11; 1 Peter 3:15).

Thought for the Day:
Once we realize that our humanity is dead in Christ, we walk in the Spirit of Christ in us and no longer fulfill the desires and lusts of the flesh; we live with our mind on the things of the Spirit rather than on the temporal aspects of this earth; we live on the earth, but we are not part of the earth except as He directs us to influence this world for His Kingdom. - Galatians 5:15-25

Emotional Disconnect during Holiday Celebrations

The first Mother's Day I celebrated after my husband decided that there was no option for us but divorce was the hardest day of my life. I felt a deep loss because I was separated from my children by hundreds of miles.

I went to fellowship with my church as usual, but did not celebrate, because I was too full of grief. I ended up leaving the service early, going to my tiny duplex and eating my homemade ravioli and marinara sauce to assuage my emotional pain.

Mother's and Father's Day, as we celebrate them every year, leave out those men and women who were not able to have children. They grieve this loss every day of their life, but especially on Mother's and Father's Day.

What about men and women who lost a child during pregnancy or maybe even at birth; or those people who chose abortion or adoption in a moment of crisis and are now full of grief, remorse and guilt?

There are people who came to Christ after a period of suffering through jail time, addiction, mental illness or estrangement from their mate; and now it is too late for them to bear children.

Other individuals lost their beloved mother or father through death, and many lost them way too early in life. Some have a parent drifting away from them through Alzheimer's, dementia, cancer or some other debilitating disease.

They are forced to put on happy faces during the hardest day of the year for them. Their grief is invisible to the rest of us, but it is eating them alive as the rest of us celebrate our children and our role as mother and father.

Then there is that percentage of people who suffered cruel treatment at the hand of a parent who was debilitated by health and psychological issues. Insecurity and the loss of their basic human needs, which were never met, affect every moment of their life.

These beloved persons suffered mental, emotional and physical abuse, deprivation, humiliation, degradation and belittlement as children and are still crippled today with physical, emotional and mental handicaps.

Many of us come to Christ and receive His healing, hiding our self with Christ in God (Colossians 3:1-4). Some of us teach our self how to parent our self with nurturing, cherishing and constant care; and to come to God for His nurturing care (1 Peter 5:7).

Some of them suffer alone, because we no longer allow our self to get to know one another in churches. We smile at each other when we enter and leave the one hour service on Sunday morning, but we do not know one another's heartaches and trials.

Prayer:

Father God, help us to get to know one another in the church; so that we can support each other, especially those men and women who suffer silently with deep wounds that may still be raw and infected, or that created a gaping chasm in their life.

Remind us that as a church, we can make holidays less of a challenge and more of a blessing by celebrating all people, not just with those who actually bore children and have healthy and nurturing parents, but also by sharing in the loss and grief of every person in our congregation all through the year.

Thought for the Day:

Our church can have ministries that do more than celebrate or help spouses and parents, but that also minister to all men and women regardless of their marital or parental status. We can learn each other's stories of loss, grief and suffering; and support one another each day of the year.

God's Peace

God gives us the choice to use our life to either serve Him, self or Satan (John 3:16-18). We human beings search for peace all of our life, usually exploring all the wrong places, until we find Christ. When God's Spirit reveals the reality of Christ to us, we turn from the dark life of separation from God to the spiritual walk of light and life (Romans 8:9).

There are two types of spiritual peace. One is peace with God, and the other is the peace of God. Both of these transcend any earthly peace we experience. They are true and present within us, regardless of our outer circumstances. God's peace blesses us in every area of our life.

Peace with God comes when we surrender our life to Christ and trust Him to save us from our sins. He leads us in His daily will for us as we reject the influence of the world, the flesh and Satan (1 Thessalonians 1:9; John 3:16-17; Ephesians 2:10). God wraps us in His wisdom and strength. As children of God, we receive all the benefits of adoption into God's Kingdom through our unity with Jesus, God's Son and Heir (Acts 26:18).

The peace of God is a fruit of His Spirit, which we receive at salvation. It manifests in us as we rely on His Spirit instead of our human strength and accomplishments. We allow the peace of God to rule in our heart and to affect our body, soul and spirit (Colossians 3:15). We live by the faith of God's Son, who dwells in us by His Spirit, and we trust Him to work out everything in our life for our good (Galatians 2:20; Romans 8:28).

Prayer:

Father God, we can never receive more of You than we have at Salvation, because You move into our spirit with all the attributes and power of the Trinity. However, we can enjoy more intimacy with You in correlation to how much time we spend with You each day. The more of our flesh, which we surrender to the Cross of Christ, the more of Your fullness we experience (Ephesians 3:19). We can never control life, but You always work things out for our good (Romans 8:28). In the midst of the storms of life, Your peace keeps us calm within and gives us wisdom for every situation, which we face (John 14:27).

Thought for the Day:

As His Word dwells within us, God's peace, which defies human comprehension, guards and rules in our soul - our mind, choices and emotions. - Colossians 3:16; Philippians 4:7

Experiencing God's Glory

We define God’s glory as His manifested presence, character and power. God revealed His glory in creation, and in His dealings with His people throughout the ages of time. God’s ultimate revelation of His glory is in Jesus Christ (2 Corinthians 1:20; 2 Corinthians 4:4, Colossians 1:15). When the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us, we beheld the glory of God (John 1:14). Jesus’ death and resurrection made God’s glory available to every authentic Believer (Matthew 27:51). If we draw near to God, He will draw near to us (James 4:8).  

A life of sin separates us from God. He hides His face from all sin (Isaiah 59:2). However, God entices everyone to come to salvation through the Good News of Jesus Christ, so we can share in God’s glory (2 Thessalonians 2:14). When we repent of our sinful lifestyle and believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, we have the opportunity to experience the fullness of God’s glory (2 Thessalonians 2:14). We can develop the habit of praying without ceasing by communing with Christ within us every waking moment of our day and night (1 Thessalonians 5:17).

The glory of God in Christ shines in us (Ephesians 5:14). However, we often get too busy to give God much of our time. We live in stress and unhappiness, wondering where God is in the midst of our pressured life. Would you want Jesus to visit some of the places you go to, to see what you look at, to hear what you listen to, or to be imposed upon by the people you spend most of your time with? God is justified when He punishes unrepentant sinners, because they condemn themselves by their unbelief (John 3:18).

Nevertheless, the Lord is compassionate and gracious to us all (John 3:16). He is slow to anger because of His abounding love and faithfulness. He loves the whole world and forgives the wickedness, rebellion and sin in anyone willing to ask for forgiveness (Exodus 34:6-7; John 3:16-17). Now is the time to stop this sin-filled lifestyle. Our circumstances have the ability to overwhelm us to the point of ill health. Once we choose to stop the merry-go-round of life and get off, then we can completely surrender to the will of God each moment of the day.

When we awaken from our sin-induced slumber, we are Born Again from the consequences of Adam’s sin, and from the death of a carnal lifestyle. When we allow Christ to remove the veil of sin from our eyes, we can see more clearly and reflect the glory of the Lord. His Spirit makes us more like Him and changes us into His glorious image over our lifetime (2 Corinthians 3:18). This is when we fully realize that Jesus lives in us, accompanies us throughout life and wants to live through us to further His Kingdom in the earth.

Christ in us gives us the opportunity to live in God’s presence continually (Psalm 105:4). Although our body is subjected to death because of Adam’s sin, the Spirit of God gives us eternal life because of the righteousness of Christ in us (Romans 8:10). Moses personally saw God’s glory; but Born Again Believers actually experience more of His glory than Moses did (Isaiah 60:1). All the fullness of the Godhead in bodily form dwells in Jesus (Colossians 2:9). Jesus is actually the Lord of glory (1 Corinthians 2:8).  This same Christ lives in us by His Holy Spirit; therefore, the glory of God dwells in every authentic, Born Again Believer (Exodus 23:21; Isaiah 40:4; Colossians 1:27). 

Prayer:

Father God, You do not give us a spirit of fear, which keeps us in bondage. You give us Your Spirit of adoption, so we can live as Your children throughout eternity (Romans 8:16). You give us the right to address You as, “Abba, Father,” “Daddy God” (Romans 8:15). Thank You for making us joint-heirs with Jesus (Romans 8:17). Even if we are required to suffer with Christ, You planned it so that we will also share in His glory. This reduces the pain of our suffering in this earthly realm, because we realize that trials produce in us Your eternal glory (Romans 8:18).

Thought for the Day:

Even creation yearns for the manifestation of the sons of God, because creation knows it will be delivered from the bondage of corruption and from the curse of Adam’s sin, and it will be given glorious liberty with the children of God. - Romans 8:19, 21