God's Inclusive Love

Authentic Believers have no desire to sin; however, the world, the devil and the flesh cause temptations for our body and soul, which are often hard to resist.

The good news here is that God gives us a way to escape any temptation (1 Corinthians 10:13). Temptations also sharpens our faith and work patience into our character (James 1:2-4).

Satan may bombard us with doubt and anxiety, but if we look to Christ His perfect love will cast out all of our fear (1 John 4:18).

Some people refuse to admit they are sinners; however, they are living in deception, and calling God a liar (1 John 1:8-10). Anyone willing to repent is quickly forgiven by God and cleansed from all iniquity.

Jesus is our advocate with our Father when we do sin, because He paid the penalty of our sin (1 John 2:1-2). This proves that God has nothing but love for us.

God is love, and when we abide in God, we abide in His love (1 John 4:16). In God’s love we have no fear. His love for us gives us confidence in His faithfulness.

Prayer:

Father God, You are with us, and that is all we need. We rejoice in our weakness, because then You can show Yourself strong through us. People see Christ’s power within us rather than our own abilities and adequacy (2 Corinthians 12:9).

We actually exult in our insufficiency, because we realize that we need to depend on You in every moment of our day to make us strong. Our attitude in our weakness is actually a testimony of Your love for us.

Thought for the Day:

When we succumb to temptation, we fail to avail our self of the escape, which God always supplies; and we ultimately disappoint our Father God. 
– 1 Corinthians 10:13

Our Life in Christ

Jesus is God, and through Him, everything was created (Colossians 1:16). Yet, He became a man to pay the penalty of our sins. He endured the cross by keeping His focus on the joy that awaited Him back in Heaven (Hebrews 12:2). We too can enjoy this peace and joy as we keep our mind focused on Him (Isaiah 26:3).

God's gifts to us vary and are multiplied in eternity (Matthew 7:11). His main gift is free and includes our ticket to Heaven through the forgiveness of our sin (Ephesians 2:8; Romans 6:23).  We no longer need to earn our own salvation or to pay the penalty of our sins (Galatians 2:16). God completes the work in us, which He began on Calvary (Philippians 1:6).

Jesus, who is now seated with our Father God in Heaven, is our advocate and perfects our faith (1 John 2:1). He gives us His grace to avoid temptation and to accomplish the works He created us to do (Ephesians 2:10; 2 Corinthians 9:8). All the grace we need in any and all circumstances in our life are just a prayer away (2 Corinthians 9:8).

As we sit at His feet and wait on His timing, God also supplies all of our physical, mental and emotional needs during our earthly existence (Philippians 4:19). We will pass from life through death and angels will escort us to the presence of God (Luke 16:22). Our last breath on earth is follow by our next breath in Heaven. We will never sin or die again (Romans 8:21; 1 Corinthians 15:52-53).

Prayer:

Father God, regardless of the pains and suffering that endure on this earth, You gave us an advocate in Christ (John 16:33; Hebrews 4:15). Thank You for sending Jesus to free us from our debt of sin and to bear the pain of our current situations for us (2 Corinthians 4:17). We thank You that Christ abides in us and is our hope of eternal glory with You (Colossians 1:27). We look forward with great joy to living as a co-heir with Christ of Your entire Kingdom (Romans 8:17).

Thought for the Day:

We will enjoy the presence of God for eternity and our joy will be exceedingly full. - Psalm 43:4; 1 Peter 3:18

Are Our Habits Helpful?

 

The habits we develop throughout life control our thoughts, choices and behavior. Some of them cause us to sow to the wind, and then we reap the whirlwind (Hosea 8:7). Others prevent us from trusting in God, since we think that we can serve Him in our own strength. Habits should not control our life. That's the job of God's Spirit.

God will reveal the habits in our life, which are idols, and give us the power to lay them down at His feet (Philippians 2:12-13). We relinquish our habits and follow the leading of God's Spirit each moment of our day. As we submit to God, we can resist the devil and he will flee from us (James 4:7). We are no longer drawn to sin and bad habits, which destroy our life.

After Jesus rose from the dead, He "lead captivity captive" (Ephesians 4:8; Luke 16:19-31). He freed the Old Testament Saints from separation from God and led them into the heavenly realm (Psalm 16:10; Acts 2:27-30). Jesus is now our Advocate (1 John 2:1). He frees His New Testament Saints from Satan's deception and sin's temptation. He enables us to relinquish our habits good and bad.

We do not depend on good habits to accomplish God's will for our life. We live in the Spirit and we walk in the Spirit as we further God's Kingdom while we live on this earth (Galatians 5:16-25). We follow God's presence rather than human effort and habits. When God's Spirit abides within us, we are His children; and where He leads us, we will follow.

Prayer:

Father God, remind us to meditate on Your Word, to listen to Your voice and to walk in Your precepts. We no longer need habits when we have the powerful and active Spirit of God to shape our thoughts, words and deeds. Thank You for involving Yourself in every area of our life and for providing for all of our needs with Your glorious riches (Philippians 4:19). Show us where we fall short of Your glory and help us to walk only in Your ways (Romans 3:23; Deuteronomy 5:33). 

Thought for the Day:

When Satan takes our circumstances out of our hands, then we can cling closer to God. When we relinquish our problems to His care, He is better able to provide for us through them. - 1 Peter 5:7

God's Plan for Us

 

God designed the earth with the exact atmosphere needed for our survival. He continues to keep the earth's axis tilted so that we do not perish. He provides the ozone layer to protect us. He gives us the sun and moon for light and to grow plants, which provide us with oxygen and food to eat. God is our all in all (Ephesians 4:6).

He provides for us abundantly more than we could ever ask or think (Ephesians 3:20). His Spirit takes us through the stages of sanctification, and we die to our self and gradually gain God's perspective and attitude. We stop dwelling on earthly matters and we focus instead on eternal issues.

Realizing that Christ lives in us, we come to depend more on Him than on our human abilities or associates. If we are willing, Christ will live out His life in and through us. We quickly repent of any sin and lay down any idol, which the Holy Spirit identifies in us. 

We relinquish our independence and self-centeredness, and start to focus on abiding in the will of God in the beauty of holiness (1 Chronicles 16:28-19). We function in the Body of Christ, His church, as individual members of one Body (1 Cor 12:12-27; Romans 12:4).

When we give in to the temptation to sin, we even have an advocate with our Father, the Lord Jesus Christ (1 John 2:1). When we confess our sins, God is quick to forgive us (1 John 1:9). With Christ in us, there is no reason to choose to sin (Isaiah 35:8; Colossians 1:27; Galatians 2:20). We have everything we need, including deep fulfillment in body, soul and spirit, through our relationship with Him.

Prayer:

Father God, You could save us from sin to serve You as a bond-servant until we pay off our sin debt to You. However, in Your mercy and grace, You make us Your children instead (Ephesians 1:4). All that You have is ours. We are co-heirs with Jesus of Your entire Kingdom (Romans 8:17; Galatians 4:4-7). Thank You for Your love and for appointing angels to minister to us even while we still live on this earth (Hebrews 1:14).

Thought for the Day:

God has an inheritance for us that will never weaken, spoil or expire. - 1 Peter 1:4

Following Jesus' Example

Jesus lived every moment of His life in dependence on our Father. He did not make His own decisions or live His own life, but consulted the Father throughout His day (Psalm 62:5-12). Our Savior and Brother gave us His perfect example of how God wants each and every Born Again Believer to live his/her life (Romans 8:17); totally surrendered to God and completely expended for Him without any reservations.

Christ’s death atoned for the debt of our sin. He died in our place and took our punishment upon His own body (2 Corinthians 12:9). He redeemed us by shedding His own blood (Matthew 26:28). Now He sits on His throne on high and intercedes for us (Hebrews 7:25). He is our advocate with our Father (1 John 2:1). At the same time, He dwells within us by His Spirit (1 Corinthians 3:16), empowering us to live a transformed life (2 Corinthians 3:18).

Jesus is the head of His Body, comprised of His Born Again Saints (1 Corinthians 12:27). The only way for us to truly experience the power of Christ’s resurrection is to conform to His death and become like Him (Philippians 3:10). As we die to our flesh Christ manifests His life in and through us (Romans 6:5). He impliments and perfects His life in us.  As we share in His sufferings, our comfort abounds (2 Corinthians 1:5).

Are we ready to die to the world and to our goals, aspirations, desires and wants for God? Does anything in our life mean more to us than God? Jesus did not come to do His will, but our Fathers (John 4:34). Do we have a separate agenda of our own that we prefer to follow instead of God’s will for our life? Living in the center of God’s will is the happiest place on earth.

Prayer:

Father God, knowing You in an intimate relationship is the reality of eternal life (John 17:3). We do not need to wait until heaven for this to occur. We can know You now. Bring us into spiritual maturity so that we can obtain the complete fullness of Christ in our body, soul and spirit (Ephesans 4:13). Remind us that as we conform to Jesus’ death, we live victoriously in His life. In eternity, we will also share in His glory (1 Peter 4:13).

Thought for the Day:

Only as we die to self will the life of Christ manifest in our life.