Our Eternal Destiny

Life is full of trials and opposition. We come out of one trial and slide right into another one, which is just waiting to engulf us in discouragement, loss and often physical, mental, emotional or financial ruin.

Jesus may send us into a trial, but He is right there with us - sleeping in the same boat or walking out to us on the choppy waves. He draws us close to Himself and calms the raging seas.

He sends us into the storm to prove our faith as genuine and to give us opportunities to praise, glorify and honor Him through it all. He refines our faith as gold in the smelter's pot (1 Peter 1:7).

As we look at life from God's perspective, rather than our lowly human viewpoint, He showers us with continual revelations of His love, care and provision.

His eternal plan will bring every Born Again person, as well as nature back to Himself; and restore our union with Him such as Adam enjoyed in Paradise.

We abide in Him through Christ in us and find our true identity in this personal relationship with the Trinity (Galatians 2:20; Colossians 3:3-4). We have an eternal perspective and walk in God's will for our life.

We are spiritually alive through Christ in us, and we abide in Christ. Nothing can every pluck us out of His hand (John 10:28). He is eternal in the heavenly realm, and we dwell there with Him even now.

We possess eternal life by knowing God intimately and Jesus Christ whom He sent (John 17:3; 1 John 5:12). We will never die. Our last breath on earth is followed by our next breath in Heaven (John 11:25-26).

He gives us His divine life in exchange for our carnal one (1 John 5:11-12), His Spirit to guide us and His love to envelop us so that we may rejoice through every circumstance.

Prayer:

Father God, our glorified body will be ours when we see Jesus, either in eternity or when He returns for His Bride. Just as Jesus ate, spoke and was recognized by His disciples, we too will look very much like our self now. Our glorified body will be like His. He could walk through walls and rise into heaven unassisted. His new body was no longer subject to death.

We look forward to that immortal, resurrection body and to serving You for all of eternity. We cannot even fathom the wondrous world You prepared for us, which we know is even better than the majesty of this universe in all of its splendor. Remind us to keep a Kingdom focus through all of the trials we experience now here on earth and to look forward to spending eternity with You.

Thought for the Day:

As we live each day with eternal values and viewpoint, we mature spiritually until we come to the fullness of the stature of Christ in us. - Ephesians 4:13

Thy Word is Truth

The Bible is the most unique book ever written. It was penned over a period of about 2,000 years by 40 different authors from three continents, who wrote in three different languages, over centuries of time on very detailed, historic and controversial topics. Yet, there is not one contradictory statement in any of the 66 books of the Bible.

Although there appears to be a few discrepancies to the unbelieving skeptic, time and studies of Bible customs and manners proved there are no inconsistencies after all. Jesus Himself fulfilled 300 Messianic prophecies with His birth, life and death. There is no way to nullify the claim that the Bible is truly the Word of God.

Therefore, it is in our best interest to read, study and meditate on the words of the Bible every day. You may do topical studies, read chapters or verses, do a chronological study or read through the Bible on a yearly plan:  http://www.biblegateway.com/reading-plans/ The important point is to read these life-giving words.

The Word of God is alive. It is effective in purifying our life in holiness. It is sharp enough to divide our flesh from our spirit. It helps us to compare our thoughts and the motives of our heart with the will of God (Hebrews 4:12). This makes the Bible a unique book, which can change our life for the better.

The authors of the Bible were common men who struggled in life just like us. They took time to record their issues, frustrations and victories along with the words God gave them to write about the law, history, wisdom, prophetic revelation and even poetry. Most of them never knew one another; and yet, since God is the author of the Bible, there is a seamless reliability in their writings.

Prayer:

Father God, when we read Your Holy Word, we see accounts of people who sinned, rebelled and made decisions from their human pride. Yet, You called them men after Your own heart and You consider them as heroes of the faith (Acts 13:22; Hebrews 11). Thank You for expanding your mercy to include all of us who do not deserve Your love and grace. Thank You for giving us Your Word to sustain us on this earth until You return.

Thought for the Day:

God gave us a perfect world in Paradise, but we rejected His authority and Truth and sought to believe Satan’s lie and to call it our own truth. – 2 Timothy 4:4

Abiding Forever

Jesus actually stands at the door of our heart and asks to come in and live in us (Revelations 3:20). Those who live in Christ are the most blessed people in the world. We live and move and have our entire being in Him. If you want to join our ranks, you simply seek the Lord and cling to Him. You will find Him, because He is not very far from any one of us (Acts 17:24-28).

If we love Him and keep His Words, He will love us and come to dwell in us. He walks in us and claims us as His own (2 Corinthians 6:16; Leviticus 26:12). Our body is God’s temple and His Spirit dwells in our spirit (1 Corinthians 3:16). He helps us to realize that we are children of God, and co-heirs with Christ (Colossians 1:27; Galatians 4:6; Romans 8:17). He fills us throughout our entire being with all of His fullness (Ephesians 3:16-19).

God is one God, and once we come to Him in full surrender, the entire Trinity dwells within us (John 14:16-17). The Trinity strengthens our Born Again spirit (Ephesians 3:14-19). God is our Father and He loves and cares for us. God even uses our suffering to reveal His glory in us (Romans 8:18). With Christ in us, we take on God’s divine nature (Romans 8:9-10; 1 Corinthians 6:17; Philippians 1:1; 3:9; 2 Peter 1:4).

God commanded the light to shine from the darkness; and His light shines in us to give us the knowledge of His glory, which shone from the face of Jesus Christ (2 Corinthians 4:6). If we immerse our self in the scriptures, the Word of Christ will richly dwells in us and give us wisdom to teach and admonish one another (Colossians 3:16). As we love Him, He loves us and brings us to abide in Him forever (John 14:23).

We become the gospel of Christ to the world around us (John 6:47-51). God gives us both the desire and the ability to abide as Christ in the place in which He calls us to live and obey Him (Philippians 2:12-13; Ephesians 2:10). We serve Jesus, our Lord, with every fiber of our being (1 Corinthians 12:3), because God fills us with His Holy Spirit to accomplish His works with our life (Ephesians 5:18-19).

Prayer:

Father God, we bow down and worship You as part of Your family. Strengthen our spirit and soul, according to Your glorious riches. As Christ dwells in our heart by faith, fill us through our entire being with all of Your fullness. Ground us in Your love, so that all of Your Saints will experience the width, length, depth and height of Your love through us, and to come to know the love of Christ by Your Spirit (Ephesians 3:14-19).

Thought for the Day:

God has plans for us, which will give us hope and a future and will see us through all harm. – Jeremiah 29:11