Our Calling in Christ

The Jews and Romans put Jesus’ body to death, but God brought Him to life again by His Spirit. Jesus died for the sins of the whole world, once and for all generations. The perfect and righteous One died for the unrighteous. Jesus makes us acceptable, so that we can approach God with confidence (Hebrews 4:16). In Christ our humanity is dead and hidden with Christ in God.


Jesus is now in heaven and is at the right hand of our Father. The angels, authorities and powers both in heaven and on earth are all subject to Him both now and in eternity (1 Peter 3:18, 22).  Christ is our only life, and when He appears, we will appear with Him in His Glory (Colossians 3:1-4). We are raised in new life with Christ, so that we can seek eternal and infinite pursuits.


God wants us to relinquish any aspirations to be conformed to the pattern of this world. He invites us to be transformed into Christ, by the renewing of our mind, so that we can prove the good, acceptable and perfect will of God (Romans 12:2). We set our mind on timeless aspects rather than on the finite issues of life on this earth. We live our life to share the gospel with everyone who will listen.


God enlightens the eyes of our heart, for us to comprehend the hope of His calling, the riches of His glorious inheritance for His Saints and the incomparable greatness of His power toward all of us who believe in Him (Ephesians 1:17-19). The God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, will give us His spirit of wisdom. He also gives us the revelation of and the full knowledge of Himself.


Now we can share this discovery with the world around us. God calls us to walk in the Spirit on the narrow road of salvation, and to influence for Him the generations, which walk on the wide road leading to destruction (Matthew 7:13-14). He calls us to use our relationships to point people to Jesus and away from sin’s harm. Let us dedicate our life to His service until our dying breath.


Prayer:
Lord Jesus, we take our refuge in You. You keep us from shame and You deliver and rescue us from our oppressors. You turn You ear to our cries and You save us. You are our rock of refuge to which we can always go in our time of need. Your commandments save us from reaping destruction in this life. You are our Rock and Fortress forever (Psalm 71:1-3). We will arise to serve You, both now and throughout eternity.


Thought for the Day:
We are forever redeemed from the kingdom of darkness into the Kingdom of Light in Christ Jesus. - 1 Peter 1: 18-19

Demons Believe and Tremble

To believe in God is not enough. Even the demons believe and tremble (James 2:19). In these modern times, much of God’s army is slumbering in apathy and ineffectiveness. The persecuted church worldwide understands the true nature of Christianity. No hypocrites attend those churches, because they have to lay their life down for Christ every day. Will casual Christians ever arise from their spiritual siesta and allow God’s Spirit to set them on fire?

Few Believers actually focus solely on God’s will for them (Ephesians 2:10). These dedicated individuals listen to His Spirit’s prompting and obey His voice all day long. They reside in the moment with total righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit (Romans 14:17). Having no reservations, they share Christ’s gospel with anyone who will listen, at any time of the day or night. They use any form of media possible to communicate God’s love to the world (2 Timothy 4:2).

Devoting their life to prayer, these authentic Believers walk in the Spirit and deny the flesh (Galatians 5:15-25). They are effective and accomplish much for God’s Kingdom (James 5:16). They understand that Jesus died to pay the price of every sin, for every sinner, for all of time (1 Peter 3:18, 22); and that His Spirit remains alive and united with His immortal body at the right hand of our Father. Now, all angels, authorities and powers are subject to Jesus (1 Peter 3:18, 22).

Jesus raises us to walk in this powerful new life, which God prepared for us (Ephesians 2:10). Through salvation, our carnal nature dies and is buried with Christ in baptism (Colossians 2:12; Romans 6:4). Jesus, who is our whole reason for living, hides our humanity with Him in God. We live with Jesus in glory, even now on this earth (Colossians 3:3-4). Since Jesus lives in us, His precious and powerful name gives us His authority, so that all powers and principalities are subject to us as well (Luke 10:17).

Prayer:

Father God, we are Your blood-bought children and we trust in Your faithfulness. You rescued us from hell’s fire and You freely give us all things to enjoy (1 Timothy 6:17). Satan’s only power over us comes from our unbelief. He is our accuser (Revelation 12:9-11). Some of Your children forget all about the victory You won for us on Calvary’s cross (1 Corinthians 15:55-57). They lose their freedom, which Jesus gave His life for us to enjoy. Remind them of Your love for us; so they will seek first Your Kingdom (Matthew 6:33) and set their mind on the eternal, infinite aspects of life (Colossians 3:2).

Thought for the Day:

We are forever redeemed from the kingdom of darkness into the Kingdom of Light through Jesus Christ. - 1 Peter 1:18-19

Then, GOD Said

Read: Genesis Chapter One

According to most astrophysicists, all the matter found in the universe today -- including the matter in people, plants, animals, the earth, stars, and galaxies -- was created at the very first moment of time, thought to be about 13 billion years ago. They believe that every speck of energy was concentrated into a very tiny point. Then, this extremely dense point exploded with unimaginable force, creating matter and propelling it outward to make the billions of galaxies of our vast universe. Astrophysicists dubbed this titanic explosion the "Big Bang."

I find it so sad that people prefer to believe in an explosion of gas as the catalyst for creation. When you ask one of them who created the gas, they usually scuff their shoes on the rug and stare at them very intently as they mumble incoherently. Then they suddenly remember that they are late for a very important appointment as they dash out of the room.

If they would stick around, my next question would be, "Who created time?"

One of the Bible’s very prominent themes is that of God as Creator. As Creator, God possesses the heavens and the earth, and He has the right to do with them as He pleases. In the Old Testament prophets, especially Isaiah, God often reminds those to whom He is speaking that He is their Creator. Many statements and promises of the Bible are based on the truth that God is the Creator of the heavens and the earth.

The earth is the Lord’s, and all it contains, The world, and those who dwell in it. For He has founded it upon the seas, And established it upon the rivers (Psalm 24:1-2).

By the word of the Lord the heavens were made, And by the breath of His mouth all their host. He gathers the waters of the sea together as a heap; He lays up the deeps in storehouses. Let all the earth fear the Lord; Let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of Him. For He spoke, and it was done; He commanded, and it stood fast (Psalm 33:6-9).

The heavens are Thine, the earth also is Thine; The world and all it contains, Thou hast founded them (Psalm 89:11).

 
For by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities-- all things have been created by Him and for Him (Colossians 1:16).

Prayer:

Worthy art Thou, our Lord and our God, to receive glory and honor and power; for Thou didst create all things, and because of Thy will they existed, and were created. (Revelation 4:11).

 
Thought for the Day:
For ever since the world was created, people have seen the earth and sky. Through everything God made, they can clearly see his invisible qualities--his eternal power and divine nature. So they have no excuse for not knowing God. (Romans 1:20)