Totally Accepted and Approved

 

Our dependence on other people, our accomplishments, the size of our bank account or the amount of worldly goods we accumulate will overwhelm us with bondage to the earthly realm of life.

Our motivation for our choices and activities usually revolves around temporal considerations rather than eternal factors. What we fail to realize is that we are already crucified with Christ and filled with His Spirit (Galatians 2:20; Ephesians 3:16-19).

The Lover of our soul is poised to lead us through each moment of our life; yet, we often ignore Him and tend to go to Him only in moments of crisis.

We forget that we are totally approved, accepted and unconditionally loved our Creator and King (2 Timothy 2:15). He loves us from the inside out.

God chose us before He formed the world and has a fulfilling plan for our life (Ephesians 1:4). We do not deserve His love and constant attention, but He freely gives us all things (Romans 8:32).

We find our security, peace of mind and needs met only in Him, regardless of circumstances. We do not earn it, because it is a free gift (Ephesians 2:8-9).

Therefore, we never need to fear that we may do or say something to lose this personal connection to our Almighty God. It is ours forevermore. Once we express genuine sorrow over our sins and choose to follow God instead, we are eternally secure in Him (Romans 5:8).

Prayer:

Father God, You will never change Your mind about us and divorce us from Your family. You love us in spite of our foibles and idiosyncrasies, regardless of our behavior and without us having to earn Your unconditional favor. You are the same yesterday, today and forever (Hebrews 13:8).

Thank You for Your overwhelming love, which sent Jesus to die for our redemption, for adopting us into Your family and making us co-heirs with Christ of everything pertaining to Your Kingdom both now and for eternity (Romans 8:17). Strengthen us in our inner being by Your Spirit and help us to walk in Your ways.

Thought for the Day:

There is nothing we could ever think, do or say that could ever separate us from the love of God. - Romans 8:38-39

An Empty Vessel

God cleanses us at Salvation and creates an empty vessel to fill with Himself. As our flesh decreases, Christ is able to increase in us (John 3:30). He brings with Him all the attributes of the Trinity to abide within us.

We welcome every trial and look for the hand of God in both the negative and positive aspects of life - knowing that it is all part of His pre-arranged will for us and that He works out everything for our ultimate good (Ephesians 2:10; Romans 8:28).

We have confidence in the fact that nothing in heaven, on earth or in hell can separate us from the love of God (Romans 8:35-39). We trust in His divine will and draw from His power within us to obey His Spirit each moment of the day.

We delight in working according to His good pleasure (Psalm 40:8). He fills us with all peace and makes us pleasing in His sight (Romans 15:13; Hebrews 13:21). We start as an empty vessel at salvation and He fills us to the brim with Himself (Ephesians 3:16-19).

Our weakness makes room for His strength, His will is our sole motivation and His ways are the only desires of our heart. We find glory in our short-comings, idiosyncrasies and infirmities, because through them, He is glorified.

Our peculiarities are God's sign of ownership. Do you have issues with the way you talk, look, the balance of your bank account, the profession in which you work?

God uses these peculiarities to keep us humble and dependent on Christ in us rather than our own special human abilities. As we submit to His will, He can accomplish His will on the earth.

If we are still full of our self, we leave no room for God to fill us with His presence and purpose for our life. The more we empty our self of our self, the more of us He can use.

Prayer:

Father God, we bow before You in humble adoration and praise. We depend on You for the very air we breathe. Your almighty power is at work within us, in nature all around us, and in the lives with which we come into contact every day. We totally surrender to Your perfect will for every moment of our life.

We trust in You to use us as You will and to work out everything in our life - even the negative aspects - for our good (Romans 8:28). You work mightily within us by Your power and we lift up Your majesty on high. We give You Your way in our life and trust You to use us now and to take us home to glory with You when we complete our mission for You here on this earth.

Thought for the Day:

In the solace of surrender and faith, we find the deepest measure of God's love and presence.

Too Much to Ask

Jesus does not require our adherence to His Word to penalize us, but because He loves us and wants to protect us. God knows about the unique idols in each of our lives, and treats us all individually. He encourages us to surrender to Him what means the most to us in our life. Maybe it is our high-powered job, a sporty car, a padded bank account, earthly security or even our possessions.

God loves us enough to free us from our bondage to these worldly idols. For instance, Jesus looked at the rich, young ruler and "loved him" (Mark 10:21). He revealed to this man the one thing in His life, which prevented him from entering His Kingdom. The only way to free himself from this curse was to sell everything and give the money to the poor; then to follow Christ for the rest of his life.

Sadly, the young man was overly attached to his worldly possessions and could not give them up. This was more of a commitment than this young man was willing to give. He chose not to obey Christ nor to live in service to our King, but to continue living with his worldly pleasures and riches.

God takes the place in our life of whatever we give up for Him. He blesses us in more ways than we can imagine, and He supplies all of our needs according to His glorious riches (Philippians 4:19). God is not concerned about what we own, but about what owns us. He yearns for a people who are in love with no one and nothing more than we are in love with Him (James 4:5).

Prayer:

Father God, we no longer belong to our self, but we belong to You as Your purchased possession, Your holy temple acquired by the blood of the Lamb (1 Corinthians 6:19; 2 Corinthians 6:16). We gradually learn that You are greater and more precious to us than anyone or anything on this earth. We look forward to spending eternity with You (1 John 2:25). We yearn for You like a deer longs for the water brook. Our soul thirsts for You; You are our living God (Psalm 42:1-2).

Thought for the Day:

The moment we take our eyes off Jesus and allow something or someone on this earth to be more precious to us than Him, we come under bondage to that issue, item or person.

Our Motivation in Life

As an authentic Born Again Believer, our motivation in life comes from one of four sources: the flesh, the world, the devil or God's Spirit. At times, it is hard to discern which one is influencing our thoughts, emotions, desires and actions. We can discover the source of our motivation by checking on our responses to the situation.

Are our thoughts, words and actions mirroring the fruit of the flesh (Galatians 5:19-21) or the fruit of the spirit (Galatians 5:22-23)? Negative emotions and behavior are definite clues that the flesh, the world or the devil is influencing us, rather than the Spirit (1 John 2:16). Fleshly conduct and demonic oppression in a Believer is the direct result of not walking in the Spirit (Galatians 5:15-18).

When we recognize that we are out of the Spirit, we can confess our thoughts and behavior as sin, and ask our Father to renew a right spirit in us (Psalm 51:10). God is always quick to forgive us and to empower us with His Holy Spirit. Once we turn away from our carnal behavior and seek the Lord's direction, He enables us to make amends to anyone we hurt, while we operated in the flesh.

We walk in the Spirit as we stay connected to the Spirit throughout the day. He will direct each moment and everything included in it, if we seek Him first (Matthew 6:33). The more we rely on the Spirit, the more victory we have over the flesh, the world and the devil (Ephesians 2:1-10). We are no longer motivated by worldly success, the balance of our bank account, or the number and type of our friends, but by God.

Prayer:

Father God, remind us that we are an extension of Christ on the earth (John 14:12). We walk in obedience to You to the best of our ability, relying on the Holy Spirit to keep us on the straight and narrow and in the center of Your will (Matthew 7:13-14; John 14:15). Thank You for forgiving our shortcomings and inspiring us to focus on the eternal, rather the earthly aspects of our life. We want all that we think, say and do to bring You glory (1 Corinthians 10:13).

Thought for the Day:

Do not make plans; consult the Lord and follow His desire for every moment of your day. - Proverbs 3:5-6