Authentic Worshipers

God is looking for authentic worshipers who will live for Him by His Spirit and in His Truth (John 4:23). He wants to raise up an army united in Christ, not a bunch of Lone Rangers doing their own thing.

As we allow the nature of Christ in us to infiltrate every area of our life, we decrease so that He may increase (John 3:30). We serve God by His Spirit moving within us and through us (Philippians 2:12-13; Act 17:28).

When we come to truly understand that we are dead, and that our life is now hidden with Christ in God, we live in God’s power, which works in and through us (Colossians 3:3; Galatians 2:20).

God will use our body, soul and spirit by His Spirit to work in the lives of people we encounter each day. He will give us His words to speak to them that we cannot possibly know in our human capacity.

This opens doors for us to witness to people and to bring Christ into their life, so that He can change their heart, lives and circumstances for their good.

We put no confidence in our fleshly abilities; and we do not boast in our own accomplishments, because we achieve all things through Christ in us (Philippians 3:3; 2:12-13).

Sinful mankind, who are lost in pride, arrogance and the exploitation of others, consider their own needs more frequently than anyone else’s (Romans 12:3). However, God brings everyone down to the same level through the grave (Isaiah 14:15).

Our eternal destination is determined by our earthly beliefs. If we live for self, we reap corruption; if we live for Christ, we reap eternal life and serve God as Authentic Believers (John 3:16-18).

Prayer:

Father God, it is not difficult to sustain a constant relationship with You as our living Lord. Every moment of our day is authentic worship to You. Living with honor and respect for You gives us a secure life with protection from lasting harm (Proverbs 19:23). Even negative circumstances turn around for our good (Romans 8:28).

You give us everything we need to live in contentment through a genuine Godly life (1 Timothy 6:6). You are our strength and shield. We trust in You with all of our heart. You fill our soul so full of joy that we spontaneously burst forth into songs of praise and thanksgiving to You (Psalm 28:7).

Thought for the Day:
Christ in us gives us joy in tribulation (Romans 5:3), hope in devastating trials and loss (Romans 15:13), and a bright vision for our future (Jeremiah 29:11).

Sharing Christ with Others

God's invisible attributes, eternal power and divine nature are clearly seen in His Creation (Revelation 4:11). This takes away a person's excuse for not believing in Him as their Savior. 

We instinctively know that there is a God and that we should serve Him with all of our emotions, mind, choices and physical strength (Deuteronomy 6:4-5).

Yet, so many do not honor God or appreciate Him. They pursue futile activities, endless philosophies and fruitless enlightenment and their hearts darken further with each passing day. They think they are wise, but they are actually very foolish (Romans 1:20-22).

Authentic Believers trust in, rely on and believe in Christ even if we end up suffering for the sake of His righteousness. We learn to explain and defend our beliefs to those who ask us about the hope we have in Him.

Yet, we never impose our beliefs on someone who is clearly not interested in them (1 Peter 3:14-16). There is no point if the Holy Spirit is not drawing them to God. We never badger anyone about coming to Christ.

We share Jesus with gentleness, respect for the listener and a good conscience; even if someone slanders our good name or reviles our good behavior in Christ.

We are created for God's glory and service, and we will spend all of eternity worshiping our worthy Lamb who was slain in our place. For now, we live for His glory while we dwell on this earth and do only those works for which He created us to perform (Ephesians 2:10).

Prayer:

Father God, break the yoke of bondage that our flesh feels to sin and replace our weaknesses with Your strengths. Help us to decrease so that You may increase. We praise You as our living Lord and thank You for giving us Your Spirit to abide within us all the days of our life.

You are the only one worthy of all honor, respect, praise, glory, wisdom, might and blessing. We look forward to joining the myriads of angels already around the throne in singing Your praises (Revelation 5:12). Lead us to share Christ with those whom You are drawing to Yourself.

Thought for the Day:

The abiding Holy Spirit teaches us to follow His lead as we share Christ with friends, relatives, associates and neighbors; so that we do not push too hard, ignore their body language or fail to read the feelings of their soul in their eyes.

Be Still and Know

Salvation through Jesus Christ is a free gift; we do not earn it by our beliefs or our behavior (Romans 6:23). The gift of God's presence, however, entails our obedience and love for Him. Walking in God's Spirit allows us to maintain this constant communion with the lover of our soul (Galatians 5:16-25). It also helps to stop the good activities, which we are invited to participate in, from becoming the enemy of God's best for us.  

Constant busyness keeps us in continual stress and turmoil.  Do we really need a two family income, a new car, family phones, premium cable channels, clothes from the mall, the hottest toys on the market, etc? Some people work two or three jobs to supply their family with the lifestyle they believe they need. When does the workaholic have time to spend alone with God, family and friends?

Our hectic lifestyle prevents us from entering into the rest of God's presence (Hebrews 4:1-16); but as we love the Lord with our entire heart, having no idols in His place and ordering our steps to seek Him throughout the day, He will provide us with His love and guidance (Proverbs 3:5-6). We always walk in fulfillment and we find joy in the simplest revelation of His goodness.

Alone (All-one) time with God allows us to enter that place of abiding, which connects and fills us with His Holy Spirit. Abiding provides us with an opportunity to enter God’s rest, to soak up His presence and to operate from a sense of His peace. His joy gives us needed vitality to meet the trials of the day (Psalm 46:1-3). His wisdom and goodness help us to succeed.

Prayer:

Father God, remind us to make time every day to stop all activity and to cuddle in Your lap, like the little children that we are (Matthew 19:14). Help us to allow You to immerse us in Your love as we love You with our whole heart, soul, mind and strength (Mark 12:30). We admit that we are powerless and cannot control the events in our life, so we relinquish all control to You and Your perfect will for our life. 

Thought for the Day:

Take time to be still and to focus on the fact that God is God and there is no other like Him. – Psalm 46:10

Part 2 - The Devil is Alive and Well

 

A fallen angel named Lucifer was given authority over the earth, when Adam and Eve forfeited their dominion to him in Paradise. He is the god of this world, and his objective is to deceive people and to draw them away from God. This world glorifies Satan and his demons through music, movies and mediums. He even has holidays, such as Halloween, and TV movies and cartoons, which desensitize people into accepting him as the norm.

Fortunetellers and astrologers use satanic power to convince people that they have the wisdom of foreknowledge to help them plan their life. Satan convinces us that God is more interested in controlling our life than in blessing it. He wraps his lies in pretty packages, so that people will believe them and reject God’s truth as the lie (2 Thessalonians 2:11). Satan has authority over every life, until we surrender Lordship over our life to Jesus Christ (Ephesians 2:2).

Satan loves to make us blame God for all of the ills in the world. He gives us foul names to call God and encourages us to disrespect Him and diminish Him in the eyes of others. He undermines God’s purpose in our lives. He keeps us in turmoil and causes us to be afraid of God. God never tempts us to sin; but Satan’s favorite pastime is tempting us to indulge in our favorite transgression (James 1:13-14). Satan is bent on ruining our life.

 

The devil lures us into joining him in hell, as we relinquish our beliefs in divine revelation and power (Ephesians 1:19). However, once we realize his deception, and walk away from his hole on us, we come to see the reality that only Christ has all authority in heaven and on the earth (Matthew 28:18). God helps to spoil Satan’s plans for us as He leads us into the fruitful life, which He planned for us before we were ever born (Ephesians 2:10). Come to Christ today and submit your will, goals, plans and aspirations to Him.

Prayer:
Father God, I completely surrender my life to You. Free me from Satan’s bondage on my life and forgive all of my sins. I believe that You sent Your only Son, Jesus, to die in my place. I thank You for reaching out to me and offering me Your mercy and grace. Lead me into Your Truth and give me your everlasting life (Psalm 139:23-24). Fill me with Your wisdom and grace and help me to walk in Your power over Satan and hell (Romans 6:6-7). In Jesus’ name and for Your glory. Amen and Amen.

Thought for the Day:

Even if Satan tries to devour us, Jesus prays for us; and then uses us to strengthen others from what we learn through the things, which we suffer. - Luke 22:31-34

Eternal Hope

Read: Colossians 1:16-17

"Therefore God exalted Him to the highest place and gave Him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in Heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord." - Philippians 2:9-11

Mankind throughout the ages makes a habit of defaming the name of Jesus Christ. They curse His name, deny His existence and ignore His power. They overlook Him until something goes wrong in their life; and then they freely blame Him for all of their troubles. Yet, when life is sweet and they are prospering, they rarely if ever, give Him the credit or gratitude, which He deserves.

There is also a disturbing trend in the church today. Although God exalted Jesus, we often fail to exalt Him to the highest place in our life. We forget to live the example before the world that He makes a difference in our existence. He is the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and then He sat down at the right hand of our Heavenly Father (Hebrews 12:2). Yet, we relegate Him to the back seat in our life.

The opinion of a base society or a lukewarm church means little, however, when I compare it to the fact that God already exalted Jesus to the highest place among men for all of eternity. I look forward to the day when every knee shall bow and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord (Romans 14:11). When we believe that Jesus lived before He created all things, and that He holds all things together (Colossians 1:16-17), these facts make a huge difference in our thinking. Then our thoughts influence our actions, which convince the beliefs of other people; and the truth spreads throughout the world.

All things were created by Jesus, both in heaven and on the earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities; yet He loves us so much that He takes up residence within our spirit at our request (1 John 4:15). Surrendering our sinful nature to Him and inviting Him to move into our spirit is the first step in experiencing eternal hope. Exalting Jesus to the highest place in our life, our marriage, our family and our church is the second step.

When we fall in love with Jesus, we enter this realm of eternal hope. We fellowship with other believers, give testimony to the lost of His saving grace, study the Bible, pray, and allow His eternal light of hope to shine through us. Loving God with our whole heart, mind, soul and strength (Mark 12:30) is essential in living out this eternal hope, which God gives us through Jesus Christ, our Lord. If we develop this close, personal relationship with Jesus, then everyone will see our good works, that come from our faith in Him, and they will glorify our Father in heaven (Matthew 5:16).

Prayer:

Lord Jesus, there is so much in life for which to praise You. You give us both our Christian faith and our eternal hope. Drawing closer to Your presence and giving You the honor due to Your name allows our inner light to shine out. Then we can demonstrate to the world that eternal life is possible through faith in Your name, which is above every other name now and forever.

Thought for the Day:

We pray this so that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you, and you in Him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ.
- 2 Thessalonians 1: 12

www.mattmilliganphotography.com/index.htm