Seeking and Finding God

 

Only by coming to God can we experience His true light within us. It is impossible to have a relationship with God without first repenting of our sins and asking Jesus Christ to be our Savior and King.

If we seek God, we shall find Him. If we knock, He will open a door for us. If we ask Him to abide within us, He will answer us.

If we are convicted of our sin and pray a prayer, it is valid only if we are truly converted. Otherwise, we simply said a prayer with no lasting spiritual fruit.

We know we are converted if we experience a hunger for holiness and God's truth. There is a change in our life that leads to repentance and gradual spiritual maturity.

Justification transfers our sin onto the cross of Christ and the righteousness of Christ into our spirit. God's Spirit begins His sanctifying process in our soul and teaches us that we are a new creation (Romans 8:29).

God sets us free from the destructiveness of sin (Romans 6:22) and calls us to walk worthy of our new name and the calling into His family that we receive (Ephesians 4:1).

 

He implores us to take the narrow road and to forsake the broad road in life (Matthew 7:13-14). We submit to God's will as a living sacrifice and a spiritual act of worship, holy and acceptable to God (Romans 12:1).

Prayer:

Father God, as we mature in Christ, we trust You more and completely surrender to Your call on each moment. Remind us to listen when we pray, as well as to praise and make our requests known to You. We do not reap the full benefit of prayer if we do not sit still and contemplate You as the God of our life (Psalm 46:10).

Prevent us from being pulled from Your presence by the lies and temptations of the flesh, the world and the devil. We love You with our whole heart, soul, mind and strength (Mark 12:30). We draw near to You, knowing that You will also draw near to us (James 4:7).

Thought for the Day:

All the riches in the world, which are desirable and sought after, are not even close to comparing to the gift of Christ in our life. - Job 28:15; Psalm 19:10, 119:127

 

Union with Christ - Transformation

 

Prior to coming to Christ, we were shackled with our old soul nature and a spirit dead in sin. We were crippled by having a body that started dying the day we were born, a dysfunctional soul, and a dead spirit to cart around with us as we danced through life to the tune of lies from Satanic spirits (1 John 5:19).

We did our best to survive and thrive. Yet, even if we are successful in the eyes of the world, we still lack the basic connection with the God of the Universe, who took on the form of a human being in order to bring us new life.

At times, even God's servants go off on our own tangents and smear God's name, purposes and direction for our life. We work in God's name, but do not follow God's will, which defames His name among the nations - the exact opposite of God's plan for us (Ephesians 2:7-3:19).

When we come to Christ, He forgives our sin, rejuvenates our body, gives our spirit new life, and heals our soul. This gives us the maximum benefit of having a wholesome body, soul and spirit in order to relate to the issues in our life.

Our God-shaped vacuum within us is no longer empty and lifeless, but filled with God's Spirit and renewed each and every day because we are Born Again. We have a purpose in life, our identity in Christ and our vision clearly focused on the will of God.

The old sinful nature died and we are resurrected in Christ. He is now our whole life (Ephesians 3:3-4). We experience the exuberant goodness of our God toward us through His love (John 3:16-17).

Christ's sacrificed His life on the cross to eliminate our sin debt for us and to guarantee the Holy Spirit's residence within us, if we will only humble our self in the sight of the Lord (James 4:10).

Prayer:
Father God, please forgive us for giving You a "bum wrap" and "bad press" among the society of nations across the ages and around the world. Our human behavior, done in Your name, tainted Your name and defamed Your honor among the nations. True salvation connects us to the living water within us, and allows it to flow from us to those You bring into our life (John 7:38).

Lead us in a level path in this exact moment, and all of the moments of our life, because of our enemies. Help us to walk in true holy living according to Your Spirit for Your name's sake (Psalm 23). Regardless of our circumstances, when You are involved in them with us, You turn all of them around for our good (Romans 8:28).

Thought for the Day:

With the same conviction we enjoy in knowing that we are born of God's Spirit through our salvation, which comes from Christ alone, we live with the fulfillment and power of realizing that our sanctification also comes from Christ alone. - Galatians 3:1-3

God's Plans

 

Did you know that the Lord desires our continual fellowship and communion? He created us in His image and gave us Paradise to dwell in for eternity. Even though sin forfeited our chance to live in Paradise during our lifetime, God makes all things work out for our good, even in this sin-cursed world; and He promises us Paradise in the future (Romans 8:28; Luke 23:39-43).

 

God brings us out of the bondage to sin and frees us from the cravings of our soul, which bring dishonor to His name. He sets our feet on high places (Psalm 18:33). He delivers us from darkness and deprivation and gives us His glorious, new life (Colossians 1:13; 1 Peter 1:3). God always supplies all of our needs with His glorious riches in heaven (Philippians 4:19). 

Many of us cheat our self out of receiving all that God has prepared for us, because we fill our life with our own daily concerns. The plans God has for us actually give us hope and are for our good (Jeremiah 29:11). Nothing takes God by surprise. He even rescues us from life’s negative circumstances, and works them out for our benefit, if we put our hope only in Him (2 Peter 2:9; Psalm 39:7).

God made provision for us long before we were even born (Psalm 139:13). Our trials are never too painful or too long, because they cannot separate us from God’s love (Romans 8:35-39). We are more than conquerors because of Jesus, who loves us so much that He forfeited His life in glory for 33 years and lived on this earth. He suffered and died in our place, so that we might live victoriously (Romans 8:37; Philippians 2:5-11; 2 Corinthians 5:21).

Prayer:

Father God, thank You for Your presence every hour of our day. We cast our spirit, soul and body on You because You care about us. You provided us with salvation for our spirit, You are bringing salvation to our soul through sanctification, and You will even replace our body with an immortal body. Thank You for Your fellowship, which remains unbroken as long as we do not sin and grieve Your Spirit. Thank You too for restoring fellowship with us the moment that we repent.

Thought for the Day:

God provides a place of rest for our weary soul, an abundance that we never dreamed possible, a serenity of soul, which surpasses anything this world has to offer with all of its methods of meditation, karma, self-discipline and higher powers other than Christ.

 

 

Love Lifted Me

Prior to our salvation, we lived life with one goal and focus…our self. We did what we wanted to do and what pleased our self. Even living a life in service to others was done to please our self, because it made us feel good about who we are and what we were accomplishing. Once we come to Christ, those carnal desires to please our self are still there.

This is called, the flesh. The flesh wants to have its own way and rebels against anything to the contrary. At first, Paul’s admonition to die daily is not only foreign, but also repulsive to us. We cringe from inflicting any hardship on our self. However, God gives us both the power and the desire to walk in His will for our life (Philippians 2:12-13). Desiring to please Him above all else, becomes our goal and focus.

It is interesting that the only areas of our life that God wants to change are those parts, which are harmful to us anyway. Hobbies, habits and hang-ups, which are sinful, are also destructive to our well-being. God replaces our selfish character with His divine character and our human nature with His divine nature, and we are much more fulfilled and at peace.

In living for our self, Satan made sure we were attracted to sin. He made it look enjoyable and used that to tempt us. In Christ, we no longer enjoy the same activities and many of them are actually abhorrent to us. We no longer see any value in them or why they had any appeal to us in the first place. We find more and more freedom in our service to God because His love lifts us higher and higher.

Prayer:

Father God, there is nothing this world has to offer that can take Your place in our life. We are never lonely again, because Your presence is with us and in us through every experience we will ever encounter. Our best interest is at the center of Your heart and You work out everything, even the worst sickness and the most dire of circumstances for our ultimate benefit. Thank You for Your love and direction in our life.

Thought for the Day:
God’s love lifted me.

 

 

Freedom from Fear

Read: 2 Corinthians 1:8-11

“It is better to trust the Lord than to put confidence in men. It is better to take refuge in Him than in the mightiest king!” PS 118:8-9  (TLB)

One day I realized that I continually lose my peace and joy when I worry. Therefore, I started to write each concern on a small piece of paper and tuck it away in a heart-shaped box. Then, when I started to fret about that matter again, I reminded myself, “Do not fear, the matter is already put into the ‘heart of God.’” That box is now full of answered prayers. It builds my faith every time I reread those little slips of paper.

God promises to see us through times of distress in His perfect timing. He is not regulated by our time frame. In fact, God does not dwell in time, but in eternity. Nothing this world throws our way will harm us irrevocably. Even if it takes our life, we will take our next breath in the glories of Heaven! It is better to trust the Lord than to put our confidence in ourselves or anyone else.

When we courageously survive a history of overcoming our struggles one day at a time, we have so much to share with others who are experiencing similar trails. We also gain faith to face the next adversity, which life throws our way. This allows us to lose our fear of the future and to face tomorrow with confidence in His ability to work all things, even the bad things, out for our good (Romans 8:28).

Prayer

Lord Jesus, I pray for Your wisdom and strength to accomplish all that You give me to do, because relying on You is better than depending on the most powerful person in the world. Help me to trust You rather than to live in fear of the future.

Thought for the Day

The Lord promises that He is on our side and that His help is just a prayer away.