Not of This World

 

Our God is so awesome, mighty in power, gentle in mercy, constant in grace, consuming in His love for us and faithful beyond measure. We can trust in Him with our whole heart and depend on His intimate involvement in our life.

God never, ever leaves or forsakes us (Deuteronomy 31:6; Hebrews 13:5). His three personalities are all-encompassing (Isaiah 7:14; John 10:29; Matthew 12:32). God is our Creator and Heavenly Daddy; Jesus is the Trinity in the flesh who died on the cross to exhibit the Father's love; the Spirit promotes Jesus and His words (John 3::8, 14:6, 26; Luke 24:49; Acts 16:7).

Through believing on Jesus we are constructed into the temple of the entire Godhead of the Trinity (Romans 8:15; 1 Corinthians 3:16, 12:13). The Trinity is our Father, our Brother and our continual comfort and guide (Mark 1:10-11).

The Trinity's presence in our life nourishes us to grow in godliness, to consecrate our life to Him and to do the work He created us to do (Ephesians 2:10). The Trinity draws us into unity with the Godhead (John 6:44, 10:30, 14:10-13).

We are raised from sin's degradation to walk in a new life in order to share in the glory of the Trinity through a consecrated and holy life (John 17:22; Romans 8:11). We let His light in us shine, so that people look at us and are drawn to believe in and trust in the Trinity for their salvation as well.

Vacation homes, worldly hobbies, time shares, multiple cruises in a year, smart phones for every family member, TVs in every room, expensive clothing stores, excessive clothing accessories and jewels, a car for every driver in the family, etc. keep us in bondage to this world and limit our participation in activities that promote the Kingdom of God.

We are not of this world, we do not rely on our human nature or characteristics, and we do not develop plans and goals for this life. We only live here to build up the Kingdom of God while it is still day, because the night is coming when no one may get saved (John 9:4).

Prayer:

Father God, break our heart with what breaks Yours, give us a Kingdom mind and focus in this life and make the fact that we are not of this world a reality in our life (Romans 12:2; John 17:16). Help us to stop focusing on building our nest in this world and to change our attention to furthering Your Kingdom.

Remind us that Christ is our whole life and that we no longer live, but Christ lives in and through us (Colossians 3:3-4; Galatians 2:20). Draw us into a more intimate relationship with You, so that we are not sidetracked by the lies and schemes of the devil to get our focus on this world rather than on Your Kingdom.

Thought for the Day:

We develop a Kingdom mindset and allow God's Spirit to draw our attention to the presence of God within us, which is our only true source of comfort and joy, rather than on the riches and trappings of this world.

Apple of My Eye

 

The "apple" of one's eye is commonly referring to the pupil (Deuteronomy 32:10). We protect our eyes at any cost, making sure that no foreign substance or harm come to them in any way.

We use the term “apple of my eye” when speaking about something very valuable to us. We instruct our children, the “apple of our eye”, to pay attention to our advice, in order to prevent them from reaping the destruction caused by making poor choices (Proverbs 7:2).

Those who harm the Lord's anointed children or Israel, His chosen nation, will truly suffer from His hand, because they touch the “apple of His eye” (Zechariah 2:8). God protects His own.

Sometimes, we may wound a brother or a sister; or we may walk in sin for a season, which grieves God's Holy Spirit (Ephesians 4:30). At times like these, we plead with God to forgive us and to keep us as the ”apple of His eye”.  

We hide in the shadow of His wings and He saves us from our enemies and the issues of life, which threaten to overpower us (Psalm 17:8; Lamentations 2:18). This intimate expression reminds us about the extent of God's love for each one of His Saints.

God took on a human form in order to pay the penalty, which we reaped from the first Adam's sin (Philippians 2:7-8; 1 Corinthians 15:45). Emmanuel, God with us, felt the degradation, insecurity and weight of living on this sin-cursed earth.

God went all the way to the cross to make it possible for us to dwell with Him for eternity. All He asks is for us to keep His commandments, which were designed to protect us, not to restrict us (John 14:23).

Prayer:

Father God, You encourage us to keep Your precepts as the apple of our eye (Proverbs 7:2). Please, remind us to hide Your Word in our heart, so that we will not sin against You (Psalm 119:11). The nation of Israel was the first “apple of Your eye”. They strayed from You, as we tend to do; but we thank You for giving all Gentile unbelievers a chance to know You, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent to save us (John 17:3). Truly, this is eternal life, which we can enjoy now, as well as all throughout eternity.

Thought for the Day:

It is interesting to realize that any person we speak to sees a small image of their profile reflecting in the pupil of our eye.

I Surrender All

God calls us to love Him with our whole mind, heart and soul, and then to love our neighbor as well as our self (Luke 10:27). We help one another when we fall into desperate times, and we share comfort in grief and provision in deprivation. Jesus is our ultimate friend, who sticks closer to us than our dearest brother (Proverbs 18:24; 1 John 3:1).

God’s Holy Spirit restores our life to stability and order as we follow His leading through each moment of our day. We embrace His will for our life, follow His precepts and obey His Holy Word. God hears the prayers of the afflicted (Psalm 10:17). He encourages us and listens to us when we cry out to Him (1 John 5: 14-15; Psalm 54:2). He keeps every one of our tears in a bottle and records them in His book (Psalm 56:8).

We cannot enter heaven through our own good deeds or morally upright behavior. We cannot go to heaven by joining a church, getting baptized or living in a Christian home. Jesus is the only way, truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Him (John 14:6). Salvation is a free gift from God and there is no way we can boast about our accomplishments (Ephesians 2: 8-10).

Surrendering our life to Christ is the first step of sincere faith and total submission to Him. He forgives us for our self-centered lifestyle and calls us to turn complete control of our life over to Him. He adopts us into His family, and He holds us, protects us, nurtures us and comforts us in all of our affliction. He constantly reassures us that He has everything under His control, so that we can surrender all to Him.

Prayer:

Father God, You defend the fatherless, the oppressed and the widow. You remove the terror from our life (Psalm 10:17-18). Your love for us defies description, because it is more than we can comprehend. Thank You for all that You do for all of us each and every day, and for plucking us out of our old lifestyle and giving us this wondrous new life in You. We will live each day in Your will with the knowledge that You already secured for us our eternal destination with You.

Thought for the Day:

Eternal life is a free gift, but only those who believe in Jesus Christ as Savior, and who surrender control of their lives to Him, will receive it.

- John 3:36