Childlike Faith

 

God made mankind in His image and likeness (Genesis 1: 26). God is a triune being...Father, Son and Spirit. He created us as triune beings with a Spirit, Soul and Body. Genesis 2: 7 states, "And the LORD God formed man (body) of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life (spirit); and man became a living soul."

Due to Adam's sin, our spirit is dead within us at birth, until we ask Jesus Christ to be our Savior. Then the Holy Spirit breathes the breath of life into us and our spirit is redeemed. We cannot truly live integrated, connective lives until we are Born Again. Our body is our physical being that ends up in the grave at our death.

Our soul is our mind, will and emotions. Our mind is renewed into the mind of Christ (Romans 12:2), our will is submitted to the will of God (Philippians 2:13) and our emotions are controlled by the Spirit of God who dwells within us (James 1:19). Our soul also contains our Inner Child, Inner Parent and Inner Adult.

David spoke of the Inner Child of the soul when he stated in Psalm 131:2 , “Instead, I have calmed and quieted myself, like a weaned child who no longer cries for its mother's milk. Yes, like a weaned child is my soul within me.” So often, we lose the innocence of childhood and adopt a prideful and rebellious mindset.

As we grow up in this life, we surround our self with defense mechanisms to prevent others from perpetrating their sins on us. We mature quickly and develop strong emotions, which we use to protect our self. Unless we nurture that childlike aspect of our soul, and allow the faith and unfettered trust of a child to reign in our hearts, we cannot fully please God (Matthew 18:3).

Prayer:

Lord Jesus, help us to remember that in order for You to fulfill our soul, we first need to be filled by Your Spirit. Our spirit must be born again by asking You to be our Savior and our Lord (2 Peter 3:18). Then, our Inner child will feel more secure, and adopt that childlike faith, which You desire from each of us.   

Thought for the Day:

Unless we are Born Again and become as little children, we have no hope of entering the kingdom of heaven. - Matthew 18:3

There is More to Salvation

There is more to salvation than escaping hell. Salvation and happiness in this world are not our ultimate goals either. God’s salvation enables us to flourish in our victory over sin and to live in absolute obedience to His Spirit moment by moment throughout the day. In order to fully succeed in life, we daily repent of our sins and submit our life to God and our Savior, Jesus Christ. As we abide in Christ we grow in our ability to hear His Spirit leading us each moment of the day.

Abiding in Christ, we also bear the burdens of our brothers and sisters, and we share a passion for souls to come to Calvary’s cross and to repent, just as we did. Christ in us gives us the courage and strength to share His love with the unsaved world, in spite of any difficulties along the way. We love each person with God’s agape love, regardless of his or her behavior. We are able to impart His life to others as they open their hearts to His Word.

We cannot live without the Vine. The vine cannot bear fruit by itself. It needs branches in order to bear its fruit. The Master Gardener prunes us as a branch of the eternal Vine; and we bear much fruit that blesses others when they feast from it. As we abide in Christ, completely and fully, we bear the fruit of His Spirit, which is the nature of God.

We bear His love for the world, His joy which is our strength, His peace in our circumstances, His patience in tribulation, His gentleness toward irritating people, His goodness in the face of adversity, His meek in submission to our superiors, His self-control in temptation and His faith in God’s faithfulness.

As we submit our life to Christ, we admit our weakness and find His power in place of our strength. We are mighty instruments in the hand of the Father, because His Spirit dwells within us. His strength is perfected in our weakness as we fully admit our need for all of Him in our life. Then we can rest assured that He is working through us, according to His purpose, timing and way. As we lift Him up, Jesus uses us to draw all men to Himself, giving them the opportunity to accept or to reject Him.

The key to abiding in Christ is the realization that we are empty of all ambition and abilities, but that He fills us with all the fullness of His divine power and spiritual fruit (Galatians 5:22-23). We live in childlike faith in His faithfulness. We walk in confidence that God is using our body, soul and spirit for His Kingdom and glory. We do greater works than Christ (John 14:12), because He dwells in us by His Spirit. His Spirit within us draws all men to Him.

Prayer:

Father God, our humility comes from realizing that without You, we can do nothing; and that in You, Christ can do all things through us (Philippians 4:13). Help us to walk in Your Spirit, to influence those in our life for You, and to walk in the calling that You prepared for us before the foundation of the world (Ephesians 2:8-10). Let others see our resemblance to the Vine, as a branch full of Your Spirit’s fruit.

Thought for the Day:

May we live so that the holiness and love of God within us shines His light into the darkness of the world around us.