Our Almighty God

David was anointed King as a young man, and King Saul hated him. He tried every method of trick, sleuth and military tactic to kill David; yet did not succeed. David knew that God had plans for his life and he was not afraid of Saul. David wrote that He had assurance that God was laughing at King Saul's plans (Psalm 2:1-4).

By expressing these words in his psalm, David also spoke a prophetic word concerning the end times, when Satan gathers the armies of the world against the Lord. People in these last days have no respect for authority, and they believe it is their right and duty to reject the concept of God as our Higher Power. They refuse to believe in Jesus, because His Biblical Word is contrary to their humanistic philosophy.

They want to rip off the fetters and cords they believe that God has on them, and they devise vain attempts to distance themselves in every way from God and religion. They join groups of other atheists and agnostics and take a position against God's people who dare to stand for God. They also make vain plans to thwart God's purpose in the earth. In many countries they persecute and kill Believers.

Yet, the Lord, who sits in heaven on His jasper throne, chuckles and ridicules these vain attempts to discredit Him as Almighty God (Psalm 2:4). He brings all of His Saints home to be with Him (Psalm 116:15). He never despises or shows partiality to anyone (Job 36:5; Deuteronomy 10:17), but gave His Son to everyone in order to bridge the gap, which our sin brought between Him and each one of us (Isaiah 9:6).

Prayer:

Father God, You are the Mighty One, and we humble our self before Your powerful hand (Joshua 22:22; 1 Peter 5:6). We know that You will lift us up in Your own time and save us in the same way that You cared for Your chosen people who sojourned in Egypt (Zephaniah 3:17; Deuteronomy 5:15; Daniel 9:15). You control the earth from the rising to the setting of the sun (Psalm 50:1). You are awesome and awe-inspiring, and we thank You for keeping Your covenant of love with us (Nehemiah 9:32). Thank You also for preserving us and giving us Your assurance for our future with You (Job 24:22). We praise and worship You in all of Your splendor and might.

Thought for the Day:

God gives love to thousands of generations who love Him, but His righteous judgment is on those who choose to live in sin instead.

- Jeremiah 32:18

What "Union with Christ" Means

Our actual union with Christ is founded on our salvation, from beginning to end (Hebrews 12:2). The basis of our union is Jesus’ redemptive work on Calvary’s cross (Ephesians 1:7). We were dead in sin and made alive in Christ to do the good works, which God prepared for us before the beginning of time (Ephesians 2:4-5, 10). We are also united with Christ in regeneration. It is not something we strive to enter. In this union, we are in Christ (John 15:4,5,7; 1 Corinthians 15:22; 2 Corinthians 12:2; Galatians 3:28; Ephesians 1:4, 2:10; Philippians 3:9; 1 Thessalonians 4:16; 1 John 4:13).

We are in Christ, but Christ is also in us (Galatians 2:20; Colossians 1 27; Romans 8:10; 2 Corinthians 13:5; Ephesians 3:16-17). This makes our union complete. In this guaranteed bond, Christ dwells in our heart through faith (Ephesians 3:17). Our union with Christ brings us into a state of holiness through sanctification, not by human effort, but by His grace (Ephesians 2:8-10). We are baptized into His death, resurrected with Him from the grave, raised with Him in His ascension and we sit with Him, even now, in heavenly places. We will return to earth with Him when He appears in His glory to rule and reign in His Kingdom (Romans 6:14, Colossians 2:11-12, 3:1-4; Revelation 19:14; Colossians 3:1; 1 Corinthians 15:22).

There are three stages of our union with Christ. Initially, we are justified in our death with Christ (Romans 14:8; 1 Corinthians 1:30; 2 Corinthians 5:21; Philippians 3:8-9; Revelation 14:13). Then, we are made holy through out sanctification through Christ (John 15:4-5; Ephesians 4:16; 2 Corinthians 5:17). Finally, we persevere in our union with Christ through the faith of Christ, and nothing can separate us from the love of God (John 10: 27-28; Romans 8:38-39). Our Father is the origin of our union; Jesus is the provider of our union; and the Holy Spirit is the bond of our union.

 
Union with Christ includes more than drawing our life from Christ; it also means living in Him and Him living in and through us (Romans 6:3–4, Galatians. 3:26–27). Jesus is our rock, fortress and deliverer in whom we can take refuge. He is our shield and the horn of our salvation, our stronghold (Psalm 18:2).  He is also our loving husband (Revelation 19:6-9). We are the apple of His eye, and we can hide under the shadow of His wings (Psalm 17:8). We are Jesus’ offspring and the sons of God (Galatians 3:26-27; Romans 8:14-15). We the Body of Christ, and He is the Head of that Body (1 Corinthians 12:12–27).

When we are one with Christ, we are also one with the Father (1 John 2:24). Jesus is the foundation of the building God is making without human hands. We are the temple of God, in which He dwells (1 Corinthians 3:10–11). We belong to God as a chosen people and a royal priesthood (1 Peter 2:9). God chose us before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless, predestining those who believe in Christ as His adopted sons (Ephesians 1:4-5; Galatians 4:6-7).

We are no longer foreigners and aliens, but fellow citizens with God's Saints and members of God's household (Ephesians 2:19; Philippians 3:20). In our union with Christ, we are also to live in union with one another as His Body. We have many gifts and talents among us to meet the needs of each individual member of the Body of Christ (1 Corinthians 12). In our union with Christ, there is no distinction between anyone’s station in life, race, color or gender (Galatians 3:28). We are all one Body in union with one another in Christ.

Prayer:

Father God, our relationship with You, now and in eternity, occurred in our union with Christ. Because of Christ, You raised us to new life. In eternity You will give us immortal bodies with the power of Christ's resurrection. We thank You for Your spiritual blessings to us in the heavenly realm in Christ (Ephesians 1:3). In Him all of Your promises come to pass and we are partakers of those promises (Ephesians 3:6).

Thought for the Day:

It is seeing our self from the perspective or our union with Christ, which energizes us to grow in purity and holiness.