Union with Christ - Not of This World

Our life on earth is simply a momentary breath on a cold day (James 4:14). We are not of this world. We dwell with Christ in the Kingdom of God and we are no longer limited by this world (Galatians 2:20; John 18:36).

Our citizenship is in Heaven and Jesus is our Savior and our King (Philippians 3:20). The Lord Himself called us to live in His timeless glory now as well as in eternity. He is our strength, and He confirms us and establishes our place in His Kingdom (1 Peter 5:10).

God delivers us through any trial, and we have joy in it as we accept that He is using it to do its perfect work within us and through us (James 1:4).

As long as we dwell in the realm of the flesh, we will continue to experience defeat at the hands of tribulation. We do not belong in Satan’s grip.

If we are living in Satan’s pit, it is because we allow Satan's thoughts to infiltrate our thoughts. We give in to his defeatist thinking and we buy into his lies, forsaking God’s truth in the process.

In the realm of the Spirit, our body experiences occasional negative circumstances, but they do not influence our spirit or our soul – our mind, choices and emotions. We see God working out all things, even the negative things in our life, for our good (Romans 8:28).

Do not waste time wanting what you do not have. If God wants you to have it, He will give it to you. Jesus died for us all, and rose again so that we will not live for our self, but for Him (John 3:16-18; 2 Corinthians 5:15).

Prayer:

Father God, we do not have to spend one moment longing for anything or anyone but You. We do not want to love this world nor the things that it offers to us. If we really need something in our life, which we do not have, You will give it to us. You will move us to another state, or give us a different car or house, or provide us with a spouse or a child, if it is Your will for us.

Remind us to trust only in You and in Your provision and timing. You have a perfect plan for each one of us and living in the center of Your will is the happiest place on earth. We give You all of the praise and honor and glory for Your provision, love and care for us each day of our life. We look forward to spending eternity in Your service as well.

Thought for the Day:

When we step out of the realm of the flesh and enter into the eternal realm of the Spirit right here on this earth, we finally find eternal rest for our soul and provision for our every need through Jesus Christ our Lord. - Psalm 116:7

Hoping in God

As human beings, we place our hope in many things: people, places, careers, stock markets, etc. We often fail, however, to realize that our only lasting hope is in God.

Jesus secured our hope by His death, burial and resurrection. His sacrifice touches every part of our life, even the most devastating moment we could ever experience.

At salvation, our hope in God turns to faith, which is authentic, powerful and enables us to enjoy God's company as our loving and nurturing Father.

His presence opens the door for us to enter into the citizenship of heaven, the Body of Christ, the circle of His beloved children, His Saints and called out ones. We are no longer pilgrims and sojourners (Philippians 3:20-21; Ephesians 2:19).

For those of us who believe in God, this hope is tangible evidence of the calling He gives to each one of us. We inherit His glorious riches and enjoy His great power and assurance now and forever (Ephesians 1:18-20).

Moses failed to deliver God's people when he killed the solitary Egyptian soldier who mistreated his Jewish brother. He ran from the consequences of that behavior and hid in the desert.

He forgot that God allowed Him to be raised in the king's castle and that He was actually a child of the almighty King. His self-image was polluted by Satan's lies and accusations of his failure.

This occurs in our life as well. Satan throws our past up into our face over and over in order to render us ineffective in any ministry for the Lord. We are riddled with self-doubt.

We can trade God's truth about us for the devil's recrimination and lies about our failings. Taking our journal, we sit in silent meditation and listen as God speaks His truth about who we really are and how He feels about us. ( www.theophostic.com )

We can read the back of the book, the last two chapters of Revelation, and understand that God returns to us everything which Satan attempted to steal from us in the first chapters of Genesis.

Prayer:

Father God, Your truth ignites our passion to have more of You in our life and to walk in Your Spirit and will for our life (Galatians 5:15-25). We live as a testimony of Your existence for the world to see. We read daily affirmations from Your Word about who we are in Christ, which transform our thought life from a negative image to a Godly one (Galatians 3; 2 Corinthians 5; Romans 8).

Your Spirit testifies that we are Yours and He breathes the breath of life into our spirit until He transforms us from one level of spiritual maturity to the next (Romans 8:16; 2 Corinthians 3:18). We overcome the world and our doubts and fears through the victory that overcomes the world - our faith in Your faithfulness (1 John 5:4) - and You empower us by Your Spirit as we walk in Your will moment by moment throughout the day.

Thought for the Day:

Regardless of what we view with our human understanding and vision, we live by the faith from God's promises about the unseen world, which are just as real and tangible.

Continual Peace and Security

Many people rely on their heart to lead them, but they can end up making foolish decisions that hurt them in the long run (Proverbs 28:26). Too often our soul causes us to fall into trouble. We give into all sorts of impurity, greed and idolatry when our soul – our thoughts and feelings - guides us (Colossians 3:5-7). We may futilely plan our goals and decisions from our heart, but the Lord ultimately determines our steps (Proverbs 16:9).

Only the counsel from the Lord through our spirit will help us to prosper (Proverbs 19:21). As we commit our life to the Lord, He establishes our plans, and they will succeed (Proverbs 16:3). We have a strong fortress within our spirit, when we trust Christ with our life. We can take refuge within us through every trial and temptation, because our Divine Comforter is there. We retreat there and find continual peace and security (Psalm 91:1-2).

There is no need to cry out to God, to long for Him, or to desire more of Him, because the complete triune God dwells within us from the moment of our salvation. The problem is not that God is not close to us, but that we have moved away from Him. Our body is the temple of God; our spirit is the throne of God. We can continually rest in Him, if we will relinquish control of our life to God and enter into His divine rest (1 Corinthians 6:19-20; Hebrews 4:10).

Our physical senses and human soul will lead us astray. The spirit of God will we lead us in peace and certainty, because the Lord fights our battles (2 Chronicles 20:15). We do not add the divine nature of God to our human nature when we get saved (2 Peter 1:4). Christ in us is our new identity. God’s divine nature replaces our human nature. God regenerates our spirit and we are Born Again. We leave the kingdom of darkness and live life in the Kingdom of Light (Ephesians 5:7-14).

If we use our five senses to indulge in the flesh, we will remain spiritual pigmies; but as we neglect sin and dwell in the Spirit, we grow stronger in our spiritual life. We can still choose to walk according to the flesh; but we are no longer in the flesh, but in the Spirit (Romans 8:9). As we walk in the Spirit, we no longer want to fulfill the desires of our flesh (Galatians 5:16, 25). We hunger after righteousness and despise the flesh (Romans 8:1-2).

Prayer:

Father God, You chose us in You before the creation of the world, to live blameless and holy in Your sight. Through Your foreknowledge, it pleased You to predestine us to be adopted as Your children through Christ (Romans 8:29; Ephesians 1:4-5). We are Your workmanship, created in Christ to do good works, which You prepared in advance for us to do (Ephesians 2:10). We are now children of light. Sin and darkness have no allure for us anymore (1 Thessalonians 5:5). Our citizenship is now in Heaven and we are heirs with our Lord Jesus Christ (Philippians 3:20; Romans 8:17).

Thought for the Day:

As children of our Abba Father, God gave us His Spirit to lead and protect us each moment of the day. - Romans 8:14-15, Galatians 4:6-7

No Fear of Judgment

 

Jesus sits in a place of honor at our Father’s right hand. He laid down His life for us, and gave us new life so we can join Him in the reality of heaven. He calls us to think about eternal issues, and not about the day-to-day things of life on this earth. In accepting Jesus sacrifice, we identified with His death to every aspect of this life. Now, our real life is with God, hidden in Christ. When Jesus, who is now our actual life, is revealed to the whole world, we will share in His glory, as co-heirs.

With these thoughts in mind, it is easier to crucify the deeds of our flesh, and the lusts of our carnal nature. We realize that the anger of God is coming to those who do not repent of a sinful lifestyle and trust in Jesus for salvation. Therefore, we step outside of the evil culture of this world and clothe our self instead with our new nature in Christ. We come to a place in our sanctification that all unholiness is part of this world, and we no longer care to be part of it.

God chose us before the foundation of the world to walk in His holiness. He loves us and conforms our nature to His own. More each day, we exhibit the fruit of His Spirit instead of the fruit of our human flesh. Each day we grow in our intimacy with our Creator, and His Spirit transforms us more and more into His image. Our citizenship is no longer of this earth, but in heaven. Christ is all that matters to us, because He actually dwells in our spirit.

Just as God forgave us, we forgive one another. We overlook each other’s idiosyncrasies, and we learn to appreciate one another’s gifts and talents. God clothes us with His love and unites us together in wonderful accord. He fills us with the peace that comes from Christ ruling in our soul – our minds, will and emotions. We live serenely as one body, and we live out of gratitude in service to our King. Christ fills our lives with all of His fullness. He also gives us His wisdom to encourage one another in times of trial (Colossians 3:1-17).

Prayer:

Father God, as we live in You, our love is perfected. We have no fear of judgment, but can face You with confidence, because Christ lives His life through us in this world (1 John 4:17). Help us to walk in this new nature, which You created in us, so that we can be just like You, with all of Your righteousness and holiness (Ephesians 4:24). Songs of praise to You pour from our thankful heart. Whatever we do, even if it is as mundane as eating and drinking, we do it all as authentic Born Again Believers in the Lord Jesus Christ

Thought for the Day:
Anyone who repents and believes the Lord is united in Spirit with Him as well. – 1 Corinthians 6:17