Adopted by Our Holy God

In our humanistic society, it is impossible not to keep our focus on our self. We think about #1, sometimes to the exclusion of those whom we should cherish more than our own self.

We forget that Christ laid down His life for us and calls us to lay down our life for others. It is easier for most women to lay down our life, because our genes tend to be hardwired with the codependent nature.

However, there are also men in our society that have this emotional, compassionate nature that makes it easier for them to put others above their self.

The issue here is more about Christ increasing within our spirit and soul as our focus on our self decreases (John 3:30). We consider others as better than our self (Philippians 2:3-4).

This does not mean that we neglect our self - we are people too and we can minister to our needs in the same way that we care for everyone else. In fact, this habit keeps us healthy and more able to help others (Mark 12:31).

Yet, as our flesh decreases, we are new creatures in true righteousness and holiness (Ephesians 4:23-24). We are offspring of our holy God and His divine nature infuses every part of our body, spirit and soul - thoughts, choices and feelings (Acts 17:28-29).

In eternity, Christ will even transform our body to mirror His glorious, immortal one (Philippians 3:21).  God's Spirit completely sanctifies us, conforming us to the image and likeness of Christ, God's first born Son (1 Thessalonians 5:23).

Prayer:

Father God, You adopted us as individual members of Your Body, and placed Jesus is our head (1 Corinthians 12:27; Ephesians 4:15). Our body is Your temple and as the corporate Body of Christ, we are one with Your Spirit (1 Corinthians 3:16, 6:17). The world recognizes that You sent us on their behalf, because our life is a testimony of You to them (John 17:21-23).

Jesus gives us the glory, which You gave to Him, so that we can be one with Him, You and with one another (John 17:22). Help us to be patient and diligent as You slowly mature our spiritual growth until we share in the divine nature of Christ (Ephesians 4:13).

Thought for the Day:

We are crucified with Christ, and therefore, we live in this world for the glory of Christ; yet, it is not we who live, but Christ who lives in us and through us. - Philippians 1:21; Galatians 2:20

God-Given Emotions

 

Many people condemn emotions. These individuals focus more on their thoughts and put strict controls over their emotions. They do not trust emotions or emotional people.

The chances are that they were severely wounded by an emotional person in their past, or had a stoic person as their role model. They exalt the mind and censure the emotions.

The Beatitudes reveal to us that God has and expresses emotions (Matthew 5:1-12). For instance, He is angry with and hates the wicked and prideful as well as those who practice and teach iniquity (Psalm 5:5).

He has compassion on the oppressed (Psalm 7:11; Judges 2:18); jealousy over His people (Exodus 20:5); calms us with His love; and rejoices over us with singing (Zephaniah 3:17).

God grieves when we make unwise choices, which bring us harm and cause us to reap negative consequences (Psalm 78:40; Genesis 6:6). He also personifies love in the person of Jesus Christ (1 John 4:8).

Our Creator gave us emotions, as well as a mind in order to make balanced choices with our life. The Holy Spirit-controlled temperament provides us with perfect stability of mind and emotions.

We do not have to live as pseudo-intellectuals nor do we need to indulge in negative emotions all the time. We can get in touch with our feelings and use our emotions to express our innermost thoughts.

Prayer:

Father God, You made us with an intricate human body that works together like finely tuned clockworks. You also gave us a soul that expresses itself through our body and emotions. Our eyes are the windows of our soul and often reveal what we are feeling and thinking. You call on us to maintain a healthy body, soul and spirit each day of our life (Proverbs 3:5-8).

Yet, we often ignore the needs of all three of these entities by not exercising, skipping meals and not hydrating; as well as making poor choices for our life, and ignoring or stuffing our emotions (Proverbs 14:30). Remind us that it is possible to feel negative emotions, to express them without sinning, and to find healing for them (Ephesians 4:26; Genesis 4:6-7). Teach us to find a balance between our soul and spirit. Please restore our soul when life attempts to crush us (Psalm 23:3).

Thought for the Day:

God made us as triune beings: body, soul and spirit; our soul consists of our feelings, choices and thoughts; and we can walk in God's Spirit and stay in perfect balance with all three. - 1 Thessalonians 5:23; Genesis 2:7; Galatians 5:16

        

A Good Marriage - Sandpaper Spouse

 

Over time, our spouse often turns into a "sandpaper" person who gets on our nerves…an irritation that causes abrasions and discomfort on our soul. We want to turn away from them, rather than to embrace them.

However, this only compounds the irritation, because they try harder to gain our attention and to communicate their needs. They are like the continual drip of a leaky faucet - nerve wracking, torture to our soul (Proverbs 25:24, 27:15).

We tend to avoid and ignore them or to brush them aside, taking them for granted and not showering them with love, gratitude and affirmation they are crying out to receive.

We do not want to be bothered by their neediness. We start to resent them and Satan helps bitterness and anger to grow in our soul toward them. This makes them more insecure and increases their neediness and pleas for our attention and help.

We often attempt to placate them, give them a pat on the head and expect them to go away and to take care of their own needs. Unfortunately, although they do minister to many of their own needs and the needs of others in your sphere of family, church family and friends, some of what they need can only be supplied by their spouse…and that is YOU! 

We say that we "love" them, but Agape love looks beyond their behavior or words to the cry of their soul. We access God's compassion and see His desire for us to minister to them as the spouse He created us to be. 

We start focusing on their needs, and appreciating all the little things they do for us each and every day.

Surprisingly, this loving attention will help to heal much of their behavior which irritates us in the first place. They will be more secure in our relationship with them and more content with life in general.

Prayer:

Father God, teach us that we can accomplish much more to alleviate the irritation of the Sandpaper People in our life by giving them our undivided and focused attention, taking them seriously when they share their needs, and working out with them a solution to their issues that we can fit into our regular, daily schedule.

At times, this requires sacrifice on our part. You teach us to alter our priorities to include them, to take time away from our pursuits to meet their needs, or to focus on their needs as well as on our own. We have to lay down our life for them, and we tend to resent this. Help us to gain the mind of Christ in our relationships and to cherish those You place in our life as the treasure that they truly are.

Thought for the Day:

Loving Sandpaper People in the way that they need to be loved, not in a way that makes our life easier or decreases our responsibility to them, makes them feel special and improves our quality of life as well as theirs; we stop treating them as the hired help and realize that they are the treasures that God intends for them to be in our life.