Too Vulnerable

One objection people have about completely surrendering to Christ is that it makes us feel too vulnerable. Men especially despise admitting that they need help. It makes us feel deficient and dependent in some way.

Yet, humility is always the best course of action in this life. Admitting that we are not self-sufficient and that we need a Savior is actually freeing and empowering (John 8:36).

We cast our cares on Christ, knowing that He cares for us enough to give His life for us and to submit Himself to the horrendous crucifixion in order to guarantee our salvation (1 Peter 5:7).

We can ask God for protection and provision and reject Satan's lies in his attempt to discourage us with contempt and judgment for vulnerably admitting that we are powerless.

We come to realize that feeling emotions and admitting our needs is not weakness but strength. We acknowledge that we need our Father God, and possibly even a human confidant as well.

This helps us to heal and to feel less anxious, alone and shamed (2 Corinthians 5:20). We rely less on addictions and destructive behavior and have more inner fortitude to live our life for Christ.

God's Spirit can then empower us to help other people who have similar needs as our own. Seeing God's light and love shining in our life inspires them to trust Him with their life as well.

Prayer:

Father God, thank You for caring for all of our needs as a doting Father who delights in us and even rejoices over us with singing (Zephaniah 3:17). We can pour out our heart to You with all of our hopelessness and fear, knowing that You care about everything, which concerns us.

Although You often require that we traverse the trial anyway, we are confident that You are walking through it from within us as well as beside us, completely surrounding us with Your love, wisdom, presence and power. You help us to look beyond despair to Your comfort, which is always more powerful than our burdens.

Thought for the Day:

When we come to Christ in our weariness and hopelessness, He hears us and comes to our rescue; He helps us to carry our heavy load of cares with His gentle humility, and we find true rest for our devastated soul. - Matthew 11:28-29

Unity with God, Our Maker

Once we come to Christ in repentance, asking for God's forgiveness, He exchanges our sin for His righteousness, and we enter a spiritual union with Christ in God (Colossians 3:3). The powerful life of the triune God dwells within us from that point throughout the rest of our life. We enter an intimate relationship, which includes a unified life with the Trinity.

God purifies us step-by-step, burning deeper with each stroke of His holy fire, until we radiate Christ’s nature from within us. He replaces our carnal nature with the fruit of His Spirit, which is actually the very nature of God (Galatians 5:22-23). The less we function through our humanity, and the more we wait on God, the more He expresses His divine character and nature in us and through us (2 Peter 1:4).

Resting in Christ is not another religious activity to perform. It simply involves complete surrender of our human life to the Kingship of Jesus Christ (Matthew 11:28-29). Our human way of thinking and feeling passes away, and we are now an entirely new creation (2 Corinthians 5:17). We bow before our God and Maker (Psalm 95:6).

We embrace God's presence in our soul as well - in our thoughts, choices and emotions. We are constantly responsive to this holy relationship and to our ever-increasing intimacy with Christ (Colossians 3:4). We walk in communion, fellowship and one accord with Christ within us (2 Corinthians 6:14-15). We freely choose to follow the leading of God’s Spirit each moment of the day (Romans 8:14).

Prayer:

Father God, due to Your work in our life, we manifest Your nature in ever-increasing levels of maturity and glory (2 Corinthians 3:18). By faith, Your divinity freely flows through our body, soul and spirit (2 Peter 1:4). Our intimate bond with You is broken only by our propensity to sin. However, if we walk in accord with the direction, wisdom and love of Your Spirit, we will never fulfill the lusts of our flesh (Galatians 5:15-25).

Thought for the Day:

We belong to God’s household as priests and saints, and are co-heirs with Jesus.

Perfected In Love

 

Due to the experiences of my childhood, I grew up as a fearful and insecure person. I came to Christ at age 18, and the slow process of inner healing began. Even as I grew spiritually, my soul was haunted by the past and feared the future. With an analytical mind and organizational skills, I appeared to be a person who had it all together. 

The underlying truth was that I subconsciously lived in wary anticipation of the next circumstance totally annihilating me. I guarded against and opposed anyone who threatened my security in any way. With my Italian genes, I am fiercely passionate in all of my emotions. To those who knew me best, I presented a puzzle in direct opposites.

Some people took my tirades personally and were devastated, and withdrew emotionally and/or physically from me. Those who understood me realized that my Italian nature allowed me to laugh with as much abandon and passion as I used anger to protect myself. My most endearing quality is my loyalty and faithfulness to God, my family and God’s family, all traits of an Italian nature.

The apostle John, being a sensitive soul, understood that if we continue to entertain fears after our conversion, it is because God’s love has not yet perfected some area in our life (1 John 4:18). We have not been healed in some areas of our past that are still affecting our current life. (www.theophostic.com) However, as we experience healing in our soul, we sense more and more that God’s love protects us.

It takes a while after surrendering to Christ for His Spirit to heal all the wounds from our past and to give us the perfect comfort and security, which only His love can provide. Do not berate yourself for your shortcomings. Everyone has them, and no one has a right to reject you for them. They just manifest differently in them than in you. Forgive yourself and readily forgive those who hurt you.

Prayer:

Father God, remind us that taking time to walk in Your Spirit moment by moment throughout the day helps us to walk in complete surrender and serenity. When the pain of the past or the fears of the future raise their ugly heads, we can realize that we are safe in the shadow of our Almighty in this one moment of time. This thought gives us comfort and confidence.

Thought for the Day:

Trust in the Lord with all of your heart and do not depend on your human reasoning. – Proverbs 3:5-6

A New Point of View

 

Human beings find it hard to let go of the anger, bitterness and the desire for revenge, which we harbor against those who hurt us. In actuality, we dream up all sorts of calamities, which we hope our oppressors will fall into, as we grin with delight. Somehow, withholding forgiveness makes our wounds easier to handle. We think we are punishing our offender by refusing to forgive them.

However, the bitterness that grows out of unforgiveness is a poisonous root that blossoms into a great many other issues (Hebrews 12:15). If we choose to entertain resentment instead of forgiving our offender, bitterness will corrupt our whole life. Paul exhorts us to get rid of all bitterness (Ephesians 4:31). God knows exactly how to hand out vengeance to our tormentors (Deuteronomy 32:35-36).

The truth is that God cannot forgive us if we do not first forgive others (Mark 11:26). If we do not ask forgiveness from those whom we offend or wound, this is equally as serious (Matthew 5:24). However, when we understand eternity, the concerns of this life lose their intensity and value. This concept makes it so much easier to forgive. Aspects of this life, which used to mean so much to us, have no more attraction for us.

There is no longer any need to harbor unforgiveness toward anyone. We can live with the blessings of forgiveness instead. As we focus on eternal matters, we rejoice without ceasing because of God’s salvation and His multitude of blessings in our life. We exchange our plan for our life with God’s plans for us. This change in our mindset provides us with fulfillment, which we would never experience without complete surrender to God’s will.

Prayer:

Father God, we count our self blessed, because of Your intervention in our life. You save us from so much hardship that people will suffer, if they do not have You in their life. Our slate of sin is wiped clean, because of Your sacrifice on the cross. You hold nothing against us, and we hold nothing back from You (Psalm 32:1-2). We are so happy to get a fresh start each new morning, to find freedom from the tyranny of sin and to walk in walk in Your ways.

Thought for the Day:

Some people die with a bitter soul, having never tasted the goodness of the Lord. – Job 21:25

Yield the Right of Way

 

We usually live our life fumbling around through one escapade after another. We bring calamity upon our self and our family by the choices we make. We fail to consult the Lord’s will, so He cannot direct our paths (Proverbs 3:5-6). Eventually, we are in the pit of despair so deeply that we have to call out to Him in frustration and anguish. We pray up a calm in our storm, and ask God for His showers of blessings for us in the midst of the raging tempest.

According to His unfailing love, God always answers us. He has a perfect plan for each of us (Ephesians 2:8-10). We arise in the morning, live throughout our day and fall asleep every night in the attitude of continuous prayer. Not on our knees, but bowed in our heart in ceaseless communion with the Father and His Son by the power of His Spirit. We walk in the reality of what we read in God’s Word. We grow stronger in our union with Christ day by day.

Surrendering our negative characteristics to God will rid us of them quicker than if we attempt to perfect our self. As we cease from our own labors, we enter into God’s rest (Hebrews 4:10). The Holy Spirit is in us perfecting us from one realm of glory to the next (2 Corinthians 3:18). He exchanges our negative characteristics with the fruit of His Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23). As we keep our mind focused on God in worship to Him, He keeps us in His perfect peace (Isaiah 26:3).

Our main enemies are our carnal flesh, the glittering world and Satan’s lying wonders (1 John 2:16; Mark 4:19; 2 Thessalonians 2:9). However, God’s Spirit steps in and sanctifies our thoughts and desires until we are completely compatible with Christ in us and in total harmony with the will of God for our life (Ephesians 2:10). We bear much fruit, stand in the gap for our loved ones, soften God’s heart against sinners and plead for the salvation of the lost.

Prayer:

Father God, we yield our personal rights and self-will to You, and we ask You to purify us in our carnal thoughts, words and deeds. Your Spirit speaks to us from deeply within our hearts, confirming that we are Your children (Romans 8:16). We hunger and thirst for a closer walk with You. Remind us that only as we die to our self will we ever live in Christ. Our complete surrender and childlike faith will earn us a crown of life (James 1:12). As Your righteous children, we pray with confidence that You always hear us (1 John 5:14-15).

Thought for the Day:

Complete devotion, conformity and faithfulness to the Word of God bring us into total union with Christ.

Part 2 - The Devil is Alive and Well

 

A fallen angel named Lucifer was given authority over the earth, when Adam and Eve forfeited their dominion to him in Paradise. He is the god of this world, and his objective is to deceive people and to draw them away from God. This world glorifies Satan and his demons through music, movies and mediums. He even has holidays, such as Halloween, and TV movies and cartoons, which desensitize people into accepting him as the norm.

Fortunetellers and astrologers use satanic power to convince people that they have the wisdom of foreknowledge to help them plan their life. Satan convinces us that God is more interested in controlling our life than in blessing it. He wraps his lies in pretty packages, so that people will believe them and reject God’s truth as the lie (2 Thessalonians 2:11). Satan has authority over every life, until we surrender Lordship over our life to Jesus Christ (Ephesians 2:2).

Satan loves to make us blame God for all of the ills in the world. He gives us foul names to call God and encourages us to disrespect Him and diminish Him in the eyes of others. He undermines God’s purpose in our lives. He keeps us in turmoil and causes us to be afraid of God. God never tempts us to sin; but Satan’s favorite pastime is tempting us to indulge in our favorite transgression (James 1:13-14). Satan is bent on ruining our life.

 

The devil lures us into joining him in hell, as we relinquish our beliefs in divine revelation and power (Ephesians 1:19). However, once we realize his deception, and walk away from his hole on us, we come to see the reality that only Christ has all authority in heaven and on the earth (Matthew 28:18). God helps to spoil Satan’s plans for us as He leads us into the fruitful life, which He planned for us before we were ever born (Ephesians 2:10). Come to Christ today and submit your will, goals, plans and aspirations to Him.

Prayer:
Father God, I completely surrender my life to You. Free me from Satan’s bondage on my life and forgive all of my sins. I believe that You sent Your only Son, Jesus, to die in my place. I thank You for reaching out to me and offering me Your mercy and grace. Lead me into Your Truth and give me your everlasting life (Psalm 139:23-24). Fill me with Your wisdom and grace and help me to walk in Your power over Satan and hell (Romans 6:6-7). In Jesus’ name and for Your glory. Amen and Amen.

Thought for the Day:

Even if Satan tries to devour us, Jesus prays for us; and then uses us to strengthen others from what we learn through the things, which we suffer. - Luke 22:31-34

A Deeper Walk

Sinners are in mortal combat with God. They fight in opposition to everything God is and what He stands for. Once we come to Christ in repentance, asking for forgiveness, He exchanges our sin for His righteousness. We enter a union with Christ in God (Colossians 3:3). Their triune life permeates our spirit and soul, and heals our body. We unite our life with the Spirit and He carries out His plans in, through and instead of us.

We do not simply create a contract with God, but we enter an intimate relationship, which includes a unified life. God purifies us in increments, going deeper with each penetration of His holy fire, until we radiate Christ’s nature from within us. He replaces our carnal nature with the fruit of His Spirit, which is actually the very nature of God (Galatians 5:22-23). The less we function out of our humanity and the more we wait on God, the more He expresses His character in us and through us.

As we embrace His divine nature, we are filled to overflowing with His nature, and His very life flows out of us (Ephesians 3:16-19 Amplified Bible). We embrace His presence in us with our thoughts, choices and emotions. Our unity with Christ invades every cell in our body and we live as the temple of His Holy Spirit. We are constantly aware of this holy relationship and our ever-increasing intimacy with Christ. There is no longer an inner contest between the flesh and spirit.

We freely choose the leading of God’s Spirit in each moment of the day (Romans 8:14). Our human way of thinking and feeling passes away, and we are now an entirely new creation (2 Corinthians 5:17). We walk in communion, fellowship and accord with Christ within us (2 Corinthians 6:14-15). We belong to God’s household as co-heirs, priests and saints. Resting in Christ is not another religious activity to perform. It simple involves complete surrender of our human life to the kingship of Jesus Christ (Matthew 11:28-29).

We bow before our God and Maker (Psalm 95:6). As God recreates the nature of Christ in our soul, we manifest God in ever-increasing levels of maturity and glory (2 Corinthians 3:18). Forgiveness eliminates our confessed sin – past, present and future. The more we experience Christ as our life, the further away we run from the world, straight into our Savior’s waiting arms (Colossians 3:4). Gradually, God replaces our human limitations with His eternal power and divinity.

Prayer:

Lord Jesus, our union with You is based on faith in Your faithfulness. Therefore, unbelief separates us from You for eternity (John 3:18). When our trust fuses with Your faith, the Son of God who loves us and gave Yourself for us, we have perfect unity with You (Ephesians 5:2; Galatians 1:4). By faith, Your divinity freely flows through our body, soul and spirit (2 Peter 1:4). Our intimate bond with You is broken only by our propensity to sin. However, if we walk in accord with the direction, wisdom and love of Your Spirit, we will never fulfill the lusts of our flesh (Galatians 5:16, 25). We eventually walk by Your Spirit as a matter of course for our day.

Thought for the Day:

The degree to which we exhibit the fruit of the Spirit in our life corresponds with the depth of our love for and obedience to Christ within us. 

Abundant Life

It is foolish to count our worth according to our fame, fortune or success in this life. These are fleeting and transitory and can change in an instant. As followers of Christ, we no longer pursue aspects pertaining to this earthly realm, but we focus our mind, affections and goals on the purposes of God for us (Colossians 3:2). We no longer desire to fulfill the deeds of the flesh in our mortal body; because we are putting on the new self, which Jesus is renewing within us (Colossians 3:10).

 

Without the understanding of Christ dwelling within us, we cannot walk in victory over sin, sickness and death. Once we come to an epiphany of our union with Christ, anything is possible, according to the will of God (Mark 10:27). We serve the God who graciously forgives our sin debt (1 John 1:9). On top of that, He saves us from the punishment of our sins (Romans 6:23). Then He moves into our spirit to live His life through us.

 

The greatest aspect of our relationship with God is to come to intimately know Him as the one true Father of compassion, the God of all comfort, and to realize that He wants to live His life through Christ in us moment by moment throughout the day (2 Corinthians 1:3; John 17:3). God provides us with the desire and the will to bring Him pleasure (Philippians 2:13). He also gives us His Spirit to teach us all things that we need to know for a successful life of Godliness (1 Corinthians 2:12; 2 Peter 1:3).

 

We are never more fulfilled than when we are walking closest to God through Christ in us. God changes our nature from carnal, earthly flesh to one full of purity, Godliness and spirituality (2 Corinthians 3:18). He gives us a way out of every future temptation (1 Corinthians 10:13). He walks with us every moment of every day, giving us His strength to go through every trail and to deliver us from it (Philippians 2:12). With our mind focused on God, we walk in perfect peace (Isaiah 26:3). Our deepest affections are reserved just for Him.

 

True abundance in this life only comes when we adopt a spiritual purpose (Matthew 6:19-21). When we focus on our life with an earthly perception, we experience stress, anxiety, anger and many other negative emotions. The consequences of our choices and actions follow us into eternity. When we focus with an eternal perspective, we are only interested in God’s intentions, instructions and His inclusion of us in His plans. His peace, which transcends all human understanding, fills our heart and mind through Christ Jesus (Philippians 4:7).

 

Prayer:

Father God, we want to daily contemplate Your goodness, majesty, power, mercy, love, wisdom, justice and sovereignty. We are to walk in a different dimension than unsaved humanity. Remind us that our values and purpose are centered on Your Kingdom. You supply us with the spiritual resources to perform supernatural feats as we interact in our daily activities with family, church, work and community. When the love we feel for our fellow mankind springs from our love for You and from You, it is more committed and unconditional. All of creation is eagerly waiting for the manifestation of Your sons (Romans 8:19).

 

Thought for the Day:

When we surrender our life to the Lordship of Jesus Christ we enter the realm of abundant life, which He promises. - John 10:10

Thank you, Tracy Hassall, for the use of your photo.

Surprise Revelation

In writing to the Romans, Paul laments over his unsuccessful attempts to overcome the flesh in his own strength and to put on the mind of Christ. He realized the wretchedness of his humanity. He struggled with our need to be holy, and his inability to reach this level of consecration (Romans 7:19-24). Then, God surprised Paul with a revelation (Romans 7:25). He was thrilled to realize that we do not have to suffer under the weight of condemnation any longer, because Christ already set us all free from the law of sin and death on Calvary’s Cross (Romans 8:1-2). 

As authentic Christians we now live by the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus (Romans 8:2). Our transformation rests firmly on the rock of the gospel of Christ (Romans 12:2; Psalm 18:2). We live by His faith in love, filled with the fruit of, and following the leading of God’s Spirit on a moment-by-moment basis (Galatians 5:1; 5:22-23; Ephesians 5:18). We no longer strive to earn God’s love or to live a holy life. We simply walk in obedience. We live on earth to glorify our Father, not by our own efforts, but only by the power of Christ within us.

Jesus loves us so much, that for our benefit he gave Himself up to the horrific death on Calvary’s cross. Through His sacrifice, we are now acceptable to God in Christ (1 Peter 2:5; Romans 15:7). We have been crucified with Christ. Therefore, it is no longer we who live our life, but Christ, the Messiah, who lives in us. The life that we now live in our body on this earth, we live by faith in, devotion to, dependence on and complete confidence in the Son of God (Galatians 2:20, Amplified Bible).

Jesus is our only hope of experiencing God’s glory (Colossians 1:27). We could never be good enough in our human effort to earn a place in Heaven (Ephesians 2:8-10). Jesus gave up His glory in Heaven to take the form of a man, and He humbled Himself and willingly died in our place (Philippians 2:8).  Now, we can put on the mind of Christ (Philippians 2:5). We renew our mind by reading God’s Word, and we walk in the Spirit. Therefore, we will no longer succumb to the negative suggestions of our carnal nature (Romans 12:2; Galatians 5:16).

We completely surrender our will to God’s will for our life and we live in perfect union with Christ. Our old sinful nature is crucified with Christ, and sin has no more power over our choices. Just as the Son could do nothing of Himself, we too are nothing without Christ in us. The only effort we need to make in order to walk in the reality of this victory is to totally surrendering control of our life to God. In doing this, we successfully enter His rest (Hebrews 4:3).

Prayer:

Lord Jesus, our Father exalted You with a name above all other names. One day every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that You, Jesus Christ, are Lord (Philippians 2:9-10). We were buried with You through baptism into Your death.  In the same way in which You were raised from the dead through the glory of our Father, we too are raised to live a new life through You. We are no longer slaves to sin, because You set us free from sin’s power when we died with You on Calvary’s cross (Romans 6:4-7).

Thought for the Day:

Just as God the Father, Son and Spirit are united as one, Jesus died so we can share in this same unity of oneness with our triune God. - 1 Corinthians 6:17

 

 

 

 

 

 

Go Deeper - Part 2

 

Please, first read Go Deeper – Part 1,  before reading this post.

God calls us to go deeper into the river of His spiritual life. He wants an enhanced, more intimate relationship with us. The first step into the shallow water is to accept Jesus Christ as our Savior from our sinful lifestyle. We make Him the Lord of our life and desire to do only His will on a daily basis. Then we continue into ankle deep water and start the practice of weekly worship, daily devotional reading and prayer.

Some people fear the unknown and decide to live as shallow Christians rather than to totally surrender to the Will of God. It is so much easier to live in shallow carnality where we have more control over our destiny, than to trust God in the unfamiliar aspects of life in the Spirit (Galatians 5:15,25). However, God is calling us to go deeper. 

A few will slowly move deeper into the river. As the water rises up to our knees, it is darker here and murky. We cannot see where we are stepping or what is lurking beneath the surface of the water. At this level, we begin to exhibit faith in God’s faithfulness. We start attending more than one church service a week. We take notes on what we hear and we review our notes during the week. We attempt to allow the Lord to order our steps (Psalm 37:23). Many Christians want to hold onto their secret sins and they have no desire to go deeper spiritually. Yet, God is calling us even deeper.

As we get thigh deep in the river of our walk with God, we add a ministry to our weekly schedule. This allows the Lord to work through us to further His Kingdom. We are also more fully surrendering our will to the will of God and are guided by His peace, which transcends human understanding (Philippians 4:7). We find our true identity and self-worth in Him. Many Christians never go any deeper with the Lord. They just want to be fed by the Word of God. Their soul and spirit grow obese, because they continually feast at the Lord’s Table, without the exercise of giving back to the Kingdom of God. Nevertheless, God continues to call us deeper yet.

Those willing to follow God’s call this far find themselves waist deep in the river. Now, we start to spend quiet times with the Lord. We pray and listen to His voice. We praise and worship God for who He is without expecting anything in return. We fully submit our will to the will of the Father; and we relish our deepening personal relationship with the Trinity. Some people swell with spiritual pride at this point. They elect their self as judge and jury, and they constantly complain and criticize the church and its leaders. They do not want to go deeper, so they try to discourage others from going deeper as well. Nevertheless, God is calling us all deeper still. 

The water rises to our chest now. We start to lose our earthly footing as the natural buoyancy of the Spirit causes us to float. Our friends and family try to discourage us from continuing with our desire to cross the river into the Promised Land. Satan will also try to stop us at this point. He wants us to drift along in apathy. If he cannot convince us to go back to the worldly side of the river, he attempts to drape us with a complacent attitude of indifference. We dodge these arrows of the devil by putting on the full armor of God (Ephesians 6: 10-18).

As we continue to follow the Lord, the ground falls away from our feet. The water is over our head now. We must either go back to the bank, start to swim or drown. If we have the courage to swim across the river, we learn to pray without ceasing and to communicate to others what we learn in God’s Word (Hebrews 5:12-14). We may not be able to teach or to write, but we can share with anyone who will listen about God’s Truth and the peace He provides for us (John 14:27). We take up our cross daily and walk in tune with the Spirit’s direction each moment of the day and night (Luke 9:23; Galatians 5:16,25).

Incredibly, God’s Spirit leads us to go even deeper. We are almost to the Promised Land and we realize that we are either in a trial, coming out of trial, or about to go into another trial. Broken tree limbs, submerged and drawn by the current, hit us without warning. Rip currents, piranhas, eels and alligators threaten our life. We start to lose faith and spin into a spiritual spiral. As we start to drown in the circumstances of life, we totally give up our life and completely surrender to the Spirit of God. We realize that the only way to live is to die to our own desires, ambitions and goals, and to hide our life with Christ in God (Colossians 3:3). It is then that we enter the Promised Land of oneness with Christ on a daily basis.

Prayer:

Father God, we trust in Your protection of us each day of our life. Life holds no surprises for You. Our committed walk unfolds before us in one accord with Your perfect will for each one of us. Even if we end up in a foreign country, in jail, in the hospital or in the nursing home, we completely surrender to Your will, because You have a ministry for us there. You are with us and Your Spirit will guide and direct us no matter where we live, or with whom we live, or even if we live quite alone. Your faithfulness gives us the faith to cross the river and to enter into this intimate union with You that is perfect and eternal.

Thought for the Day:

Will you accept the challenge and go deeper in your relationship with the Lord?