Union with Christ - Rest for Our Soul

 

As we set our mind on heavenly issues, the peace of God, that excels beyond all human comprehension, will rule and reign in and guard our heart (Philippians 4:7).

The mind of Christ maintains order and stability in our soul regardless of the physical issues we face. His perfect peace rules in our heart, and gives rest to our weary soul (Isaiah 26:3).

We keep our thoughts and feelings under subjection to God's Holy Spirit. We think only of the Kingdom of God, the works of Christ in His life on earth, and what He may want to accomplish through us during our lifetime.

Our spirit, body and soul - our thoughts, choices and feelings - align with the mind of Christ in our spirit. His will becomes our will, His desires are our desire and His purpose is our goal in life (1 Peter 1:13).

He gives us the faith of His Son, the power of His Spirit and the focus of His being within us. We take human conjecture off the throne of our life and exalt Jesus in every moment of our day (Proverbs 16:17).

The choices we make affect our actions. We will either follow our flesh, the world, the devil or God's Spirit in our thoughts, emotions, words and deeds (Galatians 5:15-25).

God gave us a free will to choose to follow Him or Satan's lies. Our free will cannot create or change the outcome of the choices of others, but we can allow God's Spirit to use us to influence those around us for His greater good.

Prayer:

Father God, You created us to depend on You and to allow Your predetermined will for our life to influence our actions (Ephesians 2:10). We are capable, however, of grieving Your Holy Spirit by following the dictates of our own choosing. Remind us of the fact that someone else's decisions are not our responsibility, but our response to them is; and in this, we find rest for our soul.

We share with others what we believe is the mind of Christ, but then, their choices are just that - their choice. They reap what they sow just like we do. We are all free to choose to live humanistically and to depend on our self and other people, instead of on You. This is ludicrous and self-defeating. Teach us that we are all dependent on Your love during this lifetime.

Thought for the Day:

God is ultimately still on His throne and has all things under His control (Romans 8:28); He puts His hook in our jaw, and draws us along to fulfill His will for our life (Ezekiel 38:4), but He never forces us to do anything that we choose not to do.

No Longer a Sinner - Not Limiting God

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).

Without the presence of Christ dwelling within us, we cannot walk in victory over sin, sickness and death. We wallow in our humanity, and limit our spiritual maturity by our lack of comprehension of God's ways.

The law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus sets us free from the law of sin and death (Romans 8:2). This is as true as the fact that airplanes can overcome the law of gravity and fly suspended in the air.

When Christ moves into our life by His Holy Spirit, changes begin. He sweeps our spirit free of sin and starts His sanctifying work in our soul, as well as maturity in our spirit.

He exchanges our sin for His righteousness and He replaces our carnality with the fruit of His Spirit. He gives us His gifts to allow us to function in His Body for the growth of the Kingdom of God.

When the love we feel for our fellow mankind springs from our love for God and His affection for us, it is more committed, merciful, gracious, empathetic and unconditional.

The deepest aspect of our relationship with God is when we come to intimately know Him as the one true Father of compassion, the God of all comfort. We fall on our face and worship Him from the depths of our heart.

God calls for us to realize that, moment by moment throughout the day, He wants to live His life through Christ in us and to accomplish greater works on this earth for His glory (2 Corinthians 1:3; John 17:3).

Prayer:

Father God, we want to daily contemplate Your goodness, majesty, power, mercy, love, wisdom, justice and sovereignty. You call us to walk in a different dimension than unsaved humanity. Remind us to keep our values and purpose 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. You made Jesus the first fruit of Your Sons, and all of creation is eagerly waiting for our final manifestation (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

Our Identity in Christ

Our comprehension of who we are in Christ influences our thoughts, words and actions. If we have little knowledge of our identity in Christ, we will rely more on our human identity to describe who we are: our personality, occupation, family status, achievements, interests and church ministry.

When we recognize who we are in Christ, however, we gain a whole new perspective on our worth and our place in this world (Colossians 3:3-4). We have the power, love and mental stability of God’s Spirit (2 Tim 1:7); we are sanctified, and blameless from false accusations (Colossians 1:22; Hebrews 2:11); we are living stones in Christ’s spiritual house (1 Peter 2:5). 

We are God’s beloved children, holy and acceptable to Him, chosen because of what Jesus did for us (Colossians 3:4, 12; 1 Thessalonians 1:4). Jesus brings us out of the darkness of sin and into His glorious light of righteous living (1 Thessalonians 5:5). Christ in us expresses Himself through our life (Colossians 3:3-4). We partake in His heavenly calling for our life (Ephesians 2:19; Hebrews 3:1).

Christ lives in us and we no longer need to strive in this world, because we are dead to it and its temptations (Colossians 1:27, 2:11, 3:3-4). God’s Spirit deepens our roots in Christ, so we can flourish in our relationship with Him (Colossians 2:7). Christ in us completes us and is our whole life (Colossians 1:1-4, 2:10-13).

Prayer:
Father God, As Your own private possession, we daily thrive in Your presence (1 Peter 2:9-10). We come boldly before Your throne in any time of need (Hebrews 4:16). We are aliens and strangers in this world, which is our temporary dwelling place, because we are actually a chosen race, a royal priesthood and Your holy nation. Your give us the divine nature of Christ, through which we live each moment of our life on this earth (Galatians 2:20, 1 Peter 2:11; 2 Peter 1:4; 1 John 4:10; 1 John 3:1-2).

Thought for the Day:

God saves us and sets us apart as His church and bride, because He loves us.

- 2 Timothy 1:9; Titus 3:5; Ephesians 5:25; 1 John 4:10