No Longer a Sinner - God's Seed in Us

In reality, nothing good comes from our flesh. It is only Christ in us who works in and through us to produce lasting fruit (Romans 7:18; Philippians 2:12-13). The roots of the Spirit ground us and the Vine provides for us.

As Born Again Believers, we are born of God and partakers of the divine nature of Christ (2 Peter 1:4). When Christ dwells in us, He gives us the power to conquer temptation and sin (1 Corinthians 10:13).

We do not continue in a lifestyle of sin, because His seed remains in us (1 John 3:9). His Spirit empowers us and makes us more than conquerors (Romans 8:37). We are conduits for His work through our life.

Sin no longer controls us because His Spirit dwells within us and conforms us to the image of Christ (Romans 8:29; 2 Corinthians 6:18). Christ sets us free from the law of sin and death (John 8:36; Romans 8:1-2).

Therefore, we grieve the heart of God when we wallow in sin and give in to temptation and the flesh. We deny His power within us and we give Satan the attention that God deserves.

We waste our lives and fail to live up to God's best for us. When we take the wide road to destruction, we end up with little to show for a lifetime of living. We reap few rewards in heaven, because we rarely served Him with our life.

Yet, if we walk in His will each moment of the day, we accomplish His work in the earth and make a lasting contribution to His Kingdom. We reap rewards for each act of obedience and earn crowns that we can cast at Jesus' feet (Revelation 4:10-11).

We cast our crowns, because we realize that we do not deserve them. Everything we accomplish on the earth is the result of His Spirit's work in and through us, and we have no bragging rights (Ephesians 2:8-9).

Prayer:

Father God, thank You for Your Spirit who calls to our spirit and empowers us to walk in Your will each day of our life (Ephesians 2:10; Philippians 2:12-13). Help us to walk in Your Spirit so we will not fulfill the lusts of the flesh (Galatians 5:15-25). The more our carnality decreases, the more You encompass our life. We walk in increasing increments of spirituality, and sin no longer tempts us. We have no desire for this world's enticements.

You provide for our every need abundantly more than we even expect, and we give You all the praise and glory for every good thing in our life (James 1:17). We spend our days singing praises to You as we go about meeting only Your expectations in our life. As we listen to Your Spirit, You always work out everything for our ultimate good (Romans 8:28).

Thought for the Day:

If we keep living a lifestyle of sin without conviction and repentance, this is proof that we are not born of God; we remain in the flesh and our spirit is still dead in sin; once we know God, His sanctifying power causes us to gradually lose our desire to keep on sinning. 

- Ephesians 2:1; 1 John 2:29, 3:6

Condemnation or Conviction

 

There is a huge difference between condemnation and conviction. A person without Christ in their life might experience both of these; but a child of God is freed from all condemnation (Romans 8:1).

Satan condemns us, but God's Spirit convicts us. For instance, when we choose to walk in slavery to the flesh, God convicts us to walk in the Spirit instead (Galatians 5:15-25).

Condemnation brings shame, hopelessness and discouragement with it. Yet, conviction brings relief, and gives us the opportunity to decide not to sin and to please God instead (James 4:7).

Satan will crush us with his shameful condemnation and attempt to cripple our soul in order to prevent us from ever serving God again. If we flee temptation, we also flee condemnation (1 Corinthians 10:13).

Satan is the accuser of God's children and he will attempt to belittle us, telling us that we are not enough, will never amount to anything and that we are a hopeless failure.

However, these accusations are contrary to God's truth about us. God says that we are more than conquerors (Romans 8:37). We have victory in all things through Christ in us (1 Corinthians 15:57)

As we submit to God and resist the devil, he has to flee from us (James 4:7-8). Nothing can ever separate us from the multi-dimensional love of God (Romans 8:35-39).  

Prayer:

Father God, when Satan attempts to defeat us, remind us that You already gave us the victory through Christ in us (Galatians 2:20). Thank You for being so willing to forgive our departure from Your will for our life (1 John 1:9), and for giving us Your Spirit to help us to walk in Your perfect peace.

Produce in us a Godly sorrow, which pricks our conscience and reminds us not to succumb to Satan's temptations (2 Corinthians 7:10-11). Prompt us to walk in Your Spirit, filled with His fruit, so that we will not fulfill the lusts of our flesh (Galatians 5:15-25).

Thought for the Day:

The blood of Christ frees us from the penchant to sin, as well as from the condemnation of the devil.

- Revelation 1:5; Romans 8:1

The Benefits of Believing

Anger previously peppered our life, and rose from the disappointments we experience from conception, and which intensified throughout the years. Some have a more violent past than others, but we all suffered from deprivation, violence, permissiveness and/or wickedness in one form or another. Salvation eliminates much of our anger. Christ frees us and heals the pain of our past and gives us courage to face the future.

The second asset we receive with salvation is the blanket of peace, which defies human explanation and envelops every fiber of our being (Philippians 4:7). We suddenly realize that we are not alone (Hebrews 13:5). We have no need to struggle through life any longer. Rather than seeing life as full of hopelessness, we see that all things are now possible, because Christ lives in us (Luke 18:27). In our exhaustion, we yoke up with Jesus and find fulfilling rest (Matthew 11:28:390; Hebrews 4:10).

Jealousy and envy no longer rot our bones (Proverbs 14:40), because we realize that God does not love another person better than He loves me. He loves us all enough to go to Calvary’s cross and bear the penalty of our shameful sins. Problems only arise when we compare our life to someone else’s and focus on what we do not have, rather than to live in gratitude for what we do have. God works all things, even bad things, out for the ultimate good (Romans 8:28; John 3:16, 3:34).

We are filled with God’s Spirit (Romans 8:9). We are able to accomplish the works God created for us to do (Ephesians 2:10), because we can do anything now that Christ abides within us (Philippians 4:13, 19). When we feel defeated, His grace is sufficient (2 Corinthians 12:9; Psalm 91:15). God works in and through us as we walk in His Spirit (Galatians 5:16-25). We are still powerless alone, but Christ in us is infinitely able. We are now more than conquerors and nothing separates us from His love (2 Corinthians 9:8; Romans 8:37-39).

Prayer:

Father God, You are our Everything (Psalms 23 & 91). There is not a hair on our head that grows in or falls out, which You do not see (Matthew 10:30). You give us wisdom to face the challenges of life (1 Corinthians 1:30), and You walk within us every step of the way (Hebrews 13:5). Each day, we acknowledge You and You direct our paths (Proverbs 3:5-6). When life worries or frustrates us, we can cast every care on Your shoulders, because You care for us infinitely more than we even care about our self (1 Peter 5:7).

Thought for the Day:

When I feel like I can no longer face the challenges of life, I realize that the King of Kings forgives me and provides me with love, power and a calm mind, which allows me to obey His will. - 1 John 1:9, Romans 8:1-2, 2 Timothy 1:7