To Those Who Overcome

All of my Christian life, I heard the verses to the churches in Revelation containing promises to those who overcome. I do not have the moral fiber, mental strength or physical stamina to overcome anything. In other words, I am a wimp!

Whenever I saw or heard those verses, I cringed and shut down mentally and emotionally. As a new Believer, life still frightened me; and yet, I wanted to receive those promises to the overcomer.

Recently, my pastoral husband preached about living as an overcomer and his sermon gave me the key verse that I missed all of these years (1 John 4:4, 5:1-5). We overcome not in our human ability, but through Christ in us (John 16:33; James 1:2-3).

Whoever is born of God automatically overcomes the world, because our faith in Jesus as the Son of God gives us the victory (1 John 5:45). Jesus already overcame the world and He abides in us.

Even in suffering, we glorify God by our example as patient victims (1 Peter 4:12-16; 2 Corinthians 4:17-18). In heaven, we will receive these promises to the overcomer:  

• We will eat of the tree of life and hidden manna, and we will receive the white stone of acquittal for our sins along with a new name (Revelation 2:7, 17; 3:12).

• We will rule the nations (Revelation 2:26) and we will be clothed in white, which is the purity of our works (Revelation 19:8).

• We will have our name written in the Lambs’ Book of Life (Revelation 3:5), we will forever serve as a pillar of strength in the temple of our God (Revelation 3:12).

• We will sit with Christ on His throne (Revelation 3:21).

• We will inherit all things as co-heirs with Christ as Children of God (Revelation 21:27).

• We will not experience the second, spiritual death in hell (Revelation 2:11).

Prayer:

Father God, thank You for sending Jesus to do for us what we could never do for our self. Thank Your for taking away the shame and condemnation of our sins, and for making us acceptable in Your beloved family (Ephesians 1:6). Christ in us makes us overcomers, because we are born again of His Spirit and we have faith in His faithfulness (1 John 5:4-5).

If we could live for thousands of years, we would never have enough time to praise You for what You already did and still do for us every day. We look forward to living for eternity in Your Kingdom and to giving You the glory forever and ever. Amen.

​Thought for the Day:

Christ in us will overcome anything, which the world, the devil and our flesh throws at us (Galatians 2:20); we are more than conquerors through Christ who lives in us (Romans 8:31-39).

Putting Our Faith in the Right Place

 

Human pride demands that we maintain our individuality and look out for our self first. We depend upon self-effort to make a place for us in society. We often trust our bank balance, our talents and our job security rather than God. When we misplace our faith in earthly, temporary aspects instead of in Jehovah Jireh, our Provider, God has to design trials to teach us the truth about their unreliability. When we totally trust in the Lord for all of our needs, we have our faith in the right place. If we keep an eternal perspective, rather than to allow the cares of this world to burden us, we allow the Holy Spirit and the divinity of Christ to fill us through all of our being with all of His fullness (Ephesians 3:16-19, Amplified).

Even after coming to Christ, we often attempt to please Him through our human effort and accomplishments (Galatians 3:1-3). The idea of surrendering our life to an unseen force is terrifying and unnerving.  However, once we repent of our sins, the next step is total surrender to the Lordship of Jesus Christ over our life. As His Spirit leads us, we realize that our humanity is dead and we are now hidden with Christ in God’s divine nature (Colossians 3:3; 2 Peter 1:4). We learn to keep in step with His Spirit as we live by the Spirit each moment of the day (Galatians 5:25). We obey God one moment at a time and walk by faith, not by sight (2 Corinthians 5:7). Even if God calls us to a secular job, He does so because He has a Kingdom purpose for us in it.

We run into conflict when our humanity resists the Spirit (Galatians 5:17). Negative emotions signal an area that remains an idol in our life. The flesh cannot control the flesh (Romans 8:4, 12-13; Galatians 5:19-21). Our best recourse then is to call on the divinity of Christ in us to show us His truth about the situation (Matthew 16:24; Mark 8:34; Luke 9:23). Jesus is the way, truth and life; and His law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus sets us free from the law of sin and death (Romans 8:1-2; John 8:28,32; John 14:6). Once we submit to God, He reveals to us the areas of our life that remain as idols. Once we repent, we resist the devil and he has to flee from us (James 4:7). The divine nature of the triune God in us conforms our carnal character into the mind of Christ (2 Corinthians 3:18; Romans 8:29).

We often get the cart before the horse. We go about life the hard way! We try to perfect our self, rather than realizing that God has His perfect timing for everything. For instance, if we clothe our self with the Lord Jesus Christ and walk in the Spirit, we will easily crucify the deeds of our flesh (Romans 13:14; Galatians 5:16,22). If we humble our self, He will exalt us (James 4:10; 1 Peter 5:6). If we take the last place, God will place us first (Matthew 20:16). If we are filled with the Spirit, we will have no desire to fulfill the lusts of the flesh (Ephesians 5:18). We must first walk in the Spirit before we can resist the flesh and the devil (Galatians 5:16-17). Since the Holy Spirit dwells in us, we may now walk in the Spirit moment by moment throughout the day.

Prayer:

Lord Jesus, You sanctified us through your death (1 Corinthians 1:30). You restore our soul and manifest Yourself through Your life in us (Psalm 23:3). Our behavior reflects Your character. God conforms us into Your image (Romans 8:29; Colossians 1:15; 2 Corinthians 3:18, 4:4). We accomplish God’s will for our life because You live in, through and instead of us. Help us to quit striving in the flesh to live a holy life by taking up Your cross and allowing You to crucify our idols until we have Your mind in us (Philippians 2:5).

Thought for the Day:

Christ’s love and life within us conquers our sin, dispels our fears, surmounts our self-centeredness and overcomes our flesh, because Christ in us is greater than the god of this world. – 1 John 4:4

United With Christ

As Born Again Believers, we are filled throughout our entire body, soul and spirit with all of God’s fullness. We possess the richest measure of His divine presence within us and we are wholly filled and flooded to overflowing with God Himself (Ephesians 3:19, Amplified Bible). We are united with Christ in the very marrow of our spirit (Hebrews 4:12). He provides us with everything we need to live a healthy, Spirit-filled life. Then, His Spirit infiltrates the joints of our soul – our thoughts, choices and emotions - to realistically perform His perfect will in and through us (Hebrews 4:12).

We are liberated from living in this earthly realm, even though we physically continue to dwell here. Paul counted all of his worldly possession and gain as lost when compared to the joy of his salvation and the riches he received from intimately knowing Christ (Philippians 3:7-11). In this same way, we detach from our connection to this world, even the good parts of life which hinder our walk with God, such as family, houses and lands – in order to obtain the better blessings provided for us by Christ (Luke 14:23-33; Philippians 3:10).

We realize that even the worst of adversity in our life comes from God to perfect and to provide for us (Hebrews 11:32-34; Job 1:8, 2:3). What Satan plans to harm us, such as the death of Christ on Calvary’s cross, God means for our good, such as bringing His resurrection life to lost sinners (John 19:10-11). Satan has no authority of his own. He can only do the bidding of our Father God. The Lamb, who is opening the seal, bowl and trumpet judgments, even directs the plans and purposes of the anti-Christ during the Great Tribulation (Revelation 5:2-10).

All of Satan’s wiles against us are orchestrated by God to work out His purpose in us, through us and for our eventual good (1 John 4:4; Romans 8:28). So stop spending so much time fighting Satan. Submit to God instead, then resist the devil and he has to flee from you (James 4:7). This does not mean our trials in life will end, however. Our Heavenly Father loves us and makes us more than conquerors through them all (Romans 8:37). He even makes all of our paths straight because of our enemies (Psalm 27:11; Zechariah 4:7). Jesus is exalted in us as we overcome as His joint heirs by His power within us (1 John 3:2; Ephesians 3:6).

We find our true self, hidden with Christ in God (Colossians 3:3). He called us out of sin into His glorious life. God elected us as His holy and stately priests. We are God’s special possession created to declare His praises to a lost and dying world around us (1 Peter 2:9). We actually become the love of Christ to the world (John 2:12-14; Exodus 33:13). Jesus went to the cross with joy in His heart as He focused on the glory awaiting Him in Heaven (Hebrews 12:2). We live life with this same joy in our own hearts, looking forward to sitting together with Christ for eternity (1 Corinthians 4:9-13; 2 Corinthians 6:8 10; Ephesians 1:21, 2:4-6).

Prayer:

Lord Jesus, You take pre-eminence in our heart over all other aspects of life (1 Corinthians 9:22). We knock on doors and invite our neighbors to church. We pray for them and for everyone You bring to our mind. We shed Your light within us for all the world around us to see, so they may live with us in eternity as the redeemed of the Lord (Psalm 107:2). You bore our sins in Your body on the cross; so that we too can die to sin and live righteously and victoriously, just as You did (1 Peter 2:24). We give You all the praise and glory and honor due Your name (Psalm 96:8).

Thought for the Day:

Problems are simply opportunities for God to prove Himself strong on our behalf. We find out what He is doing in every situation and then join Him.






Thank you, Naturally North, for sharing your beautiful photo.

Living Holy of Holies

The faulty thinking of most Born Again Believers is that we are separated from Christ by the ethereal boundary between Heaven and earth. We view God in Heaven with Christ sitting on the throne at His right hand. That leaves us all alone, struggling down here on Terra Firma to live a holy life. When we come to the understanding that we are dead, and that Christ is now alive within us (Colossians 3:3), we stop striving to perfect our self and we step aside and let God be God in our life.

Jesus substituted His life for ours on the cross. In the same way, He now lives our life for us and through us. Jesus fulfills our Father’s will in us as we follow the leading of His Spirit moment by moment throughout the day. Life no longer requires any effort from us. God only wants our obedience. We simply stand firm as we watch the Lord bring deliverance in us and through us (2 Chronicles 20:17). Our body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, the Holy of Holies (Hebrews 9:3). The Holy Spirit lives through us in the perfection of Christ and according to the will of our Father (Colossian 2:9).

Jesus challenges us to hunger and thirst after righteousness (Matthew 5:6). Christ is our righteousness, and our deliverance, redemption, sanctification and so much more (1 Corinthians 1:31). There is nothing left for us to strive for or to attain to. Therefore, there is no way we can boast about our accomplishments in the Lord. We boast in Him instead (1 Corinthians 1:31). Once we get the focus off our self, and place it on Christ where it belongs, then He can use us to fulfill His purpose in the earth.

 
If our flesh is tempted to sin, we simply remember that it is dead and hidden with Christ in God (Colossians 3:3). When we view any temptation through the eyes of the Spirit living within us, the sin loses its appeal for us. We realize that we would much rather live righteously through Christ than unrighteously through our old, dead flesh. In the same way, if we attempt a ministry for the glory of God, and the Spirit did not lead us to serve in that area, we will never find His anointing in it.

When Jesus lived in the flesh, He suffered trials in every area of life, and had just as many temptations as we do. Yet, in each instance, He drew from the strength of His divinity; and in the end, He conquered death and Hell for all of us (Revelations 1:18). Every Born Again Believer lives in divine union with this same Christ. Even though we still live in a body of flesh, we now live by the faith of the Son of God who cares for us and sacrificed Himself for us (Galatians 2:20). We draw from the strength of His divinity within us for healing, wisdom, strength and direction for a victorious life.

Prayer:
Father God, Jesus prayed that He is in us, and You are in Him. He wanted us to experience this same unity with one another so the world would know You sent Him and that You love us as much as You love Him (John 17:23). All of Your fullness dwells in Christ and He is the head of all powers and principalities. In Him, we are made complete (Colossians 2:9-10). Therefore, help us to let Your light within us shine so brightly, that people will see Christ in us and glorify You, who are our living hope (Colossians 1:27; 1 Peter 1:3).

Thought for the Day:
We search in vain for Christ outside of our self, only to discover that He lives in all of His fullness within every Born Again Believer.






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

Why Christians Suffer

Read: Romans 8:31-39

"My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.” - Psalm 73:26

When I surrendered my life to Christ, I had the misguided notion that my life would forever float free of any negative circumstances. I pictured myself tiptoeing through the tulips without a care in the world. Boy was I wrong! The few initial trials I experienced threw me off course. I stomped and squalled in disgust over the fact that a child of God should be subjected to such inconvenient conditions (Psalm 73:13-14).

As I checked around with my new friends, I found out that every one of them went through appalling situations as well (Matthew 5:45). We all conjectured, postulated, hypothesized and speculated about God’s reason for allowing this. We wondered why He did not destroy our enemies who mocked us, did not prevent the infliction of emotional wounds by calloused individuals and did not maintaining the security of our jobs and our financial stability. The inequality of the world weighed heavily on us and some injustices even inflicted pain in our own lives. It appeared that the unrighteous people we knew enjoyed more blessings than the righteous ones did (Psalm 73:1-12).

Our Pastor explained to us that God is able to make everything work out wonderfully for us, but He teaches us so much more through the negative times than the positive ones. In good times, we ride along almost oblivious to the need for prayer and fellowship with Our Father. As soon as something terrible happens, however, we run for cover under the shadow of His wings. We remind Him that we are the apple of His eye (Psalm 17:8) and we misguidedly accuse Him of not taking proper care of us.

Over the years, I learned that we suffer negative circumstances for several reasons. One comes from the curse on the earth, caused by Adam and Eve’s rebellion. Sinful behavior by others is the basis of most of our problems. We suffer harmful consequences imposed on us by wicked people. On top of this our own sins, our poor judgment and/or our faulty decisions are also a catalyst for our negative experiences. The good news is that God’s grace sees us through all of these painful times and teaches us lessons that we would otherwise miss.

God lives in eternity, and His concern is with the infinite issues of life. He sees the end from the beginning (Isaiah 46:10). God views 1000 years as if they were only one day (2 Peter 3:8). We, on the other hand, rarely focus on eternal issues. Our mind is consumed with the earthly realm and what we experience with our senses. We view life with a finite mind.

In His unlimited wisdom God knows that our concerns are only momentary and fleeting, and that He has ultimate plans for our good, as well as for the eternal punishment of the wicked (Psalm 73:17). God teaches us to trust Him through the hard times, because He knows that the blessings are just around the corner. We grow deeper, wider and stronger roots and every trial strengthens our faith. God uses these exasperating situations to conform us to the likeness of His Son (Romans 8:29).

Just look at the stars in the heavens. God created every pin-point and He calls each one by name. He does great things that cannot be fathomed and wonderful works that cannot be counted (Job 9:9-10). His power and incomparable strength holds each one in its place, and not one burns out without His knowledge (Isaiah 40:26; Psalm 147:4). God also spread out the earth and everything and everyone in it. He gives breath to the living and life to every creature that walks on the earth (Isaiah 43:5). His greatness is incomprehensible. He made the heavens and earth by His great power and outstretched arm. Absolutely nothing is too hard for Him (Jeremiah 32:17).

Even with the provision of all of this for us, God went one step further to connect to humanity and to provide for our needs. He sent His only Son to pay the penalty of our sin and to give us His righteousness in exchange (Psalm 8:3-5). This proves that He cares about every anxiety, distress, perplexity and difficulty we experience. He promises to work them all out for our ultimate good (Romans 8:28).

Prayer:

Lord Jesus, we are more than conquerors because You love us. I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present or the future, nor any power, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from Our Father’s love, which is in You, Our Lord (Romans 8:37-39).

Thought for the Day:

God esteems the person who is humble and contrite in spirit, the person who heeds His Words. - Isaiah 66:2 

God's Perfect Plan

Read: Romans 8:5-39

“Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us.” – Romans 8:37

Our finite view of life is so limiting. We get so bogged down in the problems, issues, hindrances, illnesses, and negativity inherent in life in this world. Freedom from these issues is just a prayer away, however. God has a perfect plan for each of our lives.

 

Our whole perspective changes when we live in His will and set our affections on things above rather than things of this earth (Colossians 3:2-3).  

The battle does not belong to us. It is God’s (2 Chronicles 20:15). We have no need to be afraid or discouraged over life’s problems. We can focus our thoughts, emotions and beliefs on God. His words are totally trustworthy. Our faith in Him to have a perfect plan no matter what situation we are facing is not in vain. We are God’s children and co-heirs with Christ. Although we share in His sufferings in this life, we will also share in His glory (Romans 8:16-18).

Even God’s creation groans to be liberated from the bondage and decay of this corrupt world (Romans 8:19-20). Creation looks forward, as we do, for the glorious freedom of the sons of God to be revealed (Romans 8:21-23). We have hope in His coming and this gives us patience to endure the trials in our life (Romans 8:24-25).

The Holy Spirit helps us in our weakness, and even when we have no idea how to pray. The Spirit hears our groans and understands exactly how we feel; therefore, He intercedes for us according to God’s will (Romans 8:26-27). The Spirit also gives us the confidence that God is working all things, even the worst of afflictions, out for our good (Romans 8:28).

God knows our heart and He conforms us into the image of His Son, Jesus Christ, through the process of Sanctification. Through His Spirit, we have assurance that He called us, justified us and will glorify us when Jesus returns to take us to glory. Having this assurance helps us to live life from God’s perspective. Earth is a miniscule orb in relation to the rest of the universe. From God’s perspective our issues are not as insurmountable as we think. If He can keep the planets aligned and the universe ordered, He can certainly take care of our concerns.

At times, it does appear as if our world is spinning out of control. We master one aspect and another one flies off into outer space! Some of us have more troubles to face than others, but no matter what is happening, the Lord promises to deliver us out of them all (Psalm 34:19). God uses our circumstances to give us hearts of compassion (Ezekiel 36:26), to give us the mind of Christ (Philippians 2:5) and to create Jesus’ image in us (Romans 8:29).

2000 years ago on Calvary’s cross, Jesus already won the war with Satan and death (Hosea 13:14; Ezekiel 37:13; Isaiah 26:19). Now, He makes us conquerors because He lives within us and is our hope of glory (Colossians 1:27). When we view our trials from God’s perspective He helps us to focus on His will for them. He reminds us that He is rich in mercy and loves us with an everlasting love (Ephesians 2:4; 1 John 3:1).

Prayer:

Lord Jesus, no person and no amount of tribulation, stress, persecution, hunger, vulnerability, danger or life threatening concerns can separate us from Your love (Romans 8:38-39). We overcome all of these things because of Your presence within us. Even in death, you are with us and You send Your angels to escort us to abide with You forever (Luke 16:22).

Thought for the Day:

Since God is for us, nothing will ever separate us from God’s great love.

 

The Choice is Ours

Read: Phillippians 3:1-11

"Apart from Me you can do nothing." - John 15:5

The Bible declares that Christ lives in us (Galatians 2:20). Scholars call this theme “Paul’s Obsession”, because he used the phrase “Christ in me” or “In Christ” more than 170 times in his writings. If we have Jesus Christ living in us, He daily delivers us from sin’s dominion by His resurrection life within us (Romans 5:10). He also gives us new values, priorities and goals in life (2 Corinthians 5:17). He gives us His peace that transcends human understanding (Philippians 4: 6-8). If we do not have the Son of God living in us, however, we do not have any of this (1 John 5:12).

Christ’s salvation goes beyond the spirit to the soul and body as well (1 Thessalonians 5:23). The original Biblical language uses three words for salvation: sotheis, sezosmenos, and sozomenos." They mean that believers are currently saved in our spirit through Justification, that we will be saved in our body when we see Jesus through Glorification, and lastly that we are being saved in our soul – our mind, will and emotions - through the lifelong method of Sanctification. Salvation is a process, three stages in an exciting journey that gets sweeter as the days go by.

I desire to know Jesus more intimately every day and to see myself grow into His beloved, mature child. My right standing before God is by faith in all that Christ accomplished on my behalf. I do not have to work for or earn this position. If I really believe this fact, then I will take advantage of the opportunity, which He gives me, to get to know Him more intimately as my redeemer, friend and brother. I do this by spending time reading God’s Word; by prayer – talking and listening; by attending a Bible teaching church; by fellowshipping with other Christians and by sharing with others what God is doing in my life.

On a recent trip to visit my friend in the hospital, I spoke to a lady in the elevator whom I did not know. She wore a beautifully ornate cross around her neck. I asked, “Do you know the Jesus who died for us on the cross?” Shocked at my question, she blurted out a bit sarcastically, “Well, not personally.” I felt so sad for her, so I said, “Well, He wants to have a personal relationship with you. Just read your Bible and attend a Bible teaching church and He will be your best friend just like He is to me.” The elevator door opened and I never saw her again. I truly hope she took the time to meet my best friend.

God freely offers everyone this gift of a personal relationship with Him. We have the option to either embrace His friendship or to refuse to acknowledge Him. The choice is ours. God gives us this opportunity to get to know Christ and to grow in our understanding of His power, His resurrection and in what He has to offer us in eternity. We can experience first hand both Christ’s sufferings and His victories as we walk through our trials with Him within us. Apart from Him, we can do nothing (John 15:5); but in Him we are conquerors over every trial, because He loves us (Romans 8:37).

Christ suffered rejection by the religious leaders of His day. They did not believe they were actually crucifying the living God, because they did not recognize Him for who He was. We do know Him, however. We have the opportunity every day to fellowship with Him; to walk in His mercy, power and grace; to be led by His Holy Spirit and to live with Him in eternity in Heaven. When we put our trust in Jesus and allow Him to live in us and to work through us, His power flows through us and from us as it changes the world around us.

Prayer:

Lord Jesus, thank You for Your death on Calvary’s cross, which paid the penalty for my sin (Romans 5:8). Thank You for Your resurrection that gives me life in my spirit, soul and body. Thank You for Your redemption that guarantees me a place in eternity with You. Thank You for life to live on this earth. Help me to make every day count for Your glory.

Thought for the Day:

Jesus gives me the opportunity to be one with Him in perfect love and acceptance, apart from any good deeds, pious performances or imposed restrictions, which come from my  self-effort.