Union with Christ - The Second Adam

 

The Trinity comes to abide in us once we repent of our sin and surrender our life to God. The more we die to our flesh, the more room we have for the fullness of God in us to fill our soul - our thoughts, choices and emotions (Ephesians 3:19).

When God's Spirit rebirths our spirit from the death of sin, we are spiritually alive in complete union with God. What the "first Adam" lost for us, the "last Adam" - Jesus Christ - regained for us (1 Corinthians 15:45).

God created us to enjoy fellowship with Him; but sin, Adam's and ours, keeps us separated from this union. However, Jesus' death and resurrection gave us the opportunity to repent and to believe in His work for us on Calvary's cross.

We may or may not have this world's goods, but we learn to live in contentment with the power of Christ's redemption and His resurrection life filling us to the brim (Philippians 4:12; John 11:25-26).

Since Jesus experienced the wrath of God over the sins of the whole world - past, present and future (Isaiah 53:10-12; 2 Corinthians 5:21), we never die again. Though our body will go to the grave, our soul and spirit live on with Christ for eternity (1 John 5:12).

God longs to restore this intimacy with His creation and calls us all to repentance (Acts 13:39; John 3:15-18). He fills us with His presence and His Spirit; and no matter what happens in our body or our mind, we find our joy and fulfillment only in Him.

God makes us a new creation, and our life changes for the better from that moment on (2 Corinthians 5:17). He is the center of our identity. As we walk in His Spirit, everything we think, say and do comes from Him (Galatians 5:15-25).

Prayer:

Father God, I will both lie down in peace and sleep because You alone make me to dwell in safety. I pray for the persecuted church, for all of the Saints, for the abused and for the babies and children in this world who lack nurturing and care. Lord, give them the comfort of Your love, peace and joy in spite of their earthly circumstances.

Help us to recognize the little blessings, which You give to us all day long, to prove to us that You care for us even now. I thank You for Your daily mercy and grace, and for Your ever-present help for us in every time of need (Psalm 4:8).

Thought for the Day:

God puts the mind of Christ within us and we focus on the spiritual, eternal aspects of our union with Him, rather than the foolish and confounding aspects of life on this earth. 

- 1 Corinthians 1:27-28

Union with Christ - God's Opportunities

At times, the difficulties in life hang like the burden around our neck. God does not want us to try with all of our might to solve the problems by our self. He wants us to know that He is involved with us in every issue of our life.

We are usually overwhelmed by many of our trials, but Jesus can successfully settle every one of them. He gives us courage, wisdom and divine revelation to resolve them, or He instructs us to leave them in His capable hands.

He uses these conflicts to build Godly character in us and to further His Kingdom in the earth. We can embrace every negative issue with faith and peace, knowing that the Lord Jesus Christ dwells within us with all the power of the triune Godhead.

This is how we dwell in serenity all the days of our life. It is important for us to understand that God already arranged for a solution for these issues prior to them ever happening.

He knows the end from the beginning (Isaiah 46:10), and He has a perfect plan for our life (Romans 12:2).

Jesus within us breaks the chains of every type of satanic or earthly hindrance that attempts to steal our freedom from us (Psalm 107:14). He encourages us to take His yoke upon us, and to learn of Him; so that we can find true rest for our soul (Matthew 11:29).

Jesus is poised to deliver us from the bondage of every negative emotion and circumstance, and to bring us astounding joy that is beyond words and full of His glory (1 Peter 1:8).

When we see our problems as God’s opportunities, it changes our focus and attitude about them. Our supply for each circumstance, and the wisdom to deal with it comes from Christ in us, our hope of glory (Colossians 1:27).

Prayer:

Father God, teach us to view our problems as adventures rather than as challenges. As we trust in You, You work them all out for good, just as You promised You would (Romans 8:28). Life is not about me, but You. You call us to proclaim Your presence and Word to the world in which You plant us.

You provide us with the energy and power to teach and admonish others about what we learn from You (Colossians 1:28-29). We live a life of thanksgiving and praise to You for Your willingness to sacrifice Your Son for our redemption, and for demonstrating Your glory in creation and in our everyday life.

Thought for the Day:

Jesus, the Word, is the physical manifestation of God’s glory, and He exhibits God's glory and divine character in and through every one of us who live a completely surrendered life before Him.

No Longer a Sinner - The Love of God

 

We learn more from one another's example than from our words. We often say one thing, but do another. Many times we are not even aware of it. Our children are always watching us.

The human eyes absorb sights we do not even register with our conscious mind. These images are stored in our subconscious mind and affect us for the rest of our life.

We need to guard what our eyes, and the eyes of our children see. TV, movies, magazines, books and all media are sources of perversion that we can control to protect us and our children.

God uses our eyes to reveal to us His glory through nature all around us (Romans 1:20). We feel His pleasure in His love when we experience it through the details of our life.

The glory of Christ in us is the revelation of His divine character, which changes us into a new creation. He imparts to us the fruit of His Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23), and relates to us through His grace and love.

The servant role, which Jesus performed while on earth, teaches us how to model His character to our world as well. We serve others as Christ serves His Bride, His Church.

Jesus was obedient to our Heavenly Father to the point of submitting Himself to the death on the cross. Similarly, we come to the place spiritually where we are willing to die to our self (1 Corinthians 15:31; Galatians 2:20).

We live for God to the point where He actually lives through us. We adopt the mind of Christ as our own and refrain from living a sinful lifestyle - fully convinced that He sets us free from the law of sin and death by the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus.

Christ's life and death are the manifestation of the love of God for all of mankind. Due to His great love for us, His compassionate mercies never fail us; they are new every single morning (Lamentations 3:22-23).

Prayer:

Father God, we gaze on Your goodness through every moment of every day. We esteem, appreciate and adore You with every breath that we take. We look forward to You changing us into the image of Christ by the work of Your Spirit in our life (Romans 8). Lead us by Your Holy Spirit so that we only do the activities which You are calling us to accomplish with our day (Ephesians 2:10).

Help us to ignore the overwhelming flood of details in this life, which attempt to sidetrack us from doing Your will. We have confidence that Your Spirit will lead us to perform each detail of our responsibility in Your timing and way, without the stress we usually put on our self when we try to control our life.

Thought for the Day:
We are channels of God's love to everyone in our sphere of influence from our family to neighbors, workmates and acquaintances, as well as strangers we meet on the street, the store and the restaurant.