Forgiveness and Boundaries

Human beings tend to suffer in silence. We fear rejection and criticism, so we internalize our thoughts and feelings rather than confiding in one another.

Inner voices, which do not line up with God's Word, are lies from Satan Himself. The only way to dispel His lies is by hearing and then speaking God's truth (Philippians 4:8; 1 Timothy 4:1).

Once we receive our forgiveness from God through repentance and faith in exchange for our sins, then God receives us as His own precious children (1 John 3:2).

Like Jesus we forgive those who harm us. If they are repentant, we allow them back into our heart. If they refuse to repent, then we forgive them for our sake, but keep them at a distance.

Even though we forgive them, we do not condone their behavior toward us, and we certainly never allow them any opportunities to harm us again.

We derive our self-worth through Christ in us, rather than through our own achievements. This way our esteem does not depend upon people, circumstances or meeting our goals.

It depends on God's faithfulness and the presence of Christ abiding within us. We are secure in who we are through Christ. We live the life to which He calls us (Ephesians 2:10).

This way too, we have no need to attempt to manipulate and control the behavior of others in order to make our self feel better, safer or more secure.

Prayer:

Father God, people do tend to maliciously use us, but You encourage us to love them with Your agape love and to forgive them and pray for them (Matthew 5:44). However, we can also be wise as snakes and gentle as doves in our dealings with them (Matthew 10:16).

We point them to Your love for them, but we never again allow them to take advantage of us or to use us for their evil gain. Their opinion of us does not matter anymore, because our identity and our good name come from You (Proverbs 22:1; Psalm 52:9).

Thought for the Day:

No one is more deceived than the person who will not admit that he or she is wrong; but we can forgive them anyway and erect boundaries to keep them from harming us again.

Freedom from Strongholds

  

When Satan tempts us with a fleeting thought, we have two choices: we can ignore and dismiss it or entertain and dwell on it. If we dismiss it, we are free from its bondage. If we entertain it, we are in danger of falling under its oppression; and those who are not Born Again risk the possibility of possession by demonic beings (2 Peter 2:18-19).

It only takes 3-6 weeks to develop both good and bad habits. These habits develop a stronghold in our soul, and often in our body as well. Breaking negative habits is often a difficult and expensive endeavor. Even if we push these negative habits into our subconscious mind and stop them for a season, current events may trigger these old feelings and habits again.

We will revert back to them as a form of comfort, rebellion or a desire to be in control of some aspect of our life. Each time these habits resurface, they deepen the scars in our soul, and it is increasingly more difficult to extricate our self from them (2 Peter 2:20). Life triggers issues from our past and we respond to current conflict with unhealthy behavior patterns.

( www.theophostic.com )

We can completely escape from the strongholds of these habits only as we surrender them to God for healing and allow Him to guide us to resolve the inner conflicts, which connect us to them. If we repent of our sins and relinquish control of our life to Jesus Christ, He will slowly replace the negative aspects of our personality and soul with His divine nature and spiritual fruit (2 Peter 1:4; Galatians 2:22-23; Ephesians 4:13).

Prayer:
Father God, Jesus Christ, our Prince of Peace, is our only hope and solution for freedom from this sin-cursed world. Help us to put on our new self in Christ and to walk in Your true righteousness and holiness (Ephesians 4:24). We look forward to being like Christ when He returns (1 John 3:2). People today close their ears to Your Truth, deceive others as they are deceived, and seek solutions for their problems apart from You (Jeremiah 6:10-14). However, You always give strength to Your people and bless us with peace regardless of the circumstances we encounter in life (Psalm 29:11).

Thought for the Day:

Only those who surrender their life to the Prince of Peace will ever experience true peace in this life and in the next.

Part 3 - Power over Satan

 

The demons of hell are looting and pillaging lives every single day (Ephesians 2:2). They are doing Satan’s bidding, and attempting to draw us into sin in order to destroy our Christian witness. Our enemy is a very real force in the world through the limited authority given to him by God (1 Peter 5:8). He wants to entangle our life in sin and lead us away from living for God and His Kingdom (Matthew 6:33). Anyone not covered by the blood of Jesus is in peril of being deceived by Satan (2 Corinthians 4:4; Acts 26:18).

 

Satan cannot possess Born Again Believers, but he can certainly oppress our feelings, attitudes and beliefs until we act on them. However, God’s angels are doing warfare for us, and taking authority over Satan’s demons with the words, “The Lord rebuke you” (Zechariah 3:2; Jude 1:9; Daniel 10:1-21). Believers are no longer slaves to the law of sin and death (Romans 6:6-7). Our faith is enhanced by the power of Christ in our life (2 Corinthians 10:3-5).

 

Jesus faced Calvary’s cross with its shame set before Him. Although he despised having to take our sin upon his shoulders, He focused instead on returning to sit at the right hand of our Father’s throne (Hebrews 12:2). As we submit our life to Christ, we can then resist the devil and he has to leave our presence (James 4:7). God gives us His armor in which we clothe our self for spiritual warfare: 

 

The first piece of armor is to accept Jesus as our Savior. He is the Truth, and He is the belt that holds our life together. Then, we put on the breastplate of holy living, which protects all of the vital aspects of our life. We walk in peace, which comes from a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. This fully prepares us to stand victoriously in the Lord and in the authority of His power within us (Ephesians 6:10).

 

In addition to all of these protective elements, we hold up the shield of faith in Christ to stop the fiery arrows of deception and temptation, which Satan shoots at us throughout the day. We put on the mind of Christ as our helmet (Philippians 2:5). Finally, we take up the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God. Jesus did not leave us alone when He returned to heaven. He comes to live within us through the Comforter, which He sent to walk with us through this age (John 16:7).

 

Prayer:

Father God, remind us that spiritual warfare is going on all around us (Ephesians 6:12-18). Satan already lost his rebellion against You, but He is trying to bring as many lives with him to hell as he can. In Your wisdom, You gave Christians the power to rebuke Satan through the life of Christ within us. Satan has less influence over our life than we often attribute to him. He does not have Your supernatural attributes. He is a created being and not equal to You in any way. We thank You for ruling and reigning in our lives.

 

Thought for the Day:

Jesus quoted scripture when tempted by Satan, which made the devil flee from Him. We can follow in His example.

- Matthew 4:1-11; 2 Thessalonians 2:3-4

No Chasm Remains

A false sense of separation between a saved person and God thwarts our spiritual growth. In truth, there is no chasm at all. Jesus closed the gap between God and man by his sacrifice and resurrection. The saved are in Christ and He is in us (Galatians 2:20; Colossians 3:3). The righteous shall inherit peace as we pursue unity with Christ who lives in us. He is both our Lord and Christ (Acts 2:36; 2 Peter 1:11; 3:2,18; Romans 10:9; 1 Corinthians 12:3). He reigns in power and majesty (Romans 1:4). Knowing Jesus, will give us eternal life. In Christ are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge (John 17:3; 11:25, 14:6, 1 John 5: 12-13; Colossians 2:3).

The one, who dies in the righteousness of Christ, has no sin accounted against him/her. There is no iniquity found in them or charged against them. Jesus submitted to the power of the devil and death to pay the price for the consequences of our sins (Hebrews 2:14; 1 Corinthians 6:20; 7:23; Genesis 2:17); however, He came forth from the grave having proven that He is victor over both (John 19:30; Acts 2:24). Now Jesus provides this same resurrection life to anyone who repents of their sins and submits to His Lordship in their life (John 11:25; 1 Peter 1:3; Romans 5:10).

Conversely, having been deceived by demonic spirits who are fallen angels, the lost and dying world around us refuse to believe in the name of the Lord. They deny Him continually. Although many realize their lost condition every day of their life, they ignore God’s call. They refuse to submit to Christ, because they fear losing their personal freedoms, rights and control over their own destiny. Sadly, eternal judgment will come upon them, because they denied the Lord and found their confidence in their carnal revelries instead. Their pride causes them to believe that they are gods. Only humility and surrender to Christ will change this situation.

Jesus sacrificed Himself and He lives within us so that we might become His extension during our lifetime. Together we accomplish great things for His Kingdom (John 14:12). We are complete in Him (Colossians 2:10). By His presence in us, we are the expression of His divine life and character. He gives us His victory that overcomes this world’s trials and temptations (1 John 5:4). We are slaves of righteousness and unstoppable victors because He lives within us (Romans 6:16-19, 8:37). He is our Lord, and we obey His direction each moment of our day (Luke 6:46; 1 Corinthians 6:19,20; 7:23; Romans 14:7).

When someone persecutes us, Jesus takes it personally (Acts 9:5). He will take vengeance on our behalf (Hebrews 10:30; Jeremiah 51:6). Jesus thinks of us as an extension of Himself. He is the vine; we are His branches. We are His expression in the earth all throughout our daily experiences. We take off the garment of sin and put on Christ as our cloak of righteousness (Galatians 3:27). He will come again to gather us to Himself for eternity (2 Corinthians 3:17-18). Whatever we do for the least of our brethren, we actually do it for the Lord (Matt 25:40). We are a new creation (2 Corinthians 5:17).

Prayer:

Father God, You are everything to us. We want only what You want in our life and in the world. Help us to sanctify Christ as Lord of our life (1 Peter 3:15; 1 Corinthians 1:30) until we are conformed to His image. Listen to Jesus as He makes intercession for us (Hebrews 7:25). Remind us that there is more to our walk with You than our initial salvation. You also want to perfect us and use us for Your glory.

Thought for the Day:

Many people attend church because they are terrified of the fires of hell, they enjoy the fellowship of Christians, or they want to impress someone or meet clients for their business. What is your motive?