Union with Christ - Not of This World

Our life on earth is simply a momentary breath on a cold day (James 4:14). We are not of this world. We dwell with Christ in the Kingdom of God and we are no longer limited by this world (Galatians 2:20; John 18:36).

Our citizenship is in Heaven and Jesus is our Savior and our King (Philippians 3:20). The Lord Himself called us to live in His timeless glory now as well as in eternity. He is our strength, and He confirms us and establishes our place in His Kingdom (1 Peter 5:10).

God delivers us through any trial, and we have joy in it as we accept that He is using it to do its perfect work within us and through us (James 1:4).

As long as we dwell in the realm of the flesh, we will continue to experience defeat at the hands of tribulation. We do not belong in Satan’s grip.

If we are living in Satan’s pit, it is because we allow Satan's thoughts to infiltrate our thoughts. We give in to his defeatist thinking and we buy into his lies, forsaking God’s truth in the process.

In the realm of the Spirit, our body experiences occasional negative circumstances, but they do not influence our spirit or our soul – our mind, choices and emotions. We see God working out all things, even the negative things in our life, for our good (Romans 8:28).

Do not waste time wanting what you do not have. If God wants you to have it, He will give it to you. Jesus died for us all, and rose again so that we will not live for our self, but for Him (John 3:16-18; 2 Corinthians 5:15).

Prayer:

Father God, we do not have to spend one moment longing for anything or anyone but You. We do not want to love this world nor the things that it offers to us. If we really need something in our life, which we do not have, You will give it to us. You will move us to another state, or give us a different car or house, or provide us with a spouse or a child, if it is Your will for us.

Remind us to trust only in You and in Your provision and timing. You have a perfect plan for each one of us and living in the center of Your will is the happiest place on earth. We give You all of the praise and honor and glory for Your provision, love and care for us each day of our life. We look forward to spending eternity in Your service as well.

Thought for the Day:

When we step out of the realm of the flesh and enter into the eternal realm of the Spirit right here on this earth, we finally find eternal rest for our soul and provision for our every need through Jesus Christ our Lord. - Psalm 116:7

There is No Condemnation

 

 

Satan loves to use condemnation to defeat God’s Saints. His condemnation causes us to sink into the quicksand of shame with no visible way out. We see our faults and are burdened by our failings. Satan plants lies in our soul during each perceived failing; and we readily believe them, because of our feelings of hopelessness.

 

God, on the other hand, does not condemn us, He convicts us. Conviction reveals our guilt with a desire for repentance. Repentance means to turn away from sin and move toward holiness. Even if we never commit some gross sin of immorality or murder, we are still sinners (Romans 3:23). No amount of good works or self-effort can free us from the penalty of our sins.

 

Trusting in Jesus is our only means of salvation (John 14:6). His Holy Spirit breathes God’s breath of life into us and our spirit is no longer dead in sin. We completely surrendered our goals, dreams and aspiration in life to God’s will for us (Ephesians 2:10). We serve God with authentic devotion each moment of the day. We no longer desire a life of worldly pursuits and willful sin.

 

God’s Spirit converts our sinful nature to the mind of Christ (1 Corinthians 2:16). We realize that God’s presence is within us and the Holy Spirit is sanctifying us. We are truly saved from hell and going to heaven (2 Corinthians 13:5-6; Lamentations 3:40-42). God removes our condemnation by washing us as clean as snow, and giving us a new heart and spirit within us (Ezekiel 36:25-27). 

 

Prayer:

Father God, thank You for washing us clean, and giving us righteous desires and Your Spirit to direct us (Colossians 2:13-15). Thank You also that Jesus nailed our sins to the cross and blotted out the charges proved against us. Remind us not to live for You in our human effort. Help us to allow Christ to richly dwell in us as Your Body, so that whatever we do in word or deeds, it is all done for Your glory and honor (Colossians 3:16-18).

 

Thought for the Day:

God took away Satan's power over our life and openly displayed to the whole world the triumph of Christ over Him; so that there is no longer any condemnation for those who love God and who are called to serve Him in His purpose for our life. – Romans 8:1; Colossians 2:15

 

So, You Want to Give Up?

Read: Habakkuk 3:17-19
 
“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Matthew 11:28 Sometimes it is easier to escape than to endure. Life gets so difficult that there seems to be no way out our troubles. The torturous events go on and on. One negative experience follows on the tail of the previous one until we are covered with an avalanche of destruction all around us. People say, “Trouble comes in threes”, but sometimes, that is an understatement!

I wrote a song that speaks to this topic:

When my ship is all but sunken,
And my treasure’s lost at sea,
When my crew has all deserted
And I know not the fate of me.

When the paycheck’s always shrinking,

And the landlord upped my rent.
When my friends all turn against me
And my motorcycle’s bent.

I will put my trust in Jesus.

I will call upon His name.
And I know my battle cry
Will still remain,

The battle is the Lord’s. Hallelujah!

The battle is the Lord’s. Praise the Lord!
The battle is the Lord’s. Glory, glory!
The battle is the Lord’s forevermore.

In God’s economy, it is never time to give up. Remember what He did with so many of the Biblical saints? He waited until Job lost everything before He gave Job more than he had to start with (Job 6:8-9). He sent angels to rescue Daniel only after he was in the lion's den (Daniel 6:19-21). God rescued Peter from prison the night before he was to be executed (Acts 12:4-11). Paul says God rescued him after he had the "sentence of death" within him (2 Corinthians 1:9).

He works like this in all of our lives. He waits until the last minute according to our timetable. That is why people call Him “The God of 11:59”.  He is actually always on time, according to His time schedule. He always rescues us right on time and with an abundance of blessings that follow. We find joy in hope and peace in times of trouble, when we immerse all things in prayer at all times (Romans 12:12).

Habakkuk really had a rough time too. His fig trees refused to blossom. His vines produced no grapes. His olive crop failed and his fields yielded no produce. Even his livestock dwindled until there was nothing left. But, he had a battle cry similar to mine. He said, “Yet I will rejoice in the Lord, and be joyful in God my Savior. The Sovereign Lord is my strength; He makes my feet like the feet of a deer, He enables me to go on the heights" (Habakkuk 3:17-19). We can always set our hope in God, because He will deliver us continually (2 Corinthians 1:10).

Prayer:

Lord Jesus, when I see nothing but shadows all around me, Your Word shines a light on my path and gives me a lamp for my feet (Psalm 119:105). It keeps me from stumbling in the darkness. Therefore, even in this dark time, I can grasp Your hand and hold on. You alone are my hope (1 Timothy 4:10).

Thought for the Day:

God always brings us victory out of defeat.



(Thank you, Ann Hill, for sharing your lovely photo.)

The Trouble with Self-reliance

Read: Joshua 7:3-4

“There shall not any man be able to stand before thee all the days of thy life: as I was with Moses, so I will be with thee: I will not fail thee, nor forsake thee.” - Joshua 1:5

Moses faithfully led the children of Israel through every step of their journey from Egypt to the Promised Land. This included the forty years of aimless wandering in the wilderness, when God doomed the twelve tribes because of their sin of unbelief and their failure to obey His directive. Every person, who relied on their own understanding of the situation ahead of them, rather than trusting in God’s direction, died in the wilderness. From that entire generation, only Moses, Joshua and Caleb survived.

In the end, even Moses failed to obey. In his anger over the constant complaining of the Israelites, he struck the rock twice, instead of speaking to it as God commanded him to do (Numbers 20:8-11). After this, God anointed Joshua to assume the leadership of Israel. God also restrained Moses from reaping the reward of his work. He was not allowed to enter into the Promised Land (Numbers 20:12).

As a young man, untried in the realm of full command in leadership, Joshua relied heavily on God’s direction and wisdom. God gave him repeated victories and Joshua’s confidence grew with each success. When they finally arrived at the tiny city of Ai, the scouts reported that the city had few men. Joshua felt confident that his army would come away with another victory; therefore, he failed to consult the Lord’s direction for this battle.

God did not let Joshua down, nor did He go back on His promise to give them the Promised Land, but He did not honor Joshua’s attempt at self-reliance. The army lost the battle, and the survivors came home disheveled, discouraged and defeated. We can learn lessons from the lives of both Moses and Joshua.

Success is ours, only as we rely on God for His guidance and as we walk in His ways. The key to victory is to remember the importance of trusting God and obeying His directions. God gave us His Spirit to guide our every step. No matter how insignificant the task, we can seek His counsel, walk in His strength and enjoy His success in everything we say and do. Self-reliance leads to ruin; reliance on God’s Spirit leads to success.

Prayer:

Lord Jesus, seeking Your direction gives us the confidence to accomplish Your will with our lives. Remind us to rely on You every step of the way, and not to lean on our own understanding (Proverbs 3:5-6).

Thought for the Day:

Failure is not a necessary ingredient when learning to succeed.