God's Transforming and Conforming Power

God’s Holy Spirit sanctifies us throughout our lifetime, until we are perfected according to His standard of the fullness of Christ in us (Ephesians 4:13). He makes us holy, even as He is holy (1 Peter 1:16).

We are fully human, but Christ in us is fully divine. God's Spirit faithfully transitions us from one stage of God's glory to another (2 Corinthians 3:18). He conforms us with the mind of Christ (Romans 12:2).

God's Spirit slowly matures us until we completely share in the divine nature of Christ in us (Ephesians 4:13). We have the same chance, which Jesus did, to live a spirit-filled life.

Our identity is no longer dependent on our accomplishments or our human standing in this world. We are a King's kid (Galatians 3), a new creation in Christ (2 Corinthians 5) and heirs with Christ of the Kingdom of God (Romans 8).

God is a shield for us and gives us His glory to replace our humanity. He hears our cries for help, and He lifts up our head when we are discouraged and alone. He hears us even from His holy hill (Psalm 3:3-4).

We are different people from what we were before we trusted Jesus for salvation; and therefore, we make a huge difference in this world. People recognize that our attitude and demeanor are unique; they sense an aura of peace and kindness that is unlike their other acquaintances.

We mature in Christ as we relinquish total control of our life to Him. We trust God completely to direct our life according to His will and way, even if it is contrary to our human reasoning and understanding (Revelation 3:7).

Prayer:

Father God, You are constantly calling, guiding and encouraging us to trust You with more and more of our life. Thank You for opening and closing doors which would divert us from Your chosen path for our life. Help us to wait patiently on You and not to jump ahead or lag behind Your divine timing.

Arrange divine appointments for us to impact lives in the sphere of our influence and to help them to come to a saving knowledge of Your Son, Jesus. Remind us to put our mind on heavenly things and to reject the carnal concerns with which the devil attempts to side track and discourage us. Help us to realize that Christ in us is greater than Satan and all of his ruses, lies and demons.

Thought for the Day:

When our soul is discouraged, anxious and overwhelmed, we can put our trust in God, and praise Him for what He has already done in our life (Psalms 42:11), and He will change our attitude, thoughts, feelings to line up to His Word and the fruit of His Spirit.

Successful Spiritual Warfare

Prayer is our lifeline to the Trinity. We continually communicate with God in prayer through each moment of the day (Matthew 7:8). We do not need a quiet place to kneel and pray.

We pray through the storms of life, the serene times of play, the busyness of our own making and the unforeseeable issues, which life unexpectedly throws at us.

Prayer changes us, the people we pray for, the circumstances surrounding us and the spiritual principalities and powers all around us.

In chapters nine and ten, the Bible records Daniel's experience concerning answers to his prayer. One was a quick response and the other a delay of about three weeks.

In the later, when God's archangel finally broke through Satan's lines of hindrance drawn in high places to prevent the answer from being delivered, he explained all of this to Daniel in detail.

These are some of the most amazing verses in the Old Testament. It enables us to realize the spiritual warfare going on around us as a reality and an entity to take seriously.

These verses encourage us to "pray-through" in every situation and to persevere until God delivers His answer, rather than to give up after a weak attempt to petition our Deliverer.

Sometimes, our prayers are carnal and self-centered; designed too heap on our self the riches of this world (James 4:3). God does not always provide what we want, especially if He knows it is not for our ultimate good (Romans 8:28).

Yet, at other times, Satan steps up his resistance in order to discourage us from believing in God, trusting Him with our life and walking in His order for our day.

God inspired James to tell us that if we submit to God's will and resist the devil, he has no option but to flee from our presence (James 4:7-9). This is the secret to successful spiritual warfare.

Prayer:

Father God, thank You for deigning to form an intimate, personal relationship with us - the Creator with the created. You desire our continual fellowship while we live on this earth and look forward to our death when we come to abide in Your presence forever (Psalm 116:15).

Your angels rejoice when one sinner repents and crosses over from eternal death into life, adding yet another Saint to Your Kingdom (Luke 15:7). You rejoice over us with singing and You love us with an everlasting love (Zephaniah 3:17). We can barely grasp the full meaning of this relationship, which You offer to everyone ever born on this earth. 

Thought for the Day:

Most people never avail our self the opportunity to enter into this intimate union with our Creator and King, because we despise the shame of the cross and resist the opportunity to totally surrender our will to His.

Living in the Will of God

Living in the Will of God is not difficult, but it does take practice. The biggest hindrance is that we humans want to do things our own way.

We make a pros and cons list in our head about any action before we do it; and that usually causes us to miss God’s will. Human logic has no place in walking in the Spirit.

As we live in God’s will, the only consideration we make, when a thought enters our mind, is do we feel complete peace about it and is it aligned with God’s Word.

If we have any reservations or if the thought is not scriptural, then that thought is from the world, our flesh or the devil. In this case, we need to continue to wait on God in prayer.

Did you ever notice that God is never in a hurry? God also never gives us a detailed plan for His will ahead of time. He rarely tells us what to do until the moment He is ready for us to do it.

This is for our safety more than anything. Otherwise, if He revealed His will before His timing, we would jump ahead of Him or attempt to do it for Him.

Even if the task God calls us to do is unpleasant, His joy is our strength and His peace is our confidence (Nehemiah 8:10; 2 Corinthians 3:4).

Satan may attempt to distract, discourage and derail our attempts to walk in the will of God (Luke 4:13; 1 John 2:16). However, God always helps us to discern His truth over Satan’s lies (Galatians 6:9; 1 Corinthians 10:13).

Living in the center of God’s will is the happiest place on earth.

Prayer:
Father God, we have so much assurance that we can trust You with the specifics of our life. Thank You for keeping us in the palm of Your hand and that no one can deter us from living in Your perfect will for our life (John 10:28-30).

We are so grateful that our security and our future do not depend on our human capabilities, but on You and Your faithfulness to us. Remind us not to rush ahead of You, or to work for You, but to follow Your Spirit each moment of every day.

Thought for the Day:

Our future is in the capable hands of our Creator and our hope is secure in Christ. – 1 Corinthians 15:19