Fellowship with the Trinity

 

Prior to salvation, we lived as slaves to sin and pawns in Satan’s plan (Romans 7). Even after salvation, our sins of omission and commission built a wall between us and our fellowship with the Trinity.

No matter how slowly or how high the wall goes up – we feel a separation and distance from our Lord and Savior (Romans 1:18). Our prayers hit the ceiling, our joy ebbs and our peace is overwhelmed by stress and negative emotions.

Without righteousness, there can be no lasting peace and joy. We are separated from God due to our rebellion and unbelief (Romans 14:17). We grieve the Holy Spirit (Ephesians 4:30), and we are in danger of condemning our self to eternity in hell (John 3:18).

This severance of our union with Christ bitters our soul. Then, resentment becomes the adhesive, which we use to cement the stones of willful sin in place.

As the wall thickens and rises, fears riddle our soul. We gradually grow more anxious and hopeless. Eventually, some people even feel animosity toward God and rail against Him.

We hurl accusations at Him and slander His name to anyone who will listen. We end up punishing our self by removing our self from the protection and provision of our Heavenly Father.

This is so unnecessary.

If we walk in the Spirit, we will not fulfill the lusts of our eye, the lust of our flesh and our pride in our life (1 John 2:16). We will walk in perfect harmony with the Trinity and enjoy constant fellowship with the Trinity every moment of our day (Galatians 5:15-25; Proverbs 3:5-6).

Prayer:

Father God, Your eyes are always on Your children. You love us with an everlasting love, and You rejoice over us with singing. You are faithful, and we can put all of our hope and trust in You. You never change and You are with us now and even at the end of our life. You give us treasure in dark times and riches when we come to You in our time of need.

You are our Father, our God, and You give us Your mercy and grace in all of our trials and afflictions. We are comforted by Your presence in our life, even in times of trouble. You comfort the downcast when we keep our eyes focused on You. Thank you for being with us and revealing Your presence and peace to us as You give us Your joy.

Thought for the Day:

We make our refuge in God, because He will never leave us destitute; we have no need to fear, because He will help us and hold us in the palm of His hand. - Hebrews 13:5; Isaiah 49:16

Disposable People - Part 2 - Advantages of Staying Married

There are many advantages to staying together with our first love. The main benefit is for our children. The continuity of the family is a basic human need.

Children are encouraged that their own marriage will make it through the tough times, just like their parents did. Otherwise, they will develop a disposable mentality as well.

Staying married contributes to overall emotional, mental, spiritual, financial and physical health. It reduces the stress of starting over and the effects of grief, which divorce adds to our life.

Dating new people, while fun in some cases, is risky because everyone has baggage of some sort, visible and invisible. In a second marriage, we often spend more time with our spouse's children than our own.

Therefore, do not get careless in your marriage; relax, but look, speak and act attractively for one another. Continue dating each other, even when the children come along. Enjoy your mate's company.

When we and our spouse disagree, we can find a third alternative, on which we can both agree. If there is a seemingly unsolvable issue, get counseling to find an agreeable path.

We may need to take a break, to put a brief time or distance between each other in order to gain a new perspective on our relationship.

A separation for the purpose of reconciliation gives us a chance to talk about our disagreements with the freedom of having a safe place to go if tempers flare or we feel frustrated or unsafe.

We may find that we miss our spouse, the security they give to our life and little joys they bring to our everyday experiences, their laughter and support.

We can both agree to change habits which cause friction in our relationship. We can gain a better understanding of our spouse by talking intimately about each other's honest feelings, needs and desires.

Forgiveness helps us to rekindle the love we once felt for each other. We will grow to admire, encourage, appreciate, cherish and serve one another all the days of our life, and we will stay together until death parts us.

Prayer:

Father God, remind us that our marriage vows were made to You as well as to our spouse. Prompt us to pray with our spouse, because You help us to resolve our issues. If we take turns praying, each partner praying one sentence at a time, this prevents much of the frustration of praying together. Teach us to pause and listen to You speak to us as we pray too.

Help us to bear one another's burdens, to be long suffering with each other's shortcomings, to encourage and build each other up and to enjoy one another's company. Remind us why we fell in love in the first place and help us to keep the eternal flame of agape love burning.

Thought for the Day:

Love each other deeply, because love covers a multitude of sins. - 1 Peter 4:8

God is Our Defense

There is little to no peace or security in our current world economy and civilization. We never know what catastrophe the news will publicize with the rising of the sun. The atrocities we humans perpetrate on one another are unthinkable; yet, they happen every day. Since sin entered the picture through Adam and Eve, wickedness abounds (Matthew 24:12).

The pride, selfishness and rebellion of the human heart allow sin to perpetuate throughout every generation (Romans 8:6). In some twisted way, people who are hurting will hurt other people to try to alleviate their own pain. Even if we distance our self from those who hurt us, we will only find true peace when we surrender our life to Jesus Christ and forgive our enemies (Philippians 4:4-8).

Trusting God, with gratitude in our heart and on our lips for all He already did for us, will allow us to transcend the daily grind of life and move us into the realm of viewing life from an eternal perspective. Then the peace of God, which cannot be found in the world or by thinking about carnal aspects of life, will flood our soul with serenity (John 14:27).

We will experience peace, even in the most horrific earthly trials, as we draw near to God and put our complete faith in His faithfulness (1 Peter 2:23). We gain our perspective by focusing on Jesus' example through His betrayal, persecution, crucifixion and resurrection. He teaches us to suffer victoriously and He reminds us that Heaven awaits us in all of its glory (Hebrews 12:2).

God is our defense, no matter what we experience or how people treat us. If we trust in Him, live for Him and love Him with our whole being, He turns everything around for our ultimate good (Psalm 94:22; Romans 8:28). As we experience God's will in the mundane circumstances of our day, we will also sense His presence during our trials. Christ in us will overcome obstacles for us and He will get all of the glory (1 Corinthians 10:31).

Prayer:

Father God, Your family is not a select race of perfectly mature and spiritual people, but it includes the outcast, the weak, the broken-hearted and the infirmed. You do not exclude anyone who calls on Your name for salvation, regardless of our human heritage or accomplishments. We are no longer strangers, but are included in Your family (Ephesians 2:19-22). The weary and distressed find rest under the shadow of Your wings (Psalm 91: 1,4).

Thought for the Day:

God is our only defense and our rock of refuge. - Psalm 94:22

Eternally Minded

Read: Luke 18:29-30

"Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen."

 - Hebrews 11:1

 

As I sat on my lanai, drinking a cup of hot cocoa and reveling in the cool breeze blending with the warm sunshine in southern most Florida, I reflected on the fact that I live so far away from my grandchildren who live in Missouri. I despise the fact that I rarely get to see them. Even when I plan a visit, their schedule and mine do not always coincide. I miss them, and they tell me all the time that they miss me.

I know I cannot live in more than one place at one time; so I petitioned God for some way to change my perspective. I did not want to feel this intense anguish over the great gulf of time and space that separates me from my cherished children. I could not do anything to change the situation; so I put it in God’s capable hands.

True to form, God clearly answered me, “Your grandchildren have Godly parents and you will have your grandchildren and their parents with you throughout eternity. I moved you to the southern tip of Florida, because there are people here who will not be in Heaven, if they do not have your and your husband's influence in their lives.”

My initial response was overwhelming joy at this insightful concept. I felt awed and privileged that my Lord and King would use me in such a way. Yet, in spite of the profound nature of God’s reply, I still struggled with submission to His will. This was yet another area of “self” that I needed to lay down on the brazen altar. I did not want to give up quantity time on this earth with my little munchkins. I longed to be involved in their lives on a daily basis. I did not want to be satisfied with an eternal perspective on this issue. I wanted to be with them now, as well as in eternity.

As I observed my response to God’s words, I realize that yet another level of attachment to this world remained entrenched in my soul. This caused the Holy Spirit to drench me with a double dose of conviction. Here lay in me an added area of carnal-mindedness. After over 40 years of walking with God on an intimate basis, I found one more area of my life still way too attached to this earthly realm. Sure, I have no affection for material possessions, worldly success, or recognition of any kind. Now, however, I realized that part of me is still very much bound to this world ~ the grandma part of me.

God is not as interested in our natural family as He is in our spiritual family. Mark 10:29-30, Luke 18: 29-30, and Matthew 19:29 all share this same concept. Luke 21:16,17 even states that some of our natural friends and family may actually deliver us up for persecution and death. Jesus makes it very clear that we will not always get along with, or be physically close to people in our own friend and family circle, due to our relationship and calling in the Lord. Jesus felt this same distance from His own friends and family; and the servant is not greater than her Lord (John 15:20).

The more I thought about it, therefore; the more spiritual excitement filled my soul. In eternity God will free us from all of these natural barriers and conditions that strap us to this earthly sphere. The moment we are absent from this body, we will be present with the Lord (2 Corinthians 5:8) and we will know and be known (1 Corinthians 13:12) for eternity.

Prayer:

Lord Jesus, I am not happy with this situation. I am struggling with laying down my need to enjoy my own dear grandchildren’s company more often. I rely on You to give me both the desire and the power to live out Your will for me in this earthly realm, regardless of the circumstances in my life (Philippians 2:13).

Thought for the Day:

God’s reality looks nothing like our earthly existence.