Covenant with Christ

God made many covenants with the Old Testament Saints, which He keeps even to this day. Then He sent Jesus to make a new covenant with those born after the Messiah's birth (Matthew 26:28).

Anyone humble enough to receive Him receives eternal life in return (John 3:16-17). He replaces our human, uncircumcised heart of stone with His heart of flesh and makes us a new creation in Christ (Romans 2:29; Ezekiel 36:26; 2 Corinthians 5:17).  

This new life in Christ enables us to mature spiritually and allows God's Spirit to conform us the image of Jesus, the Christ (Romans 8:29). The Spirit spurs us to desire more of God and a more intimate union with the Trinity within us.

He gives us the desires of our heart - not the carnal aspects which we covet from this world, but He puts His desires in our heart to replace our carnal, fleshly ones - which would not make us happy anyway (Psalm 37:4).

He does not fulfill our lusts for better health, a bigger home, sportier luxury car, lucrative job and a Hollywood model for a mate, which do not fulfill us when we get them. He gives us what we need to succeed in His calling for our life.

Existing only to do the will of our Father, Jesus lived in contentment, even through the crucifixion and death on the cross. He kept His focused on the prize of glory ahead of Him (Hebrews 12:2). 

Jesus gave us this example of how to live our own life. He glorified God with His life and completed the work which God gave Him to do during His lifetime on earth (John 17:4). We can do this too.

We delight in the Lord each moment of our day, content with His provision and wanting nothing more than to serve Him in any way He chooses. We rejoice as we see Him transforming us into the image of Christ and readily relinquish the earthly ties which hold us back from following hard after Him (Psalm 63:8).

Prayer:

Father God, circumcise our heart of the excess flesh which surrounds us, and set us free to serve You with abandon and dedication. Allow us to find our fulfillment, not in the things of this world, but in service to You each moment of our day. Our true joy comes from living in the center of Your will.

You did not create us to be happy in this world, but to live holy lives - consecrated to You in the same degree of covenant promise that You give to us. When we do, we find a joy that is deeper than the fleeting happiness we obtain from worldly prizes, and we live in eternal peace which starts the moment we surrender our life to Your love.

Thought for the Day:

Living in the center of God's will is very satisfying and brings us a more lasting joy than we can receive from anything this world has to offer.

I Don't Worry; I Pray

Someone asked me if I was worried about an issue and I said without thinking, "I don't worry, I pray." That comment hit me between the eyes, and I realized how true it has become in my life of over 40 years of learning to have faith in God's faithfulness.

Worry is a negative emotion and all negative emotions are red flags to show us areas in our life where we need attention. We may have a burden to share with someone who cares, a problem to solve or an idol to renounce.

Idols do not come in different shapes and sizes anymore. They are pet peeves, unrealistic goals, unwarranted demands, irritations and worries that do not belong in our life.

They tear us down by whittling away at our joy and serenity. They cause us to respond with irritability and even anger. They spoil our mood and rob us of our witness for Christ.

When we sense a negative emotion in our soul, a searching moral inventory is a good place to start. Ask yourself what is really bothering you and give yourself time to really think about it and to answer truthfully.

When you discover the root of the negative emotion ask yourself if you can do anything about it. If so, do it; if not then ask someone for help or give it to God to solve if it is something beyond human effort.

God can move mountains in our life when we trust in His faithfulness. He may not answer our prayers as we think He should, but He always works them out for our ultimate good (Romans 8:28).

Prayer:

Father God, we often overlook the power of prayer in our life. We worry first, connive through human effort second, ask other people for help and eventually, when all else fails, we remember to pray. Remind us to use prayer as our first defense and offense against the issues we face in life.  

When we trust You completely and put You first in our life, You always direct our steps and lead us to success (Proverbs 3:5-6). Help us not to allow worry to paralyze us into inactivity and to limit or stop our efficiency and initiative as You inspire us by Your Spirit.

Thought for the Day:

When we pray without ceasing, the Lord keeps us from trouble and delivers us in our distress; He calms our storms and smooths the rough seas; He quiets the waves and brings us safely home to our port. - 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18; 

Psalm 107:28-30; Matthew 8:23-27

Fellowship with God's Trinity

 

Prayer is the most important spiritual discipline we can accomplish. Prayer is speaking to God from our heart. Rote prayers and formulas for prayer are unnecessary. God already knows our heart and delights in hearing our own words (Luke 16:15).

As we mature in Christ, God places His burdens upon our heart for the lost people groups in our world, for those laden by illness and natural disasters, for people devastated by the loss of a loved one through death or divorce, and those suffering from other distresses caused by this sin-cursed life.

God gives us His heart and lays His burdens on us a bit heavier as time progresses. When we faithfully pray, the intense weight is terrible at times, but the fact that God trusts us with His heart is joyful and spurs us on to persevere in prayer.

As we acknowledge our dependence on Christ in all things, especially in prayer, we pray in the Spirit as well as with our human understanding (1 Corinthians 14:14-15). We see mighty answers to our prayers from a God who delights in bringing us joy (Psalm 149:4).

We stop limiting God by our doubts and carnal thoughts. We follow our Lord Jesus' example and pray the prayer, which never fails, "Lord, Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven." (Luke 22:42)

God already knows our needs, but He delights in our dependence on Him. Our Father savors the words of praise and adoration, which we pour out in our prayers.

He delights in our companionable silence when there is no immediate need to lift up in supplication. We bask in the warming rays of His continual presence.

We yearn for intimacy with Him, and He snuggles us under the shelter of His wings as He showers us with His love (Psalm 17:8). We even experience the fullness of His glory from time to time.

We pray without ceasing all through the day, regardless of the circumstances in which we find our self. We look for His seed for a miracle in the negative aspects and rejoice in His provision and blessings in the positive experiences.

Prayer:

Father God, as we take time in Your presence more and more with each passing day, Your love shines in us and through us as a beacon to the lost and dying world around us. Your Word shows us that the Saints of old persevered in their anointing by abiding in Your presence. Help us to fully surrender to Your Spirit each moment of our day.

Remind us in the midst of our infirmities that the ministry of prayer and intercession is the most powerful task You share with Your Body. When we allow You to remove our need to stay busy, You use our whole being in this vital ministry. We do not need to be bed-ridden to be effective in prayer; it is simply a matter of priorities. Prompt us to cry out day and night for Your Kingdom to reign over all the earth.

Thought for the Day:
When we pray without ceasing, we abide in fellowship with the Trinity and access their power in every circumstance in our life.