Don't Fix the Fix

 

Born as a person who wants to please, I am devastated when I realize that I often fell short of my goal. I have always striven for perfection in myself in order to find favor with others. After I came to Christ, my housemate shared with me these key verses that taught me not to stress over reaching perfection (Galatians 3:1-3).

It took me another ten years to come to understand the full meaning of this and how to actually let go and let God. The first step was to recognize that I was one of the world’s best Codependents, and that God wanted to set me free from that bondage. It was a revelation to me to realize that I did not have to solve all of the problems of the world and then feel like a martyr because I neglected myself in the process.

We often solve a person’s problems for them, which thwarts the hand of God in their life. We rob them of a blessing and we force God to have to produce another trial for them to overcome in order to strengthen their faith. It has been said, “Do not fix the fix that God has fixed to fixed someone; or God will just have to fix another fix to fix them!” We cause them to needlessly suffer another trial.

The foolish Galatians (3:1-3) were trying to perfect their life after receiving salvation as a free gift. They thought they had to earn their sanctification. God calls us to enter into His rest (Hebrews 4:10) and to leave our perfection to Him! We do not earn salvation or sanctification, because it is GOD that is working in us and giving us both the desire and the power to live a holy life (Philippians 2:12-13).

Prayer:

Father God, remind us to accept our privileges as Your children and heirs. Christ in us is an ever-present reality that we often ignore. Teach us to tap into the amazing spiritual power that You provide for us, and to walk in Your ways every step of our day. Thank you for becoming a man and paying our sin debt and giving us the victory over both sin and death (1 Corinthians 15:57).

Thought for the Day:

Do not fill your day with ceaseless activity, but walk in the power of God’s Spirit and reap both productivity and fulfillment. 

Spiritual Eyes Enlightened

 

 

We humans run through life at a full tilt, feeling guilty over the past, worried about the future and missing the here and now. We live for the weekend, losing opportunities during the week to look for God’s guidance in the midst of our busy schedules. We sacrifice quietude for busyness in order to fill every moment of our day with material gain and accomplishment. We miss the adventures, which God has for us in each moment of our life

We accomplish nothing for God through our human striving. We also attempt to manufacture times of rest by reserving a vacation in the mountains, on the beach, on cruises or in resort areas. While this is often enjoyable, our only true rest comes by ceasing our human efforts and entering God’s rest through Christ within us (Hebrews 4:10). In the most stress-filled moments of our life, let’s retreat to that still, small place within our spirit where God’s Spirit waits for us.

It is only in the center of God’s will that we find true rest. Christ’s presence in our life makes all things more beautiful. A short break in your schedule to take a walk in nature will renew your soul. Relish the cool breeze coming off the water, the shade trees swaying in the breeze, the massive clouds collecting along the edge of the landscape, the vibrant flowers and lush green trees, the ancient oaks draped with Spanish moss, as well as meeting new people strolling through the park on their way to or from home or work.

Little do we realize that our best achievements occur only in the center of God’s will. There is no need for us to be anxious about anything. If we put God’s Kingdom as a priority in our life and seek Him with all of our heart – not part of our life, not just our Sunday morning, not just when it is convenient and there is nothing else going on in our life. Then, he can provide our life with everything we need (Matthew 6:28-33). We want to live a life that is pleasing in God’s sight (Hebrews 13:20).

We stop planning our works for God, in which we hope to obtain recognition, and we quietly go about our day. We follow the leading of His Spirit and do the works, which He ordained for us to do before we were ever born (Ephesians 2:10). We completely surrender our life to the great “I am” (Exodus 3:14). Christ totally permeates every chamber in our body, soul and spirit until we are infused with the Divine nature of Christ in us (2 Peter 1:4). Jesus lives His life in and through us.

Prayer:

Father God, we want to see the reality of Your Trinity dwelling in us in peace, and living with us in one accord throughout our everyday life (Romans 15:33, 16:20; 2 Corinthians 13:11; Philippians 4:9; 1 Thessalonians 5:23). Supply us with everything we need to live a Godly life in Christ Jesus (2 Timothy 3:12). We totally trust You with our life, as well as the moment of our death (Philippians 4:6-7). We do not rely on our human comprehension, but we pray that our spiritual eyes may be enlightened (Ephesians 1:18).

Thought for the Day:

Cease from striving; be still, and come to the personal realization the God truly wants to reign in your life. – Psalm 46:10

Enjoying Eternal Rest Now

 

Hebrews, chapter three, gives the account of Israel forfeiting their chance to enter Canaan, the land of promise, because they relied too heavily on their human reasoning. Hebrews, chapter four, is one of the most healing chapters in the Bible. It promises us eternal rest for our weary soul (Psalm 95:11). This is not simply eternal rest after death, but eternal rest while we are still living (Genesis 2:2). Few people ever really enter God’s rest, because they do not have the faith to let go and let God take over their life (Hebrews 4:1-2).

The people of God everywhere in every generation have this opportunity to have abundant life now (Psalm 95:7-8). However, we fail through unbelief to enter the rest promised to us from the foundation of the world (Hebrews 4:3-9). If we choose to believe God’s Word, we enter His rest through the door of salvation in Christ (John 10:9). The next step is to cease from our stress and striving. We do this by allowing God to give us the desire and ability to follow His Spirit, rather than to deal with life from our human resources (Hebrews 4:10; Philippians 2:12-13; Ephesians 2:8-9).

God calls all those who strive and are burdened to come to Him, so He can give us rest (Matthew 11:28). The only time God ever encourages us to strive in the Bible is to strive to enter the narrow door of salvation and then to strive to enter His rest. It is not easy to lay down our will and ambition and to surrender completely to the will of God and the direction of His Holy Spirit (Hebrews 4:10-11). However, God even gives us the gift of the faith and grace to enter His rest (Ephesians 2:8-9). We only need to receive it whole-heartedly.

God’s Sabbath rest is a way of life, not an occasional experience (Hebrews 4:11). We spend time every day digesting His Word, which is sweeter than honey (Psalm 119:103). The Word of God cleanly separates our fleshly thoughts and actions from our spirit-led ones, and it demonstrates God’s power, truth and ability in us and through us (Hebrews 4:12-13). We hide His Word in our hearts (Psalm 119:11), and it gives us constant direction and delight (Psalm 119:24). Bible truth is nourishment for our soul and a light to our path (Proverbs 3:8; Psalm 119:105).

We allow God to work through us, not from the basis of our own effort and energy, but by obedience to His Spirit. We cling to, trust in and depend upon Jesus as He uses us to do His works in the earth (John 3:18, Amplified Bible). His Word cleanses, heals and delivers us from sin, sickness and Satan’s oppression (Psalm 107:20, 119:9; Matthew 8:8, 8:16; John 15:3, Ephesians 5:26). The eternal rest in our spirit and soul are available to anyone humble enough to cease from his/her own efforts and to walk in the Spirit moment by moment throughout the day (Galatians 5:16,25).

Prayer:

Father God, Your Word provides us with strength, productivity, fulfillment and peace (Psalm 1:3, 119:28). It gives us Your roadmap to peace in this life. You grant rest to Your people and You chose us as Your eternal residence (1Chronicles 23:25). You rested from Your works and gave us Your example, so we will rest from our labors as well (Hebrews 4:4,10). We enter Your eternal rest only if we believe and trust in You (Hebrews 4:3). Help us all to attain Your rest (Hebrews 4:1). Allow Your Word to teach us to discern between the flesh and the spirit and always to follow Your Spirit (Hebrews 4:12).

Thought for the Day:

Through God’s Word, His Spirit and His presence in our life, we enter into His rest.

 

 

Surprise Revelation

In writing to the Romans, Paul laments over his unsuccessful attempts to overcome the flesh in his own strength and to put on the mind of Christ. He realized the wretchedness of his humanity. He struggled with our need to be holy, and his inability to reach this level of consecration (Romans 7:19-24). Then, God surprised Paul with a revelation (Romans 7:25). He was thrilled to realize that we do not have to suffer under the weight of condemnation any longer, because Christ already set us all free from the law of sin and death on Calvary’s Cross (Romans 8:1-2). 

As authentic Christians we now live by the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus (Romans 8:2). Our transformation rests firmly on the rock of the gospel of Christ (Romans 12:2; Psalm 18:2). We live by His faith in love, filled with the fruit of, and following the leading of God’s Spirit on a moment-by-moment basis (Galatians 5:1; 5:22-23; Ephesians 5:18). We no longer strive to earn God’s love or to live a holy life. We simply walk in obedience. We live on earth to glorify our Father, not by our own efforts, but only by the power of Christ within us.

Jesus loves us so much, that for our benefit he gave Himself up to the horrific death on Calvary’s cross. Through His sacrifice, we are now acceptable to God in Christ (1 Peter 2:5; Romans 15:7). We have been crucified with Christ. Therefore, it is no longer we who live our life, but Christ, the Messiah, who lives in us. The life that we now live in our body on this earth, we live by faith in, devotion to, dependence on and complete confidence in the Son of God (Galatians 2:20, Amplified Bible).

Jesus is our only hope of experiencing God’s glory (Colossians 1:27). We could never be good enough in our human effort to earn a place in Heaven (Ephesians 2:8-10). Jesus gave up His glory in Heaven to take the form of a man, and He humbled Himself and willingly died in our place (Philippians 2:8).  Now, we can put on the mind of Christ (Philippians 2:5). We renew our mind by reading God’s Word, and we walk in the Spirit. Therefore, we will no longer succumb to the negative suggestions of our carnal nature (Romans 12:2; Galatians 5:16).

We completely surrender our will to God’s will for our life and we live in perfect union with Christ. Our old sinful nature is crucified with Christ, and sin has no more power over our choices. Just as the Son could do nothing of Himself, we too are nothing without Christ in us. The only effort we need to make in order to walk in the reality of this victory is to totally surrendering control of our life to God. In doing this, we successfully enter His rest (Hebrews 4:3).

Prayer:

Lord Jesus, our Father exalted You with a name above all other names. One day every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that You, Jesus Christ, are Lord (Philippians 2:9-10). We were buried with You through baptism into Your death.  In the same way in which You were raised from the dead through the glory of our Father, we too are raised to live a new life through You. We are no longer slaves to sin, because You set us free from sin’s power when we died with You on Calvary’s cross (Romans 6:4-7).

Thought for the Day:

Just as God the Father, Son and Spirit are united as one, Jesus died so we can share in this same unity of oneness with our triune God. - 1 Corinthians 6:17