God Transforms and Establishes Us In Him

We receive Christ as our Savior and Lord, but then we have no idea what to do with Him. Paul tells us to walk in Him, to sink our roots into Him and to be built up in Him. In this way, we are established in our faith and abound in Him for every good work (Colossians 2:6-7). This has nothing to do with the exercise of self-discipline (Galatians 3:1-3). It has everything to do with the grace and mercy of God. Our only command is to believe (John 3:16-18). Yet, God even helps us in our unbelief (Mark 9:23-25).

There are impediments to belief. Our guilt, our penchant toward sin, our carnal flesh, our pride and willfulness, our fears and doubts all plague us. They build a wall around our spiritual growth. Slowly, over the years, God cleanses us from all unrighteousness and demolishes these walls (1 John 1:7-9). He builds up our faith by allowing trials to cleanse us from our deepest fears and insecurities. He whittles away at our pride, and allows us to experience humiliation until we are humbled.

We come to realize that we did not earn our salvation and neither can we earn our sanctification (Galatians 3:1-3). We do not deserve Christ, but He loved us even while we were still sinners (Romans 5:8). God empties us of our self and fills us with all of His fullness (Ephesians 3:19). Jesus leads us into a walk of intimate fellowship with Himself. If we sit in His presence and empty our mind of all thoughts and stress, He pours His love over us like a waterfall, until we are saturated with His affection and care.

God fills us with His joy, holiness and spiritual fruit as we come to a place of abiding in His presence each moment of the day (Romans 15:13; Galatians 5:22-23). It is no longer we who live, but Christ who lives in and through us (Galatians 2:20). He holds us securely in His everlasting arms. We can depend on Him for all of our needs and the strength and wisdom to walk in His will moment by moment throughout the day. We walk in confidence as His Spirit directs our paths (Proverbs 3:5-6).

If we are in Christ, we lack no good thing (Psalm 34:10). He lives the Christian life through us. Due to His presence, we deny our flesh, obey His Spirit’s direction and study His Word to show our self approved and not ashamed (2 Timothy 2:15). We realize that nothing is impossible to those who believe in God (Luke 1:37). Our life depends upon every Word that ensues from His mouth (Matthew & Luke 4:4). God grafts us into the Vine (Jesus) so that we partake of His divine nature (2 Peter 1:4).

Prayer:

Father God, even in our times of remorse and despair, You remind us that we are Your beloved children. You breathe hope, peace and joy into our soul regardless of our circumstances (Jeremiah 29:11). You accomplish Your wondrous work in us and for us, as You work all things out for our good (Romans 8:28). We rejoice in Your divinity within us and we thank You for Your presence forevermore (1 Peter 1:4). As our thoughts permanently dwell on You, Your living Word transforms our life into the image of Christ (2 Corinthians 3:18). 

Thought for the Day:

We can thoroughly depend upon Christ to fulfill His promises to us, both now on this earth and also in eternity.

 

The Human Beings – Part Three of Three

What does it really mean to be a Human Being? Read Part One and Part Two of "The Human Beings" and then enjoy this excerpt from the full study of these verses.

VI.   BE-ING ESTABLISHED
Discipleship is the next step, and we do this by being established in the faith, built up in Jesus and abounding in thanksgiving (Colossians 2:6-7). We pray and talk to God with our own voice, in our own way, from the depths of our own heart. We can even ask someone to be our prayer partner, and we covenant to pray with each other every day about the needs in our life, our church, our community, our nation and our world. We also read the Bible in daily devotion. We hear the Bible in weekly sermons and Bible study classes. We hear the Word and the songs in the worship services during the week. All of this establishes our faith and builds us up in Jesus, who gives us many reasons to abound in thanksgiving.
 
VII.  BE-ING COMPLETE    
My favorite verse in the whole Bible states that all the fullness of the Trinity dwells in Jesus in bodily form, and we are complete in Him, because He is the head of all principalities and power (Colossians 2:9-10). Have you ever felt like you are being pulled in a hundred different directions at the same time, a fragmented person inside, a scatterbrain in confusion and distress? Jesus makes us complete in Him. He enters our life at the moment of salvation and brings with Him the Fullness of all of the power of the entire Godhead. He takes away the confusion, the fragmentation and the distress. He brings peace into our hectic lives. He gives us power to be totally filled with His Spirit and to walk in the fullness of God on a daily basis.

 

VIII. BE-ING FREE OF SIN
Jesus forgives our sins.  He wiped them completely out by nailing them to cross. Now we are alive together with Him (Galatians 2:20). He took them all out of the way and remembers them no more (Hebrews 8:12, 10:17; Isaiah 43:25). He also took away Satan’s power. He disarmed the demons of their weapons that they use against us. The only way they can inflict themselves upon us now, is if we give them permission -- consciously or subconsciously -- to influence our lives. If we believe the lies Satan tells us, which are contrary to the Word of God, then we have given Satan permission to torment us (Colossians 2:13-15). We can draw near to God, resist the devil and he will flee from us (James 4:7). It’s a promise!

IX. BE-ING FOCUSED IN YOUR AFFECTIONS
Man is a triune being. We live in a body, we express our self through our soul -- our mind, will, and emotions -- and we are empowered by our spirit, in which the Holy Spirit dwells. One of my favorite songs is:  "As the deer pants for the water in the brook, so my soul pants after You, O God." As we know God more intimately, we pant after Him just like a dear at a brook or a runner panting for water after a race. We long for Him, thirst for Him, desire Him and a relationship with Him more than anything the world has to offer us.

In exchange, God will give us victory, love, peace and His unbroken fellowship with Him (Romans 6:10 Amplified Bible). We were raised from death to life with Christ (Romans 6:4). He calls us to seek only those things, which are heavenly and eternal. He challenges us to set our mind on things above, not on things on the earth. For we died with Christ and our life is now hidden with Christ in God (Colossians 3:1-3; Galatians 2:20).

Prayer:
Lord Jesus, remind us to set our mind on things above, not on things on the earth. Thank you for dying to give us fullness of life. Help us to learn what it means to be a Human "BE-ing" in You. Help us to find the peace that comes with being led by Your Holy Spirit moment by moment throughout the day. Remind us to give our self permission to stop our hectic lifestyle and to take the time to “be still and know that You are God” (Psalm 46:10).

Thought for the Day:
God has a purpose for your life; and you will find fulfillment in it, only as you allow His Spirit to lead you through it.