Union with Christ - Out of This World

 

As long as we dwell in the realm of the flesh, we will continue to experience defeat at the hands of tribulation. However, we do not belong in Satan’s grip.

If we are living in Satan’s pit, it is because we allow Satan's thoughts to infiltrate our mind. We give in to his defeatist thinking, and we buy into his lies and follow his direction, forsaking God’s truth in the process.

However, authentic Christians are not of this world. We dwell with Christ in the Kingdom of God and we are no longer limited by the parameters of this earthly realm (Galatians 2:20; John 18:36).

Our citizenship is in Heaven and Jesus is our Savior and our King (Philippians 3:20). The Lord Himself called us to live in His eternal glory now as well as in eternity. The possibilities are out of this world.

Jesus is our strength and He confirms us and establishes our place in His Kingdom (1 Peter 5:10). Our life on earth is simply a momentary breath on a cold day (James 4:14).

In the realm of the Spirit, our body experiences occasional negative circumstances, but these trials do not influence our spirit or our soul – our mind, choices and emotions.

God delivers us through any trial, and we have joy in it as we accept that He is using it to do its perfect work within us and through us (James 1:4).

Prayer:

Father God, we see You working out all things, even the negative things in our life, for our good (Romans 8:28). We look to You to supply all of our needs and we keep our focus off our self and on You through every moment of our day. You are our exclusive supply, our inspiration and our guide.

We give You all of the praise and honor and glory for Your provision, love and care for us each day of our life. We look forward to Christ's return to the earth and the culmination of all things. Thank You for allowing us the privilege of living as the bride of Christ and for the opportunity of spending eternity in Your service as well.

Thought for the Day:

When we step out of this world - out of the temporal realm of the flesh - and enter into the eternal realm of the Spirit right here on this earth, we finally find eternal rest for our soul and provision for our every need through Jesus Christ our Lord. - Psalm 116:7

Take Courage

With persecution of Christians increasing in the world, including in the good ole USA which was founded on religious freedom, we have to remember that the main thing is still the main thing: God will never leave or forsake us (Hebrews 13:5).

Regardless of how many God haters rise into power, God is still in control of our individual lives. Our fears and anxiety will only add to the stress and ill health caused by their persecution.

If we learn to enter God's rest now, while we still have our freedoms, it will enable us to better traverse the unknown treatment, loss and deprivation which we may face in the future.

God reminds us that we are actually blessed when we are persecuted for His sake. We take courage from the example set by lives such as Paul and the Old Testament prophets (Matthew 5:10-12).

We rejoice, because although we may face deprivation now, we are storing up rewards in heaven for eternity. This concept allows us to rejoice and continue to serve as the salt and light of the earth (Matthew 5:12-15).

God uses us to preserve the lives and to light the path of those around us and to lead them to Him. When they see His love, peace and joy in our life, regardless of circumstances, they too will honor our Father in heaven (Matthew 5:16).

Prayer:

Father God, remind us to take the focus off our self and to share Your love with those who are also suffering all around us. Remind us that the endurance of Christ fills our soul, because He abides within us. Any persecution is light and momentary when compared to the glory You prepared for us in Heaven.

As Your righteous ones, we live by faith and You preserve our soul, so there is no need for us to shrink back in fear but to continue to show Your love even to our persecutors (Hebrews 10:32-39).

Thought for the Day:

Regardless of those who are elected as our officials, how much power terrorists gain in the world or how many laws are passed against us expressing our faith with words, buildings, external crosses or religious trappings, nothing can separate us from the eternal rest and love of God dwelling within us. - Romans 8:35-39; Proverbs 21:1

We've Got It Backwards

 

As human beings, we get the values of life and death backwards. We will sacrifice the quality of our life for the quantity of life. We often live years past our optimal health and spend more money than we have to suffer endless procedures and live off dozens of expensive medications. Yet, what is the Biblical view of life and death?

Paul said, “For me to live is Christ, but to die is gain (Philippians 1:21).” In other words, He was happy to serve the Lord on this earth for as long as it pleased the Lord for him to do so; but once his usefulness was over, he was ready, willing and able to go home to be with the Lord. That was where his hope and rest lay. That is where we all gain the eternal rest from our labors.

The wise Solomon recognized that the day of our death is better than the day of our birth (Ecclesiastes 7:1); yet we humans rejoice at a new birth and cry at a funeral. Of course, the tears at the funeral are more for our self than the deceased, because of our separation from our loved one; but if we realize that, in Christ, we will live in eternity with that same loved one, then we do not sorrow as those who have no hope (1 Thessalonians 4:12-18).

We toil all of our life to gain the things of this world, and then turn around and leave them all behind to people who do not value them as we did. They usually donate everything we worked so hard to attain to some charity resale shop to be sold at a fraction of what we paid for them. What is the sense in that? Why do we put so much stock in this world’s goods?

A home, transportation, food and necessary apparel with a hobby or two thrown in are enough for anyone. Yet, so many slave to have the best that money can buy. The entire focus of their life is to get that one more thing. Yet, nothing ever really satisfies their soul. Only a life dedicated to the service of God for His glory pays the real dividends that we are looking for in this life and in the next.

Prayer:

Father God, remind us to store up our treasure in heaven, where neither moth nor rust can destroy them (Matthew 6:19-24). Help us to use the wealth You give to us on this earth to help to lighten the load of those less fortunate than we are and also to help to further Your gospel to the far reaches of the earth.

Thought for the Day:

It is the simple pleasures of life that really mean so much and cost so little.

Don't Swim, Just Float

 

A friend told me to stop swimming through life, and just float. She meant that God designed His life in us to propel us through life without any effort on our part. She meant that we relinquish our need to work for God and to please Him with our efforts. She also reminded me that dying to self is not an action on our part, but an acceptance of the fact that we are already dead and hidden with Christ in God (Colossians 3:3).

This allows us not to fret about tomorrow, but to live each moment in the center of God’s will for us. We trust Him to give us the desire, to lead us, and to work through us in every situation (Philippians 2:12-13). We are the vessel for Him to use for His purposes. The pot never moves. It just rests in the Potter’s hand, willing to serve at the Potter’s will (Romans 9:20-21). We are God’s temple; His holy, resting place upon this earth (1 Corinthians 6:19-20).

When we seek Him, we find Him, if we search for Him with our whole heart (Jeremiah 29:13). God does not honor half-hearted devotion. He laid down His life for us and wants nothing less from us. As we serve in His Kingdom, He supplies all of our needs (Matthew 6:33). As we trust in His promises, His divine nature replaces our carnal nature (2 Peter 1:4). Our self-life is dead, and Christ lives in and through us (Galatians 2:20).

To acquire salvation, we repent and surrender (1 Peter 1:15). To enter God’s rest, we cease from our human striving (Hebrews 4:10). To walk in the Spirit, we refrain from walking in the flesh (Galatians 5:16, 25). We are His gloves; and He is the hand fitting firmly within us. We cooperate as He uses our body, soul and spirit for His service. We rest in the Vine as He produces fruit through us as His branches (John 15:5).

We become partakers of His Divine Nature by fleeing from covetousness by His grace, peace and freedom. We exercise our faith, which helps us to develop virtue, excellence, perseverance and knowledge, which lead to patience, endurance and godliness and Christian love. These qualities increasingly abound in us to keep us from idle unfruitfulness (2 Peter 1:2-9). We live by the faith of the Son of God in us (Galatians 2:20).

Prayer:

Father God, You inspire and direct our thoughts, words and actions by Your Spirit within us. We enter into Your rest by ceasing from our own efforts, and we allow Christ to walk, talk and act through us. This is more than Him using us, but Him actually working through us to accomplish Your will in the earth around us. We freely receive from Him. Please, use our body, soul and spirit to freely give to those in need around us (Matthew 10:8).

Thought for the Day:

We can do all things only when Christ lives within us. – Philippians 4:13

Living in God's Rest

 

As afflicted and needy people, we are generously offered rest for our weary soul by the Lord of Hosts. His mercy and grace provide us with His eternal rest at the moment we admit that we are a sinner and surrender our all to God in prayer (Hebrews 4:16). At the same time that we enter the early stages of our Christ-centered life, Christ moves into our spirit (Matthew 11:29). So often, however, we do not take advantage of God’s abiding peace (Isaiah 28:12; 29:19). We fail to completely trust in, rely on and believe in His Word of Truth (Jeremiah 6:16).

We struggle in our meager existence. Our soul – our mind, will and emotions - is tormented with stress, anxiety, temptations, negative emotions, complicated choices and fleshly desires. We are not living from a place of rest in Christ. We are trusting in our self rather than in God. However, as we put our faith in Him, He sanctifies our thoughts, choices and emotions. He bountifully provides us with His rest (Psalm 116:7). He fills us with the fruit of His Spirit, which is the divine nature of God operating in our life (Galatians 5:22-23).

We only escape the rat race of life when we realize that we are dead to sin and alive in Christ (Romans 6:11; Colossians 3:3; Galatians 2:20). Our human understanding is minimal at best; however, our union with Christ gives us His wisdom and spiritual insight (1 Corinthians 2:14-15). Once we learn to live from a place of rest, we can return to His rest instantly, whenever life shakes us from His presence. When we view our trials through the eyes of Christ in us, they are no longer a trial, but a spiritual awakening and a blessing in disguise.

Rest for our soul includes ceasing from our own self-effort to please God or to earn His pleasure. We allow Christ to live through us instead of trying to work for Him (Ephesians 2:8-10; Hebrews 4:1-11). As we progressively enter our rest in the Lord, our thoughts, choices and emotions rest as well. We listen to the Spirit’s prompting and step aside so that the living Lord Jesus can function through us to rescue those still living in this lost and dying world without Him.

Prayer:

Father God, we want to enter Your eternal rest and to live our life from the perspective of Your wisdom and strength. We submit our thoughts, choices and emotions to You on a daily basis and live by Your Spirit’s direction each moment of the day. We want to relinquish our desires and goals to You, so that we will be in the right place at the right time to do Your will. We feed upon Your Word and our sustenance comes from living in Your will.

Thought for the Day:

We cease from our efforts of performing religious activities for God and rest in the sufficiency of His grace, as Jesus Christ within us lives His life through us.