God's Spirit

A lack of peace and victory in our life occurs when we severe our connection with God’s Spirit by sinful behavior (Ephesians 4:30). If we will allow Him to do so, God’s Spirit will deliver us from the temptation of sin (Matthew 4:4). Christ’s victory on Calvary’s cross set us free from the power of sin and death (Romans 7:24-25). Christ in us is our only hope of eternal glory (Colossians 1:27).

Without the Trinity, we struggle to maintain victory in this sin-cursed world. As Christians, we often rely more on our own efforts in this world, than in relying on God’s Spirit within us. We are God’s handiwork, and He wants us to do only the works, which He created for us to do (Ephesians 2:10). We do not need to earn our connection with God, it is guaranteed (Ephesians 1:14).

The Kingdom of God cannot be found in our carnal attempts to please God, but lies in our righteousness, peace and joy, which comes from abiding in the Holy Spirit within us (Romans 14:17). God’s Spirit gives us everlasting life (Romans 8:13). He does not come and go in our life, reserved just for special occasions; but He is constant and reliable, always available to us through every moment of the day (Romans 8:9).

We did not earn our salvation by our human effort and we cannot walk in sanctification by human effort either (Galatians 3:1-3). The Spirit of God rebirths our spirit, which was dead in Adam’s sin. Then, He sanctifies our soul from one level of maturity to a higher plane of spirituality (2 Corinthians 3:18). Unless we live by the power and direction of God’s Spirit, we will not walk in fulfillment and victory in this life.

Prayer:

Father God, remind us to trust in You to bring us into Your will for our life. You give us the faith of Christ and the power of Your Spirit, so that we can walk uprightly in this world. Thank You that we are no longer a part of this world, even though we still have to live in it. Our flesh is crucified with Christ in baptism, and we are raised to walk in new life with You (Romans 6:4). Remind us that Christ is our life (Colossians 3:4), and nothing on this earth can satisfy the longing in our soul.

Thought for the Day:

If we trust in our self, we fail. Only God can work out His will for, in and through us. – Philippians 2:12-13

When Life Hurts

When we look at Christ on the cross, we have to realize that God knows all about suffering – endless suffering – unjustifiable suffering. Yet, we rail at Him with accusations as if He causes the affliction in our lives. Sin caused all the suffering in the world. God wanted us to live in Paradise. He created it just for us. He walked in the Garden of Eden with Adam and Eve and enjoyed fellowship with them there. That was God’s plan for humanity.

However, Adam and Eve took the control of their lives into their own hands, just like we do with ours. They chose to rebel against God and to believe Satan’s lies over God’s truth (Romans 1:25). They chose to take pleasure in unrighteousness rather than to walk as God directed them to do (1 Thessalonians 2:12). We do the same thing with our life. We allow Satan to blind our eyes to God’s Word (2 Corinthians 4:4). We blame everything bad that happens in life on God and we take all the credit for everything good that occurs. We cannot make sense of our loss and deprivation, so we blame it on God; but where is the sense in this?

Jesus took upon Himself the evil of this world in His death, and He conquered it through His resurrection. His victory over the sting of death gives us hope of a new tomorrow waiting for us just around the corner (1 Corinthians 15:55). When life tramples us into the ground, Jesus reaches down from the cross and lifts us back up again. All He asks from us is that we completely surrender our life to Him. He wants us to accept His salvation of our spirit, His reconciliation of our soul and His everlasting life that starts for us the moment we humble our self and pray. If we do this, He will also glorify our body when He comes for us (Philippians 3:21).

God is with us every time we experience pain or loss in life. We are the ones that hold Him at arm’s length and close our heart to His healing power. We turn our back on Him and walk away as if He is evil. We fall into deception and live our life for the devil, who is the true author of evil and suffering. Satan’s purpose is to steal, kill and destroy (John 10:10). God just wants to heal us and make us complete in Him (Colossians 2:10).

True joy comes from Christ within us. He is our hope of glorious opportunities now and the glories of Heaven for eternity (Colossians 2:27). God is the strength of our life (Psalm 27:1). Only in turning to the Lord and trusting in Him will we find tranquility and confidence as our strength (Isaiah 30:15). The fruit of living a righteous life is peace, repose and eternal assurance. We will live in serene dwelling places, protected homes and undisturbed places of rest (Isaiah 32:17-18).

Only God knows what our future holds. As we trust in Him, He reveals His will to us one moment at a time. This requires faith in the unseen and hope in Him to do what is always best for us (Romans 8:28). God holds the power over life and death and the struggles and victory in between. In this world, we will have tribulation; but we can be cheerful, because Jesus already walked through this before and He lives within us. He is facing every trial right along with us (John 16:33; Colossian 1:27; 1 John 2:1; Hebrews 4:15).

Prayer:

Lord Jesus, You were despised and rejected. You were a man of sorrows and acquainted with the deepest grief. You can relate to everything we experience in our life. Remind us not to turn our backs on You and to pretend that our sin did not nail You to the cross. You were despised during your lifetime, and You are still despised today. People do not care about You, but You never cease to care about all of us (Isaiah 53:3).

Thought for the Day:

God wants to give us heaven on earth.

 

 

 

Words of Encouragement

Read: 2 Corinthians 4:16-18

“Therefore, we do not lose heart.” – 2 Corinthians 4:16

The writer of Hebrews admonished us not let the sun go down before we found someone to encourage (Hebrews 3:13). I have never met a person yet who does not like encouragement. Even the most independent people still need affirmation and reassurance, whether they will admit it or not. Building up the Body of Christ in love is a vital ministry (Ephesians 4:29; 1 Thessalonians 5:11).  The timid among us need encouragement most of all (1 Thessalonians 5:14). We treat those, which God put into our care as caring parents treat their children. We encourage, comfort and admonish them to live lives that are worthy of God’s calling (1 Thessalonians 2:11-12). Jude even encourages us to encourage our self (Jude 1:20).

We never have to lose heart. Even when we realize that our body is aging, we are encouraged by the thought that our spirit and soul are renewed day by day. When we face trials and affliction we are encouraged to realize that these troubles prepare for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison. When we do not see the answers to our prayers, God encourages us not to look at the things that are seen, but to the things that are unseen; the things that are seen are temporary, but the things that are unseen are eternal (2 Corinthians 4:16-18).

As long as we live in this sin-cursed world, we will have troubles, but Christ in us already overcame them for us (John 16:33). If we trust Him through them, He will give us His peace in them, which transcends all human understanding (Philippians 4:7). God calls us to put the interests of others above our own interests (Philippians 2: 3-4).  As encouragers, we cry when someone cries and rejoice with those who rejoice (Romans 12:15). We can even remind each other that in the end times, we will meet our deceased friends and relatives in the rapture of all the Saints at the coming of the Lord in the clouds (1 Thessalonians 4:18).

There is rejoicing in heaven when one sinner comes to repentance (Luke 15:7). The most important encouragement we can give anyone is to secure a place in God’s eternal home by confessing that they are sinners in need of a Savior (Romans 3:23, 6:23). In doing this they receive the promise of everlasting life. They see things differently from then on, being more interested in eternal things than in carnal and secular pursuits (Galatians 5:16). So, let us consider how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds. Encourage each other not to forsaking corporate worship, and to encouraging one another all the more, as we see the Day of the Lord drawing near (Hebrews 10:24-25).

Prayer:

Lord Jesus, You conquered sin and death for our sake. According to the last two chapters of Your Bible, You give back to us everything we forfeited to Satan in the first few chapters. Thank You for Your Spirit who dwells within every Born Again Believer and who leads, guides, comforts and encourages us all the days of our life. Help us to walk in Your truth and to keep ourselves unspoiled by the world (James 1:27). You give us joy unspeakable and the hope of a glorious future without end (1 Peter 1:8; Jeremiah 29:11).

Thought for the Day:
“The encouragement of the scriptures gives us hope.” – Romans 15:4

Covenant Maker

Read: Matthew 7:22-23

“He has made us competent as ministers of a new covenant.” - 2 Corinthians 3:6

In the Old Testament, God made covenants with Noah, Abraham, Moses, David and other patriarchs (Genesis 9:11; Genesis 15; Exodus 19; 2 Samuel 7). In each instance, there were either conditional or unconditional parameters to the covenants. In the New Testament, God made the most important covenant of all by sending His Son to bring us redemption from our sins (Matthew 26:28). This covenant is unconditional and binding. We do nothing to earn it and it will last throughout eternity.

I heard a man say, “I pray to God all the time while I am out in nature. I do not need a church to say my prayers.” Of course, this is true. We do not need a building, or a corporate worship service to worship God. However, Paul encourages us not to neglect meeting together, as some people do. He tells us to gather and encourage one another, especially now that the day of His return is drawing near (Hebrews 10:25).

Some people think that believing in God is all they need to guarantee them a place in heaven (John 6:40). Even demons believe in Jesus. They actually tremble because they understand and respect His power and authority (James 2:19). So, belief in God is not enough. Salvation is a covenant between God and man. Saving faith is much more than acknowledging God’s existence. Faith without works is dead. We do not need works for salvation, but we prove our salvation by our works (James 2:18, 20, 26).

Most people who claim to have a saving knowledge of Christ have no personal relationship with Him at all. They are just like the foolish virgins who missed the wedding feast (Matthew 7:22-23). God does not know them, and they have a false hope of going to Heaven. They do not have the Spirit of God or the oil of salvation within them. They have a body and soul – a mind, will and emotions; however, their spirit is still dead in trespasses and sin (Ephesians 2:1,5).

Jesus purchased us by His blood sacrifice on the cross (1 Corinthians 6: 19-20). He identified us as His own, and He gives us His Spirit as an earnest of our inheritance of eternal life (Ephesians 4:30). Then He makes all things new within us (2 Corinthians 5:17). He replaces our stony heart with one made of flesh (Ezekiel 36:26-27). He writes His laws upon our heart (Hebrews 8:10), and He teaches us what He expects from us. God gives us eternal life, so we will never perish (John 10:28). His Spirit leads and guides us as we listen to His voice (Romans 8:14).

Christ in us keeps us faithful and blameless (1 Corinthians 1:8). We can never walk away from or lose our salvation once we have that personal relationship with Christ. We are like the five wise virgins who entered the wedding feast fully prepared with the oil of salvation (Matthew 7:22-23). God forgives our wickedness and remembers our sins no more (Hebrews 8:12). Our spirit is no longer dead in sin, but Born Again (John 3:7). Jesus entered the heavenly tabernacle by His own blood, cleansed our conscience and made us holy, so that we can serve the living God (Hebrews 9:12,14; 10:10).  Now, we minister to others the truth about God’s new covenant with us and His life and Spirit within us.

Prayer:

Lord Jesus, thank You for dying on the cross to free us from the consequences of our sinful behavior. Thank You for Your covenant, which renews a right spirit within us and gives us everlasting life. Create in us a clean heart and help us to walk by the direction of Your Spirit each and every day. Also help us to lead others to saving faith in You.

Thought for the Day:

Our covenant with God is protective, not restrictive. 

Thank you, DGE Photography, for the use of your photo.