Maturing in Christ

When we attempt to overcome the sin in our life that so easily ensnares us, we often fall back into temptation; then we feel shame both for the sin and for failing to overcome it.

We are admonished to be holy as God is holy, yet we can only do this by allowing the Holy Spirit to give us both the desire and the power to walk in increasing realms of God's glory each day (Philippians 2:12-13).

The foolish Galatians had to learn to trust God to sanctify them with the same faith that allowed them to trust Him for their salvation (Galatians 3:1-3). We are to live in this same manner.

Paul struggled with walking in a manner worthy of the Lord (Colossians 1:10). The duality of flesh and Spirit within him kept him on a roller coaster most of the time (Romans 7); however, he finally realized that the Spirit of life in Christ already set Him free from the law of sin and death (Romans 8:2).

He no longer needed to struggle with sin, but to walk in the Spirit who frees us from the law of sin and death. As we draw near to God in dependence, worship and praise, then we resist the devil, and he is bound to flee from us (James 4:7-11).

Through Calvary's cross, Christ exchanged His righteousness for our sin; we simply need to access this free gift by confessing our sin and trusting in Jesus for salvation (John 17:11-23; 1 Corinthians 6:17). Then, the Holy Spirit brings us into ever increasing maturity in Christ (2 Corinthians 3:18).

We learn to walk in the Spirit each moment of the day, led by the still, small voice of God (1 Kings 19:12) within our spirit (Galatians 2:20). We know we are in God's will when we follow that perfect peace (Isaiah 26:3), regardless of what our mind is telling us to do, or what conventional wisdom or human reasoning wants us to do.

Jesus gave us His righteousness and we now live as Jesus did in the world. We are an expression of His divine nature, because He lives within us (1 John 4:17; 2 Peter 1:4). This allows His living water within us to fill us to overflowing and to spill out into the world around us (John 7:38).

Prayer:

Father God, we thank You for Your vigilant watch care over us (Psalm 121:4). You protect us from Satan's wiles and temptations (Ephesians 2:2). Help us to realize that Christ in us enables us to live a life free from the demoralizing and destructive sin that tries to entrap us (2 Corinthians 4:10-11) and to actually, factually not just positionally, live a holy life, just as Christ in us is holy (Matthew 11:28-30; 1 Corinthians 6:17).

Thank You for keeping us, strengthening us, guarding us from our flesh, the world and the devil (Isaiah 42:11; Psalm 4:8). We give You all of the praise and glory for the maturity we attain over our lifetime. We strive only to stop following our human reasoning and to enter Your rest (Hebrews 4:10).

Thought for the Day:

We no longer struggle with life on our own, because the Trinity of God abides within us, and the Holy Spirit gradually but consistently replaces our negative attributes with Christ's righteousness.

Life's Toughest Moments

We were formerly dead in sin (Ephesians 2:1), but now as authentic Believers in Jesus, we are dead to sin, and our life is hidden with Christ in God (Romans 6:11; Colossians 3:3).

The Holy Spirit continually fills us with His fruit (Galatians 5:22-23). We view the visible issues of life as transient and passing, because we know that only the spiritual aspects of life are everlasting.

Paul experienced tremendous hardships (2 Corinthians 11:16-33); yet, reminded us that with an eternal perspective on life, we know that our eternal weight of glory far outweighs the momentary, comparatively light affliction we experience in this world (2 Corinthians 4:17).

When life reaches its toughest moments, we totally trust in and hide our self in God. His presence within us keeps us separate from our experiences as they are happening.

We view life from God's perspective and we no longer hold on to fears and wounds of the past. He heals us from them and Satan's lies one at a time, as we submit them to Him

( www.theophostic.com ).

We live in this world as manifestations of God through Christ. We have the same abilities and expression of the Spirit that Christ did, because He lives within us (1 John 4:17).

We obey God’s Spirit with an awareness, which exceeds human understanding. We cannot prove this relationship intellectually or physically, but the Spirit of God bears witness to our spirit that we are children of God (Romans 8:16).

As we allow God’s light within us to shine brightly, many in the world will see Him through us and want to give their life to Christ as well (Matthew 5:16).

Prayer:

Father God, we want people to see the fruit on our branch, and realize it is actually the produce of the Vine, which is the only real source of our productive life (John 15:5). As authentic, Born Again Believers, our life on earth has Jesus’ supernatural capabilities, and He uses our body, soul and spirit for His glory.

Not only does Your Spirit lead us (Romans 8:14), but He also fills us to overflowing (Acts 4:31). We are privileged as Your children, with Christ living in us by Your Spirit (Romans 8:11). The more we decrease, the more You will increase within us (John 3:30).

Thought for the Day:

We are alive in Christ, created to do every good work through Christ in us for the glory of God and for the furtherance of His Kingdom in the earth. - Ephesians 2:10

The Purpose of Emotions

God gave us emotions to express our self in words full of feeling and meaning. God also has emotions and expresses them throughout His Word.

There are no bad emotions. The Bible even tells us it is acceptable to feel anger; it simply cautions us not to allow anger to push us into sin (Ephesians 4:26).

Jesus was angry at the abuse of His Father's Temple by the money changers. He allowed the anger to spur His actions, but He did not act in anger. He was determined and purposeful when He cleansed the temple (Matthew 21:12-17).

Human anger is often like a volcano, which scars the earth with lava welts. Human anger also erupts in a flash and leaves behind huge scars in the hearts of the recipients of that anger.

We should use anger as a red flag to alert us that our body or soul is wounded. Then we can express the feelings of woundedness rather than the emotion of anger.

God gave us physical feelings to bring us pleasure and to alert us of pain and any type of sensitivity. Our emotional feelings function in the same way.

They protect us from danger and injury and bring us joy. Our feelings alert us to what is happening in our spirit, body and soul. We can learn to discern and respond to these indicators.

We even have feelings of intuition, which help to keep us out of trouble. If we ignore our feelings, we will end up in trouble physically, mentally and emotionally.

This is why we need to make a searching inventory of our body, soul and spirit on a daily basis. We analyze the mental, emotional, physical and spiritual transactions going on within us.

This enables us to discern our needs and respond to them, to ask for help from our family and friends, and to seek God's will for us each moment of our day.

Prayer:

Father God, help us not to disguise or suppress our feelings, or to condemn our self for them. Remind us to use them as You intended: to protect us, to help us to enjoy life and to build more intimate relationships with You and with one another.

Teach us not to abuse our feelings by lashing out at others or by allowing our negative feelings to cripple us with bitterness or unforgiveness. Instead, we can acknowledge to You and to others how we honestly feel and what we need done to feel better.

Thought for the Day:

People who cannot honestly but kindly express their mental, physical and emotional feelings, or who are too afraid to even acknowledge their feelings, are the real fatalities in this world.