Paul’s Surprising Revelation

Paul laments in his writings over his lack of success at overcoming the flesh. In some letters, he records that he feels utterly hopeless and he criticizes his own moral fiber.

He struggles with putting on the mind of Christ and realizes the wretchedness of his humanity. He fought with our need to be holy, and his inability to reach this level of desired consecration to God (Romans 7:19-24).

His conclusion is surprising (Romans 7:25). He was thrilled to realize that we do not have to suffer under the weight of condemnation any longer. On Calvary’s Cross, Christ already set us all free from the law of sin and death (Romans 8:1-2). 

Paul calls the Galatians foolish for trying to perfect their life in their own self effort. He reminds them that we could not save our self and we cannot perfect our self either (Galatians 3:1-3).

Just as the Son could do nothing of Himself, we too are nothing without Christ in us (John 5:19, 15:5). 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), cease from our striving and simplify our life. We eliminate the busyness that pervades each day and we slow down our pace.

We dedicate time in our schedule to serve God with our entire being, with all of our affections, thoughts, choices and emotions.

We give God the glory, which is due to His name; and we walk in paths of righteousness for His name's sake (Psalm 23:3). We refuse to hide our light under a basket, but we allow it to shine for the world to see (Matthew 5:14-16).

Prayer:

Father God, You exalted Jesus with a name above all other names. One day every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that He is Lord (Philippians 2:9-10). You designed us to be buried with Him through baptism into His death.

In the same way in which You raised Him from the dead through Your glory, You raise us too in order for us 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 Christ 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

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. 

Free at Last

 

God gave us the law to bring us to the realization that we can never keep it and to point us to our Savior, Jesus Christ. Jesus set us free from the law, because He writes His law in our hearts (Hebrews 8:10; Romans 8:2). We obey them instinctively. We are no longer separate, but we are one with both our Father and the Son (John 17:11, 21-23). We live and move and have our being only in Him (Acts 17:28). We stop courting our own way of life or pursuing our goals, ambitions and desires.

As long as we insist on working “for” God, we are like the foolish Galatians (3:1-3). We try in our own strength and effort to please God. Until we realize that our old human nature is dead and passed away. Everything about us is a new creation (2 Corinthians 5:17). We live only for Christ now, just as He lived only for our Father. We are united with Christ in God, and Christ is our only way, truth and life (Colossians 3:3-4; John 14:6).

God and Christ have a difference in manifestation, with Christ being Immanuel, the physical form of God; and also in persons, with God as the Father and Jesus as the Son. However, Jesus states that He and our Father are one. Due to their union, Christ who dwells in us by His Spirit unites us with the Trinity (John 17:21). We do greater works than He did, because His Spirit abides within each one of us (John 14:12). We are His instruments for righteousness (Romans 6:4-11).

When we stand firm in the power of Christ’s might (Ephesians 6:10-12), we withstand the devil and all of his demons. We are no longer slaves to sin or under the penalty of the law of sin and death (Romans 8:2). Jesus took our sins and nailed them to the cross, giving us His righteousness in exchange (2 Corinthians 5:21). We are raised to walk in freedom in this new life, not to indulge our flesh, but as an expression of Christ in the earth.

Prayer:

Father God, as long as we hold onto the barest shred of carnality, we hinder our union with the Lover of our soul. Our only hope is to totally surrender as Your Spirit crucifies the desires of our flesh, especially when they attempt to retake control our life. Help us to completely surrender to Your holy virtues through our life in Your Spirit. Use us to improve the quality of nature in our city and to nurture the hurting lives, which live all around us. Remind us that we serve as Your representatives for spiritual change in the sphere of life all around us.

Thought for the Day:

Without total death to our carnal, self-life, we have no hope of living in the freedom of a passionate walk with our Lord.