Shaped into His Grace

Our salvation is not earned by our works, and neither is our sanctification (Ephesians 2:8-9; Galatians 3:1-3). God's Spirit instantly rebirths our spirit through regeneration and then transforms our soul through a lifetime of sanctification.

We are formed like clay by the Potter's hands, shaped into His grace. We feel His hands on our soul - our thoughts, choices and emotions - as He molds us into the likeness of His Son and stretches us to do His will (Isaiah 64:8).

Intimately knowing God, and Jesus Christ whom He sent, provides us with eternal life now and for eternity (John 17:3). The fruit of eternal life within us is that we live to abide in the will of God for our life.

Our desire for the world diminishes, and doing the will of God is our motivation for each moment of our day (1 John 2:17). Living for the things of the world is no longer an option, as our draw to them thins and wanes in the light of God's presence within us.

We come to trust God's hand in every area of our life, which helps us to stop worrying and to live to praise Him. Through each season of sanctification, our life is renewed, as we realize that God bought us back from Satan's clutches with a high personal price to Himself (1 Corinthians 6:19-20).

Our part is to surrender to His love, mercy and grace; and set free from the law of sin and death, to live as slaves to His righteousness (Romans 6:22). We conscientiously transfer control over our life from our own keeping to God's great love.

We do not retain our position in the driver's seat, but move to the back seat and give God control of the wheel, the brake and the direction we take. We move from anxiety, fear and insecurity to total faith.

There is no one on earth or in the spiritual realm that we can trust with our life other than God (Psalm 73:25). Even when we walk through the valley of death and destruction, we fear no evil; because His rod and staff bring us comfort and direction (Psalm 23:4).

Prayer:

Father God, as we surrender control of our life to You, You manifest Yourself to us in all of You glory and grace. As the Body of Christ, we find You using us to do greater works than Jesus did, because Your authentic Saints live all over this world (John 14:12; Ephesians 2:10). With Your glorious riches, You provide us with everything we need to accomplish Your will for us, and You meet all of our daily needs (Philippians 4:19; Ephesians 3:16).

Use us to glorify You in the earth and to bring as many people to Heaven with us as will listen to Your gospel and surrender to Your will in their own life. We love and trust You with our whole heart, soul, mind, will and strength (Luke 10:27). We give You all of the praise, honor and blessing due to Your name (Psalm 29:2).

Thought for the Day:

By His grace, God gave us special talents, abilities, fruit and gifts to bring Him glory with our life. 

- Galatians 5:22-23; 1 Corinthians 12:7-11

Our True Identity

 

 

We do not base our identity on the talents of our flesh or the state of our soul – our mind, choices and emotions; but on our relationship with Christ. Our authentic self is found in the person of Jesus Christ who dwells within us. We find our success by living, moving and having our existence in His divine presence (Acts 17:28). For instance, God took my insecure, introverted, melancholic personality and exchanged it for the fruit of His Spirit one aspect at a time. Thanks to the Holy Spirit’s regeneration, I am Christ secured and assured. I look at life through His outlook of faith and I never meet a stranger (Romans 12:2). That is true transformation!

God searches our hearts and knows the mind of the Spirit because the Spirit intercedes for us according to God’s will (Romans 8:27). His life is manifested through us as we follow the leading of His Holy Spirit (2 Corinthians 4:12; Galatians 5:25). Jesus pours out His life in us to others (John 12:24; 1 Peter 2:20-25). As we follow His direction, He prospers our way and gives us His success (Joshua 1:8). He matures and fortifies us, as He makes His home in us (1 Peter 5:10). He also meets the needs of others through us, so that we might win to Christ whoever is willing to believe (1 Corinthians 9:22).

The Lord does not remove us from temptation or tribulation. Since He lives in us, He walks through it with us. He gives us everything we need to resist trials and to withstand sin’s persuasion; we simply need to utilize his wisdom and strength. He gives us His mind about the movies we watch, the books we read, the television we view and the people we hang around with. If we choose to ignore Him, then we will certainly reap corruption in our body, soul and spirit. If we choose to follow the Spirit’s leading, we will shine like stars in the Heavens (Philippians 2:12-18).

We have the abiding love and peace of God residing within us (Romans 5:5; Ephesians 2:14). We desire to live Godly lives, and we have everything we need to accomplish this through Christ Jesus (2 Timothy 3:13; 2 Peter 1:3). We are controlled and guided by His Spirit, which fills us (Ephesians 5:18). This is accomplished by the particular gifts of the Spirit, which He gives to each one of us individually (Ephesians 4:8-16; Romans 12:1; 1 Corinthians 12:1-11, 27-31). Christ performs His work through us, which God prepared for us before the world ever began (Ephesians 2:10). 

Prayer:

Lord Jesus, we function in life as a lamp, a vessel or a branch. You are the Light, which shines through our lamp, the vine to which our branch is connected and the substance within our vessel. We bear Your life in us, and it flows through us out into the world (John 15:5; Romans 9:21). We have no goodness of our own, not even by keeping the mandates of Biblical law. Our human attempts at righteousness are simply filthy rags in Your sight (Isaiah 64:6). It is only by faith in You that we receive in our spirit Your imputed righteousness (Philippians 3:9).

Thought for the Day:

Once we are dead to this world, we no longer submit to its standards, practice its worldly religious rituals or partake in fleshly extravagances. - Colossian 2:20-23