An Unveiled Mirror

I want to be an unveiled mirror, reflecting God's glory to the world all around me (2 Corinthians 3:18). There are issues in my life that prevent this from happening - they come from my fleshly, carnal nature and shroud me in a veil.

My spirit is regenerated, but my soul is not completely sanctified yet. I still have issues that prevent God's glory from shining from within me. Fears, insecurities, feelings of being overwhelmed, discouragement and an intolerance for change all block Him from being foremost in my life.

I no longer obsess over the issues that cause these negative emotions, but some of them are still in my subconscious mind, blocking the glory of God from fully shining out from my spirit.

God reveals these issues to me one at a time throughout my years of spiritual growth in Him. Sometimes one issue will solve the problem with other issues, so that we cast a net over them all at one time.

For instance, fear of change is connected to the fear of destitution. I falsely believe that as long as I maintain the status quo, I will be safe. There are just too many variables in life to maintain any status quo for very long. Life happens - and when it does, it often brings change and adversity.

So, if I lay down at God's feet this idol of wanting to stay safe, He can fill me with His faith that believes that even in adversity, God is my constant companion and champion (Luke 24:13-35). He never leaves or abandons me (Hebrews 13:5).

This builds my faith in His faithfulness, so that I can view trials as adventures and seek God's purpose even in the midst of them. Maybe He has someone for me to witness to, or a lesson for me to learn, or some ulterior motive that He may never reveal to me.

The more time that I spend in God's presence, the more I allow Him to change my personality to His fruit, the less control I attempt to maintain over my life, then the quicker He is able to sanctify my soul and the more of His glory is revealed in me.

Prayer:

Father God, You love us with Your everlasting love and draw us close to You by Your loving kindness (Jeremiah 31:3). I ask Your Holy Spirit to control my every thought, word and deed for Your glory (Colossians 3:17). Grant us according to the riches of Your glory, to be strengthened with power through Your Spirit in our inner being, as Christ dwells in our heart through faith (Ephesians 3:16-17). 

Root and ground us in Your love, flood us through all of our being with all of Your fullness, oh God; so that we may have the richest measure of Your presence and become a body wholly filled with You (Ephesians 3:18-19, Amplified Bible).

Thought for the Day:

The Lord has searched us and intimately knows us, even when we sit down and when we will get up and walk around again; He understands our thoughts, even the ones we will think in the distant future; He knows every detail of our life and is acquainted with all of our ways. - Psalm 139:1-6 

Unified with the Trinity

As Authentic Born Again Christians, we are individual members of Christ’s Body, and Jesus is our head (1 Corinthians 12:27; Ephesians 4:15). God fashions us as new creatures in true righteousness and holiness (Ephesians 4:23-24).

We are the offspring of God and His divine nature infuses every part of our body, soul and spirit (Acts 17:28-19). As our focus on our self decreases, Christ increases within us (John 3:30).

We are crucified with Christ; and therefore, we live in this world for the glory of Christ (Philippians 1:21). Yet, it is not we who live, but Christ who lives in us and through us (Galatians 2:20).

We no longer strive in this world to provide for the needs of our body and soul. We focus on our maturing spirit and God's will for our life in order to accomplish the works which He preordained for us to do (Matthew 6:33; Ephesians 2:10).

God completely sanctifies us by His Spirit, conforming us to the image and likeness of Christ, His Son (1 Thessalonians 5:23); and we live as the temple of the Holy Spirit - unified with the Spirit of the Lord (1 Corinthians 3:16, 6:17).

Jesus gives us the glory, which the Father gave to Him, so that we can be one with Him and with one another (John 17:22). We slowly mature until we completely share in the divine nature of Christ within us (Ephesians 4:13).

In eternity, Christ will even transform our body to mirror His glorious, immortal one (Philippians 3:21). We will live and reign with Him in the new heaven and earth, and serve Him with everlasting joy in our hearts.  

Prayer:

Father God, You want us to quit struggling, stressing and striving to be more spiritual (2 Corinthians 5:18-19). You want us to cease from our efforts, so we will enter into Your rest (Hebrews 4:10). You have our life and character in Your hands to mold us into the image of Christ (Philippians 2:13).

We are no longer a separate entity from Jesus. We are one with You by faith in Your Son (John 17:21-23). Thank you that Your Spirit transforms our nature through sanctification until we share in Your divine nature (2 Peter 1:4; 1 Corinthians 6:17).

Thought for the Day:

Christ became one of us, so that we could become one with Him.

Just the Way We Are

Living in fear of someone discovering our true identity often drives us just this side of insanity. We dread someone else realizing that we are just "not enough". Not pretty enough, not smart enough, not strong enough, not kind enough, not capable enough...not enough. Jesus came to give us good news. We all fall short of the glory of God.

There is no one good enough, not even one (Romans 3:10-12, 23). Even people with a high opinion of their self have issues with insecurity. We all have little nagging doubts, which corrode our confidence and whittle away at our self-esteem. We live under a cloud of negative self-talk. We hide behind superficial masks, in hopes that no one will ever uncover just how deficient we really are.

Once we come to Christ, we can stop pretending, stop striving to be good and throw our self on the mercy and grace of God instead. He accepts us just the way we are (Romans 5:8). We need no pretenses with Him. He loves us in spite of our failings. God is our Father who cares for us, nurtures us and provides for all of our needs: spiritually, physically and in our soul - our mind, choices and emotions.

Our Heavenly Daddy gives us a sense of security as we dwell in Him and He dwells in us. His love fills in the gaps in our self-esteem and changes our opinion about our deficiencies. We no longer need to fear life and its consequences, to listen to any negative self-talk or to believe anyone else's negative opinion of us. We are complete in Christ (Colossians 1:27, 2:10).

Prayer:

Father God, we drink from the living water of Your Word, which calms our soul and fills our spirit with godly character, Jesus' divine nature and the fruit of Your Holy Spirit (John 7:38; 2 Peter 1:3-4; Galatians 5:22-23). When fears creap in to cripple us and render us ineffective for You and for a productive life, we can run to Jesus, who is the Rock that is higher than we are (Psalm 61:2). He gives us power over these demonic attacks and He strengthens us to prolifically bloom where You plant us.

Thought for the Day:

God provides His people with a Sabbath rest from our weary labors; for when we enter God's rest, we stop spinning our wheels and trust Him to bless our lives with His fullness. - Hebrews 4:9-12

The Benefits of the Race

 

Throughout our lifetime, God shows us who we really are (Galatians 6:3). We no longer excuse our failings and justify our motives. We recognize that even all of our accomplishments are filthy rags in His sight (Isaiah 64:6). We realize that we run a very real chance of standing before Him on the judgment day in shame and loss (1 John 2:28). Therefore, we confess that we are sinners and call out to Him for salvation. In exchange, He gives us all of His righteousness along with His Spirit, who takes up residence in our newly Born Again spirit (2 Corinthians 5:21; John 3:7). 

We never find true peace in life until we stop living for our self and live for God instead. We see His little love letters to us all throughout our day. We abide in His presence and rejoice in His provision and love for us. He strengthens us (2 Chronicles 16:9). His mercy and goodness keep us all the days of our life, and then we dwell in the house of the Lord forever (Psalm 23:6). He deserves more from us than half-hearted devotion and praise (Romans 6:17). He wants us to pray without ceasing (1 Thessalonians 5:17). When we do, His praise is on our lips every moment of the day.

Paul teaches us not to center our contentment on the circumstances of our life, but on the peace that God’s Spirit provides from within us. Jesus experienced heart-rending loss and adverse trials; yet, He taught us to count our suffering as a gift of joy (James 1:2-8). The purpose of our life is not to amass worldly goods, but to honor our Father in Heaven, just like Jesus did. Though we make a living in the world, our vocation is actually our ministry to use for the glory of God.

Paul likens our life with the Lord to a race. Christianity calls for the same characteristics of training and commitment (Hebrews 12:1-3). Running a race takes devotion and dedication.  Some people stand on the sidelines in church and even in life. However, running the race is so much more exciting, and even has the possibility of receiving awards at the end. God never leaves us, but gives us the courage and strength to finish the race (Hebrews 13:5; 2 Timothy 4:7).

God’s love is described in dimensions. It has height and length, depth and width (Ephesians 3:18-20). God’s love is proportionate and all encompassing. It completely surrounds us, encasing us in His love. Nothing can ever separate us from His great love (Romans 8:31-39). What can we do for Him in return for His grace, mercy, joy, peace and love? Even if we are just eating and drinking, we do everything for the glory of God (1 Corinthians 10:31). We can purpose in our heart to develop the deeper commitment of a life hidden with Christ in God (Colossians 3:3).

Prayer:

Father God, intimate fellowship with You is available to every Believer. It requires time and energy from us, quietness and confidence, and commitment and adoration. If we spend all of our time in the world, and give You only our spare change and hurried moments as we fall asleep at night, we not only insult You, but we short-change our self as well. We may have to hit the bottom of the barrel, before we ever take the time to look up into Your glorious face and live our life in worship to You.

Thought for the Day:

The Battle is the Lord’s and our best chance of success is to follow His strategy and obey His direction. -  Joshua 6:1-18

Why Surrender?

 

The world rejects the idea of surrendering. They equate surrender with giving up, and with loss and defeat. However, when we surrender to the Lordship of Jesus Christ we release all the stress and striving in our life. In return, we gain the fruit of His Spirit, which defy all human logic (Galatians 5:22-23). Surrender means to trust God and to stop struggling to live on our own in this hostile environment we call “life”. Surrender results in our absolute submission to God’s leading for each moment of our day. In return, we receive His deepest presence in our life along with a multitude of blessings (Job 22:21).

The easiest way to walk in surrender is to start obeying the Spirit’s direction in small increments. For instance, we prefer our mate’s needs to our own. We put money in the offering basket that we intended to use for some luxury. We take food to a sick friend when we prefer to stay home and watch TV. We give our bicycle to a family without transportation. We relinquish our right, as Jesus did, to prove that we are innocent. We do not assume the attitude of a martyr; but we obey the Spirit’s promptings with joy, knowing that God provides us with an abundance of every good thing (Hebrews 12:2).

In our old life we surrendered to sin, but now we have a new Master and He truly sets us free (Romans 6:16-18). Dying to self is not detestable when we know it results not only in future treasures in Heaven for eternity, but also in joy and peace now. This eternal perspective allows us to pass through the less agreeable moments of surrender more easily. When God calls us to submission to His greater will, we offer our life to Him. We relinquish our personal freedom and He replaces it with spiritual freedom, which is deeper and reaps lasting blessings in our spirit, body and soul – our thoughts, choices and emotions.

We surrender our life to Christ each new day, giving to Him the issues that weigh us down, seeking His guidance for each moment and giving Him the glory for everything we accomplish (Galatians 3:1-3). The areas of our life that we refuse to submit to the Lordship of Jesus Christ are the venues that imprison us. They are idols that we cherish more than our relationship with our living Lord. If we walk through life in obedience to the Holy Spirit, we reap blessings that never end. A life of half-hearted commitment may lose its tranquility and happiness, but a surrendered life provides overwhelming peace and joy.

There is no lasting freedom outside of a complete surrender to Christ (Luke 14:33). We not only commit our life to Christ, but also we surrender our works, talents and accomplishments to His Lordship and direction. We view our life from His vantage point and we see the people in it as our mission field. Our family, neighbors, friends, workmates, associates, and even the check out people at the retail store or those waiting on us at the restaurant are hand-chosen by God for us to influence for His Kingdom. When we live in Christ and allow Him to live in, through and instead of us, we shed the skin of our old life and live as His new creation for the glory of God (2 Corinthians 5:17).

Prayer:

Lord Jesus, help us to follow You by denying our desires and dying to our selfishness. If we try to preserve our life, we will ultimately lose it; but if we surrender our life to You for Your sake, and give up our plans, goals and ambitions for You, then we will gain a more fulfilling and joy-filled life (Matthew 16:25; Philippians 3:8). We realize that gaining the world does not satisfy, because we will lose our own soul. But following You gives us unending peace and joy (Matthew 16:24-26).
 

Thought for the Day:

The moments we live in surrender to God are more richly experienced and completely fulfilling than any others.

 

Thank you, Megapixel Mike, for this serene photo.
http://www.flickr.com/mrickard5