Union with Christ - Rest for Our Soul

 

As we set our mind on heavenly issues, the peace of God, that excels beyond all human comprehension, will rule and reign in and guard our heart (Philippians 4:7).

The mind of Christ maintains order and stability in our soul regardless of the physical issues we face. His perfect peace rules in our heart, and gives rest to our weary soul (Isaiah 26:3).

We keep our thoughts and feelings under subjection to God's Holy Spirit. We think only of the Kingdom of God, the works of Christ in His life on earth, and what He may want to accomplish through us during our lifetime.

Our spirit, body and soul - our thoughts, choices and feelings - align with the mind of Christ in our spirit. His will becomes our will, His desires are our desire and His purpose is our goal in life (1 Peter 1:13).

He gives us the faith of His Son, the power of His Spirit and the focus of His being within us. We take human conjecture off the throne of our life and exalt Jesus in every moment of our day (Proverbs 16:17).

The choices we make affect our actions. We will either follow our flesh, the world, the devil or God's Spirit in our thoughts, emotions, words and deeds (Galatians 5:15-25).

God gave us a free will to choose to follow Him or Satan's lies. Our free will cannot create or change the outcome of the choices of others, but we can allow God's Spirit to use us to influence those around us for His greater good.

Prayer:

Father God, You created us to depend on You and to allow Your predetermined will for our life to influence our actions (Ephesians 2:10). We are capable, however, of grieving Your Holy Spirit by following the dictates of our own choosing. Remind us of the fact that someone else's decisions are not our responsibility, but our response to them is; and in this, we find rest for our soul.

We share with others what we believe is the mind of Christ, but then, their choices are just that - their choice. They reap what they sow just like we do. We are all free to choose to live humanistically and to depend on our self and other people, instead of on You. This is ludicrous and self-defeating. Teach us that we are all dependent on Your love during this lifetime.

Thought for the Day:

God is ultimately still on His throne and has all things under His control (Romans 8:28); He puts His hook in our jaw, and draws us along to fulfill His will for our life (Ezekiel 38:4), but He never forces us to do anything that we choose not to do.

Deliverance from Evil

 

God is the Holy One of Israel; yet, He cares for each one of us individually, regardless of our circumstances. He is our redeemer and our strong tower (Isaiah 41:13-14; Psalm 46:1).

He actually holds our hand when we are afraid, and He promises to help each one of us. When we allow fear to overwhelm us, we fall into its trap; but when we trust the Lord, He keeps us safe (Proverbs 29:25; Psalm 34:4).

We see how Jesus calmed the storms for His disciples, and He abides within us and protects us as well (Mark 4:39-40). The angel of the Lord actually camps around those who honor God with their life, and He delivers us (Psalm 34:7).

Even if we are reviled or falsely accused when we are living righteously, God will reward us for it. Regardless of what any person says about us or threatens us with He is our defense (1 Peter 3:14; Deuteronomy 3:22).

God places His redeeming hand on our life, encourages us not to give place to fear and reminds us that He is our all in all (Revelation 1:17). He took on the form of a man in order to save us.

All He asks of us is to believe in Him (Mark 5:36). In failing to believe, we condemn our self to eternal damnation (John 3:18). In our belief, we accept God's eternal plan for our life (John 3:6-17).

Nothing we do, think or say, or anything that is in heaven or on the earth, can separate us from God's love (Romans 8:38-39). We are eternally His child and He loves us unconditionally.

Prayer:

Father God, You actually rejoice over us with singing (Zephaniah 3:17). We dwell in the shadow of Your wings and You give us shelter and rest. You are our refuge and fortress in this world of unrest, and we trust in You. Your faithfulness is a shield and strong tower for us. We have nothing to fear in the day or the night.

You give Your angels charge over us to keep us. Even if we fall, they are there to sustain and guard us. Since we love You, You rescue us, and You protect us when we walk in Your will and ways. We call on You and You answer us, deliver us and give us honor in any sort of trouble (Psalm 91:1-16).

Thought for the Day:

Since the Lord is with us, there is no reason for us to feel fear. Man can do nothing to us if God is right there with us, helping us and delivering us from every sort of evil. 

- Psalm 118:6-7

Victory and Sufficiency

When we view our life from the perspective of our responsibilities, world disasters, terrorist unrest, failing economy and relational issues with family, community and at work, our heart fails us for fear (Luke 21:26).

We prefer to stay in bed in the morning, hiding under the warmth and security of our covers. We want to roll over and continue to sleep like Rip van Winkle and wake up to a whole new world.

Our familiar companions throughout our day are fear, insecurity, doubt and trepidation. Our broken life and world tend to overwhelm us with hopelessness and doubt.

We have no guarantee that our greatest fear or the unexpected catastrophe will not catch us off guard and put us flat on our back or in the hole financially, emotionally or mentally.

Some of us rely on addictions to get us through the day. We adopt bad habits that relieve pressure on the surface, but actually compound our problems in the long run, because we end up reaping the negative aspects, which we sow.

We are too proud and stubborn and rebellious to turn to God and follow His will for our day. We think that we are safer when we remain in control, but this is merely a false illusion to which we cling.

Once we come to God for salvation and allow Him to hide us in the cleft of His Rock, Jesus Christ, the scales fall off our eyes. We clearly see the road to destruction which we formerly followed.

We are filled with His peace and joy overflowing from our spirit and soul as we trust God with our life (Isaiah 43:2). We sing His praises night and day.

As we increase our love and devotion to God, we grow spiritually and the false illusions of this world slip into proper perspective. We realize that as we hide our self through Christ in God, nothing which occurs can touch our life unless it is His will (Colossians 3:1-4).

We walk in unity with His Spirit and grow in our faith in His faithfulness. He gives us the strength, wisdom, provision and mercy we need to face each moment of the day in victory and sufficiency.

Prayer:

Father God, remind us that we must uproot sin in our life without compromise or sympathy. These little foxes spoil the vine (Solomon 2:15) and prevent us from bearing fruit for You through our life. We cannot perfect our self (Galatians 3:1-3), but we can submit to Your Holy Spirit's sanctifying work (Romans 8; Philippians 2:12-13).

Stir a hunger and passion in us to do only Your will with our life, and to dedicate our heart to Your Word and love. Remind us that you are not only in charge of our life, but of the entire world in which we live (Ezekiel 38:4). You have the ages and times in Your capable hands and we can have faith in Your faithfulness.

Thought for the Day:

God instructed Israel to complete destroy the nations currently inhabiting the land, which He gave them, because He knew their sin would infect Israel and pull their hearts away from Him and His truth; in the same way we rid our life of the sins which so easily hold us back. 

- Deuteronomy 7:22, 11:16; Hebrews 12:1