Hidden out of Sight

When we embark on our Christian quest, we learn to recognize Jesus in every aspect of our day - positive and negative. When something is hidden, it cannot be seen; it is invisible and under a cover. It is not readily accessible, except to the one who hid it.

We are hidden with Christ in God, but He knows exactly where we are. We are not alone, because we are filled with all the fullness of God (Ephesians 3:16-19, Amplified Bible). We are in an intimate union with Jesus by His Spirit.

We live in the center of God's will, led by His Holy Spirit because Christ is our whole life (Ephesians 2:10; Colossians 3:3-4). Sin is not an option for us, when Christ is pre-eminent in our choices. We have no attraction to unrighteousness, and no desire to grieve God's Spirit within us (Ephesians 4:30).

God calls us to live in such a manner that when people look at us, they see Him rather than us. This occurs when we give God the credit and glory for the deeds He accomplishes in and through us. We run to Him, follow His path for us, and give Him all of the glory for what He accomplishes through our life.

The righteousness of Christ consumes us, fills us, and crowds out any ungodly desires or behavior. We are not separate from Christ. We are unified with Him as one being (Galatians 2:20). By following His peace within us, we recognize the will of God, for each moment of our life.

This peace rises above all physical, emotional, mental, natural, and human thoughts and reasons (Philippians 4:7-9). We do not trust our heart, because it is unreliable (Jeremiah 17:9-10). Instead, we discern God's will in our spirit, and this floods our soul with His peace.

Prayer:

Father God, You are our all in all - one God of all people, and Lord of all, as You work through all and abide in us all. We start this adventure by inviting You to dwell within our spirit (Ephesians 4:6). Then, before we do or say anything, we want to consult You rather than to depend on our own plans and viewpoint (Proverbs 3:5-8).

Thank You for directing our thoughts, words and actions every time that we consult You for Your will for each moment of our life. We trust You with our whole heart to provide for and to protect us in every issue of life. We promise to cease from consulting our human wisdom, and to rely on Your wisdom instead. We love You with every fiber of our being, and we are thankful for all of Your blessings on each moment of our day.

Thought for the Day:

When we trust in, rely on and obey God during each moment of our day, He keeps us on track for success, gives us the best of everything, and fills our resources with abundance for every good work that He calls us to allow Christ to preform through us.

- Proverbs 3:5-8; 2 Corinthians 9:8; Ephesians 2:10

A New Nature - Obedience and Faith

 

Jesus learned obedience through the things, which He suffered, just as we do (Hebrews 5:8). He dealt with the common curse of His pesky human flesh all the way to cross, just as we do (Hebrews 4:15).

He laid down His human life on Calvary’s cross and came forth from the grave in His immortal glory, just as we will, once He returns for His Bride (1 Corinthians 15:54).

We receive our redemption through His blood, and we gain the indwelling of His Holy Spirit through His resurrection and ascension. We are dead and our life is hidden with Christ in God (Colossians 3:3).

When we come to intimately know the living Lord, we start to experience eternal life right here on this earth (John 17:3). He gives us the love, which God gives to Him (John 17:26). We live in this world, just as God sent Jesus into the world, to accomplish God’s will for our lives (John 17:18, 20).

At the same time, Jesus gives us a new nature and makes us holy (John 17:17-19; Colossians 3:10). His Spirit teaches us to deny ungodliness and worldly lusts and to live disciplined, holy and Godly lives - not by our own self-efforts, but through Christ Jesus within us (Titus 2:12).

When Christ is foremost in our thoughts and we pray about His order for our day, even cleaning the house, tending the children, working in the secular world, ministering at church, preparing meals and spending time with our family is the result of a spirit-filled life.

Prayer:

Father God, You continually give us exceedingly great and precious promises of salvation, for the purpose of us partaking in Your divine nature (2 Peter 1:4). You sanctify our heart of flesh and give us Your Spirit to perfect us.

As we keep our focus on Your glory within us, we are transformed into the likeness of Christ with ever increasing holiness, which comes from the sanctifying work of Your Spirit (2 Corinthians 3:18; Romans 12:2). Thank You for including us in Your family and for providing for all of our needs.

Thought for the Day:

We have the potential of becoming spiritual beings in a carnal world, because of the divine power and authority of Christ in us. - 1 Corinthians 15:48

God's Divinity within Us

Our body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, the Holy of Holies (Hebrews 9:3). The Holy Spirit lives through us in the perfection of Christ and according to the will of our Father God (Colossians 2:9). We are no longer sinners chained to the flesh.

Christ is our righteousness, deliverance, redemption, sanctification and so much more (1 Corinthians 1:31). He challenges us to hunger and thirst after righteousness (Matthew 5:6).

If our flesh is tempted to sin, we simply remember that it is dead and hidden with Christ in God (Colossians 3:3; Romans 7:25). When we view any temptation through the eyes of the Spirit living within us, the sin loses its appeal for us.

We realize that we would much rather live righteously through Christ than unrighteously through our old, dead flesh. We are a new creation freed from the power of sin through the divinity of Christ who dwells in us.

In the same way, if we attempt a ministry for the glory of God, and the Spirit did not lead us to serve in that area, we will never find His anointing in it.

When Jesus lived in the flesh, He suffered trials in every area, and had just as many temptations as we do. Yet, in each instance, He drew from the strength of His divinity; and in the end, He conquered sin, death and hell for us all (Revelations 1:18).

Every Born Again Believer lives in divine union with this same Christ. Even though we still live in a body of flesh, we now live by the faith of the Son of God who cares for us and sacrificed Himself for us (Galatians 2:20).

Sin has no more power over us; therefore, we live a victorious life through Christ in us, both now and for all of eternity (James 1:25). We draw from the strength of His divinity within us for healing, wisdom, strength, righteousness and direction.

Prayer:

Father God, our finite mind has such trouble understanding what we cannot see. Yet, the faith of Christ within us helps us to see with spiritual eyes of understanding. Help us to walk in Your truth by the faith of Your Son, Jesus Christ, who dwells within us by Your Spirit; so that we no longer think that we have to sin and we may bear fruit for You (Romans 7:4).

We limit Your use of us on this earth by our watered down concept that we are still sinners and will always be sinners weighted down by our sinful, fleshly nature. Remind us that this old nature is already dead in Christ, that we are new creations by Your Spirit, and that we are now spiritual beings and slaves to righteousness, not to sin (Galatians 2:20; Romans 6:18).

Thought for the Day:

Once we make Christ our whole life, we are no longer sinners hindered by sin and our flesh, because the power of the spiritual law of life through the Holy Spirit has set us free from the power of the fleshly law which once held us in bondage to sin and death.

- Colossians 3:3-5; Romans 6:14, 6:22, 8:2; John 8:36

Christ - Who is Our Life

Even though we are now strangers and pilgrims on this earth, it is through our relationship with Christ that He empowers us to live the Christian life (1 Peter 2:11).

When Christ, who is our life (Colossians 3:4), comes to dwell within us, He wants to live life for us and through us. We follow the Proverbs 3:5-6 principle and seek God's guidance for each moment of the day.

As authentic, Born Again Believers, our life is an extension of and inseparable from the Lord Jesus Christ (John 15:5). Every choice we make comes as the result of prayer and the leading of God’s Holy Spirit (Colossians 3:1; Galatians 5:16, 25).

The reality of our union with Christ is that we are already dead to the bondage of worldly influence, to the lure of sinful pleasures and to the lofty ambitions of our old life.

We yield to the Spirit’s direction throughout the day as we submit to Him, and He transforms us and renews our mind (Ephesians 4:30; Romans 12:1-2; 2 Corinthians 3:18). God replaces our old nature with His new life.

Christ in us will actually direct our preparation and then teach the class, preach the sermon, write the article, witness to our lost co-worker, deal with that rude person, supervise in the workplace, take our tests, clean the house, care for the children and overcome any situation in our life (Colossians 3:17).

We cast our crowns and our burdens at His feet and follow His Holy Spirit's direction through every moment of every day (Proverbs 3:5-6). Where He leads us, we will follow.

As we live as He leads, God gives us His abundant life, eternal in the heavenlies, with more peace and joy than we can ever imagine (John 10:10; Ephesians 2:6).

Prayer:

Father God, seeking You is the passion of our life. We desire above everything else to walk in Your ways and to be an expression of You in the earth (1 John 3:1-3, 9). Our life is hidden in You in the same way that a seed is hidden in the earth.

We too will bear much fruit as we live life totally empty of our self and in surrender to Your Lordship within us. We are transformed by renewing our mind, rather than by allowing the world to conform us into its mold. Then, we will be able to test and discern what Your good, pleasing and perfect will is for us each moment of every day (Romans 12:2).

Thought for the Day:

The abundant beauty and holiness of Christ dwells within us. He captivates our attention and removes from us all distraction in our life.