Our Glorious Hope

One of God’s mysteries is that Christ can actually dwell in our hearts by His Spirit (Colossians 1:26-27). When we choose to die to our self - to lay down our own dreams, goals and desires for our life - we embrace God’s will for us instead.

This does not mean that we live in destitution and unfulfillment. It actually guarantees that we find even more blessings in God’s service, than we ever did when we controlled our own life (Romans 8:5-8).

The fact that Christ actually lives in us by His Spirit gives us hope of living with Him in glory (Colossians 1:27). We reflect the glory of our Heavenly Father a little more each day, because Christ lives in and through us.

When we see carnality in our life, we confess it as sin, and rejoice that the Spirit is exchanging His fruit, through the sanctification process, for our errant attitudes and character traits (Galatians 2: 22-23; 1 Corinthians 6:11).

When we follow the leading of the Holy Spirit moment by moment throughout the day we are sure to succeed in everything we do (Deuteronomy 28:13).

We cannot live with one foot in the world and one foot in the things of the Spirit. This is impossible because the flesh lusts against the Spirit (Matthew 6:24).

God’s goal for us is that we walk in the Spirit (Galatians 5:16-17, 25; Romans 8:9-14). Christ buried us with Him in His death by baptism and raised us up from dead works by the glory of our Father (Galatians 2:20; Ephesians 3:3).

Prayer:

Father God, we are now Your sons, led by Your Spirit as we take the time to submit our life to Christ one moment at a time (1 John 3:2). We find fulfillment in living in Your will and we realize Your glory radiating in us and through us to the world around us.

Our inner man is renewed day by day, and this encourages us, even though our body is getting older. Thank You for raising us up as You raised up the Lord Jesus. Thank You also for bringing us into Your presence for eternity and giving us our eternal hope of Your glory.

Thought for the Day:

When God sees us, He sees us in union with Christ, perfected and cloaked in His righteousness. - Romans 13:14

The Blessings of Our Union With Christ

 

Many Authentic Believers are still under the false impression that we are separated from God. This is carried over from our unregenerate days. We think of God up in heaven, while we are down here on the earth. This is the furthest thing from the actual truth. Until we realize the extent of our union with Christ, we limit the work of God in our life. We are united with Christ in us, and we no longer maintain two separate identities. We are joined as one with the King of the universe.

God relates to us through our spirit (John 4:24). Our Born Again spirit is totally righteous and holy in Christ (Ephesians 4:24; 2 Corinthians 5:21). God’s grace provides us with both the power and the desire to walk in God’s ways (Philippians 2:12-13). We crucify the lusts and desires of our soul – our mind, will and emotions - in order to live in daily renewal, keeping our faith and trust in God. This opens up the door for us to the privilege of abiding in the divinity of Christ moment by moment throughout the day.

His divinity grows within us in ever increasing fullness until our humanity completely dies through sanctification (2 Corinthians 3:18). It is buried with Christ in God (Colossians 3:3). Then Christ, who is our life and our hope of glory, is all that remains within us (Colossians 1:27; Colossians 3:4). Once we come to understand the reality of our union with Christ in us, we realize that Jesus lives in and through us. We are the gloves, but He is the hand within us, motivating us in service for His Kingdom (Acts 17:28).

We are God’s workmanship, created in Christ to do God’s will (Ephesians 2:8-10). Our old nature is exchanged for the nature of Christ (Colossians 3:3), and we walk in His resurrection life with Christ (2 Corinthians 5:17; Romans 6:5). Jesus helps us in all of the milestones of our life (Psalm 46:1). Since the Spirit who raised Christ from the dead lives in us, He also gives life to our mortal body (Romans 8:11). Every foe is vanquished, every battle is won and every question is answered by the Spirit of God within us.

The only time we have human peace is when there is a lack of trouble. However, God’s peace in us surpasses our human limitations (Philippians 4:7). In fact, as God works the nature of Christ into our soul, we receive all of His fruit in exchange for our carnal nature (Galatians 5:22-23). God’s abiding peace reigns in our heart as we cast all of our care on Him, regardless of the circumstances (1 Peter 5:7). God equips us to do His will and we live in His presence forevermore.

Prayer:

Father God, we no longer live for our self, but for You. Enable us to help all of those You send our way to feast from the fruit of Your Spirit in our life (Galatians 5:22-23). We grow with the Vine and draw our nourishment from You as well (John 15:5). We have faith in Your faithfulness, born from our experience of Your constant provision for us over our years of walking in Your service, as well as by the testimony of fellow Christians. We thank You for your discipline and provision for us each and every day.

Thought for the Day:

The fruit blooming on our branch is not for our benefit, but for all of those God sends to feast on it.

The Separated Life

 

In our world of higher education, instant information networks and self-reliance, the message of the Gospel of Christ makes no sense at all. The paradoxes and spiritual content of the Bible serve as a stumbling stone to those too proud to accept the self-effacing offer of salvation through Jesus Christ. Once we humble our self under the mighty hand of God, however, we recognize that Jesus completely submitted to death on Calvary’s Cross to bring redemption to us all. Then, we surrender to the call of God to sacrifice our life for Him in return.

The surrendered life is not one of defeat, but of relinquishing control. This means that we stop resisting the love of God and accept His courtship. We recognize the superiority of God’s plan for our life over our own goals and ambitions. We acknowledge His substitution in paying the penalty of our sins and yield to His Lordship over our life. We consult Him about all of our decisions and allow Him to direct our steps (Proverbs 3:5-6). We live in the reality of His presence now and in the hope of glory to come (Colossians 1:27).

God never invades our life, but always waits to be invited. Yet, many people waste so much of their life running from His beauty and bounty. They live in rebellion to the call of nature to surrender to its Creator. The beauty of the surrendered life is that we can die and hide our life with Christ in God (Colossians 3:3). We cease from our own labors and enter into God’s rest (Hebrews 10:4). If we draw near to God, He will draw near to us (James 4:8). Whoever lives and believes in Christ shall never die (John 11:26). We breathe our last breath on earth and our next breath is in Heaven. We will live on eternally.

The extent to which we surrender our lives to God determines the degree to which He will use our life. There is no place for hesitation, compromise or half-hearted devotion (Luke 9:62). We live an estranged life from the world, but a committed and separated life to Christ who lives within us (Romans 14:7-8). Christ is the center of our focus and our first and pre-eminent Love (Revelation 2:4). We pant after Him with a parched thirst (Psalm 42:1-2). We surrender our will to follow the will of God for our life.

We surrender our selfish desires to accept the promises of God to prosper us, not to harm us and to give us hope for the future (Jeremiah 29:11). As we surrender to God and resist the devil, we walk in freedom from Satan’s influence in our life (James 4:7). We yield the ownership of our life to God and we live as good stewards of all He created. We give up our rights in exchange for His privileges. We swap our character traits, which  hold us back from success, for the victory we find in a life hidden with Christ in God (Colossians 3:3).

Prayer:
Father God, as we repent of our sins and seek You, we have your peace and favor surrounding us (Job 22:21). We forsake our life for Your sake. Once we completely understand Your love for us, we go beyond obedience and surrender our life entirely to You. Then, we learn what it means to truly live in abundant freedom and victory (Romans 6:16-18; Mark 8:35). We no longer experience the pain that life deals out to us, because we are hidden with Christ in You. We walk in spiritual serenity that elevates us emotionally, spiritually, mentally, physically and behaviorally.

Thought for the Day:
We enter a life hidden with Christ in God, which we formerly believed to be one of servitude, only to discover that it is actually a liberating union. - Colossians 3:3-4