Life-Changing Verses - Part 2 - Verse to Live By

God gives us a very simple plan for life. He encourages us to seek Him with all of our heart; not to depend on our human reasoning; and before we do anything, to ask Him to reveal His will for our next moment of time.

Then, He guarantees that He shall direct our paths (Proverbs 3:5-6). God will work out every circumstance, no matter how bad it is, for our ultimate good, if we love Him and are willing to walk in His will (Romans 8:28).

God created us for a special purpose before we were even born, starting with our salvation through Christ. We do not earn salvation by our works of righteousness. According to His mercy He saved us by cleansing us with regeneration.

God renews us by giving us His Spirit (Ephesians 2:8-10). Our Father God loved us while we were still sinners (Romans 5:7-9). He sees our whole life without the parameters of time or the constraints of mortality. God is eternal and views all of our years on earth from an eternal perspective.

We are crucified with Christ, but we still live on this earth; yet it is not us, but Christ who is living in and through us. And the life we now live in this human body, we live by the faith of God's Son who loves us - enough to die for us (Galatians 2:20).

We receive God's Spirit, which has nothing to do with our human effort, talents or hard work; and neither can we sanctify or perfect our soul through any work of our own (Galatians 3:1-3).

Our walk with God is a life-long process of growing in intimacy with Him, and enjoying the daily fellowship of almighty God. There is nothing that we cannot do as long as we are following His perfect will for us (Philippians 4:13).

If we submit to God and resist the devil, Satan is obligated to flee from us (James 4:7). He may gain permission from God to throw some type of trial in our path, but Christ in us is greater and more powerful than Satan could ever hope to be (1 John 4:4).

Prayer:

Father God, there are so many verses that stand out to us as we read Your Word, highlighted by Your Spirit in order to enlighten us and improve our brief life (James 4:14) on this earth. Thank You for giving us Your fullness as a free gift (Romans 3:23, 6:23; Ephesians 3:16-19, Amplified Bible). We give You all of the praise and honor due to Your name.

Because of Your mercy, we live our life free from the twisted duplicity of Satan's lies, and we relish the fact of our freedom in Christ. You make us whole and heal our physical, mental, emotional and spiritual diseases. You strengthen us from the inside out and You pour Your love and grace over us like a fountain of mercy. We love You with our whole spirit, soul and body, even into eternity.

Thought for the Day:

As we earnestly seek the Lord and thirst after Him to the point of fainting in this dry and weary land in which we live, He is our sanctuary - full of power and glory, the lover of our soul, which is better than life itself, and He satisfies our soul with His constant love; therefore, we continually praise Him with joyful lips and a mouth full of praises. - Psalm 63:1-11

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God-Given Emotions

 

Many people condemn emotions. These individuals focus more on their thoughts and put strict controls over their emotions. They do not trust emotions or emotional people.

The chances are that they were severely wounded by an emotional person in their past, or had a stoic person as their role model. They exalt the mind and censure the emotions.

The Beatitudes reveal to us that God has and expresses emotions (Matthew 5:1-12). For instance, He is angry with and hates the wicked and prideful as well as those who practice and teach iniquity (Psalm 5:5).

He has compassion on the oppressed (Psalm 7:11; Judges 2:18); jealousy over His people (Exodus 20:5); calms us with His love; and rejoices over us with singing (Zephaniah 3:17).

God grieves when we make unwise choices, which bring us harm and cause us to reap negative consequences (Psalm 78:40; Genesis 6:6). He also personifies love in the person of Jesus Christ (1 John 4:8).

Our Creator gave us emotions, as well as a mind in order to make balanced choices with our life. The Holy Spirit-controlled temperament provides us with perfect stability of mind and emotions.

We do not have to live as pseudo-intellectuals nor do we need to indulge in negative emotions all the time. We can get in touch with our feelings and use our emotions to express our innermost thoughts.

Prayer:

Father God, You made us with an intricate human body that works together like finely tuned clockworks. You also gave us a soul that expresses itself through our body and emotions. Our eyes are the windows of our soul and often reveal what we are feeling and thinking. You call on us to maintain a healthy body, soul and spirit each day of our life (Proverbs 3:5-8).

Yet, we often ignore the needs of all three of these entities by not exercising, skipping meals and not hydrating; as well as making poor choices for our life, and ignoring or stuffing our emotions (Proverbs 14:30). Remind us that it is possible to feel negative emotions, to express them without sinning, and to find healing for them (Ephesians 4:26; Genesis 4:6-7). Teach us to find a balance between our soul and spirit. Please restore our soul when life attempts to crush us (Psalm 23:3).

Thought for the Day:

God made us as triune beings: body, soul and spirit; our soul consists of our feelings, choices and thoughts; and we can walk in God's Spirit and stay in perfect balance with all three. - 1 Thessalonians 5:23; Genesis 2:7; Galatians 5:16

        

A Difference Maker

We all know that when we come to the saving knowledge of the truth of the Gospel, and truly repent and believe, we are converted.

God moves into our heart by His Spirit and He makes all things new (2 Corinthians 1:22). He never leaves nor forsakes us and walks with us through every moment of our life (Hebrews 13:5).

However, few people realize the purpose for our complete immersion in Christ inside and out. We treat Him like our personal genie to grant all of our wishes.

At conversion, the life which we now live in this human body is experienced through the faith of the Son of God who loves us and gave Himself as a ransom for us (Galatians 2:20). 

Jesus and I are not separate beings, but a sanctifying immersion of us as one entity (John 17:21-22), walking in God's Spirit and doing only those things for which God created us (Ephesians 2:10; Galatians 5:15-25).

We gradually submit our will, goals and plans for our life to His purpose for us. We no longer live for our pleasure or pursuits, but for His Kingdom and by the direction of His Spirit.

We are an expression of Christ in this world, doing His will in every facet of our existence at home, work and play. He flows from His river of life within us (John 4:14).

This new life does not depend on us, except for our submission and obedience (Philippians 2:12-13). It is all by His Spirit within us (Galatians 3:1-3).

However, once we fall in love with Jesus we want nothing more than to obey His Word and to walk in His Spirit. 

Wherever we go and whatever we do we have the opportunity to draw everyone to Christ or to repulse them by our words and behavior.

If Christ is in us, shining through us, we exhibit His way, truth and life (Colossians 1:27; John 14:6). He is the light shining into the darkness all around us. He serves the lost world through us and uses us as a difference maker.

Prayer:

Father God, thank You for giving us Your Son and Spirit and for giving us a new life, devoid of sinful and selfish pursuits and focused entirely on You and Your Kingdom. We accept this wondrous gift, offered from Your heart of compassion toward us as sinners (Romans 5:8).

Thank You for working in us and giving us both the desire and the ability to want nothing more in life than to live for Your pleasure (Philippians 2:12-13). We trust You entirely with our life; and at the time of our death, we are assured that to be absent from this body is to be immediately present with You in Your eternal Kingdom (2 Corinthians 5:8).

Thought for the Day:

God raised us up to sit with Christ in heavenly places now as well as in eternity; it is no longer we who live, but Christ who lives in and through us; Christ is our whole life. 

- Ephesians 2:6, 3:3-4