The Glory of the Lord

 

God tarries His coming, not because He is slow to keep His promises to us, but because of His patience to allow everyone the chance to repent and believe (2 Peter 3:9, 13). As we draw close to God, His glory fills our life. We allow His glory within us to reflect to the world around us, as His Spirit transforms us into the image of Christ (2 Corinthians 3:18).

God’s glory appeared in the pillar of fire and the cloud, which protected the Israelites in their desert wanderings, as well as the consuming fire on the mountain and on Moses’ face when he descended from Mt. Sinai with the Ten Commandments (Exodus 16:10; 24:17; 33:22). God’s glory within us also allows us to face trials with victory and faith.

God’s glory within us is more precious that the finest gold, and is the result of a life spent reading His Word, obeying His Spirit and giving Him all praise, glory and honor until we see Him face to face (1 Peter 1:6-7). God’s glory fills the life, which has faith in His faithfulness, rather than bitterness over the past and fear of the unknown future (Isaiah 6:3, 40:5).

When we finally see Jesus, we shall be like Him, because we shall see Him in His glory (1 John 3:2). In our Heavenly residence, we will live in our immortal body and enjoy the benefits, which Adam and Eve had in the garden, and which Jesus had after His resurrection. The rewards God has in store for us are everlasting and glorious, and we will finally attain to the fullness of Christ.

Prayer:

Father God, we pray that we will decrease, so that You can increase within our mortal body even now. We want to reflect Your glory as it increases within us. Remind us to surrender all of our cares to You, because You care about us, as well as everything, which pertains to us on this earth (1 Peter 5:7). Even in the face of persecution, strengthen us from within and keep us in the palm of Your hand (John 10:28). Thank You for giving us Your glorious new life through Your Son’s sacrificial death and resurrection.

Thought for the Day:

At the coming of Christ, the whole earth will be filled with His glory.

- Psalm 72:19

A New Life is Possible

We are born with a body and a soul – our mind, will and emotions. On the other hand, our spirit – our connection to God – is dead in Adam’s sin (Romans 5:12). We grow up searching for some way to revive that dead spirit. We try money, clothes, shoes, cars, homes, education, thrills, immorality, success, beauty spas, cruises, relationships, and knowing all the right people. They only serve to frustrate us, however, because there is no reality in them.

Many try the intellectual route by improving their mind through pursuing philosophy and all of the education channels available. Some pursue physical excellence with martial arts, diet and rigorous exercise routines. Others dabble in spiritual pursuits such as Eastern religions, Satanism, the occult, witchcraft, sorcery or New Age ideologies. We still ache deep inside, however, because our spirit is dead (Ephesians 2:1). This is when we realize that we need a Savior.

There is only one truly fulfilling and lasting source of salvation, however, and that is Jesus Christ. The first rung on the ladder to spiritual maturity is to recognize that Jesus became what we are, so that we might become what He is. Jesus became sin, so that we may have His righteousness. By faith in Jesus Christ, we actually become a new creation (2 Corinthians 5:17). When God looks at us, He does not see a struggling human being, but a glorified saint. Our spirit is reborn and we find peace and fulfillment that were never possible through any other venue.

Faith is the promise of the things we hope for and the evidence of things we cannot see (Hebrews 11:1). We surrender our old, carnal nature to God and He creates in us a whole new person (Ephesians 4:24). We exchange our sin nature for the righteousness of Christ (2 Corinthians 5:21; 1 Peter 2:24; Romans 5:8). We unite with Christ in His death and arise to live a whole new life in Him (Romans 6:6,11). God conforms us to the image of His Son by sanctifying our soul a little more each day (Romans 8:29).

When we walk away from sin in all of its forms, we pursue holiness and Godliness instead (Romans 6:2-4). Christ removes all of the condemnation we accumulated over our years of sin (Romans 8:1). He frees us from our sin nature as we choose to live as a bondservant to God now and throughout eternity (Romans 6:22). We no longer reap the consequences of sin, but enjoy the benefits of abundant, eternal life in this world and also in the next (John 10:10).

Prayer:

Lord Jesus, by You all things were made (Colossians 1:16; John 1:3; Col 1:17; 2 Corinthians 5:17). In You, our life is made complete (Colossian 1:28, 2:10). As we surrender to Your will for our life and walk in Your truth by the guidance of Your Holy Spirit moment by moment throughout the day, we have everything we need to live a fulfilled life now as well as in eternity. We thank You for the abundance You provide for us in this life, as well as in the next.

Thought for the Day:

Living a committed life of faith and trust in Jesus Christ results in fulfillment in every area of life.

Living in the Will of God

Read: Proverbs 3:5-6

“In everything give thanks; for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus.”

- 1 Thessalonians 5:18

It is important to live our life in the will of God. Jesus said, “Those who do the will of my Father are my brothers, sisters and mother” (Mark 3: 33-35; Matthew 12:50). Therefore, not everyone who claims to be a Christian will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only those who do the will of God (Matthew 7:21). The prerequisite for living in the will of God is to have a personal relationship with Him (John 14:6; 1Timothy 2:4). The initial step of living in the will of God is to look to Jesus and believe that He is God who came in the flesh to give us eternal life (John 6:40). God desires that everyone will come to a saving knowledge of His Truth and to live with Him for eternity (1 Timothy 2:4).

As a Believer, we are gradually conformed to the image of Jesus Christ, God’s Son, in holiness and sanctification. We slowly receive the heart of God, the obedience of Christ and the wisdom of the Holy Spirit (Romans 8:29; 1 Thessalonians 4: 2-4). It is exciting to know that the Holy Spirit intercedes for God’s children according to the will of God (Romans 8:27). Paul exhorts us to give ourselves first to the Lord and then to the will of God (2 Corinthians 8:5-6). Through the discipline of attending weekly Bible studies and having daily personal times in Bible reading and meditation, we see how Biblical characters learned to walk in the will of God.

Jesus is our supreme illustration of one who lived totally in the will of God. He also only acted and spoke as the Father directed Him (John 5:19). He walked in obedience all the way to Calvary’s cross (Hebrews 5:8). He gave us examples of times of undistracted and concentrated fervent prayer, which will open our ears to hear God’s direction for our day (Matthew 11:15). God wants us to pray with a grateful heart as we intercede and make requests for all people, especially for those in high governmental positions. This allows us to live peaceful, godly, dignified and quiet lives in every way (1 Timothy 2:1-3).

We can request that other Believers pray with us too for a particular decision or situation (Romans 15:30-33). There were many times when the Apostle Paul desired with all of his heart to go visit his fellow Believers, and he asked them to pray about it with him. God did not always open this door for him, however (Romans 1; 9-11). Paul often suffered for doing good deeds, because he obeyed the will of God (1 Peter 3:17), but this never deterred him from obedience. Paul even tells us to obey our employers and political leaders who have rule over us, because we are bondservants of Christ. Through this, we do the will of God and render service to God, even though we are obeying a person (Ephesians 6:5-7; 1 Peter 2:13-16).

As we live in the will of God we learn to discern whether some teaching we hear or read is Biblically based or derived from false doctrine (John 7:17). We have no desire to conform to the image of the carnal world, but to be transformed by renewing our mind until we live in the good, acceptable and perfect will of God (Romans 12:2). God’s will for us is to rejoice always, to pray without ceasing, to give thanks even in our negative circumstances as well as for us not to quench the movement of the Holy Spirit within us by doing evil deeds (1 Thessalonians 5 16-19).

 

Prayer:

Lord Jesus, You only did what You saw our Father do (John 5:19). If You, being God, had to consult our Father in prayer, how can we do any less? You did not make a move outside of the will of God, and neither should we. Instead, we rush around life accomplishing our own will and heaping up for ourselves treasures on earth instead of in Heaven (Matthew 6:19-21). Teach us to do only Your will moment by moment throughout the day.

Thought for the Day:

If we abide in the will of God, we will live forever with Him in eternity.
- 1 John 2:17

Convicted, But Not Converted

Read: 1 John 2:3-6 

"Afterward came also the other virgins, saying, 'Lord, Lord, open to us.' But he answered and said, 'Verily I say unto you, I know you not.'" - Matt 25:11-12

There is a big difference between Conviction and Conversion in a person's life. I want to explain the difference to you in case you may have been convicted, but never converted. Satanic strongholds in our life may keep us struggling with our walk with the Lord, but we may also be hindered because we do not have a personal relationship with the Lord.

If we say that we are saved, but our life is not transformed, we were convicted, but not converted. Conversion starts our conformity into the image of Christ. He renews our minds and changes our behavior daily. If after a few months, you are the same person you were before praying for Christ to be your savior, you are not converted; you are not born again; you are not saved.

Believing is not enough. “You do well to believe in God. Satan also believes...and trembles” (James 2:19). There are many examples of good people in the Bible who thought they were saved, but they never had a relationship with God. (Matt 7:21, Matt 25:11, Luke 6:46, Luke 13:25). 

One way to know for sure if you are saved is because Born Again people cannot live in sin (1 John 2:3-6, James 1:12-16, 1 John 3:7-10). Therefore, if you continue to live in sin, as these verses all clearly state, it shows that you belong to Satan. If you were born again into the family of God, you would not make a practice of sinning. You could not keep on sinning as a way of life. You might fall into sin once, or even twice, but then your heart would break and you would run from sin, because you would realize that you are breaking God’s heart with every sin (John 5:18-21).

Sometimes people, places, things or even animals take the place of God in our heart. You form an unholy physical tie and/or “soul” tie ~ with your mind, will and emotions ~ with that person or item and you dishonor yourself and your family and the family of God (Eph 5:1-7, Heb 10:26-31, Rom 6:1-4).

If you are an authentic Christian, you could walk away from sin, sometimes with the help of counseling, and serve God, because the power of sin would be broken in your life by the power of Christ's sacrifice on the Cross. If, by your own admission, you are still a slave to sin and addicted to it, you are not Born Again by the Spirit of God. This proves that sin’s power was never broken in you because you did not completely surrender your life to God through Salvation.

In the same way that God can heal your broken heart, He can also save your soul, if you completely surrender to Him. Every part of yourself that you hold back from God is controling your life. You have to give Him ALL of you. If there is an unholy soul tie keeping you addicted to this sin, you are giving Satan permission to wreak havoc in your life through your lack of willingness to surrender this area of your life to God. Do not try to keep control of any part of your life, surrender it all to the Lordship of Jesus Christ.

You see, at some time in the past you got convicted, you said the sinner’s prayer, you went to church, you talk to God and He continually tries to draw you to Himself, but there was no transformation in you. You are not living a converted life. You are not yet saved from the power of sin. According to these verses, your lifestyle proves that you are lost and going to hell. If anyone tells you differently, they are deceiving you and they do not love you enough to tell you the truth.

However, there is good news! You can repent right now. You can walk away from sin, give God control of every part of your life, and ask God to forgive you and change your heart. Then you will have a converted life. If you are double-minded in your prayer and not sincere, you will change nothing by praying a prayer, going to church, serving in a ministry, talking to God, getting baptized or even tithing your income. You will just be doing good works, and that does not get you into heaven (Eph 2:8, Rom 6:12-14, Matt 5:27-30, Rom 7:13).

If you are a child of God, He will discipline you when you live in sin until you repent and change your ways. You will understand that you are nailing the nails back into His hands with every sin you commit. You are shoving that crown of thorns back on His head by your sin. You are sticking the sword in His side again by your sin. You are hanging Him on the cross to die again by your sin. You are also setting yourself up to sin unto death (1 John 5:16).

There is a difference between reaping what you sow and being disciplined by God. If you live in sin and reap the results, God is not disciplining you and bringing you back to Himself, or pruning you to bear more fruit, because you are not yet His child. God is drawing you to Himself right now, but if you harden your heart against Him over and over, you will stop hearing His voice after a while. You will turn a deaf ear to God and become totally sold out to sin. You will continue to live as a slave to Satan. Do you really want to do that?

Prayer:
Lord Jesus, I do not want to live my life as a slave to myself, sin or Satan. I ask You for Your forgiveness. I ask You to save me completely. I relinquish my sinful nature to You. I dedicate my life to You. I submit my life to the Holy Spirit to live within me, to change me from the inside out and to direct me moment by moment throughout the day.

Thought for the Day:
We are saved, not to sin but to serve.





Many thanks to Tonia Neil for the use of her photo...