Not of This World

 

Our God is so awesome, mighty in power, gentle in mercy, constant in grace, consuming in His love for us and faithful beyond measure. We can trust in Him with our whole heart and depend on His intimate involvement in our life.

God never, ever leaves or forsakes us (Deuteronomy 31:6; Hebrews 13:5). His three personalities are all-encompassing (Isaiah 7:14; John 10:29; Matthew 12:32). God is our Creator and Heavenly Daddy; Jesus is the Trinity in the flesh who died on the cross to exhibit the Father's love; the Spirit promotes Jesus and His words (John 3::8, 14:6, 26; Luke 24:49; Acts 16:7).

Through believing on Jesus we are constructed into the temple of the entire Godhead of the Trinity (Romans 8:15; 1 Corinthians 3:16, 12:13). The Trinity is our Father, our Brother and our continual comfort and guide (Mark 1:10-11).

The Trinity's presence in our life nourishes us to grow in godliness, to consecrate our life to Him and to do the work He created us to do (Ephesians 2:10). The Trinity draws us into unity with the Godhead (John 6:44, 10:30, 14:10-13).

We are raised from sin's degradation to walk in a new life in order to share in the glory of the Trinity through a consecrated and holy life (John 17:22; Romans 8:11). We let His light in us shine, so that people look at us and are drawn to believe in and trust in the Trinity for their salvation as well.

Vacation homes, worldly hobbies, time shares, multiple cruises in a year, smart phones for every family member, TVs in every room, expensive clothing stores, excessive clothing accessories and jewels, a car for every driver in the family, etc. keep us in bondage to this world and limit our participation in activities that promote the Kingdom of God.

We are not of this world, we do not rely on our human nature or characteristics, and we do not develop plans and goals for this life. We only live here to build up the Kingdom of God while it is still day, because the night is coming when no one may get saved (John 9:4).

Prayer:

Father God, break our heart with what breaks Yours, give us a Kingdom mind and focus in this life and make the fact that we are not of this world a reality in our life (Romans 12:2; John 17:16). Help us to stop focusing on building our nest in this world and to change our attention to furthering Your Kingdom.

Remind us that Christ is our whole life and that we no longer live, but Christ lives in and through us (Colossians 3:3-4; Galatians 2:20). Draw us into a more intimate relationship with You, so that we are not sidetracked by the lies and schemes of the devil to get our focus on this world rather than on Your Kingdom.

Thought for the Day:

We develop a Kingdom mindset and allow God's Spirit to draw our attention to the presence of God within us, which is our only true source of comfort and joy, rather than on the riches and trappings of this world.

Divine Appointments

 

 

God is very involved in our life. We do not always recognize His participation, because we think we are the ones earning the blessings, which He freely showers on us each and every day.

Divine appointments and interventions occur moment by moment. His angels protect us and His Spirit directs us to safely progress from one event to the next.

We rarely give God the glory and we often take the credit for how smoothly our life is running. He not only introduces the events of our life, but He also coordinates the timing and circumstances surrounding them.

He leads us and other people involved with us to say and do the right thing at the exact time and way in which we or they needed His divine intervention the most.

If we practice sitting still and quiet in His presence (Psalm 46:10), we will know with more assurance that He is God; and we would see His involvement in our life, which would build our faith in His faithfulness, love and care for us (1 Kings 19:11-13).

During times of companionable silence, God communicates with us in His still, small voice that penetrates our awareness deep within us. Silence truly is golden and more productive than the stress of worldly demands, negative self-talk and destructive friendships and activities (Psalm 46:10).

Prayer:

Father God, we desire above all else to walk in Your Spirit and to do only those works which come from Your heart. Do not allow our thoughts, words and actions to grieve Your Spirit, but give us words of life that make a difference in another's life.

All of our good works are nothing more than dirty rags if they are not done by Your Spirit's direction (Isaiah 64:6). It is only what we accomplish by Your Spirit that lasts into eternity. Rise up in us and accomplish Your will in and through us (Acts 14:1). We give You all the credit for the fruit of our life and we praise You for your strength, which is our joy.

Thought for the Day:

The whisper of God teaches us to listen more, to limit our actions and to wait on Him rather than to race ahead of His Spirit's promptings; rather than jumping into stressful activities to which He is not calling us, we truly listen and do only those activities in which He call us to participate.

God's Intervention

God knows the future, and will prepare us in so many ways for the unexpected occurrences in life. Sometimes, He even gives us an inner knowing about what lies ahead. Some people attribute this to moments of intuition. Others give themselves credit for exceptional wisdom and foresight. These events will happen much more often, if we testify to others about God's intervention in our life.

For instance, one lady told me that God warned her to slow down her car, and she narrowly missed being involved in an accident. Another woman told me that God prompted her to buy extra groceries; then she had enough food for her unexpected guests who showed up unannounced. A few months ago, I felt led to buy a black slip at the thrift store that I did not need; then on this week's trip to the thrift store, I found three dresses that needed that black slip.

Complaining will give us a life of drudgery, mishaps and more trials. Yet, gratitude to our Heavenly Father opens us up for more of God's blessings and joy in our life. One way to do this is to spend time alone with God throughout the day. Withdraw to the copy room at work, to the bathroom when the kids clamor for your attention and to the bedroom while everyone else is in the family room watching television.

Take a few moments to read God's Word and meditate on a verse, or to pray for your needs and the needs of your loved ones. Spend time praising God and quietly listening for His voice, by stilling your mind of your thoughts and allowing Him to speak His mind to you. Spend time all day long in worship to God for His intervention in your life.

Prayer:

Father God, You give us air to breathe, sun to warm us, food for energy, creation to delight us, work to challenge us and love from family and friends. We can never have enough time in this life to properly thank You for our salvation, our multitude of blessings and the provision You supply for all of our needs. Remind us to walk in Your Spirit, so that we will not submit to Satan or our flesh (Galatians 5:15-25). Help us to keep our focus on You, and to live a life of gratitude for Your continual intervention in our life.

Thought for the Day:

The past includes our histories; the unknown future is still one of life's mysteries; but what we have now is a present from God to be enjoyed and to spend in praise to Him for His involvement in our daily life.