A New Creation

It is healthy for us to take an inventory of our thoughts and feelings every day (John 7:24). This prevents negative thoughts and emotions from piling up in our soul and exploding at the least provocation.

Satan's lies, our own insecurities plus neurosis from our past, and the world's judgment on us keep us enslaved to negative thinking. Yet, God's Word admonishes us to take our thoughts captive in Christ (2 Corinthians 10:5).

We tend to dwell on this temporal earth, embroiled by human reasoning and trapped by the hour glass of time - still eating from the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge of good and evil and attempting to save our self (Genesis 2:17, 3:5).

These negative constraints affect our thoughts and emotions. We attempt to improve our self, but whatever is conceived by the flesh can be aborted by the flesh. We live on a hamster's wheel - always running, but getting nowhere fast. However, there is hope for us in God (Psalm 63:2:5; Romans 15:13).

God chose us and loved us while we were still sinners (John 15:16; 1 John 4:10; Romans 5:8). At salvation, He makes us His Children and co-heirs with Jesus (Galatians 3:26; 1 John 3:2; Romans 8:17). His Spirit is building us into His house (Hebrews 3:6).

We cannot craft any lasting changes to our character in order to earn His love. He makes us clean - not by our good deeds and intentions, but by the blood of Christ (John 15:3; Acts 20:28; 1 Peter 1:18-19; Psalm 127:1).

Jesus makes us wise, righteous, redeemed and a new creation; so that we glory in the Lord rather than to take the credit (1 Corinthians 1:30-31). Christ in us continually draws us into a more intimate union with Himself and our Father (Colossians 1:20). We simply obey (John 14:15).

Prayer:

Father God, Your love frees us from doubt and condemnation, which are fed to us by our own insecurities, the world's condemnation and Satan's lies. Please draw our loved ones away from the seduction of this world, deliver them from the lies of the devil, and allow them to feel Your love and conviction cascading over them like a waterfall.

In You there is no shame for our failings and idiosyncrasies, only love and acceptance just the way we are (Romans 5:8). Your Spirit perfects us through a lifetime of sanctifying exercises (1 Thessalonians 5:23). You make us one with You and Jesus Christ through His residing presence and Your Spirit's sanctifying work in us until You become our whole life (Colossians 3:3-4).

Thought for the Day:

Jesus is one with us in spirit and in truth; and He brings us into His rest in His perfect peace and love as we keep our soul focused on Christ in us. - Colossians 1:27; Isaiah 26:3

Loved and Forgiven

When we actually come face to face with God's glory, we realize just how sinful we are. This encounter changes our very countenance, attitude, behavior, focus and prayer life (Exodus 34:35; 2 Corinthians 4:6; Ephesians 4:31-32).

We trust our life on earth to God's perfect plan for us (Ephesians 2:10). We find fulfillment, peace and joy through His love and forgiveness (Romans 14:17). We keep our eyes on Jesus, regardless of our circumstances (Hebrews 12:1-2; Philippians 3:9).

We never pay back evil with more evil, and we do things in such a way that everyone can see we are filled with the honor, grace and love of God (Romans 12:17). We no longer condemn others, because we realize that we are sinners too.

We think and act with mercy, grace and compassion. We also realize the magnitude of God's love for us, and we express His glory by allowing His love to flow through us to others.

The love of God is multi-dimensional with width, length, depth and height (Ephesians 3:17-19). It completely surrounds us in every way. There is no escaping the love of God.

We collapse into God's waiting arms with the confidence that He will catch us and never, ever let us go (Hebrews 13:5). He abides in our spirit and makes a huge difference in our life both now and throughout eternity (Romans 8:11).

God does miraculous works for and through those who love Him and obey His Word (Deuteronomy 28:1-13; Hebrews 11:6). Our inheritance in His Kingdom is full of His glory (Acts 20:32).

When we flee from temptation and please God, we increase in the grace and knowledge of all that the Lord means to us (2 Timothy 2:22-24; 2 Peter 3:18). He is miraculous, amazing, magnificent and incomprehensible in human terms. He is the great I AM (John 4:26; 6:20; 8:24, 28, 58; 13:19; 18:5).

Prayer:

Father God, You are our peace and Christ is our very life (Ephesians 2:14; Colossians 3:4). Thank You for Your eternal covenant with Your Saints through the crucified body and shed blood of Jesus Christ. You are the great Shepherd and we feel so secure as Your people and the sheep of Your pasture (Psalm 100:3).

You equip us with every good thing, which we need to walk in Your perfect, pre-planned will for our life (Ephesians 2:10, 13:21; Philippians 1:6). You work out of us anything which displeases You, until we are holy in Your sight through our Lord, Jesus Christ. We will glorify You forever and ever (Hebrews 13:20-21).

Thought for the Day:

God never disciplines from anger or vindictiveness, but with the purpose of drawing us back to His love and forgiveness. 

God's Got It All Under Control

Regardless of our social, economic or religious standing, we often feel disappointment throughout our lifetime. It is clear that disappointment is no respecter of persons. We all foster expectations and we hope to achieve certain goals, which never come to pass. We sink into the pits of discouragement and flounder in the sea of despair. These negative emotions are murder on our body and soul (Proverbs 13:12).

The alternative is to surrender our expectations to God and to gratefully accept the conditions He allows to come our way. Then, we will live in serenity. God has a perfect plan for each life and only in the center of His will do we find perfect peace and contentment (Isaiah 43:1-2). Faith in God’s faithfulness will provide us with inner joy and tranquility regardless of our circumstances (Romans 5:3-4).

When we compare our issues with the life of those who are persecuted for their faith, we gain a better perspective. When we prioritize our life with our standard as eternity, our temporal issues are trivial at best (2 Corinthians 4:16-18). Christians throughout the ages all faced discouragement (2 Corinthians 1:8-9); but authentic Believers have no need to surrender to discouragement. God give us glorious, indescribable joy (1 Peter 1:8).

A personal, intimate union with Christ provides us with the protection, guidance, comfort and strength of the Lord (1 Peter 5:10; John 3:16). As we submit to God's will, we realize that He is always in control (Ezekiel 38:4; Proverbs 21:1). Nothing, which occurs in our life, surprises Him, because He already planned an equitable solution for us (Romans 8:28). With God on our side, nothing will ever occur without His knowledge (Romans 8:31-32).

He is actually greater than the spiritual forces of darkness, which come against us (1 John 4:4). With Christ dwelling within us, our heart is no longer anxious or frightened (John 14:27). We can count it all joy when we face various trials and tribulation (James 1:2), because we see His hand working out everything to our advantage (Romans 8:28). The seeds of the ultimate miracle within our suffering and disappointment end up increasing our faith (Colossians 3:15).

Prayer:

Father God, our deepest sense of joy comes from a life surrendered to You (Hebrews 13:5). An optimistic unbeliever can radiate a positive attitude in negative circumstances, but they are still missing the joy and peace, which only You can provide (Philippians 4:7; Ephesians 3:19). We are a witness to a lost and dying world of Your protection and provision (John 16:33; Romans 8:28, 37). We gain strength in our weakest times from the presence of Your Holy Spirit within us (2 Corinthians 12:8-10). At the center of Your will, we find deep and lasting peace (Isaiah 26:3).

Thought for the Day:

Anyone, who is born of God and believes in His Son, has His faith dwelling within us, helping us to overcome the negative issues in the world. - 1 John 5:4-5

Inner Transformation

God promises never to leave us nor to forsake us (Deuteronomy 31:6). When He seems distant, it is because we have drifted away from Him, not that He left us. Mental knowledge about God cannot compare with knowledge of God in a personal, spiritual relationship (John 17:3). This intimacy transforms us from glory to glory (2 Corinthians 3:18).

God’s presence in our life changes us from the inside out. We are still rough around the edges outwardly; but inwardly, we have more peace and joy than ever before. The fruit of God’s Spirit replaces our carnality (Galatians 5:22-23). We fall more in love with Jesus every day. Our fears, deep-seated anger and insecurities diminish as God heals the pain of our past.

Our faith in God’s faithfulness grows with each trial, which He works out for our good, as well as through each weakness He enables us to overcome (Romans 8:28). We come to Him and willingly lay our goals and desires at His feet, embracing His will for our life. Our prayer time grows from a few moments each morning to continual communication throughout the day (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18).

We feast on God’s Word and allow it to dictate our thoughts and behavior. When we, who know God intimately, share with others what Christ does in our life, many of them will desire to know the Lord too. I do wish our passion for God was catching, so that everyone would come to know His love intimately. However, everyone does have a chance, because He calls “whosoever will” (Revelation 22:17).

Prayer:

Father God, our unity with You is our greatest joy. All of our other relationships and activities are influenced for the better, because of Your presence in our life. We love that we can be Your friend (John 15:13-15). King David gives us such insight into our relationship with You. The possibilities are endless (Psalm 63:1-8). Thank You for making us joint heirs with Jesus Christ of the glory of Your Kingdom (Romans 8:17; Philippians 3:10).

Thought for the Day:

When we fully love God and keep His Words, the Trinity makes their abode in us. – John 14:23

Our Calling in Christ

The Jews and Romans put Jesus’ body to death, but God brought Him to life again by His Spirit. Jesus died for the sins of the whole world, once and for all generations. The perfect and righteous One died for the unrighteous. Jesus makes us acceptable, so that we can approach God with confidence (Hebrews 4:16). In Christ our humanity is dead and hidden with Christ in God.


Jesus is now in heaven and is at the right hand of our Father. The angels, authorities and powers both in heaven and on earth are all subject to Him both now and in eternity (1 Peter 3:18, 22).  Christ is our only life, and when He appears, we will appear with Him in His Glory (Colossians 3:1-4). We are raised in new life with Christ, so that we can seek eternal and infinite pursuits.


God wants us to relinquish any aspirations to be conformed to the pattern of this world. He invites us to be transformed into Christ, by the renewing of our mind, so that we can prove the good, acceptable and perfect will of God (Romans 12:2). We set our mind on timeless aspects rather than on the finite issues of life on this earth. We live our life to share the gospel with everyone who will listen.


God enlightens the eyes of our heart, for us to comprehend the hope of His calling, the riches of His glorious inheritance for His Saints and the incomparable greatness of His power toward all of us who believe in Him (Ephesians 1:17-19). The God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, will give us His spirit of wisdom. He also gives us the revelation of and the full knowledge of Himself.


Now we can share this discovery with the world around us. God calls us to walk in the Spirit on the narrow road of salvation, and to influence for Him the generations, which walk on the wide road leading to destruction (Matthew 7:13-14). He calls us to use our relationships to point people to Jesus and away from sin’s harm. Let us dedicate our life to His service until our dying breath.


Prayer:
Lord Jesus, we take our refuge in You. You keep us from shame and You deliver and rescue us from our oppressors. You turn You ear to our cries and You save us. You are our rock of refuge to which we can always go in our time of need. Your commandments save us from reaping destruction in this life. You are our Rock and Fortress forever (Psalm 71:1-3). We will arise to serve You, both now and throughout eternity.


Thought for the Day:
We are forever redeemed from the kingdom of darkness into the Kingdom of Light in Christ Jesus. - 1 Peter 1: 18-19

Spiritual Victory

 

Unless we grasp the fullness of our identity in Christ, we fall short of all that God wants to do in us and through us during our lifetime on this earth. Christianity is not a religion. It is an intimate union with the Lord of Hosts living His divine life in and through every authentic Believer (1 Corinthians 6:17). We do not earn this divine life by our good works; it is a free gift (Ephesians 2:8-20; 2 Peter 1:4). Jesus was fully human and fully divine when He lived on this earth. This same Christ is fully divine in us (1 Corinthians 2:12). When our union with Christ occurs, we are one in Spirit with Christ (1 Corinthians 6:17; 1 John 5:12; Hebrews 3:14, 6:4).

In fact, the entire Trinity takes up residence within us (John. 14:23). Our belief in Jesus secures this merger (I John 4:15,16). We are now dead to sin because of Christ in us, and He now lives His life in, through and instead of us (Galatians 2:20; 2 Corinthians 13:5; 2 Timothy 1:14). God’s Spirit seals us and dwells in us, confirming our union with Christ and our adoption into God’s family (Romans 8:14; Galatians 4:6; Ephesians 4:30; 2 Corinthians 1:22). When this fact becomes a reality in our life, God’s peace permeates out thoughts, choices and emotions.

As we mature in Christ, we grow deeper in the wisdom and knowledge of God, and we realize that Jesus within us already overcame Satan and his kingdom of darkness. As God Word strengthens us, we overcome this world and we also live victorious lives over the wiles of Satan (1 John 2:14). We scatter the darkness by turning on His Light. Deceiving thoughts flee at the mention of Jesus’ name. Satan cannot initiate anything in our life without God’s permission, and if we submit to God and resist the devil, he is obligated to flee from us (James 4:7).

Satan may try to distract us from serving God, but as we keep our mind on Christ, we remain in perfect peace as His Spirit leads us through each moment of the day (Isaiah 26:3; Philippians 4:7). All the power and authority of Christ’s divinity reside within us (Matthew 28:18). God pours His love out into our hearts (Romans 5:5). He teaches us all things (Ephesians 5:17). He gives us the desire and the power to do His will with our life (Philippians 2:12-13). All of this comes from Christ in us, who is our Lord and Savior (Romans 10:9; Colossians 1:27; Philippians 2:11; 1 Peter 3:15).

In the same way that Jesus denied His humanity and walked in the Spirit of His divinity, we too consider our humanity dead in Christ. We allow Christ to crucify the deeds of our flesh and to assimilate us with Himself in God (Colossians 3:3; Ezekiel 36:26). Christ in us conforms our spirit and soul into an expression of Himself, and this affects our body as well. Jesus functions in His gifts and ministries through us and He gives us the power and direction to walk in His will (Romans 12:8; 1 Corinthians 12:7).

Prayer:

Father God, You gave all of Your spiritual blessings and everything pertaining to life and godliness, to Your Saints in the past, to those present with us now, as well as those which will be born in the future (2 Peter 1:3; Ephesians 1:3; 1 Corinthians 2: 20-21). You work Your power in us and You are able to do more in us and through us than we can ever imagine or accomplish for You on our own (1 Corinthians 1:24; Ephesians 3:16, 20; Colossians 1:11; 1 Peter 4:11). You give us an abundant supply of power for everything we need in order to sufficiently accomplish Your will for our life (2 Corinthians 3:5, 4:7, 9:8).

Thought for the Day:

We do not pound out a meager existence for our self in this life, but we live in abundant life through Christ in us. - John 10:10