Our Life in Christ

Jesus is God, and through Him, everything was created (Colossians 1:16). Yet, He became a man to pay the penalty of our sins. He endured the cross by keeping His focus on the joy that awaited Him back in Heaven (Hebrews 12:2). We too can enjoy this peace and joy as we keep our mind focused on Him (Isaiah 26:3).

God's gifts to us vary and are multiplied in eternity (Matthew 7:11). His main gift is free and includes our ticket to Heaven through the forgiveness of our sin (Ephesians 2:8; Romans 6:23).  We no longer need to earn our own salvation or to pay the penalty of our sins (Galatians 2:16). God completes the work in us, which He began on Calvary (Philippians 1:6).

Jesus, who is now seated with our Father God in Heaven, is our advocate and perfects our faith (1 John 2:1). He gives us His grace to avoid temptation and to accomplish the works He created us to do (Ephesians 2:10; 2 Corinthians 9:8). All the grace we need in any and all circumstances in our life are just a prayer away (2 Corinthians 9:8).

As we sit at His feet and wait on His timing, God also supplies all of our physical, mental and emotional needs during our earthly existence (Philippians 4:19). We will pass from life through death and angels will escort us to the presence of God (Luke 16:22). Our last breath on earth is follow by our next breath in Heaven. We will never sin or die again (Romans 8:21; 1 Corinthians 15:52-53).

Prayer:

Father God, regardless of the pains and suffering that endure on this earth, You gave us an advocate in Christ (John 16:33; Hebrews 4:15). Thank You for sending Jesus to free us from our debt of sin and to bear the pain of our current situations for us (2 Corinthians 4:17). We thank You that Christ abides in us and is our hope of eternal glory with You (Colossians 1:27). We look forward with great joy to living as a co-heir with Christ of Your entire Kingdom (Romans 8:17).

Thought for the Day:

We will enjoy the presence of God for eternity and our joy will be exceedingly full. - Psalm 43:4; 1 Peter 3:18

New Life in Christ

Jesus became sin for us and hung as a criminal on the cross in our place. After His resurrection, He walked the earth for 40 days, appearing to people and ministering to them. These eyewitnesses give us infallible proof of His resurrection. He was the first born of God’s children to come back from the grave and He now has total supremacy over the all things (Colossians 1:18).

For His entire life on earth, Jesus surrendered His will to God’s and He calls us to do the same thing. His resurrection power works in us, giving us the ability to do His will (Philippians 2:12-13). We relate to Jesus death through the death of our carnality and by our baptism into His life (Colossians 2:12, Galatians 2:20). We have perfect fellowship with our Heavenly Father, just like Jesus did (1 John 1:3).

God rewarded Jesus’ faithfulness with the glories of Heaven. Jesus demonstrated to us that when we give up our life for God, we gain the splendor of Heaven as well. We walk in the victory of God’s Spirit in our spirit, victory over sin in our soul and victory over death in our immortal bodies (1 Corinthians 15:53-54). Jesus lives out His life in us by God’s Spirit, who abides in us and leads us each moment of our day.

We receive Christ’s divine nature as we total surrender to and obey God’s will for our life. We are holy vessels, set apart for God’s service. We renounce all worldliness, rebellion and apathy as we admit our helplessness without Him, live in dependence on Him and accept our significance in Him. God’s Spirit works the holiness of Christ in us and gives us His life and anointing.

Prayer:

Father God, as our flesh dies with Christ, our spirit rises up to walk in a new life in Him (Romans 6:4). Like the three Hebrew children taken into slavery, we refuse to partake in the sin of this life. We keep our self holy and pure by fleeing from temptation and submitting to Your Spirit each day. Help us to live a life of responsibility, forgiveness and wisdom like Joseph did. We wait in breathless anticipation for our new adventure in Christ to unfold with each new day.

Thought for the Day:

Everyone in Egypt saw the hand of the Lord on Joseph’s life, because the Lord was with Him as He is with and in each of us. – Genesis 39:2

 

Perfect Perfectionism

The scribes and Pharisees of Jesus’ day are ideal examples of religious perfectionism (Matthew 5:20). They took the words of the prophets and the law of God and turned them into a formula for success rather than a guide for life. They perfected their outward behavior without having an inner change of heart. They were clean on the outside, but inside they were full of decay and corruption (Mathew 23:27).

They reeked of inner darkness and death, which comes from the flesh. Jesus wanted to create a clean heart in them (Psalm 51:10), and to transform their carnality into perfect spirituality by His Holy Spirit. Jesus wants to do the same thing for us today. He desires to give us His new nature and to mold in us a new, pliable heart instead of the stony one, which is the result of life’s devastation (Ezekiel 36:26).

As God’s Spirit changes our nature to that of Christ, then our behavior changes right along with it (2 Peter 1:4). The more we affirm the work of God’s Spirit in our life, the freer we become from the lies and bondage of Satan and his demons. Our identity no longer derives its strength from our carnal efforts, but from the love, which Christ has for each of us.

We consistently act in accordance with Biblical principles rather than by perfectionistic perceptions of God’s law. We stand in the power of Christ within us, knowing without a doubt that we are children of God, co-heirs with Christ and part of His beloved Body of Authentic Believers (1 John 3:2; Romans 8:17; 1 Corinthians 12:27). We walk in the victory of Calvary with the assurance of eternal life.

Prayer:

Father God, eternal life starts the moment we acknowledge our sins and surrender our life to You (Mark 1:14-15). Our intimacy with You, Your Son and Your Spirit grows each moment of every day for the rest of our life; as we spend time in prayer, Bible reading, fellowshipping with other Christians and worshipping together as Your Body on earth. Christ did more than forgive our sins, although that is the reason for our praise to Your name; but He also came to accept us into Your eternal family and give us an abundant life in You both now and forever (John 17:3; Ephesians 1:6).

Thought for the Day:

Eternal life is not the duration of our life, but rather the value of our life in Christ.