New Creation - Final Part 3

There are just a few more negative traits, which God is changing to make me a new creation. I dislike the limelight, but God is not concerned with this. I lack the confidence, anointing and ability to function in leadership, but I make a good foot soldier, because I follow instructions.

The last two strongholds, moodiness and grouchiness, only bother me now when I am tired, but God’s Spirit helps me to overcome even then by reminding me to keep my focus on Him rather than on myself. 

Over the years, God retained a few of my positive personality characteristics; such as my organizational abilities, calendar planning, economical tendencies, neat homemaking, attention to detail and a determination to finish what I start.

Another character trait, which He preserved, was my ability to find creative solutions to solve problems. Unfortunately, I always felt the need for others to do things my way, so God did purged me of that side of the coin.

God also had to break me of the penchant to ease the burdens of everyone around me; because I ended up burned out, and I thwarted God's plan in the lives of those I enabled.

I am sure that you can see from my testimony over the last three posts that God cares about every area of our life. He wants to transform and conform us to be like Christ and to manifest His love and divine nature to the world around us. People will see the difference He makes in our life and will want His transforming power for their life too.

Prayer:

Father God, thank You for making me into a new creation and for enabling me to overcome human tendencies by filling me with the divine nature of Christ and guiding me with Your Spirit (2 Peter 1:4; 2 Corinthians 5:17). Thank You for forgiving my inadequacies when I fall short of Your image of who I am in Christ, who is my true identity (Colossians 2:9-10). I rejoice in the fact that my life is now hidden in You with Christ, who is my whole life (Colossians 3:3-4). 

Thought for the Day:

Allow God to work in your life to exchange your negative personality traits with His fruit, to use your positive characteristics for His glory and to make you a new creation in Him. - 2 Corinthians 5:17

Two Extremes

There are two extremes of human attitudes, which end up as liabilities to the work of Christ, rather than as a blessing. Satan tempts us in our thoughts with the sins of inferiority and superiority. Our misguided beliefs about God, the world and our self shade the thoughts in our mind. This also affects our words and actions.

Some of us are insecure, and shrink from the limelight, rarely volunteering to help in church ministries. We end up disparaging, censuring and condemning our abilities and our feeble attempts to serve. We doubt God's love for us. We fail to walk in the will of God, because we believe that we cannot accomplish what He is calling us to achieve (Proverbs 23:7).

On the other hand, there are those with prideful thoughts who exalt themselves and brag about their accomplishments (Galatians 6:3: Romans 12:3). We have spiritual pride and remove our self from fellowship with the Body of Christ, because we look down on them and criticize their efforts for the Lord. We think that we are too good to function in God's true calling for our life (James 1:26).

Jesus pointed out that what is in us, comes out of us, either good or bad (Matthew 12:35). If we listen to Satan's lies, we will live in defeat or arrogance. God's Spirit deals both with inadequacy and pride in the authentic Believer (Hebrews 4:12). The balance between these two extremes is to have the mind of Christ (1 Corinthians 2:16).

Christ can heal us and deliver us. We can function through God's Holy Spirit, who leads us into all truth and directs our every step (Galatians 2:20; John 16:13; Romans 8:14). We no longer struggle to live in this world. God's Spirit replaces our carnal disposition with the divine nature and mind of Christ (2 Peter 1:4; Romans 12:2).

Prayer:

Father God, after our spirit is Born Again, allow us to surrender to the transforming work, which Your Spirit accomplishes in our soul. This way we will cooperate and exhibit more and more of Your spiritual fruit (Galatians 5:22-23). Remind us to place our mind on spiritual and eternal issues, not on earthly aspects (Colossians 3:2). Help our mind to dwell only on what is factual, moral, accurate, divine, positive, admirable and worthy of praise (Philippians 4:8).

Thought for the Day:

If we focus on the negative, we reap death; but if we focus on the positive and spiritual, we will enjoy rest and peace. - Romans 8:5-6