Quietness and Confidence are our Strength

The proud and haughty think only of themselves. They have a superior attitude and demean others in order to make themselves greater in their own sight.

They gossip, backbite and bully people; thinking they are wise and better than anyone else. Some people really believe this, but some are insecure and hide behind this mask (Psalm 131:1).

It is only as we are quiet before the Lord that He can search us and teach us to know our own heart. He tries us and knows our thoughts. He sees the wickedness within us and leads us to His everlasting truth (Psalm 139:23).

Our soul is like a little child within us - frightened, demanding and careless. As we learn to trust in the Lord now and always, we rest in His loving arms (Psalm 131:2-3).

We wait in hope by faith, and God gives us His Son of righteousness as our salvation (Galatians 5:5). We rest in His secure hope and safety (Job 11:18). Courage and strength fill our heart as we hope in the Lord (Psalm 19:7; 31:24).

God is our help and shield (Palm 33:20). We never feel ashamed, even in hard times, because we have patience and rejoice as we pray to and trust in Him and worship His holy name (Romans 12:12; 1 Thessalonians 1:3).

God reveals to us the mysteries of the riches of His glory through Christ who dwells in us, and gives us a living hope of dwelling with Him for eternity (Colossians 1:27).

We do not even have to worry about what we will eat or wear. As He cares for nature, He provides even more for us. Worry cannot add an hour to our life or an inch to our stature. In fact, stress from worry reduces the quality and quantity of our life (Luke 12:22-26).

Only as we cast all of our cares on God's strong shoulders can we truly enter into His rest. He will never let us fall (Psalm 55:22). He is our light, our salvation and our stronghold, so we have no need to fear (Psalm 27:1)

Prayer:

Father God, this world often terrifies us; but the fact that You will never leave or abandon us gives us hope, strength and courage (Deuteronomy 31:6). You hold our hand, help us and redeem us (Isaiah 41:13-14; Proverbs 29:25). You are our refuge, strength and ever-present help in any times of trouble (Psalm 46:1, 118:6-7).

You surround us with Your holy angels and protect us from threats and trouble (Psalm 34:7; 1 Peter 3:14). As we call on You, You free us from all of our fears and You fight for us (Psalm 34:4; Deuteronomy 3:22). Nothing will ever separate us from Your love - not even the power of Satan and all of His demons (Romans 8:38-39).

Thought for the Day:

Whomever dwells in the shelter of God Almighty will rest in the shadow of His wings; we climb into Him as our strong tower and refuge and are safe. - Psalm 91:1-16

Why Believe in God?

Why not believe in God? What is the alternative? We can rely on our self, our career, other people or addictions of some kind, but these are not stable or eternal. The fulfilled prophecies of the Bible prove that it is worthy of our confidence in its Words. They are life, and they give us a road map to follow in this unstable world in which we live.

God knows us intimately, and deeply cares about us (2 Corinthians 5:11; Ephesians 2:20; Psalm 139:13). Our God of Hope fills us with all joy and peace. As we trust in Him, we will overflow with His hope by the power of His Holy Spirit (Romans 15:13). This hope in God does not disappoint us, because God poured out His love in our hearts through the Holy Spirit whom He also gave to us as our Comforter and Guide (Romans 5:5; John 14:26).

We are blessed when we place our hope in the Lord, our God, from whom comes our help (psalm 146:5). God knows exactly how we feel and He cares about us, even if people do not understand us (Hebrews 4:15). Our faith, knowledge and eternal hope rests on our God who cannot lie (Titus 1:2; Hebrews 7:19; Acts 26:6). When we develop the mindset that we ultimately need no one but God for our life and our future, we are truly free (John 8:36).

Our Heavenly Father gave us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. God is great in His mercy. He is our future and our inheritance, which will never perish, be destroyed or fade away (1 Peter 1:3-4). We can place our faith and hope in God, because He raised Christ from the dead and restored to Him His great glory (1 Peter 1:21).

Prayer:

Father God, You removed our fleshly tendencies by the circumcision of Christ, You buried us with Him in His baptism and You raised us up with Him, because we have faith in Your plan for our salvation (Colossians 2:11-12). Now our flesh is dead with Christ, but we also live in Him (Romans 6:8; Colossians 3:3). He is our whole life (Colossians 3:4). As our love for You increases, our connection to this world decreases, and our intimacy with You intensifies. 

Thought for the Day:

We wait expectantly for our blessed hope, the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior, Jesus, the Messiah.

- Titus 2:13; Acts 24:15

Living Holy of Holies

The faulty thinking of most Born Again Believers is that we are separated from Christ by the ethereal boundary between Heaven and earth. We view God in Heaven with Christ sitting on the throne at His right hand. That leaves us all alone, struggling down here on Terra Firma to live a holy life. When we come to the understanding that we are dead, and that Christ is now alive within us (Colossians 3:3), we stop striving to perfect our self and we step aside and let God be God in our life.

Jesus substituted His life for ours on the cross. In the same way, He now lives our life for us and through us. Jesus fulfills our Father’s will in us as we follow the leading of His Spirit moment by moment throughout the day. Life no longer requires any effort from us. God only wants our obedience. We simply stand firm as we watch the Lord bring deliverance in us and through us (2 Chronicles 20:17). Our body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, the Holy of Holies (Hebrews 9:3). The Holy Spirit lives through us in the perfection of Christ and according to the will of our Father (Colossian 2:9).

Jesus challenges us to hunger and thirst after righteousness (Matthew 5:6). Christ is our righteousness, and our deliverance, redemption, sanctification and so much more (1 Corinthians 1:31). There is nothing left for us to strive for or to attain to. Therefore, there is no way we can boast about our accomplishments in the Lord. We boast in Him instead (1 Corinthians 1:31). Once we get the focus off our self, and place it on Christ where it belongs, then He can use us to fulfill His purpose in the earth.

 
If our flesh is tempted to sin, we simply remember that it is dead and hidden with Christ in God (Colossians 3:3). When we view any temptation through the eyes of the Spirit living within us, the sin loses its appeal for us. We realize that we would much rather live righteously through Christ than unrighteously through our old, dead flesh. In the same way, if we attempt a ministry for the glory of God, and the Spirit did not lead us to serve in that area, we will never find His anointing in it.

When Jesus lived in the flesh, He suffered trials in every area of life, and had just as many temptations as we do. Yet, in each instance, He drew from the strength of His divinity; and in the end, He conquered death and Hell for all of us (Revelations 1:18). Every Born Again Believer lives in divine union with this same Christ. Even though we still live in a body of flesh, we now live by the faith of the Son of God who cares for us and sacrificed Himself for us (Galatians 2:20). We draw from the strength of His divinity within us for healing, wisdom, strength and direction for a victorious life.

Prayer:
Father God, Jesus prayed that He is in us, and You are in Him. He wanted us to experience this same unity with one another so the world would know You sent Him and that You love us as much as You love Him (John 17:23). All of Your fullness dwells in Christ and He is the head of all powers and principalities. In Him, we are made complete (Colossians 2:9-10). Therefore, help us to let Your light within us shine so brightly, that people will see Christ in us and glorify You, who are our living hope (Colossians 1:27; 1 Peter 1:3).

Thought for the Day:
We search in vain for Christ outside of our self, only to discover that He lives in all of His fullness within every Born Again Believer.






Thank you, Tracy Hassall, for the use of your glorious photo.