Maturing in Christ

When we attempt to overcome the sin in our life that so easily ensnares us, we often fall back into temptation; then we feel shame both for the sin and for failing to overcome it.

We are admonished to be holy as God is holy, yet we can only do this by allowing the Holy Spirit to give us both the desire and the power to walk in increasing realms of God's glory each day (Philippians 2:12-13).

The foolish Galatians had to learn to trust God to sanctify them with the same faith that allowed them to trust Him for their salvation (Galatians 3:1-3). We are to live in this same manner.

Paul struggled with walking in a manner worthy of the Lord (Colossians 1:10). The duality of flesh and Spirit within him kept him on a roller coaster most of the time (Romans 7); however, he finally realized that the Spirit of life in Christ already set Him free from the law of sin and death (Romans 8:2).

He no longer needed to struggle with sin, but to walk in the Spirit who frees us from the law of sin and death. As we draw near to God in dependence, worship and praise, then we resist the devil, and he is bound to flee from us (James 4:7-11).

Through Calvary's cross, Christ exchanged His righteousness for our sin; we simply need to access this free gift by confessing our sin and trusting in Jesus for salvation (John 17:11-23; 1 Corinthians 6:17). Then, the Holy Spirit brings us into ever increasing maturity in Christ (2 Corinthians 3:18).

We learn to walk in the Spirit each moment of the day, led by the still, small voice of God (1 Kings 19:12) within our spirit (Galatians 2:20). We know we are in God's will when we follow that perfect peace (Isaiah 26:3), regardless of what our mind is telling us to do, or what conventional wisdom or human reasoning wants us to do.

Jesus gave us His righteousness and we now live as Jesus did in the world. We are an expression of His divine nature, because He lives within us (1 John 4:17; 2 Peter 1:4). This allows His living water within us to fill us to overflowing and to spill out into the world around us (John 7:38).

Prayer:

Father God, we thank You for Your vigilant watch care over us (Psalm 121:4). You protect us from Satan's wiles and temptations (Ephesians 2:2). Help us to realize that Christ in us enables us to live a life free from the demoralizing and destructive sin that tries to entrap us (2 Corinthians 4:10-11) and to actually, factually not just positionally, live a holy life, just as Christ in us is holy (Matthew 11:28-30; 1 Corinthians 6:17).

Thank You for keeping us, strengthening us, guarding us from our flesh, the world and the devil (Isaiah 42:11; Psalm 4:8). We give You all of the praise and glory for the maturity we attain over our lifetime. We strive only to stop following our human reasoning and to enter Your rest (Hebrews 4:10).

Thought for the Day:

We no longer struggle with life on our own, because the Trinity of God abides within us, and the Holy Spirit gradually but consistently replaces our negative attributes with Christ's righteousness.

Spiritual Thirst

Physical thirst is caused by our pituitary gland when it secretes two hormones - one signaling our kidneys and one to our hypothalamus to alert our salivary glands.

When we desire God as much as we crave water when we are physically thirsty, and we seek Him as much as we seek a drink of water, we shall find Him (Psalm 42:1-2, 143:6).

When Jesus came, He offered us a drink of His living water so that we would thirst no more (John 4:14, 7:37). From the wells of salvation, we can access this living water at any time (Isaiah 12:3).

Humanity goes to broken cisterns to find relief for their spiritual thirst: drugs, alcohol, food, sex and other addictions. These sources provide momentary relief, but have negative consequences and lethal side effects.

God provided a way through Christ for whosoever wills to come to Jesus in order to have their spiritual thirst satiated for eternity. Most people do not realize they are thirsty until they have desensitized their need with the things of this world.

God gives us a clear picture of our soul's thirst by comparing it to a deer that longs for water from the brook (Psalm 42:1-2). Biblical characters exemplify our need to quench our soul's thirst in this weary world in which we live (Psalm 63:1, 143:6).

Our intimacy with God matures as we learn to find our repose in Him, and He supplies our every need through His glorious riches (Ephesians 3:16-19). We hunger and thirst for more of Him, and He fills us to overflowing (Matthew 5:6; Luke 6:38).

Prayer:

Father God, we want to enjoy Your presence in our spirit and soul on a continual basis. You give us health for our body and soul as we drink our fill from the wells of Your salvation (Isaiah 12:3). Draw us to Your presence and fill us with Your Spirit in ever-increasing heights of spirituality and satisfaction in our soul (Psalm 23:4).

Through the examples of the Saints of old, You taught us of the futility of attempting to find solace for our spiritual thirst by seeking fulfillment from things of this world (Ecclesiastes 2:1-12, 12:13). Remind us that there are no works of righteousness, which we can do to satiate our thirst, other than simply coming to Christ for salvation and walking in Your preordained will for our life (Ephesians 2:8-10).

Thought for the Day:

Satiating our thirst will never occur if we simply observe the water and do not drink; we must come to Christ for salvation in order to enjoy the benefits inherent in this decision to partake of His living water.

Conscious Choices

The theme in the epistle of James is encouraging us to release our hold on worldly possessions and pursuits, in order to unreservedly love Christ. We make a conscious choice to pursue God's Kingdom.

God is our fountain of living water, which exceeds any stale, human cistern we can build for our self (Jeremiah 2:13). Jesus is God manifested in human form (1 Timothy 3:16). He is our example of who God is and how He relates to us in this world (Acts 10:38).

At times, God will use nature and circumstances to judge, discipline or alter our behavior. He will use Satan for this purpose as He did with Job. However, He put spiritual and natural laws in place to protect us from most calamity.

When we choose to walk contrary to God's spiritual or natural laws, we always sow to the wind and reap the whirlwind (Hosea 8:7). Our reckless and rebellious behavior reaps for us the negative consequences of our choices.

Although we usually reap what we sow, God's unconditional love covers a multitude of our sins (Galatians 6:7-9; Jeremiah 31:3; Romans 5:8). God freely loves us all, but He desires that we live in righteousness and prove our love for Him by obeying His commandments (John 14:15; 1 John 2:1-2).

God rescued us from the dominion of darkness, sits us on a hill and uses us as His light to the world (Colossians 1:13). He exhort us not to hide our light under a mesh of worldly cares, but to let it shine out through our good works, so people will glorify Him (Matthew 5:14-16).

When we make conscious choices to follow the spiritual, rather than any earthly call on our life, we reap the blessings of God and the fulfillment which only comes from serving Him with our life.

Prayer:

Father God, use us as Your ambassadors on the earth as we allow the light of Christ within us to shine out into the dark world which surrounds us (2 Corinthians 5:20). Give us opportunities to share our light with our family, friends, neighbors and workmates. Make us ever mindful of divine opportunities to share Your Truth.

We praise You for all You do in our life each and every day. We want to give You the love and appreciation You deserve from us. Yet, we often get too busy with worldly pursuits to spend time with You. Remind us that we are the ones who miss out on Your blessings when we choose to dabble in the world instead of sitting at Your feet.

Thought for the Day:

Call to the Lord and He will answer you and show you the great and powerful results of His dealings in our life and in the world around us. - Jeremiah 33:3