God's Eternal Nature in Us

God loves us and shows Himself to us (John 14:21). He calls us through the gospel to obtain the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ (2 Thessalonians 2:14), and claims us as His children (Ephesians 1:4-5).

God is the Father of spirits (Hebrews 12:9). He created us in His own likeness with a triune nature - our spirit, soul and body (Genesis 1:27; Hebrews 12:9; 1 Thessalonians 5:23). His Spirit transforms us with the divine nature of Christ.

We are born of the first Adam from the dust of the earth, but also Born Again of the second Adam, Jesus, by the Spirit of God (1 Corinthians 15:45). God created us as physical human beings, but He also gave us a soul - thoughts, feelings and choices - and a spirit.

God made Jesus the firstborn among many adopted brethren  (Romans 8:29; Ephesians 1:5). He gives us exceedingly great and precious promises of salvation, so that we might be partakers of Christ’s divine nature (2 Peter 1:4).

He sanctifies our soul throughout our lifetime, until we are holy and without sin in His sight. His rich grace abounds in our life, and He gives us His wisdom to deal with every issue we face (2 Corinthians 9:8).

God wants to fill us through all of our being with all of His fullness, so that we may obtain the richest portion of His presence in our life (Ephesians 3:16-19; 4:13).

As we contemplate the Lord’s glory, we are transformed into His likeness with an ever-increasing resemblance to Christ (2 Corinthians 3:18; Romans 12:2). Jesus is equal to God, and He lives in us, sharing His divine nature with us (John 5:18).

We have the same potential, which Jesus did, of becoming spiritual beings, because Christ in us is Spirit. When we crucify the deeds of our flesh, walk in the Spirit and pray without ceasing, we make a difference for the Kingdom of God.

Prayer:

Father God, by Your glorious grace we gradually walk into the divine nature of Christ in us, and we walk away from the corruption in this world (1 Peter 2:2-4). We are growing in our understanding of the amazing magnitude of Your power available to all authentic Believers. It is the same dynamite power that resurrected Christ from the grave and returned Him to His glory in Heaven (Ephesians 1:19-20).

Thank You that He fills us with this life and supplies us with everything we need to function in unity with You and to accomplish Your will for us in the earth (Ephesians 1:23). Enable the world to see that You sent Jesus on their behalf, by making our life a living testimony to them (John 17:21-23).  

Thought for the Day:

Eternal life is not some future event that we will experience some day; it occurs within us, as we come to intimately know Jesus, and our God who sent Him. - John 17:3

I Would be Lost

I would be lost without God's presence and His Word. I do not just mean that I would literally be lost and going to hell, which I would be, but I would have such a meager life without Him.

Not having a Bible in my own language to read whenever I want would leave a huge hole in my life. I read the Word and write a post for my blog throughout each of my days. I commit verses to memory each day too.

There are many countries and people groups without the Bible in their own language. They are starving from a famine of hearing the Word of God. I cannot imagine the deprivation they feel.

Thankfully, there are groups dedicated to translating the Bible in the language of every culture around our globe. We can help by donating to these ministries, such as Wycliffe. You can even Christmas shop here ( https://www.wycliffe.org ).

The best Christmas gift we have ever received is the eternal life given to us by God through Jesus Christ. We simply make a searching moral inventory, ask God to forgive our sins and believe that Jesus Christ is the only Savior of the whole world (John 3:16-17; Acts 4:12; Mark 1:14-15).

This allows us to be filled with God's Spirit and to walk in God's presence each moment of our life. I depend solely on His presence for guidance, comfort, answered prayer and the peace and joy which only He can give.

Without God's love filling my life, I would feel alone, fearful, insecure, anxious and be overwhelmed with excessive sorrow. Yet, with His presence I find the true meaning of life, even in the negative aspects and the losses.

I would be lost without the presence and Word of God in my life. I dedicate my life to His service, because it is the least I can do in exchange for His generous love, provision and grace.

Prayer:

Father God, thank You for loving the world so much that You gave Your only begotten Son to pay for the error of our ways. Teach us Your ways and help us to walk in Your paths (Psalm 25:4, 27:11, 86:11). Help us to share Your truth and love with the lost and dying world all around us, so that they too can revel in Your presence and Your Word.

Help us to hide Your Word in our heart, so that we do not sin against You (Psalm 119:11); and so that we can flourish in this world because of Your presence in our spirit, Your Word in our heart and Your love providing a miracle in every trial that we will ever experience.

Thought for the Day:

God's Spirit enables authentic Believers to be totally capable of fully experiencing the magnitude of God's astounding and boundless love for us through a personal relationship with God through Jesus Christ, until we are completely filled throughout our entire body, soul and spirit with all the fullness of God and have the richest portion of His presence in our life until we are entirely flooded with God Himself. 

- Ephesians 3:18-19, Amplified Bible

In Times of Trouble

 

In this life full of trials and tribulation, we often adopt an angry attitude and walk around with a huge chip on our shoulder. We had noble and worthy expectations coming out of high school; plans and dreams and aspirations of health, wealth and success. How dare life stand in our way? We often blame God for our failures, never realizing the magnitude of blessings He actually, already provided for us. 

We struggle on, hoping that tomorrow will be different; that we get our bonus, raise or promotion soon. We pray for a baby; and when God answers, we wish He’d take it back – sleepless nights and a mountain of dirty diapers were not in our original bargain. Humans are never satisfied, always upset and rarely ever happy. We take out our disappointment on those we love, expecting them to forgive us.

God’s antidote for this poisonous existence is for us to search for Him and His strength, to seek Him in every area of our life (1 Chronicles 16:11). He allows us to struggle and to attempt to succeed on our own. However, He patiently waits for us to call out to Him in our times of trouble. He is anticipating that we will need Him to rescue us. When He comes, we are filled with praise and we give Him all the glory (Psalm 50:15).

There are so many people in other countries that are not reaping the blessings provided for them, which our ancestors guaranteed for us in America (Exodus 20:6). If you think that your life is poor and miserable, take a trip to a third world country. I guarantee that you will return with the high praises of God on your lips. Remember, in the times of blessings in your life, that many people need your help in theirs.

Prayer:

Father God, You reign forever. You established Your throne and You judge the world by Your righteous standards. You govern us with justice and mercy and provide for all of our needs. You are a refuge for the abused and neglected. You are a fortress and you protect us in our times of trouble. Anyone who knows You will put their trust in You, because You have never, ever, not one single time, by no means at all, forsaken those who seek Your will for their life (Psalm 9:7-10).

Thought for the Day:

The Bible has the answers for us, if we only take the time to ferret them out.