Manifestation of God

Most of humanity does not know Jesus as the Christ, nor do they care at all about Godly principles. Hypocrisy in the lives of so called Christians exacerbates this problem.

If unbelievers see no distinction in their daily walk with that of a professing Believer, this disillusions them. They want nothing to do with Christ or with us.

We have a problem with our connection to the Vine (John 15:5). We may even have a false hope of Heaven, because we never truly repented or made Jesus the Lord of our life.

If, however, we are grafted into the Vine, their reason for rejecting His truth may be that we are hiding His light within us and they cannot see it (Matthew 5:15-16).

Once we surrender our identity over to the Ruler of the universe, God makes a huge difference in our habits, language, personality and interests.

When we fully submit to God for Him to use as He pleases (Isaiah 29:16), our life takes on the character of Christ. This is when people see us as authentic Christians. We are a manifestation of God on the earth.

We have God’s peace in trouble, His perseverance in trials, His love for our persecutors and His joy during periods of grief.

They see us exhibiting patience in trying times, using self-control when others give in to debauchery, displaying meekness rather than having a haughty attitude, relating to others with kindness and basing our life and decisions on faith in our faithful God.

We lay down our preferences and care about the needs of others over our own agenda, without compromising who we are in Christ.

Others see truth and reality in our lives. We are capable of this behavior, not because we are exemplary human beings, but because of God's Holy Spirit within us (Galatians 5:16:25).

This is when other people want for themselves what we have within us.

Prayer:

Father God, Jesus prayed that no one would snatch us out of Your hand. You are greater than all, and we are perfectly safe in Your everlasting arms (John 10:28-29). Fill us completely full of Your Spirit and keep us as the apple of Your eye (Ephesians 3:16-19; Psalm 17:8).

Draw us close to You and never let us go. Your unfailing love is our priceless treasure and we run to the refuge of the shadow of Your wings (Psalm 36:7). When we draw near to You, and resist Satan's efforts to sidetrack us, he has to flee from Your presence within us.

Thought for the Day:

The Holy Spirit is our source of power; and we can ask Him to manifest Himself in and through us all the days of our life; so that others see Christ in us.

God's Divine Nature

 

To all of those who repent and believe, the Lord Himself is our inheritance (John 3:16-18; Numbers 18:20). We are a habitation for the Lord Most High (Hebrews 5-6). We live and move and have our being in Him (Acts 17:28). Once we enter this realm with the Lord, we enter His rest and cease from our own works (Hebrews 4:9-10). We stop seeking our own will and we start to live in His will instead. Each new trial is another opportunity for Him to impact our world through His divinity within us (Colossians 2:9-10).

When we lose our peace over some issue, this is a clear indication that this issue is an idol in our life. As we seek the Spirit’s direction about it, He reveals to us the carnal beliefs, which we still cling to in our life. As we confess this as sin, we can then relinquish it to God’s Spirit to remove from our life. The next time the issue appears, we find that it is resolved and no longer a concern for us anymore. God’s Spirit imparts all the fullness of His divine power within us through His fruit (John 14:20).

As we focus on the fruit of the Spirit, we start to realize that God’s Fruit, which is the divine nature of God, gradually replaces the negative aspects of our personality. We exchange hatred with love, depression with true joy, discontentment with peace, irritation with patience, criticism with gentleness, backbiting with goodness, pride with meekness, excess with self-control, and worry with the faith of God as we are controlled and guided by His Spirit. We are free from bondage to the flesh.

Love means to hold affection for others; joy provides us with exuberance about life; peace brings serenity; patience is the willingness to stick with it no matter how hard or frustrating something gets; gentleness supplies us with compassion from the heart; goodness is kindness that pervades our entire being; meekness allows us to serve God and others with humility; self-control comes when we allow the Holy Spirit to guide our responses; faith is trusting that God knows what He’s doing

We have eternal life by our relationship with the only true God and Jesus Christ whom He sent (John 17:3). We know Him personally and experience the power of His resurrection in our life (Philippians 3:7-12). As estimation of the value of this world decreases, the value of His goals and will for us increases. We stop living for our self and live instead for Christ. Like Enoch, we walk with God. As we seek Him and His kingdom, He gives us, through His divine power within us, everything we need to do His will on this earth (2 Peter 1:2-4).

Prayer:

Lord Jesus, in You resides all of the fullness of the triune God, and You dwell in us as we dwell in You (Colossians 2:9; Romans 6:8). We await the richest portion of your fullness to fill our entire being (Ephesians 3:16-19, 4:13). We are crucified with You, and therefore, we live in this world for Your glory (Philippians 1:21). Yet, it is not we who live, but You who live in us and through us (Galatians 2:20). We are changed from glory to glory, and we slowly mature until we share in Your divine nature (Ephesians 4:13).

Thought for the Day:

As we express Christ’s character in us, which is the fruit of the Spirit, we walk in obedience moment by moment and we do not sin or fulfill the lusts of the flesh.

The Joy of Forgiveness - Part 1

 

Sometimes, forgiveness is easy; at other times, it is almost impossible. The key is to remember that unforgiveness keeps YOU as its hostage and does not hurt the offender whatsoever. Forgiveness does not exonerate the offender from the offense. It does not free him/her from blame or guilt. Our refusal to forgive does not hurt the offender at all. Unforgiveness keeps us prisoner to their offenses, because God cannot forgive us unless we forgive others (Matthew 6:15). Forgiveness does not depend upon our feelings! It is a choice, an act of obedience to Christ’s command.

Forgiveness does not release the offender from the debt they owe us, we just let God collect it for us (Deuteronomy 32:35; Romans 12:19; 1 Samuel 26:10; Proverbs 20:22; Jeremiah 51:36; 1 Thessalonians 4:6; Hebrews 10:30). Once we forgive the offender, the fruit of the root of bitterness - anger, anxiety, depression, irritability, meanness, pride, self-indulgence, and doubt - are pulled out of our soul. Now, the Holy Spirit can move in and plant His fruit in their place (Colossians 3:12-17). Love, joy, peace, patience, gentleness, goodness, meekness, self-control and faith replace these negative emotions, attitudes and feelings in our soul (Galatians 5:22-23).

The person who offended you is actually reacting from his/her inner pain, from wounds perpetrated on them in the past. Something you said or did triggered that pain, which was already in them, and they reacted as they did. This is not your fault. You can pray that God will heal their inner pain. Then show them kindness and tolerance in response to their attacks on you. This attitude may take some time to develop in your soul. Go ahead and take that time. Just do not return evil for evil, but bless those who hurt you so that God can bless you in return.

Even after you forgive, the pain of the experience may remain with you for a very long time. The pain is no indication that you did not forgive. Forgiveness erases the intensity of the pain over time, but the memory of their offense is never really forgotten. Forgiveness is not making excuses for the person or their behavior. It is not sugar coating their actions or minimizing the effect of their actions in our life. We can feel our pain and we can protect ourselves from future pain from that person be erecting time and distance boundaries between them and us.

If we have unforgiveness toward our self, then it is very difficult to forgive someone else. You are a person too, and Jesus died so you can be forgiven just like everyone else. So, forgive your self! The only requirement God gives us concerning forgiveness is that each time you remember the pain, you follow Jesus’ example and pray: “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.” You can use this same principle when forgiving your self.

When God forgives, He removes our transgressions and remembers them no more (Hebrews 8:12). He casts them as far away as the east is from the west (Psalm 103:12). Once we confess our sins, God faithfully and justly forgives us and purifies us from all unrighteousness (1 John 1:9). He never counts them against us again (Romans 4:8). God asks us to bear with one another in this same way. To forgive grievances against one another and against our self, just as the Lord completely forgives us (Colossians 3:13).

Prayer:

Lord Jesus, we are blessed when You forgive our transgressions and cover our sins with Your blood. You will never again count our sins against us. You paid the penalty of our sin on the cross (Romans 4:7-8). If we fail to forgive sin, or to ask for forgiveness of our own sin, then we stand the chance of being overwhelmed with excessive sorrow or of making someone else feel this way too (2 Corinthians 2:7). Help us to remember that You forgave Your persecutors and help us to forgive ours in this same way.

Thought for the Day:

"Blessed are they whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered.”
-Romans 4:7 

Transformation

Read: John 16:20-22

“To all who mourn in Israel he will give: beauty for ashes; joy instead of mourning; praise instead of heaviness. For God has planted them like strong and graceful oaks for his own glory.” Isa 61:3 (TLB)

This morning, I thought about many things that bring joy into my life: butterflies in my garden, a humorous story, scenic beauty, receiving a desire of my heart, a tender and meaningful interaction, life-long friendships and miraculous moments. I used to find it hard to feel joyful, because God created me with a melancholy personality. However, over my lifetime, God’s Holy Spirit replaced the negative, pessimistic aspects of my personality with the fruit of His Spirit.

He replaced hatred with love, discontentment with peace, irritation with patience, criticism with gentleness, backbiting with goodness, worry with faith, pride with meekness and depression with true joy as His Spirit guided me moment by moment throughout the day.

What do the words of the fruit of the Spirit mean? Love is affection for others; Joy is exuberance about life; Peace is abiding serenity; Patience is a willingness to stick with the task; Gentleness is compassion from the heart; Goodness is kindness that pervades our entire being; Meekness is humility in service; Self-Control is living a life guided by the Spirit of God; Faith is trusting that God knows what He’s doing.

Prayer:

Lord, rebirth in me a new heart and regenerate Your spirit within me. Amen.

Thought for the Day:

God is in the transforming business.