God's Transforming and Conforming Power

God’s Holy Spirit sanctifies us throughout our lifetime, until we are perfected according to His standard of the fullness of Christ in us (Ephesians 4:13). He makes us holy, even as He is holy (1 Peter 1:16).

We are fully human, but Christ in us is fully divine. God's Spirit faithfully transitions us from one stage of God's glory to another (2 Corinthians 3:18). He conforms us with the mind of Christ (Romans 12:2).

God's Spirit slowly matures us until we completely share in the divine nature of Christ in us (Ephesians 4:13). We have the same chance, which Jesus did, to live a spirit-filled life.

Our identity is no longer dependent on our accomplishments or our human standing in this world. We are a King's kid (Galatians 3), a new creation in Christ (2 Corinthians 5) and heirs with Christ of the Kingdom of God (Romans 8).

God is a shield for us and gives us His glory to replace our humanity. He hears our cries for help, and He lifts up our head when we are discouraged and alone. He hears us even from His holy hill (Psalm 3:3-4).

We are different people from what we were before we trusted Jesus for salvation; and therefore, we make a huge difference in this world. People recognize that our attitude and demeanor are unique; they sense an aura of peace and kindness that is unlike their other acquaintances.

We mature in Christ as we relinquish total control of our life to Him. We trust God completely to direct our life according to His will and way, even if it is contrary to our human reasoning and understanding (Revelation 3:7).

Prayer:

Father God, You are constantly calling, guiding and encouraging us to trust You with more and more of our life. Thank You for opening and closing doors which would divert us from Your chosen path for our life. Help us to wait patiently on You and not to jump ahead or lag behind Your divine timing.

Arrange divine appointments for us to impact lives in the sphere of our influence and to help them to come to a saving knowledge of Your Son, Jesus. Remind us to put our mind on heavenly things and to reject the carnal concerns with which the devil attempts to side track and discourage us. Help us to realize that Christ in us is greater than Satan and all of his ruses, lies and demons.

Thought for the Day:

When our soul is discouraged, anxious and overwhelmed, we can put our trust in God, and praise Him for what He has already done in our life (Psalms 42:11), and He will change our attitude, thoughts, feelings to line up to His Word and the fruit of His Spirit.

Union with Christ - The Second Adam

 

The Trinity comes to abide in us once we repent of our sin and surrender our life to God. The more we die to our flesh, the more room we have for the fullness of God in us to fill our soul - our thoughts, choices and emotions (Ephesians 3:19).

When God's Spirit rebirths our spirit from the death of sin, we are spiritually alive in complete union with God. What the "first Adam" lost for us, the "last Adam" - Jesus Christ - regained for us (1 Corinthians 15:45).

God created us to enjoy fellowship with Him; but sin, Adam's and ours, keeps us separated from this union. However, Jesus' death and resurrection gave us the opportunity to repent and to believe in His work for us on Calvary's cross.

We may or may not have this world's goods, but we learn to live in contentment with the power of Christ's redemption and His resurrection life filling us to the brim (Philippians 4:12; John 11:25-26).

Since Jesus experienced the wrath of God over the sins of the whole world - past, present and future (Isaiah 53:10-12; 2 Corinthians 5:21), we never die again. Though our body will go to the grave, our soul and spirit live on with Christ for eternity (1 John 5:12).

God longs to restore this intimacy with His creation and calls us all to repentance (Acts 13:39; John 3:15-18). He fills us with His presence and His Spirit; and no matter what happens in our body or our mind, we find our joy and fulfillment only in Him.

God makes us a new creation, and our life changes for the better from that moment on (2 Corinthians 5:17). He is the center of our identity. As we walk in His Spirit, everything we think, say and do comes from Him (Galatians 5:15-25).

Prayer:

Father God, I will both lie down in peace and sleep because You alone make me to dwell in safety. I pray for the persecuted church, for all of the Saints, for the abused and for the babies and children in this world who lack nurturing and care. Lord, give them the comfort of Your love, peace and joy in spite of their earthly circumstances.

Help us to recognize the little blessings, which You give to us all day long, to prove to us that You care for us even now. I thank You for Your daily mercy and grace, and for Your ever-present help for us in every time of need (Psalm 4:8).

Thought for the Day:

God puts the mind of Christ within us and we focus on the spiritual, eternal aspects of our union with Him, rather than the foolish and confounding aspects of life on this earth. 

- 1 Corinthians 1:27-28

The Buzzard Within

 

While sitting outside at a Veteran’s Day celebration, we all glanced skyward to view the Sheriff Department's fly-over. In the thrill of this meaningful moment, I also noticed a majestic kettle of vultures.

Their wings spanned forty-eight inches and never flapped, as they soared on invisible wind currents. One of these birds nose-dived to the earth and landed within a few feet of me.

Once I recovered from the shock of his sudden close proximity to my chair, I realized that what I always thought was a beautiful, agile bird of prey actually had an awkward and grotesquely revolting appearance.

This reminded me of our unsaved heart. We disguise our disfigured soul within us with an outward coat of cosmetics and brightly colored clothing. Yet, we remain nothing more than whitewashed tombs (Matthew 23:27-28).

The good news is that Christ died to make us a new creation (2 Corinthians 5:17). Our spirit is washed anew in the blood of the Lamb of God (Revelation 22:14). Through His sanctifying work, God's Spirit makes our soul beautiful in His timing and way (Ecclesiastes 3:11).

On this earth, God's Spirit crucifies our soul and frees us from slavery to sin. He makes us holy and frees us from the bondage and destruction, through which sin hinders and overwhelms us.

He unites us with Christ through the new birth and provides us with the blessings and promises of eternity both in this life and the next. He frees us from dwelling on our past or fearing the future (Isaiah 43:18).

In heaven, He will glorify our body by giving us an immortal existence with Him forever. We look forward to a body free of age-related issues, illness and fatigue.

We look forward to continuing to live in God's presence, adding the physical existence to our soul and spirit's enjoyment of His presence now. Our salvation will be complete in body, as well as in spirit and soul, and we will dwell with Him for eternity.

Prayer:

Father God, we live in Christ with Christ in us, and death has no more mastery over us. We also die to sin and live for You. Then in eternity, You glorify our body and provide us with immortality for our body, as well as our spirit and soul (Romans 6:4-11).

Thank You for forgetting who we used to be and giving us a new identity in Christ (Isaiah 65:17). You give us a new heart and put Your Spirit within us (Ezekiel 36:26). We rejoice at the thought of seeing Your Kingdom in all of its glory, since we are born by the blood of Your unblemished Lamb (John 3:3).

Thought for the Day:

God buries our old, carnal nature in Christ by baptizing us into His death; then He sanctifies us through one stage of glory to another and gives us a new, resurrected life.