Our Spiritual Ears

Preoccupation with the affairs of this material world will dull our spiritual ears to heed God's Spirit in the spiritual realm (Matthew 13:15). This opens us up for Satanic deception, worldly influence and fleshly temptations.

We may even miss the coming of the Lord. He will come when we least expect Him, as a thief in the night (1 Thessalonians 5:2-4). That is why God calls us to watch and pray. 

We open our spiritual ears, watch and prepare for His guidance, comfort and coming. We live in holy anticipation and expectation. Our sole desire as we function in His calling for our life is His will.

A sign of the end times is spiritual apathy, which starves our spirit. We are so focused on our flesh and soul - our thoughts, choices and emotions - that we are spiritually asleep.

We put other pursuits ahead of our Bible reading, gathering with God's Saints, prayer and obedience to God's Spirit moment by moment throughout our day.

Circumstances constantly affect our fulfillment and contentment. We suffer from spiritual anemia. We measure our self-worth from our human accomplishments.

The future frightens us and we feel compelled to abandon the spiritual side of life in order to make provision for our physical and emotional needs first (Matthew 24:38).

We forget that we are created in God's image as triune beings and that He has a perfect plan for our life (Ephesians 2:10). As we take care of His business, He takes care of ours (Matthew 6:26).

His Kingdom is our inheritance and His immortal provision will replace our mortal existence if we will place His will above our own. He calls us to occupy the earth for Him until He comes (Luke 19:13).

Prayer:

Father God, spur us to release our desire to settle for mediocrity in the spiritual realm in order to excel in the carnal world. Help us to take our foot out of the earthly realm and to plant both feet firmly on the Rock of Christ.

Remind us that there is no salvation in pretending to be a Christ-follower. Only a life dedicated to the pursuit of Your will can bear any lasting, spiritual fruit. We want to receive Your free gift of salvation, sanctification and glorification by faith and abide in You forever (Ephesians 2:8-9).

Thought for the Day:

Walking in spiritual completion allows us to persevere in times of trial and tribulation by the power of God's Spirit within us. 

- Colossians 2:10

Our Identity in Christ

Our comprehension of who we are in Christ influences our thoughts, words and actions. If we have little knowledge of our identity in Christ, we will rely more on our human identity to describe who we are: our personality, occupation, family status, achievements, interests and church ministry.

When we recognize who we are in Christ, however, we gain a whole new perspective on our worth and our place in this world (Colossians 3:3-4). We have the power, love and mental stability of God’s Spirit (2 Tim 1:7); we are sanctified, and blameless from false accusations (Colossians 1:22; Hebrews 2:11); we are living stones in Christ’s spiritual house (1 Peter 2:5). 

We are God’s beloved children, holy and acceptable to Him, chosen because of what Jesus did for us (Colossians 3:4, 12; 1 Thessalonians 1:4). Jesus brings us out of the darkness of sin and into His glorious light of righteous living (1 Thessalonians 5:5). Christ in us expresses Himself through our life (Colossians 3:3-4). We partake in His heavenly calling for our life (Ephesians 2:19; Hebrews 3:1).

Christ lives in us and we no longer need to strive in this world, because we are dead to it and its temptations (Colossians 1:27, 2:11, 3:3-4). God’s Spirit deepens our roots in Christ, so we can flourish in our relationship with Him (Colossians 2:7). Christ in us completes us and is our whole life (Colossians 1:1-4, 2:10-13).

Prayer:
Father God, As Your own private possession, we daily thrive in Your presence (1 Peter 2:9-10). We come boldly before Your throne in any time of need (Hebrews 4:16). We are aliens and strangers in this world, which is our temporary dwelling place, because we are actually a chosen race, a royal priesthood and Your holy nation. Your give us the divine nature of Christ, through which we live each moment of our life on this earth (Galatians 2:20, 1 Peter 2:11; 2 Peter 1:4; 1 John 4:10; 1 John 3:1-2).

Thought for the Day:

God saves us and sets us apart as His church and bride, because He loves us.

- 2 Timothy 1:9; Titus 3:5; Ephesians 5:25; 1 John 4:10

The Beauty of Holiness

What most people do not realize is that there is beauty in holiness (Psalm 29:2, 96:9). There are church denominations, which add to Biblical law and fence members of their congregation into a narrow, legalistic lifestyle, which is more rigid than God ever intended. 

The standard by which we judge our behavior is not by human dogma, activities or acceptance, but the Truth of God's Word.However, there is also a tendency today to skirt Biblical directives and to partake in sinful activities, which we justify in our own heart as harmless. 

When we flirt with the flesh, the world and Satan, we walk a fine line between God's Truth and Satan's lies. We compromise our character. By our thoughts, words and deeds, we tarnish the name of our Father God.

We even shut up the Kingdom of Heaven for some, because of our hypocritical lifestyle (Matthew 23:13-14). God is holy, and He dwells within us; therefore, He desires His habitation to be a place of holiness (1 Peter 1: 15-16). 

Before He even created the world, God planned for His Saints to live a holy, blameless life before Him, out of our love for Him (Ephesians 1:4, 2:10).Human beings are so self-centered that we cannot comprehend the fullness of life beyond the grave. 

We think that we have to experience all that life on this earth has to offer, because we only have one life to live. This is a lie straight from the pit of hell. Our earthly life is merely temporary (James 4:14). It is our life in God's eternal Kingdom that is our true life.

Prayer:

Father God, our sinful habits and our sinful lifestyle spit in Your face (1 Thessalonians 4:7). We focus on issues in this life, when that is not what You are really concerned about at all. Many people wonder what Your will is for them. Your will is more about our sanctification than our place of employment, brand of car or style of clothing (1 Thessalonians 4:3). 

Giving thanks for our lot in life is also Your will for us (1 Thessalonians 5:18). You actually put us in the neighborhood and occupation in which we can further Your Kingdom, and that should be our daily focus.

Thought for the Day:

God calls us to be a living testimony of the change His presence makes in our life and as examples of righteous living to the praise of His glory. - Ephesians 1:12