A Living Tabernacle

The faulty thinking of most Born Again Believers is that we are separated from Christ by the ethereal boundary between Heaven and earth.

We believe that God is only in Heaven with Christ sitting on the throne at His right hand. That leaves us all alone, struggling down here on Terra Firma to live a holy life.

Actually, Jesus substituted His life for ours on the cross. In the same way, He now lives our life for us and through us. Jesus fulfills our Father’s will in us as we follow the leading of His Spirit moment by moment throughout the day.

When we come to the understanding that we are dead, and that Christ is now alive within us (Colossians 3:3), we stop striving to perfect our self and we step aside and let God be God in our life. We are His Living Tabernacle.

Life no longer requires any effort from us. God only wants our obedience. We simply stand firm as we watch the Lord bring deliverance in us and through us (2 Chronicles 20:17).

There is nothing left for us to strive for or to attain to (Galatians 3:1-3). Therefore, there is no way we can boast about our accomplishments in the Lord. We boast about Him instead (1 Corinthians 1:31).

Once we get the focus off our self, and place it on Christ where it belongs, then He can use us to fulfill His purpose in the earth. We decrease, so that He may increase in and through us.

Prayer:

Father God, Jesus acknowledged that He is in us, and You are in Him. He wanted us to experience this same unity with You and with one another so the world would know You sent Him and that You love us as much as You love Him (John 17:23).

All of Your fullness dwells in Christ and He is the head of all powers and principalities. In Him, we are made complete (Colossians 2:9-10). Therefore, help us to let Your light within us shine so brightly, that people will see Christ in us and glorify You, who are our living hope (Colossians 1:27; 1 Peter 1:3).

Thought for the Day:

We search in vain for Christ outside of our self, only to discover that He lives in all of His fullness within every Born Again Believer. - Ephesians 3:16-19 Amplified Bible

Successful Spiritual Warfare

Prayer is our lifeline to the Trinity. We continually communicate with God in prayer through each moment of the day (Matthew 7:8). We do not need a quiet place to kneel and pray.

We pray through the storms of life, the serene times of play, the busyness of our own making and the unforeseeable issues, which life unexpectedly throws at us.

Prayer changes us, the people we pray for, the circumstances surrounding us and the spiritual principalities and powers all around us.

In chapters nine and ten, the Bible records Daniel's experience concerning answers to his prayer. One was a quick response and the other a delay of about three weeks.

In the later, when God's archangel finally broke through Satan's lines of hindrance drawn in high places to prevent the answer from being delivered, he explained all of this to Daniel in detail.

These are some of the most amazing verses in the Old Testament. It enables us to realize the spiritual warfare going on around us as a reality and an entity to take seriously.

These verses encourage us to "pray-through" in every situation and to persevere until God delivers His answer, rather than to give up after a weak attempt to petition our Deliverer.

Sometimes, our prayers are carnal and self-centered; designed too heap on our self the riches of this world (James 4:3). God does not always provide what we want, especially if He knows it is not for our ultimate good (Romans 8:28).

Yet, at other times, Satan steps up his resistance in order to discourage us from believing in God, trusting Him with our life and walking in His order for our day.

God inspired James to tell us that if we submit to God's will and resist the devil, he has no option but to flee from our presence (James 4:7-9). This is the secret to successful spiritual warfare.

Prayer:

Father God, thank You for deigning to form an intimate, personal relationship with us - the Creator with the created. You desire our continual fellowship while we live on this earth and look forward to our death when we come to abide in Your presence forever (Psalm 116:15).

Your angels rejoice when one sinner repents and crosses over from eternal death into life, adding yet another Saint to Your Kingdom (Luke 15:7). You rejoice over us with singing and You love us with an everlasting love (Zephaniah 3:17). We can barely grasp the full meaning of this relationship, which You offer to everyone ever born on this earth. 

Thought for the Day:

Most people never avail our self the opportunity to enter into this intimate union with our Creator and King, because we despise the shame of the cross and resist the opportunity to totally surrender our will to His.

Our Unwavering Hope

 

When we encounter an issue or trial, it causes us to pray about our situation. During this time of dialogue, we increase our unity with the Lord. We also serve as a living testimony to our friends and family. Our faith in God’s faithfulness proves to them that we consider the trail simply as a light and momentary inconvenience (2 Corinthians 4:17), because it does not devastate us as it would them. This causes them to question how they too can share in our faith in Christ.

Christ in us draws them to Himself through the witness of our life. No one can see God unless they are Born Again. This occurs by His Spirit through repentance of our sin and belief in the saving work of Christ on the Cross (John 3:3). All Born Again Believers walk away from the practice of sin (1 John 3:9). Our salvation rebirths our spirit but also transforms our heart. We pass from death to life and we selflessly love the family of God in word and deed (1 John 3:14, 18).

God invests in us all the power of His Godhead, because Christ actually dwells in us by His Spirit. We do not have to fear people, because our warfare is against wickedness in heavenly places (Ephesians 6:12). Christ gives us authority over powers and principalities (Ephesians 1:21), because of His work on Calvary’s cross (Colossians 2:15). We fear God, with the awe and respect due His name (Proverbs 1:7); however, we have no more fear of what man can do to us (Hebrews 13:6), or of the devil and his demons (James 4:7).

The Lord, in whom we now believe, forgives and sanctifies us once and for all on the day we repent and surrender our life to Him. He loved us first and drew us to Himself. Now He acts as our advocate and intercedes on our behalf before our Father (1 John 1:9, 2:1, 4:19). We are no longer sinners, but Saints in His eyes. He calls us to bring the gospel to and care for the destitute, hungry and imprisoned people who do not yet know Him (Matthew 25:35-36). In doing this, we prove our love to Him (Mark 12:30-31).

Prayer:

Father God, You always lift up everyone who falls and is discouraged and depressed. We look to You for our deliverance, which You always bring right on time. You open Your hand and satisfy our longing. You are near to everyone who calls on Your name with an honest heart. You place Your desires in the hearts of those who fear You, and You preserve everyone who loves You (Psalm 145:14-18).

Thought for the Day:

We make Christ the Lord on the throne of our heart and we are alert to give a gentle and reverent testimony of the hope He gives us. - 1 Peter 3:15