God Restores our Soul

Our whole being finds fulfillment only in the everlasting arms of our Lord God. His love is better than anything that life on this earth provides (Psalm 63:3); and we cannot help but lift up our hands in praise to Him as we glorify Him with our every thought, word and deed.

Through His salvation, He satisfies our soul and makes us secure in this sin-filled world (Psalm 23:3-4; 63:1-5). Our spirit is no longer dead in sin, but dances through life, alive in Christ forevermore. We bathe in His love, rest in His peace and sing because of His joy in us, as He rejoices over us with singing (Zephaniah 3:17).

Our fellowship with Him is in perfect and complete harmony and unity due to His mercy, love and grace (1 John 4:19). We walk in His light and enjoy fellowship with His Body now and throughout eternity (1 John 1:7).

Clinging to our pride and rebellion, our addictions and our insecurities only brings us trouble and devastation; but surrendering all to Jesus gives us the faith and security to thrive in this war-torn world.

When we reach out to Jesus, turn away from our sinful lifestyle and submit to His authority in our life, we find satisfaction and healing in His love. God heals our pain associated with all of our relationships, even those filled with disappointment and trauma.

He helps us to humble our self and to reconcile with those in our life that caused us pain. We forgive one another and bless each other with God's encouragement and love.

God's perfect love is what our soul longs for and that which heals our broken heart and drenches us like a waterfall in this discouraging and broken society. We live as sojourners and pilgrims until He is ready to take us home with Him for eternity.

Prayer:

Father God, You created us so that our eyes are the windows of our soul. We often answer glibly when someone asks us how we are, because we know they do not really have time to hear our honest answer, nor are most of them concerned with how we really feel. Help us to look into each other's eyes and to see the true feelings emanating from them, to take time to really listen, and to show concern and ask how we may help to improve each other's lot in this life.

Remind us that we have to start by taking a searching inventory of our self in order to understand exactly how we do feel. What does our spirit need to grow in Your grace? How is our body and soul - our thoughts and feelings, which affect our choices? You are patient with us, and Your kindness is everlasting. You love us beyond words. You strengthen us and shower us with so many blessings that those who know us stand in awe of You (Psalm 86:15).

Thought for the Day:

Our success in this dark and pain-filled life comes from trusting in God alone to help us to live victoriously over the evils present all around us; as we call on Him to empower us, so that we can keep a daily, vigilant watch over our body, soul and spirit; this enables us to live serenely in His everlasting arms.

Authentic Worshipers

God is looking for authentic worshipers who will live for Him by His Spirit and in His Truth (John 4:23). He wants to raise up an army united in Christ, not a bunch of Lone Rangers doing their own thing.

As we allow the nature of Christ in us to infiltrate every area of our life, we decrease so that He may increase (John 3:30). We serve God by His Spirit moving within us and through us (Philippians 2:12-13; Act 17:28).

When we come to truly understand that we are dead, and that our life is now hidden with Christ in God, we live in God’s power, which works in and through us (Colossians 3:3; Galatians 2:20).

God will use our body, soul and spirit by His Spirit to work in the lives of people we encounter each day. He will give us His words to speak to them that we cannot possibly know in our human capacity.

This opens doors for us to witness to people and to bring Christ into their life, so that He can change their heart, lives and circumstances for their good.

We put no confidence in our fleshly abilities; and we do not boast in our own accomplishments, because we achieve all things through Christ in us (Philippians 3:3; 2:12-13).

Sinful mankind, who are lost in pride, arrogance and the exploitation of others, consider their own needs more frequently than anyone else’s (Romans 12:3). However, God brings everyone down to the same level through the grave (Isaiah 14:15).

Our eternal destination is determined by our earthly beliefs. If we live for self, we reap corruption; if we live for Christ, we reap eternal life and serve God as Authentic Believers (John 3:16-18).

Prayer:

Father God, it is not difficult to sustain a constant relationship with You as our living Lord. Every moment of our day is authentic worship to You. Living with honor and respect for You gives us a secure life with protection from lasting harm (Proverbs 19:23). Even negative circumstances turn around for our good (Romans 8:28).

You give us everything we need to live in contentment through a genuine Godly life (1 Timothy 6:6). You are our strength and shield. We trust in You with all of our heart. You fill our soul so full of joy that we spontaneously burst forth into songs of praise and thanksgiving to You (Psalm 28:7).

Thought for the Day:
Christ in us gives us joy in tribulation (Romans 5:3), hope in devastating trials and loss (Romans 15:13), and a bright vision for our future (Jeremiah 29:11).

The Glory on the Other Side of Trials

If we choose to walk in the Spirit, we will not fall into Satan’s temptation, not fulfill the lusts of our flesh, and we will walk in God’s everlasting truth (Galatians 5:15-25).  

We will avoid making intimate friendships with unbelievers, realizing that light has no fellowship with darkness (2 Corinthians 6:14-15). Christ in us is our path to and hope for glory (Colossians 1:27).

Just as Jesus was tempted at Gethsemane to abandon God's plan for Him, we too experience times of anxiety, regret, and hopelessness (Matthew 26:39). We see what we have and think that it is better than what God has in store for us, so we do not want to give it up.

When Jesus remembered the glory which awaited Him on the other side of the cross, He willingly surrendered His will to our Father's will. We too have glory waiting for us on the other side of every trial.

When we experience trials, we witness triumphs in Jesus through every one of them. We see His miracles unfolding in our life and in His corporate Body. We are a part of a world-wide union of Believers in Christ.

In times of blessing, we often slip into ingratitude, expectations and assumptions in our relationship with Christ in us. We are overly confident and take His love for granted.

Yet, life has a way of reminding us that regardless of our years of service and our spiritual maturity, we remain weak and helpless apart from Christ in us. God's grace is always sufficient and His power is continually manifested in our weakness (2 Corinthians 12:9-10).

Prayer:

Father God, You choose the foolish to confound the wise and the weak to put the strong to shame (1 Corinthians 1:18-31). You use the most unlikely people as Your ambassadors to the world around us (2 Corinthians 5:20). We feel privileged to serve You with our life.

Help us to lay down our idol of pride in order for You to fill us with Your Spirit. We are a willing sacrifice, just as Jesus was, in order to fulfill Your will for our life. We thank You for Your Lamb who paid the price for our redemption. We give Him all the glory, honor, praise and blessing, because He is worthy to receive power, riches, wisdom and strength (Revelation 5:8-14).

Thought for the Day:

Christ abides in us and we live, move and have our whole identity in Him; as His Body, we make up a mighty army that has victory against the world, the flesh and the devil.

 - Acts 17:28; Hebrews 4:16

God's Promises through Generations

The good things in life are often the enemy of the best things in life. We pursue worldly gain and pleasures and reject God's free gifts of Salvation, love, mercy, peace and joy.

We relegate Jesus to a holy man or a good teacher, and we have no interest in living according to His principles. We reject the concept of the absolute truth of God's Word.

Living according to the lies of Satan and the dictates of the world, we are controlled by a false system of philosophies where we are each a god unto our self. We pride our self in doing things our own way.

Thankfully, the arrogance of our humanity diminishes for many people as we experience God's presence. We realize His power, His role as our Creator and His promises through the generations to return to establish His Kingdom on the earth.

We lay down our worldly pursuits and idols, and earnestly work in the calling He prepared for us before the foundation of the earth (Ephesians 2:10). He sets us free from the power of spiritual darkness in His Kingdom of light (Colossians 1:13).

God gives us His Spirit to dwell within us, and we enjoy fellowship with the Father and the Son. We receive His eternal promise of everlasting life, and His Spirit teaches us the truths of God's Word (1 John 2:24-27).

God reveals Himself to us by His Spirit and His Word. He gives us boldness to stand for Him in this sinful and perverse world in which we exist. We stand in faith in His faithfulness.

His presence in us is certain. He is our dwelling place for all time (Psalm 90:1-2). We behold His beauty, meditate in His temple and abide in the house of the Lord all the days of our life (Psalm 27:4). 

Prayer:

Father God, in these last day, Your grace keeps us close to You, wrapped in Your mercy and love, rocked in Your everlasting arms. We dwell in Your presence now and forevermore. You are our eternal hope of salvation, sanctification and glorification. We exalt Your name in righteousness and live in faithfulness to Your Word and Your Truth.

We praise You for Your generous works for the children of men and the promises You make and keep throughout every generation (Isaiah 25:1). Thank You that we are no longer slaves to sin, but partakers of Christ's righteousness; and for freeing us from the law of sin and death by the law of Your Spirit of life in Christ Jesus (Romans 8:2).

Thought for the Day:

Jesus Christ offers us His gift of rebirth, sanctification, His own presence within us and eventually glorification when we see Him as He is. - 1 John 3:2

Don't Blame God

In God's original plan for mankind, He created Paradise for us to enjoy. He delighted in fellowshipping with Adam and Eve in the cool of the Garden (Genesis 3:8). He never wanted us to experience one bad day in our whole lifetime.

In his rebellion and pride, mankind decided as he always does, to "do it his way", and rejected Our Father's ultimate plan for his life. Adam sowed to the flesh and reaped destruction, toil and hardship for us all.

Adam forfeited dominion on the earth to the devil when he sinned. Until Jesus comes again to take His rightful Kingship over the earth, Satan is the god of this world (2 Corinthians 4:4). Sin and destruction are his specialty.

Even creation is cursed by the effects of sin in this world. All creation groans for the unveiling of the sons of God to bring God's total glorification back to the earth (Romans 8:19-22).

All of the misery, trials, disappointments and loss we suffer in this world are spawned by Satan. We are reaping what Adam and Eve sowed by their rebellion and pride.

So if something bad is happening in your life, or in the life of some good or godly person that you know, don't blame God. The "credit" actually goes to Satan.

God knew mankind would not appreciate His generosity; so He planned to become a man to pay for our sins, to redeem us back to Himself and to prove His unconditional love for us (John 10:30). In salvation, God gives us back both now and in eternity what Satan stole from us.

By providing a way for our salvation, God gives us all a chance to choose eternal life (John 3:16-17). If anyone refuses to believe, we condemn our self to hell in this life on earth and also in eternity (John 3:18).

If you repented of your sins and came to Christ for salvation, you are now a Saint (1 Corinthians 1:2). The Good News is that God will restore His Saints to Paradise in just a short vapor of time (James 4:14).

Prayer:

Father God, when we consider eternity, the 6,000 years of mankind's toil on this earth are just a brief era. In Your perfect timing, Jesus will take His rightful place as ruler of this world and restore the Kingdom under Your government and order. There will be no more crying, toil, pain or hardship there (Revelation 21:4).

Those born on the earth during the following 1000 year Millennium will also have a chance to choose or reject Jesus' Lordship; so that everyone will be allowed to exercise Your gift of free will (Revelation 20:3-7). All of those who stay faithful to You through to the end will serve You and enjoy Your blessings throughout eternity (Revelation 22:3; John 12:26, 30).

Thought for the Day:

God rejoices over us with singing, and He delights when His Saints pass from this world through death's portal, and enter eternity to dwell forever in His presence. 
-Zephaniah 3:17; Psalm 116:15