Great and Precious Eternal Promises

By His divine power, God has given us everything we need for living a godly life. We have received all of this by coming to know Him as our only true and living Savior (John 17:3).

He called us to himself by means of his marvelous glory and excellence (2 Peter 1:3). All of our accomplishments in this life pale when compared to what we gain when we surrender our life to Christ (Philippians 3:8).

God called us into His Kingdom to share in His glory and He shields us by His power (2 Thessalonians 2:14; 1 Peter 1:5). He encourages and comforts us as He urges us to live lives worthy of His name (1 Thessalonians 2:12; Psalm 23:3).

In this world we have tribulation, but Christ always restores us and makes us stronger, more stable and unfaltering (John 16:33; 1 Peter 5:10). The more we read His Word and learn of Him and His ways, the more abundantly we experience His grace and peace (2 Peter 1:2).

If we escape the corruption of this world through an intimate relationship with Jesus Christ, and then allow the world to entangle us again and overcome our resolve to follow God, we are worse off than we were before we heard about Him (2 Peter 2:20).

However, as God's Spirit increases Christ's character in us, we are more effective and productive in this life. He confirms our calling and election and keeps us from stumbling (Philippians 2:12-13; 2 Peter 1:5-10).

Prayer:

Father God, thank You for delivering us from the corruption of this world by allowing us to personally know our Savior Jesus Christ. Keep us from the entanglements in this world, which attempt to overcome us again (2 Peter 2:20). Lead us into the unity of the faith with Your family as we mature in our knowledge of and intimacy with the whole measure and fullness of Your Son (Ephesians 4:13).

We want to grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior and to live our life to give Him all the praise and glory forever (2 Peter 3:18). Thank You for the great and precious promises that You give us, which enable us to share in Christ's divine nature and to escape the human desires which attract us to the corruption of this world (2 Peter 1:4).

Thought for the Day:

The Lord is not slow in keeping His promises as our human standards often accuse Him of being; but He is patient with us, not wanting anyone to perish in the torment of hell, but for all of us to come to Him in repentance. - 2 Peter 3:9

Life's Toughest Moments

We were formerly dead in sin (Ephesians 2:1), but now as authentic Believers in Jesus, we are dead to sin, and our life is hidden with Christ in God (Romans 6:11; Colossians 3:3).

The Holy Spirit continually fills us with His fruit (Galatians 5:22-23). We view the visible issues of life as transient and passing, because we know that only the spiritual aspects of life are everlasting.

Paul experienced tremendous hardships (2 Corinthians 11:16-33); yet, reminded us that with an eternal perspective on life, we know that our eternal weight of glory far outweighs the momentary, comparatively light affliction we experience in this world (2 Corinthians 4:17).

When life reaches its toughest moments, we totally trust in and hide our self in God. His presence within us keeps us separate from our experiences as they are happening.

We view life from God's perspective and we no longer hold on to fears and wounds of the past. He heals us from them and Satan's lies one at a time, as we submit them to Him

( www.theophostic.com ).

We live in this world as manifestations of God through Christ. We have the same abilities and expression of the Spirit that Christ did, because He lives within us (1 John 4:17).

We obey God’s Spirit with an awareness, which exceeds human understanding. We cannot prove this relationship intellectually or physically, but the Spirit of God bears witness to our spirit that we are children of God (Romans 8:16).

As we allow God’s light within us to shine brightly, many in the world will see Him through us and want to give their life to Christ as well (Matthew 5:16).

Prayer:

Father God, we want people to see the fruit on our branch, and realize it is actually the produce of the Vine, which is the only real source of our productive life (John 15:5). As authentic, Born Again Believers, our life on earth has Jesus’ supernatural capabilities, and He uses our body, soul and spirit for His glory.

Not only does Your Spirit lead us (Romans 8:14), but He also fills us to overflowing (Acts 4:31). We are privileged as Your children, with Christ living in us by Your Spirit (Romans 8:11). The more we decrease, the more You will increase within us (John 3:30).

Thought for the Day:

We are alive in Christ, created to do every good work through Christ in us for the glory of God and for the furtherance of His Kingdom in the earth. - Ephesians 2:10

Loving Our Self

As a perfectionist codependent, I always put everyone else's needs above my own. As we all serve one another, we all get served. I read in the Bible that God wanted it this way.

However, it did not work that way in the first 45 years of my life. I did all the serving and others did all the taking with rare expressions of gratitude or encouragement for what I did.

I grew to resent the lack of reciprocation and my constant physical and emotional exhaustion. I felt like a hamster on its wheel, going round and round day after day and getting no place fast.

One day I realized that I was actually teaching people to expect me to do everything and not to respect me or my needs. I had a savior and martyr complex a mile wide and high.

The fact is, however, that I love to serve others. It is my main ministry in Christ's body. Thankfully, I started working for a recovering codependent at this same time and she spoke truth to me that set me free.

She said, "You are a person too, and you can minister to yourself and meet your needs in the same way you meet everyone else's needs." WOW! That gave me food for thought.

She reminded me of Jesus' words to love others as we love our self (Luke 10:27). I realized right away that I did not love myself in the same way that I loved others.

This opened up a whole new world for me. I went to the library and checked out books on how to be a nurturing parent. I learned to nurture myself and how to nurture others in a healthier manner.

Prayer:

Father God, so many times we take Your words at face value and skip over the minute details of the verse. We miss so much of the meat of Your Word because we do not take them in context with other verses in the Bible. We miss the whole picture, which You intend for us to see.

As we follow the leading of Your Spirit each moment of the day, we stop allowing the good things to become the enemy of the best things. We stop spinning our wheels by so much busyness and we live productive lives that bring us joy as we also give joy. We develop a closer relationship with You and people see our good works and give You the glory (Matthew 5:16).

Thought for the Day:

As we walk in the Spirit, we stop enabling others to be less than they can be by allowing them to do hard things for themselves and to learn to lean on God instead of on us, so they can live productive lives.