No Longer a Sinner - Conformed to Christ's Image

God's glory within us increases incrementally as we cooperate with His Spirit's discipline and direction. We reflect this glory to the world around us and draw people to Him who want more of Him in their life as well.

His sanctifying work starts with the rebirth of our spirit and continues throughout our lifetime, as the imperfect in us is transformed into the perfected (Romans 8:29; 1 John 3:2).

As God's Spirit transforms us with the mind, likeness and divine character of Christ, we change from one stage of glory to the next (2 Corinthians 3:18). This is not a matter of Him changing us from one stage of sinner to the next.

We are no longer a worm, but a butterfly soaring in the spiritual realm of life. Our inner man is drawn by the Spirit of God into ascending realms of spiritual maturity, rather than Him dragging us out of our penchant toward one sin and then another (Ephesians 4:13).

This sanctifying work starts with the rebirth of our spirit and continues throughout our lifetime, as the imperfect in us is transformed into the perfected (Romans 8:29; 1 John 3:2).

Our cooperation with God's Spirit insures that our perfection continues without disruption until we are completely conformed into the image of Christ (Romans 8:18; 1 Corinthians 13:12).

Christ, who is the image of God and abides within us (John 1:14, 14:9), gives us both the desire and power to work out our salvation in cooperation with God's Spirit (Colossians 1:15; Philippians 2:12-13; Hebrews 1:3).

As we focus on Christ, as if looking in a mirror at His image in us, we reflect increasing stages of His glory. We realize that our carnal nature is all but dead, and that Christ is our whole life (Ephesians 3:3-4).

Prayer:

Father God, reveal to us that only the veil of sin, which so easily hinders us if we take our mind off Christ, will thwart our personal journey into perfection. Help us to allow Your Spirit to cut away the dead skin of the flesh, so that we walk in unity with Your Spirit and in the likeness of Christ in us.

Remind us to continually focus on Your glory reflected on the face of Christ within us. Fill us daily with Your Spirit and allow us to totally submit until He takes full possession of our body, spirit and soul - our thoughts, choices and feelings. Our whole desire in our life is to reflect Your glory to the world around us and to draw everyone in our sphere of influence to a closer walk with You.

Thought for the Day:
Our dark and sinful soul is transformed into the image of Christ as we consistently walk in His marvelous light. 

- 1 Peter 2:9

Apart from Christ

Prior to coming to Christ, we determined our daily routine by our priorities. We valued, worked toward and pursued anything that would assist us in reaching our goals. We developed this habit, day in and day out, living by our human reasoning and working to please our self and to secure our future.

Our flesh formed habits as we trained our thoughts, attitudes, words and actions to respond and react in certain ways to the challenges and trials of life. We are used to living independently of any restraints or parameters for our behavior (Romans 8:7-8). We serve our self and make sure we come out on top (Romans 1:25; 2 Corinthians 5:15). We do good deeds for others, but we want the praise.

When the Spirit of God moves in, He encourages is to shift our mind-set entirely. This sets up a dichotomy in our life, which causes a tug-of-war within our soul. God wants us to put to death the carnal deeds of our flesh, so that we can live an abundant spiritual existence in Him (Romans 8:13-14). Yet, our flesh wants to maintain the status quo and control our own life.

The tie-breaker is God’s Spirit, who rebirths our spirit, which was formerly dead in sin (Ephesians 2:5). At salvation, our old nature died and we were Born Again by God’s Spirit (Colossians 3:3). Spiritually alive, we now partake in the divine nature of Christ (2 Peter 1:4). The fruit of the Spirit replaces our formal carnal character (Galatians 5:22-23). We no longer live apart from Christ, but in dependence on God’s love and will.

Some of our former traits, alien to God’s ways, still influence our thoughts, words and behavior. However, we can crucify our independent and willful tendencies on a daily basis (Matthew 16:24-26), and obey the will of God instead. Each day, no longer apart from Christ, we walk in more victory over the flesh by dwelling in the Spirit and following God’s desires for our life (Ephesians 2:10; Galatians 5:16-26).

Prayer:

Father God, by Your saving faith, a gift to us from Your mercy and love, we willingly submit our old fleshly habits to the work of Your Spirit within us (Romans 8:12-13). He influences and transforms us. He draws us to Your heart and renovates every aspect of our life. This free gift is priceless and we thank You for the sacrifice Jesus paid for our eternal life (Ephesians 2:8).

Thought for the Day:

The Holy Spirit exchanges the deeds of our flesh by renewing our mind as we surrender our life to Christ. - Romans 12:2; Mark 10:28-29

Don't Tread on Me

In our world full of people who have no respect for personal boundaries, we often live in a state of simmering panic. Sudden changes and fluctuations in our financial, marital and employment status, and in the conditions around us, compound our natural fears of the unknown. Trepidation and insecurities plague us and we struggle to know when to submit to these changes or when to assert effort to resist or to prevent them.

Living as victims in life is self-defeating. When we succomb to hopelessness and anxiety, this is a sign that we are not seeking our comfort from God. The Serenity Prayer taught me to find God’s courage to face challenges; and then to submit to or resist them, as He gives me the wisdom. I learned that the Lord actually achieves every area of life concerning us (Psalm 138:8). We trust in God’s faithfulness and grow in faith with each lesson we learn.

As we enter God’s rest (Hebrews 10:4), we can live a life of hope and fulfillment regardless of what happens in the natural world around us. We abandon human reasoning and rely totally on the Spirit of God for our direction and encouragement. When we shed all desires birthed by the finite, carnal nature, which is actually dead in Christ, we can then pursue the realm of the infinate and eternal instead, and walk by the direction of God’s Spirit.

As Believers, we recognize that the uncertainties of life have no power over us at all. We display the fruit of God’s Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23), which is the divine nature of Jesus expressed through our soul - our thoughts, choices and emotions, which in turn influences the health of our body.  Just like Jesus, we return love for hatred and blessing for cursing (Luke 6:28). As we realize that our old nature is dead in Christ (Colossians 3:3; Galatians 2:20), then God’s Spirit can exhibit His nature through us all of the time.

Prayer:

Father God, thank You for sheltering us under the shadow of Your wings as we traverse this life, which often frightens us. Help us to realize that our carnal nature is truly dead in Christ (Romans 8:2), and that Your Spirit in us will shine through us. You protect us from any of life’s surprises, because You ordain them in our life. Therefore, when we do experience some trial or tribulation, give us the wisdom to know what to embrace and what to resist, as well as the courage to experience anything You choose for our ultimate good.

Thought for the Day:

If we have the Holy Spirit in us through rebirth in Christ, we have all of God’s fruit abiding in our nature all of the time.

Born Again

God breathed the breath of life into Adam and he was born in body, soul and spirit (Genesis 2:7; 1 Thessalonians 5:23). Adam lived in total union with our Father God in the Garden of Paradise. God’s perfect design included us living with Him in Paradise for eternity as well. There was only one commandment Adam had to keep, and his pride would not allow him to remain faithful. Adam’s sin separated him from God. When Adam sinned, his spirit died.

All human beings are born with a body and soul, which are alive, but our spirit is dead is sin too. That is why human beings crave spirituality, seek Nirvana and go on holy pilgrimages. We are trying to reconnect to God and experience the rebirth of our spirit. Before He created the world, God designed a plan to redeem man back to Himself. He took a human form and sacrificed Himself to pay the penalty of our sin.

Jesus, the man, was connected to God in Spirit throughout His lifetime (Johan 1:1; 1 Timothy 3:16; John 4:24). Since God was His true Father, He was not born with the curse of Adam’s sin on His life (Luke 2:11). He did live in this sin-cursed world, however. Like us, His soul – thoughts, choices and emotions – was influenced by the carnality in the world around Him. His soul had to grow in wisdom and his body in stature, and it was His choice to grow in favor with both God and man (Colossians 2:3; Luke 2:52).

As God the Son, the second person of the Trinity, Jesus willingly laid down His life for us. Our human body will go to the grave, but our soul – our thoughts and emotions - will never die (John 11:25-26). Only those who trust in Jesus and turn from their wicked ways are Born Again in our spirit. We have eternal life through Jesus Christ, our Lord (1 John 5:11-12). We abide in total union with God, live and move and have our being in Christ, and are led by God’s Spirit all the days of our life (Acts 17:28; Galatians 5:16, 25).

Prayer:

Lord Jesus, You suffered in life just as we do (Hebrews 2:14-18). You became a man, so that in You, we can live as You (2 Corinthians 5:21). Your Spirit exchanges our carnal humanity with Your righteousness. We have Your life dwelling within us (1 John 5:12). We grow in wisdom and stature by Your sanctifying process in our soul. We thank You for dying in our place and giving us Your eternal life now and forever. Teach us to have eternal values now as well. Show us the reality of our union with You in this life, so that we can reap the benefits of holy living both now and in eternity. We find our true identity in You.

Thought for the Day:

When our spirit is Born Again, we are united with Christ, who is our life (Colossians 3:4).

 

 

Divine Purpose

The spirit of man is dead at birth, buried under layers of sin since the time of Adam and Eve (Ephesians 2:1-5). We all have a living soul – our mind, will and emotions - which often fails under the weight of life, because circumstances beat us down relentlessly. Our dead spirit and our unhealthy soul affect our body as well. Without Christ in our life, we know something is missing. We search relentlessly to find it. What we lack is the vital power of God.

Without the Spirit of God rebirthing and dwelling in our spirit, we are crippled in life. No one is intrinsically good except God (Mark 10:18). However, when Christ moves into our life, we daily die to our carnal flesh (Galatians 2:20; John 12:24; Luke 9:23). We start to make choices, which last for eternity; rather than desiring options, which are carnal, temporal and momentary. Jesus is our only life and we have no meaningful existence outside of Him (2 Corinthians 13:5). This does not mean that we sit in a meditative state all day, every day.

Jesus and the apostles interacted with people. They were anointed with the Holy Spirit and with God’s power. They went everywhere the Spirit led them, and they blessed many with wisdom, healing and deliverance (Acts 10:38). Salvation is the beginning of our walk in Christ, but the next step is to develop awareness in our conscious thoughts of the reality of Christ living within us. Once we come to Christ we are totally complete in Him (Colossians 2:9-10). We live and move and have our existence in Jesus each moment of our day (Act 17:28). Christ actually does the work of God through us.

Our true identity as Authentic Christians comes from Christ living in us. Christ expresses God’s character through us, which is the fruit of the Spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, gentleness, goodness, meekness, self-control and faith (Galatians 5:22-23). We are all united with Christ in His Body. He uses us as individual members, each with unique gifts and talents, in a ministry to a corporate, church Body. He uses us to fulfill His purpose in the earth (Romans 12:15; Ephesians 1:22,23; Colossians 1:18; 1 Corinthians 12:27).

Our life is God’s love letter to the world that He cares about them (2 Corinthians 3:3). God equips us to walk in His will through Christ in us (Hebrews 13:20). With Christ living within us, we experience rest for our soul (Matthew 11:29). We stop striving to perform for God, because Christ works through us (Psalm 46:10; Matthew 6:28-33). This eternal rest is only available if we take our focus in life off the temporal aspects of our existence and place it squarely on eternal matters instead (2 Corinthians 4:18).

Prayer:

Father God, You gave us Your eternal life, which no one can take from us (John 10:28). We are joined to You, and we are beneficiaries of Your divine nature (1 Corinthians 6:17; 2 Peter 1:4). We have constant fellowship with You, the Son and the Spirit (1 John 1:3, 9; Phil 2:1). You placed us in Christ Jesus and we are seated in heavenly places in Him (1 Corinthians 1:30; Ephesians 2:6). You provide every spiritual blessing for us in Christ (Ephesians 1:3). We want to give you all the honor and glory for everything we think, say and do each moment of the day.

Thought for the Day:

The integrity of our testimony may be the difference in someone believing in or rejecting Jesus as their Savior.

A Brand New Life

 

God fashions the hearts of everyone on the planet and He understands all of our desperate attempts to extract meaning out of our daily struggles (Psalm 33:15). God does not judge us like people do. Human beings look at the outward appearance and we form our opinion of people, but the Lord looks at our heart (1 Samuel 16:7). He knows our thoughts and He knew all of our choices before time ever began (2 Timothy 1:9). He also knew whether or not we would strive for holiness and perfection in His sight (Ephesians 1:4).

God knew before the creation of the world if we would accept or reject Christ. He predestined those who accept His Son as their Savior to be conformed to His image (Romans 8:29). Our salvation does not depend upon our personal works, but on us accepting Christ’s righteousness in place of our sin (Ephesians 2:9-10; 2 Corinthians 5:21; Titus 3:5). He saves us, not because of our goodness or self-effort, but because of His mercy (Ephesians 2:8-10). He saves us by the cleansing of His rebirth and He renews us by His Holy Spirit (Titus 3:5).

We are buried with Christ through baptism into His death, so that we can rise from the death caused by our sinful life to a new life in Him (Romans 6:4). We receive the Holy Spirit as the down payment of our inheritance with Christ (Romans 8:17). The Spirit leads us throughout our day in the will of God for our individual life (John 6:63). Now we can draw near to God with a clean heart, full of the assurance, which is given to us by faith. Our conscience is clean and our hearts are renewed (Hebrews 10:22). We are born of God and we overcome the world by our faith in His faithfulness (1 John 5:4).

God’s unfailing love and abundant redemption belong to anyone willing to trust only in Him. Therefore, our whole being waits for the Lord. Our soul – our mind, will and emotions - waits and hopes in His Word. We put our expectation only in Him and not on any person, job, goal or ambition (Psalm 130:5, 7). In the morning we lay our requests before Him and wait expectantly for Him to respond, because we know that He hears our prayers (Psalm 5:3). No matter how long it takes for Him to answer us, we strongly and courageously wait on Him (Psalm 27:14).

Even when He hides His face from us, we wait expectantly for Him to answer us (Isaiah 8:17). He is our only source of salvation. He is our fortress and we cannot be shaken (Psalm 62:2). He strengthens us and our joy is in His great victories on our behalf (Psalm 21:1). Our heart leaps for joy and bursts forth in songs of praise for Him, because we rely only on Him (Psalm 28:7, 59:17). We rest in Him all day long (Psalm 62:5).

Prayer:

Lord Jesus, the Israelites drank water from the rock. You are our Rock and You give us living water (1 Corinthians 10:4; John 4:10). Remind us not to forsake Your precepts, because You are our spring of living water. Our broken cisterns cannot hold water, but if we believe in You, then rivers of Your living water will flow from within us (Jeremiah 2:13; John 7:38). As we rest in You and follow the leading of Your Spirit, Whom You gave to us (John 7:39), then we will accomplish all of Your works in the earth (Philippians 2:12-13).

Thought for the Day:

“We will shine like stars in the sky as we hold firmly to the word of life.”
- Philippians 2:12-13