A Surrendered Life

 

Once we are Born Again, we are one Spirit with Christ who dwells within us (1 Corinthians 6:17). He strengthens us to continually overcome the sinful desires and evil spirits that threaten and tempt our flesh (1 John 5:4; 2 Corinthians 2:14; Romans 8:37).

Every time Satan finds something to use to tempt us to sin, it is an idol in our life. These remaining secret unconfessed and unsurrendered sins still dwell in us, which the Spirit has not yet brought to our attention.

We brought those idols with us from our old life and they are still causing issues now in our new life (Genesis 31:34; 2 Corinthians 5:17). God calls us to willing lay down these secret sins as His Spirit draws them to our attention.

He will complete the work He started in our soul, just as He did in our spirit and will also do with our future immortal body (Philippians 1:6). Daily, He carries out His work of perfection until there is no longer any entrenched sin in our body or soul.

We simply enter Christ’s rest each moment of our day and submit to His Spirit’s mercy, grace and direction (Colossians 1:27, 2:2). As we walk in the Spirit moment by moment, we will never fulfill the lusts of the flesh (Galatians 5:15-25).

Then, God’s Spirit and the divinity of Christ within us renovate our thoughts, choices and emotions from carnal ones to those, which are spiritually minded (Romans 12:2; Ephesians 4:23).

Prayer:

Father God, without You in our life we are hopeless and undone (John 15:5). We thank You for giving us Your Spirit to perfect us day by day. We thank You for Jesus’ life and character that overcomes unrighteousness within us and presents us as a spotless Bride (2 Corinthians 4:7).

As we mature spiritually and enjoy a deeper and more intimate relationship with You, we will more clearly see Your purpose in our life. We learn to rejoice during trials and times of difficulty, because we know that patience is having her perfect work in us and seasons of great victory follow seasons of spiritual battle.

Thought for the Day:

Rather than box with the winds of adversity, we embrace them; the Bible has current answers for us regardless of the questions that plague our mind, if we will only take the time to search them out.

Admiring Without Coveting

 

The greatest fallacy of our current world is covetousness. The "haves" and the "have nots" are polar opposites. Many of those who do not have, believe there is nothing wrong with taking from those who do have. Theft and murder, home invasions, are on the rise.

Thieves do not even wait until the cover of darkness, they will break into a home in the afternoon when everyone is at home. They tie people up, gag them, force one of them to go to the bank and empty their accounts and turn everything over to the thief.

Admiring a person's wife or personal possessions is not enough for them (Deuteronomy 5:21). They want, without working for it, what the other person has; and they want it now. At times, desperation will fuel a person to use desperate means to provide for their family; however, some people are just too lazy to work.

The Bible encourages us to rejoice when someone rejoices and to show empathy when someone suffers loss (Romans 12:15). Did someone buy a new home with unusual architecture and modern conveniences? Rejoice with them.

Did someone inherit a large sum of money and use it wisely to better their circumstances? Rejoice with them. Did someone find a great deal on a new car? Rejoice with them.

There is too much tragedy in our world to add to it by coveting what our neighbor or family member has. Weep with them; but we also rejoice when someone is blessed, even if it is a greater portion of blessing than we received.    

Prayer:

Father God, remind us that every good and perfect gift comes directly from You. You are the Father of Lights and You bless those who walk in your ways (James 1:17). You even bless the sinner, which causes grumbling among the ranks of those who faithfully serve You. Yet, through this You show us that You willing allow Your rain of blessings to fall on the just and the unjust (Matthew 5:45).

You show Your love to thousands of generations, which proceed from those who love You - blessing our children and their children throughout the years, even beyond our day of our death - which is our deliverance from the ties of this earth (Exodus 20:6). Your ways are perfect and we want to have more of the mind of Christ and less of the mindset of this world (Philippians 2:5), so that we can rejoice in another's good fortune.

Thought for the Day:

People who seek wealth often fall into a snare and their foolish, harmful desires plunge them into destructive behavior and its consequences, which causes them to fall away from their faith in God and to reap grief and sorrow for themselves. - 1 Timothy 6:9-10

Covenant with Christ

God made many covenants with the Old Testament Saints, which He keeps even to this day. Then He sent Jesus to make a new covenant with those born after the Messiah's birth (Matthew 26:28).

Anyone humble enough to receive Him receives eternal life in return (John 3:16-17). He replaces our human, uncircumcised heart of stone with His heart of flesh and makes us a new creation in Christ (Romans 2:29; Ezekiel 36:26; 2 Corinthians 5:17).  

This new life in Christ enables us to mature spiritually and allows God's Spirit to conform us the image of Jesus, the Christ (Romans 8:29). The Spirit spurs us to desire more of God and a more intimate union with the Trinity within us.

He gives us the desires of our heart - not the carnal aspects which we covet from this world, but He puts His desires in our heart to replace our carnal, fleshly ones - which would not make us happy anyway (Psalm 37:4).

He does not fulfill our lusts for better health, a bigger home, sportier luxury car, lucrative job and a Hollywood model for a mate, which do not fulfill us when we get them. He gives us what we need to succeed in His calling for our life.

Existing only to do the will of our Father, Jesus lived in contentment, even through the crucifixion and death on the cross. He kept His focused on the prize of glory ahead of Him (Hebrews 12:2). 

Jesus gave us this example of how to live our own life. He glorified God with His life and completed the work which God gave Him to do during His lifetime on earth (John 17:4). We can do this too.

We delight in the Lord each moment of our day, content with His provision and wanting nothing more than to serve Him in any way He chooses. We rejoice as we see Him transforming us into the image of Christ and readily relinquish the earthly ties which hold us back from following hard after Him (Psalm 63:8).

Prayer:

Father God, circumcise our heart of the excess flesh which surrounds us, and set us free to serve You with abandon and dedication. Allow us to find our fulfillment, not in the things of this world, but in service to You each moment of our day. Our true joy comes from living in the center of Your will.

You did not create us to be happy in this world, but to live holy lives - consecrated to You in the same degree of covenant promise that You give to us. When we do, we find a joy that is deeper than the fleeting happiness we obtain from worldly prizes, and we live in eternal peace which starts the moment we surrender our life to Your love.

Thought for the Day:

Living in the center of God's will is very satisfying and brings us a more lasting joy than we can receive from anything this world has to offer.