Our Infinite God

 

Through the cross of Calvary, Jesus reigns victorious over death, redeems sinners by grace and sets our feet dancing through life (Psalm 30:11). He has specific plans for our life and leads us, provides for us and strengthens us to do His will (Philippians 2:12-13).

Those who refuse to believe in Christ actually condemn themselves to an eternity in hell. The choice is ours. God does not force anyone to believe.

He simply offers the Gospel as our opportunity for salvation. What we do with His gift is our choice (Romans 6:23). God redeems people from every family, tribe, society and nation of the world through the blood of Christ.

We are all one family, one Body, one Temple of God's Spirit. He transforms us into kings and priests to serve Him on this earth (Revelation 5:9-10). He allows us to dwell together in unity under His government (Isaiah 9:6).

God connects us all by a common thread of the cross of Calvary. We have brothers and sisters from centuries past and from every community on earth. We will have quite a time in heaven getting to know one another.

We are all one in Christ - one Trinity and one Body, with one purpose for eternity. God's Spirit dwells within us all, unifying us, guiding us, counseling us and interceding for us through feelings, which at times we cannot even put into words (Romans 8:26).

We live a life of pardon, protection, provision, promise and  privilege. Our infinite God reigns supreme in our finite existence, providing us with hope, renewal and everlasting life.

God restores our soul (Psalm 23:4) by healing our past and giving us hope for the future. He gives us absolute Truth through Christ and His Word, and helps us to focus on what is important in this life and the next.

Prayer:

Father God, thank You for the fellowship which we enjoy with Your Trinity every moment of every day. Your eternal promise restores our equilibrium and keeps us walking on the straight and narrow road. Keep us ever faithful regardless of our circumstances and teach us all things by Your Spirit (1 John 2:24-27).

Help us to see that daily study of Your Word keeps us centered on what is truly important in this life and the next, with faith in Your faithfulness through the uncertainty which faces us every day. Give us Your strength to stand strong in adversity and erase our doubts with Your truth.

Thought for the Day:

Whatever distracts us from total dedication to and dependence on God is our enemy, regardless of how good and innocent it appears at the time.

Enjoying God's Presence

  
Many people tell me that they feel like God left them. They no longer experience the presence and anointing of His Spirit in their life, and they miss that feeling. They want the union with God, which they had during their first experience with salvation. God promises never to leave us (Hebrews 13:5); therefore, in actuality, we leave Him. When we do, it is impossible to feel His presence.

We move away from God in many ways. Those who are Christians in name only will indulge their flesh with no remorse (2 Peter 2:20-22). Our lifestyle choices will often pull us away. False prophets lead others away and distract them from worshiping the one true God, (2 Peter 2:1-19). Some people in crisis pray for salvation, but then reject the Word of Life and turn from walking in righteousness (Romans 13:8-14; Ephesians 2:2).  

King David lost the awareness of God's presence one time too. When He walked away from purity and God's ways, He begged God to help him to overcome his evil heart. He entreated God to restore the joy of His salvation and to renew a Godly spirit in him (Psalm 51:10-12). If we walk in the Spirit, it is much harder to fulfill the desires of our flesh (Galatians 5:16-25). We lose the craving to be around sin or to take part in it.

We see the destruction that sin leads to and we want the blessings of God on our life instead (1 Peter 4:1-5). During the sanctifying process, even if an authentic Believer does not sense God's presence, we are still basking in His blessings. Once we begin walking in the Spirit all of the time, however, we always feel the presence of God. Even if God is silent, we enjoy His company, and we live a life of praise to His name.

Prayer:

Father God, through Your Spirit, You give us hope that we will live with You throughout eternity (Romans 8:22-25). Help us to walk as children of the Light, by faith and not by sight (2 Corinthians 5:8; Ephesians 5:8). We want to live in love, just as Christ did by offering Himself as a sacrifice for our sins (Ephesians 5:2; Philippians 3:16-18). Remind us to pray in the Spirit, so that our prayers will be effective (Romans 8:26-28). Thank You for giving us Your Spirit to live in us each and every day.

Thought for the Day:

If we abide in Christ, He abides in us in the same relationship as the branch and the vine, and together we will bear much fruit by His Spirit within us. - John 15:4

A Paradigm Shift

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 these habits, day in and day out, living by our human reasoning and working to please our self and to secure our future. We focused on our success and make sure we came out on top (Romans 1:25; 2 Corinthians 5:15).

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 on our behavior (Romans 8:7-8). We do good deeds for others, but we want the praise. However, when the Spirit of God comes into our life, He encourages us to entirely shift our mind-set.

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 life (Romans 8:13-14). Yet, our flesh wants to maintain the status quo, so that we can retain control. The tie-breaker is God’s Spirit. He resurrects our spirit, which was formerly dead in sin (Ephesians 2:5).

Our spirit is Born Again and Spiritually alive (Colossians 3:3). Then, He crucifies our old nature with Christ, and we partake in the divine nature of Christ (2 Peter 1:4). The fruit of the Spirit replace our formal carnal character (Galatians 5:22-23). We no longer live independently, but in dependence on God’s love and will. Yet, some of the former traits, alien to God’s ways, still influence our thoughts, words and behavior.

Gradually, we experience a shift in our paradigm. As we lay down our independent and willful tendencies on a daily basis (Matthew 16:24-26), and obey the will of God instead, we willingly submit our old fleshly habits to the work of God’s Spirit within us (Romans 8:12-13). Each day we walk in more and more victory over the flesh (Romans 7:14 - 8:12). We eventually abide in God’s Spirit and daily follow God’s desires for our life (Galatians 5:16-26).

Prayer:

Father God, Your saving faith, a gift to us from Your mercy and love, comes from Your Holy Spirit and influences and transforms us. You draw us to Your heart and You renovate every aspect of our life by Your Spirit. This free gift is priceless, and we thank You for the sacrifice Jesus paid for our eternal life (Ephesians 2:8). We give You all of the praise, honor and glory for what You accomplish in our life.

Thought for the Day:

We overcome the deeds of our flesh by renewing our mind and surrendering our life to Christ. - Romans 12:2; Mark 10:28-29

The Power of Words

Our faith in God’s faithfulness allows us to trust that God knows exactly what He is doing, even if we do not understand His ways, which are so much wiser and deeper than our methods of thinking (Isaiah 55:8-9). When we stoop to entertain negative thoughts and words, we allow Satan to use us. For instance, God considers gossip as detrimental to us as lying, cursing and wrath.

Gossiping stirs up strife and starts a firestorm of controversy, whether purposely or accidentally. Tidbits of gossip are sweet to the talebearer’s lips, but they strike to the very heart of the unfortunate victim’s soul (Proverbs 26:20-22). The longer the tale is told, the more vicious and debilitating it becomes. If we refrain from gossiping, however, we quench the fires of contention and prevent arguments. 

God advises us to put off our old self and to allow His Spirit to renew our character into the image of our creator (Colossians 3:5-10). We listen to gossip with our ears, but it effects our emotions and self-esteem as well. Lies will create shame, distrust and fear in our soul. Satan convinces us that we are “not enough”, cripples us with self-doubt and debilitates, confuses and discourages us.

Therefore, it is important that we limit the words that enter and leave our mind and speak only graceful words that encourage others. Otherwise, we grieve God’s Spirit and wound our own soul and the soul of those in our life (Ephesians 4:29-30). God’s Word encourages us to stop entertaining bitterness, anger, dissension and slander; and instead, to be kind, forgiving and loving toward one another (Ephesians 4:31-32).

God’s love gives us affection for others, His joy births in us an exuberance for life, His peace permeates in us a deep serenity, His patience develops perseverance, His gentleness causes our heart to blossom with compassion and His goodness permits kindness to pervade our entire being. His meekness gives us the humility to live as a servant. His self-control helps us to be guided by His Spirit.

Prayer:

Father God, You forgave us and released us from the debt of sin we owed. This allows us to live by Your Spirit and to do the works, which You called us to do (Ephesians 2:10). Remind us that our tongue has the power of life and death in it (Proverbs 18:21).Your Spirit imparts His fruit of love, joy, peace, patience, gentleness, meekness, goodness, self-control and faith into our life, so that You can use us for Your glory.  

Thought for the Day:

Words have an impact on our soul and influence our attitude, feelings and demeanor.

The Blessings of Our Union With Christ

 

Many Authentic Believers are still under the false impression that we are separated from God. This is carried over from our unregenerate days. We think of God up in heaven, while we are down here on the earth. This is the furthest thing from the actual truth. Until we realize the extent of our union with Christ, we limit the work of God in our life. We are united with Christ in us, and we no longer maintain two separate identities. We are joined as one with the King of the universe.

God relates to us through our spirit (John 4:24). Our Born Again spirit is totally righteous and holy in Christ (Ephesians 4:24; 2 Corinthians 5:21). God’s grace provides us with both the power and the desire to walk in God’s ways (Philippians 2:12-13). We crucify the lusts and desires of our soul – our mind, will and emotions - in order to live in daily renewal, keeping our faith and trust in God. This opens up the door for us to the privilege of abiding in the divinity of Christ moment by moment throughout the day.

His divinity grows within us in ever increasing fullness until our humanity completely dies through sanctification (2 Corinthians 3:18). It is buried with Christ in God (Colossians 3:3). Then Christ, who is our life and our hope of glory, is all that remains within us (Colossians 1:27; Colossians 3:4). Once we come to understand the reality of our union with Christ in us, we realize that Jesus lives in and through us. We are the gloves, but He is the hand within us, motivating us in service for His Kingdom (Acts 17:28).

We are God’s workmanship, created in Christ to do God’s will (Ephesians 2:8-10). Our old nature is exchanged for the nature of Christ (Colossians 3:3), and we walk in His resurrection life with Christ (2 Corinthians 5:17; Romans 6:5). Jesus helps us in all of the milestones of our life (Psalm 46:1). Since the Spirit who raised Christ from the dead lives in us, He also gives life to our mortal body (Romans 8:11). Every foe is vanquished, every battle is won and every question is answered by the Spirit of God within us.

The only time we have human peace is when there is a lack of trouble. However, God’s peace in us surpasses our human limitations (Philippians 4:7). In fact, as God works the nature of Christ into our soul, we receive all of His fruit in exchange for our carnal nature (Galatians 5:22-23). God’s abiding peace reigns in our heart as we cast all of our care on Him, regardless of the circumstances (1 Peter 5:7). God equips us to do His will and we live in His presence forevermore.

Prayer:

Father God, we no longer live for our self, but for You. Enable us to help all of those You send our way to feast from the fruit of Your Spirit in our life (Galatians 5:22-23). We grow with the Vine and draw our nourishment from You as well (John 15:5). We have faith in Your faithfulness, born from our experience of Your constant provision for us over our years of walking in Your service, as well as by the testimony of fellow Christians. We thank You for your discipline and provision for us each and every day.

Thought for the Day:

The fruit blooming on our branch is not for our benefit, but for all of those God sends to feast on it.

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

Hopeless and Alone

At times our soul is depressed and full of anxiety within us. We are drudging through a dry desert and our soul is parched and thirsty. That is the time to put our hope in the Lord (Psalm 43:5). God alone will pour out His Living Water on our thirsty soul and bring streams to the dry desert (Isaiah 35:1, 44:3). Our soul – our mind, will and emotions – find rest in God alone. We put our faith and trust in Him and believe that all things are possible for us in Him (Mark 9:23). We cling to Jesus when our faith fades and our strength weakens, because He understands our doubts, questions and grief over the losses in our life (Hebrews 4:15).

When we draw near to God, He renews our strength and causes us to take flight with wings like an eagle’s (Isaiah 40:31). He is close to the brokenhearted. He saves everyone who is crushed in spirit (Psalm 34:18). He takes our infirmities and He carries our sorrows (Isaiah 53:4). He heals the desolate and binds up our wounds (Psalm 147:3). He upholds us when we fall and lifts us up when we are discouraged (Psalm 145:14). He rescues His godly Saints from our trials and makes all of them turn out for our good (2 Peter 2:9; Romans 8:28).

Jesus died for our sins and gives us His Spirit to fight our battles. We have no quarrel with people, but our conflict is against the dark world and spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realm (Ephesians 6:12). Jesus already overcame them on Calvary’s cross. When He comes back to claim His bride, He will wipe away all of our tears and remove pain and death from the world. The old life will pass away and He will make everything brand new (Revelation 21:4).

We put our hope in the Lord only, because He alone is faithful (Psalm 39:7). Before we were ever born, He made plans for our good and not to harm us. He gives us a blessed future full of hope (Jeremiah 1:5, 29:11). We never need to fear, because He is always with us; or to feel distraught, because He is our God. He strengthens us, helps us and holds us up with His victorious right hand. Even when everyone else despises us, He will never leave or forsake us (Hebrews 13:5).

There are people in our family, church, neighborhood and workplace who are dying in their sins and sorrows. They are walking in the ways of the world. They sow the wind and reap a whirlwind for their efforts (Hosea 8:7). They spend long hours accumulating things that ultimately bring them no joy. They often despair of ever finding any meaning in life. They need to know our Savior, our Lord, our Redeemer and our Holy One (Isaiah 41:10,13-14)..

Even when we take our focus off the Lord in the midst of our tribulation, we know without a doubt that He is always there for us, loving us unconditionally and giving us the victory through His death and resurrection. Nothing this world has to offer compares to the hope we have, which comes only from Him (Psalm 62:5; Ecclesiastes 9:4). This is the message that our loved ones need to hear. They need to know that God is on their side, ever loving them and drawing them to Himself (John 6:44; Psalm 136:1).

Prayer:
Lord, You are our helper, so we will not be afraid. What can mere mortals do to us? In our distress we cried out to You, Lord and prayed to You for help. You hear us from Your sanctuary; our cries always reach Your ears (Psalm 18:8). Help us not to sit on the sidelines and watch those around us perish and go to hell. We present our lives to You and ask You to use us to encourage others to put their faith and trust in You. We give You our undying allegiance and we look to You for direction and sustenance in the world in which we live.

Thought for the Day:

Troubles surround us on every side, but we are not hopeless. Even when things are hard for us, God always gives us a way out of them (2 Corinthians 4:8).

Giving God the Glory

“For God is at work within you, helping you want to obey him, and then helping you do what he wants you to do.” - Philippians 2:13 TLB

As Christians, we find it so hard to get rid of the sins that so easily trip us up in our walk with the Lord. Addictions, fears, irritability, temper, bitterness, gossip, etc. plague us day and night. The problem comes when we try to control them in our human effort (Ephesians 2:8-9). If we succeed in overcoming them on our own, by sheer will power, they will eventually come back, or be expressed in some other symptom. Then God gets no glory. However, it is much easier to deal with them, if we surrender to God and let Him replace them with the fruit of His Spirit.

Throughout the ages, all of humanity continues to try to be good enough to earn God’s love. Yet, we will never be good enough. If we could be, we would not need Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross. We cannot save our self! We cannot be good enough, because we would have to keep the whole law in order to be perfect (James 2:10). That is also the Good News, however. The words to these songs put the truth in a nutshell, “Jesus paid it all, all to Him I owe.” “He paid a debt He did not owe, I owed a debt I could not pay.”

No matter what you need in your life – a mate, a job, a child, a home, a healing, a blessing of any kind – relinquish it totally to God and pray the prayer that never fails, “Father, Thy will be done.” Breathe deeply and release the pent up anxiety about this issue. You have no need to carry any concern about it at all, because God cares about you. He fills our emptiness with His joy and contentment. His presence in our life melts away our fears and insecurities. He fills in the gaps of our unbelief (Mark 9:24). He will give us wisdom and understanding concerning the desires of our heart. Let go of your worries and cares and let God be God. Allow Him to do His work in you, through you and for you.

During the day, when you feel a negative emotion rising in your soul, stop to take a deep breath. Exhale slowly and deliberately. Clear your mind of all the clutter and listen as God’s Spirit speaks to your spirit. Allow His words to cleanse your soul, calm you and energize you to go on with your day as you walk in His rest (Hebrews 4:1). With your faith and courage renewed, you can accomplish everything God planned for you to do. We release our need to depend on human resources and on our own strength, and we let God work out everything for our good, so that He gets all of the glory (Romans 8:28).

Jesus gives us the perfect example of a life fully surrendered to our Heavenly Father. As we surrender to God’s will for our day, He fills our every need, hunger, longing and desire with a soul full of peace and security. He never leaves us, and He will never, ever, under any circumstance forsake us (Hebrews 13:5; 1 Kings 8:57). No matter how unattainable the solution to our problem appears to be, God always has a way. We just have to wait on His timing. He transforms our life from the inside out and cares about every aspect that matters to us.

Prayer:

Father God, You shed your light in the dark places, You make our way straight and smooth (Psalm 4:8, 27:11), You fill the longing of our soul. You give us Your loving kindness, direction, strength and power to accomplish Your will for our day. We never have to worry, because You have everything under Your control. Remind us to let You be God in our life and to stop trying to take Your place!

Thought for the Day:

God will always meet our needs according to His riches in glory. – Philippians 4:19

 

 

 

 

Daily Renewal

Read: Philippians 4:6-7

“Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” - John 8:32

As you know, “What we believe, determines how we act.” When we believe Satan's lies, we exhibit negative attitudes. We get "stinkin' thinkin'." Satan knows that if he captivates our mind, then he can control our actions also. Kay Arthur said, "Either you must learn to take your thoughts captive – or Satan will take you captive with your thoughts!”

Paul reminds us, “For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, we have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and WE TAKE CAPTIVE EVERY THOUGHT TO MAKE IT OBEDIENT TO CHRIST" (2 Corinthians 10: 3-5).

As we focus on God, He points out all of our negative attitudes and thoughts. These are the concepts, which we were taught in our youth or which we taught our self as we got away from home. We erroneously accepted these theories as truth. One issue at a time, the Spirit replaces these satanic lies with His absolute truth. God’s truth sets us free (John 8:32). Our only hope of mental stability in this life is to bring our thoughts into obedience to Jesus (2 Corinthians 10:4-5.). As we do this, we put on the mind of Christ (1 Corinthians 2:16).

We also discover the mind of Christ by reading the Word of God and meditating on it daily. If you have the Spirit of God living in you, you will have a hunger to read the Word. Jesus lived an example for us of a life built upon meditation and prayer. While others slept, Jesus went to the Mount of Olives and spent time alone with God. Then in the morning, He went to the temple and sat down to teach those who would listen. He went to His quiet place first and received His power from God through His time of daily renewal; then He was ready to minister.

We too need time alone with God to renew our peace and to ascertain His wisdom and direction for our lives. We need a physical, quiet place that will minister to our soul, in which we can spend time connecting our spirit with the Spirit of God. When we enter this "inner closet," we strip away all outer clutter. We empty ourselves of our “self” and focus solely on the voice of our Beloved (Isaiah 54:5). We bask in the rays of His comfort and direction and then we rise up to do His Will. We remain in this inner, spiritual place of connection all day long as we go about doing His will for our life.

Jesus did not leave us alone on this earth to accomplish His will.  As He ascended into Heaven to take back His rightful place at the Father’s right hand, He told His disciples to go and wait in the upper room for the Holy Spirit to come to them. God is the Father and the first person of our triune Deity. Jesus is the Son and the second personality. The Holy Spirit is the third person. He is our Comforter and our Guide. He changed the lives of those disciples in the upper room (Acts 2:4), and He has been changing willing lives ever since.

When worldly hostility bombards us, our hearts are tempted to faint within us. We do have the option of sharing our pain, frustration, and sorrow on a human level with friends and family. They, however, will only sympathize with us or sermonize about our feelings. It is only in the quiet place within our spirit, that we experience a profound sense of love, joy, and peace, which surpasses the comfort we can receive from any earthly entity.

Only in the still, small place within our spirit can we find true empathy and solace from the God who loves us more than He loves Himself. His love took Him to the cross to pay the penalty of our sin for us; and His love will bring Him back to earth for His Bride at the fullness of this age.

Prayer:

Lord Jesus, when we spend time with You in the sanctity of our spirit, we have renewed power to meet the needs within our own life, as well as in the lives of those You sends our way. Due to Your love in our lives, we can forgive, nurture, empathize and minister to ourselves and others by the strength of Your grace, compassion and mercy, as well as through the direction of Your Holy Spirit. Our life in You is fulfilling indeed!

Thought for the Day:

“Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.” - Psalm 51:10