Abundant Life

Humans foolishly count our worth by the fame, fortune and success we achieve in this world. These are fleeting and transitory and can change with an unforeseen event in an instant.

As followers of Christ, we no longer pursue aspects pertaining to this earthly realm, but we focus our mind, affections and goals on the purposes of God for us (Colossians 3:2).

God changes our nature from carnal, earthly flesh to one full of purity, Godliness and spirituality (2 Corinthians 3:18). He gives us a way out of every future temptation (1 Corinthians 10:13).

On top of that, He saves us from the punishment of our sins (Romans 6:23). Then He moves into our spirit to live His life through us.

Once we come to an epiphany of our union with Christ, anything is possible, according to the will of God (Mark 10:27). God graciously forgives our sin debt (1 John 1:9).

We no longer desire to fulfill the deeds of the flesh in our mortal body; because we are putting on the new self, which Jesus is renewing within us (Colossians 3:10).

When we focus on our life with an earthly perception, we experience stress, anxiety, anger and many other negative emotions. The consequences of our choices and actions follow us into eternity.

We are never more fulfilled than when we are walking closest to God through Christ in us. He walks with us every moment of every day, giving us His strength to go through every trial, making them adventures in which we can find His joy (Philippians 2:12).

Prayer:

Father God, with our mind focused on You, we walk in perfect peace (Isaiah 26:3). Our deepest affections are reserved just for You. As we focus on this life with an eternal perspective, we are only interested in Your intentions, instructions and inclusion of us in Your plans.

Your peace, which transcends all human understanding, fills our heart and mind through Christ Jesus (Philippians 4:7). We want nothing more than to bask in Your presence and to walk in step with You through each moment of our life.

Thought for the Day:

True abundance in this life only comes when we adopt a spiritual purpose. - Matthew 6:19-21

Faithful to the End

After suffering a cold last fall, I developed laryngitis, which held on for weeks after the cold healed. I adjusted my lifestyle to rest, drink plenty of fluids; but I kept on talking.

I gradually got used to the sound and the strain it caused to try to converse by pushing words past the "frog" in my throat. However, this badly strained my vocal cords.

I had to stop talking in order to allow the vocal cords to heal. One month transitioned into the next, but my raspy voice remained the same. For 10 weeks I wrote notes or sent emails instead of talking.

Week after week, I would heal just a bit; but then if I talked at all, I had to start the healing process all over again. I tried every product known to man to facilitate the process; but silence was the golden cure.

Once God finally healed my vocal cords, I did not recognize the sound of my normal voice. I was so used to the raspy condition that I rather missed that tone.

This reminded me of a season of time, which lasted for over a year, when we remodeled several parts of our former home. The chaos in which we lived gradually became normal; so when we restored our house to order, the order seemed abnormal.

This is the way sin creeps into our life too. We allow a small concession in our habits or lifestyle, which seems inconsequential at the time. Then we start to notice a big difference in our prayer life and unity with God's Spirit.

Yet, we adjust to allow the sin to remain. Over a series of months, the sin seems normal and we do not miss the deep union with the Trinity, or the power in our prayer life or the wisdom and flow of living in the Spirit that we once enjoyed (Ephesians 4:30; Isaiah 63:10; 1 Thessalonians 5:19).

When God's Spirit convicts us, we ignore Him and may even add a few more sins to our lifestyle, which complement the one we already allowed. Sin seems normal to us again, and holiness is forsaken.

Prayer:

Father God, never allow sin to feel normal to us. Keep us from searing our conscious or from consenting to allowing even more sin to develop in our lifestyle (1 Timothy 4:2). Keep us focused on You and never permit us to compromise our union with You through the deceitfulness of sin (Hebrews 3:13).

Create in us a pure heart, O God, and renew a holy and righteous spirit within us. Do not cast us from Your presence or take Your Holy Spirit from us; restore to us the joy of our salvation and help us to please You in all that we think, say and do (Psalm 51:10).

Thought for the Day:

If we remain true to God's Word and promises to the end of our life on this earth, trusting God as faithfully as when we first believed, we will also share with Christ in the inheritance of all that belongs to God's Kingdom. - Hebrews 3:14

Words Matter - Part 2

Education and breeding allow us to learn self-discipline and to measure our words carefully, regardless of how we think and feel. We speak cultured words, which do not offend, unless we lose our temper.

However, the Spirit of God is our continual restraint in our thoughts, feelings and actions. He helps us not to blurt out whatever comes to our mind, which is usually crafted by Satan to cause trouble (Proverbs 17:27).

Yet, no human is always able to restrain our tongue, because it is intolerant, immoral and full of lethal venom (James 3:8). Only the work of Jesus, living within the Believer, gives us the power over our tongue.

Once we accept Christ as our Savior, the negative aspects of life control us only if we allow them to do so. When we belong to Jesus, His life-giving Spirit frees us from the power of sin, which leads to death (Romans 8:2).

Salvation also frees us from living in conformity to this world, because we are transformed by the renewing of our mind (Romans 12:2). Jesus actually renews the spirit of our mind (Ephesians 4:23).

He always gives us a choice, along with wise counsel about which choice to make. If we guard our words and keep our tongue, we avoid calamity (Proverbs 21:23).

The Bible encourages us to be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry (James 1:19). Wise words win good things for us; and if we guard our lips, we guard our life (Proverbs 13:2).

When our thoughts are excellent and worthy of praise then this affects what we say and do, as well as how we feel emotionally and physically (Philippians 4:8).

Prayer:

Father God, remind us that it is better not to be quick to speak or hasty in our heart to think anything negative. When we walk in the Spirit, the fruit of our lips fill us with good things, as surely as the good work of our hands rewards us (Proverbs 12:13-14).

We give You the praise and glory for the transforming power of Your Spirit within us. We can never thank You enough for drawing us to Your heart and including us in Your family for eternity (John 6:44; Ephesians 2:19).

Thought for the Day:

God watches us from heaven as we are on earth, so let us be wise and let our words be few. - Ecclesiastes 5:2