No Longer a Sinner - God's Seed in Us

In reality, nothing good comes from our flesh. It is only Christ in us who works in and through us to produce lasting fruit (Romans 7:18; Philippians 2:12-13). The roots of the Spirit ground us and the Vine provides for us.

As Born Again Believers, we are born of God and partakers of the divine nature of Christ (2 Peter 1:4). When Christ dwells in us, He gives us the power to conquer temptation and sin (1 Corinthians 10:13).

We do not continue in a lifestyle of sin, because His seed remains in us (1 John 3:9). His Spirit empowers us and makes us more than conquerors (Romans 8:37). We are conduits for His work through our life.

Sin no longer controls us because His Spirit dwells within us and conforms us to the image of Christ (Romans 8:29; 2 Corinthians 6:18). Christ sets us free from the law of sin and death (John 8:36; Romans 8:1-2).

Therefore, we grieve the heart of God when we wallow in sin and give in to temptation and the flesh. We deny His power within us and we give Satan the attention that God deserves.

We waste our lives and fail to live up to God's best for us. When we take the wide road to destruction, we end up with little to show for a lifetime of living. We reap few rewards in heaven, because we rarely served Him with our life.

Yet, if we walk in His will each moment of the day, we accomplish His work in the earth and make a lasting contribution to His Kingdom. We reap rewards for each act of obedience and earn crowns that we can cast at Jesus' feet (Revelation 4:10-11).

We cast our crowns, because we realize that we do not deserve them. Everything we accomplish on the earth is the result of His Spirit's work in and through us, and we have no bragging rights (Ephesians 2:8-9).

Prayer:

Father God, thank You for Your Spirit who calls to our spirit and empowers us to walk in Your will each day of our life (Ephesians 2:10; Philippians 2:12-13). Help us to walk in Your Spirit so we will not fulfill the lusts of the flesh (Galatians 5:15-25). The more our carnality decreases, the more You encompass our life. We walk in increasing increments of spirituality, and sin no longer tempts us. We have no desire for this world's enticements.

You provide for our every need abundantly more than we even expect, and we give You all the praise and glory for every good thing in our life (James 1:17). We spend our days singing praises to You as we go about meeting only Your expectations in our life. As we listen to Your Spirit, You always work out everything for our ultimate good (Romans 8:28).

Thought for the Day:

If we keep living a lifestyle of sin without conviction and repentance, this is proof that we are not born of God; we remain in the flesh and our spirit is still dead in sin; once we know God, His sanctifying power causes us to gradually lose our desire to keep on sinning. 

- Ephesians 2:1; 1 John 2:29, 3:6

Our Refuge in the Storm

As we enter adulthood, we attempt to provide security and stability for our self and our family through our vocation, savings account, two jobs, marrying someone who is already rich, etc.

Yet, we often find that our choices oppress our life and cause us more trouble than they help (Psalm 9:9, 52:7). In this world of sorrows and trials, we need an anchor for our soul, a stronghold where we can take refuge (Psalm 18:2).

Once we realize that the Lord is our light in the darkness, and our only real salvation, we release our fear of the unknown and humbly go to Him as our defense (Psalm 27:1).

He gives us His strength to traverse any trouble we encounter (Psalm 37:39). Even when we allow the stress of our trouble to disconnect us from Him, He is still there waiting for us to turn back in Him (Psalm 43:2; Hebrews 13:5).

The Lord is strong enough to tremble the whole earth with His voice; yet He is a gentle refuge for those who trust in Him (Joel 3:16; Psalm 62:2). The Lord lives forever and is the Rock of our salvation (2 Samuel 22:47; Psalm 18:46).

He desires that we meditate on Him and His goodness day and night, and that our thoughts, words and actions line up with His Word (Psalm 19:14). This proves our love for Him.

To those who stand against God, He is a stumbling stone, a snare and trap for their wayward feet; but to His Saints, He is our sanctuary who offers us safety and shelter from any trouble we experience in life (Isaiah 8:14).

Prayer:

Father God, we cry out to You in our adversity, knowing that You are our only Rock and our Refuge (Psalm 89:26). We cling to Christ as our cornerstone, who gives us stability and order in our life (Psalm 118:22; Isaiah 28:16). The world rejects You, but we stand firmly on the solid footing You provide for our life in every circumstance (Matthew 21:42).

You are our precious Savior and we put our faith and trust in You (1 Peter 2:6-7). You are a great mountain and You fill the whole earth with Your power and majesty (Daniel 2:35). You spoke through age-old prophets and then confirmed their words as they came to pass, even over centuries of time (Daniel 2:44-45). This builds our faith in Your faithfulness and we know that we can trust in You.

Thought for the Day:

We humbly pursue our Living Stone by faith and do not attempt to earn His love or salvation by our works; so He rewards us with inner peace and joy, which transcend our earthly existence. - Romans 9:32-33; 1 Peter 2:4-8

Take Courage

With persecution of Christians increasing in the world, including in the good ole USA which was founded on religious freedom, we have to remember that the main thing is still the main thing: God will never leave or forsake us (Hebrews 13:5).

Regardless of how many God haters rise into power, God is still in control of our individual lives. Our fears and anxiety will only add to the stress and ill health caused by their persecution.

If we learn to enter God's rest now, while we still have our freedoms, it will enable us to better traverse the unknown treatment, loss and deprivation which we may face in the future.

God reminds us that we are actually blessed when we are persecuted for His sake. We take courage from the example set by lives such as Paul and the Old Testament prophets (Matthew 5:10-12).

We rejoice, because although we may face deprivation now, we are storing up rewards in heaven for eternity. This concept allows us to rejoice and continue to serve as the salt and light of the earth (Matthew 5:12-15).

God uses us to preserve the lives and to light the path of those around us and to lead them to Him. When they see His love, peace and joy in our life, regardless of circumstances, they too will honor our Father in heaven (Matthew 5:16).

Prayer:

Father God, remind us to take the focus off our self and to share Your love with those who are also suffering all around us. Remind us that the endurance of Christ fills our soul, because He abides within us. Any persecution is light and momentary when compared to the glory You prepared for us in Heaven.

As Your righteous ones, we live by faith and You preserve our soul, so there is no need for us to shrink back in fear but to continue to show Your love even to our persecutors (Hebrews 10:32-39).

Thought for the Day:

Regardless of those who are elected as our officials, how much power terrorists gain in the world or how many laws are passed against us expressing our faith with words, buildings, external crosses or religious trappings, nothing can separate us from the eternal rest and love of God dwelling within us. - Romans 8:35-39; Proverbs 21:1