Three Types of Death

I was organizing my vitamin supplements and filling my two week pill box with each vitamin and mineral that I take either morning or night or both. I started to include the Vitamin D that the doctor prescribed for me a few years ago due to the lack of sunlight that I get in my daily routine.

I have faithfully taken it ever since; but...God's Spirit told me not to put it in my box of supplements this time. I was incredulous and argued with the Spirit (yeah, I still do that occasionally!) I felt so strongly that I should not include this healthful vitamin that I had to quit arguing and agree to obey.

Then God's Spirit told me to look at the ingredients of the capsule. This particular brand had the vitamin D encased in corn oil, which is one substance that causes a leaky gut. I am healing from this malady and have to be extra careful with corn oil.

I was so amazed that God is so minute in His love and direction that He even guides our paths concerning the toxins we unknowingly include in our diet. God is so worthy of all of our praise for the way He guides our steps and cares about every issue of our life (Proverbs 3:5-6; 1 Peter 5:7).

As I thanked Him for His direction, God focused my attention to the concept of life and death. I did some research and realized that there are three areas of death that every human experiences.

The first is that our spirit is dead in trespasses and sins until we choose to accept Christ's atoning work on Calvary's cross (Ephesians 2:1-5). This provides us with salvation and the regeneration of our spirit (John 3:16-18). We are actually Born Again and alive in Christ in our spirit.

The second area of death is our physical death at some point in time, which results in an eternity either in heaven or hell. We are free from sin and death by our belief in Christ, or we condemn our self to an eternity in hell by our unbelief (John 3:18).

The third area of death is our soul's death through sanctification, which releases us from slavery to sin and destruction (Romans 8:2). Our soul - our thoughts, choices and emotions - is gradually changed over the course of our life to mirror Christ's divine nature (2 Peter 1:4). We slowly die to self and are more and more alive in Christ (Ephesians 2:5; Galatians 2:20).

Prayer:

Father God, most people fear death. We have never experienced it before and we fear the unknown quality of death. We anticipate pain, and we worry about our eternal destination. Yet, in You there is no concern. Our last breath on earth is followed by our next breath in heaven. You delight in the death of Your Saints (Psalm 116:15).

As Solomon concluded, "The day of our death is better than the day of our birth." (Ecclesiastes 7:1) Authentic Born Again Believers look forward to joining You for eternity once we leave this world behind. Help us to win as many people to faith in Christ as will receive Him - with open hearts, eyes, ears and minds - before it is too late.

Thought for the Day:

God guides our steps throughout our life and welcomes us with open arms into eternity with Him; He delights over us with singing. - Zephaniah 3:17 

Radical Transformation

When Almighty God moves into a life, we can expect a radical transformation. The speed at which this occurs depends on our willingness to totally surrender to His will.

Our spirit is immediately changed, brought from the state of death in sin to alive in Christ (Ephesians 2:1). The next step is sanctification in our soul, which takes a lifetime for most people (1 Corinthians 6:10-11; 2 Corinthians 5:17).

We come as we are, and jump up on the operation table of God's grace; so that His Word can separate our soul and spirit (Hebrews 4:12). We facilitate the process as we actively decrease, so that He may increase (John 3:30).

God calls us to die daily to our fleshly desires and to work out our own salvation; but at the same time He makes it clear that it is His Spirit that actually does the work (Philippians 2:12-13; Ephesians 4:22-24).

God created us to imitate Christ and to walk in true holiness by repenting of every sin. We cooperate as the Spirit sanctifies us. We live, move and have our entire being in Him (Acts 17:28).

He forgives us and calls us to submit to the Spirit as He transform us into the divine nature of Christ (2 Peter 1:4). We mature spiritually and this conversion consumes every area of our life (Galatians 2:20).

We relinquish our cares to Him, because He really does care for us (1 Peter 5:7). We stop worrying and walk in His peace. When we pray, we give thanks for all that God already did in our life (Philippians 4:6-7).

Jesus encouraged us not to work to attain the things of this world that rust and spoil; but to seek food that endures throughout eternity (John 6:26-27; Isaiah 55:2). We long for Him like the deer panting for the water brook until we joyfully experience His presence within us every moment of the day (Psalm 42:1-2; Acts 3:19).

Prayer:

Father God, You made it possible for us to eat the body and drink the blood of Jesus Christ (Psalm 34:8). Taking Him into our being and consuming Him in an intimate relationship where we two become one. This provides us with eternal life now, and You will also raise us up on our last day on earth in order to dwell with You for eternity (John 6:34). 

Only You can satisfy our longing and fill our hungry soul (Psalm 107:9). Your Word gives us milk as new born babies (1 Peter 2:2). Jesus is the Bread of Life on which we feast as we mature (John 6:35). Then, like Jesus, our food is to do Your will every moment of our life (John 4:34). Prepare our hearts, lead us, fill us with Your presence and Spirit and provide for our every need as we make the radical transition from worm to butterfly.

Thought for the Day:

In Christ, His whole body fits together in perfect harmony, supporting one another, growing together spiritually, loving one another as Christ loves us, and all of us functioning in the ministry into which He calls us. - Ephesians 4:16, 2:10

No Longer a Sinner - Missing the Mark

When we sin, we miss the mark of perfection modeled by Jesus and His sinless life. As unbelievers we have no choice but to walk in sin, because Satan is our father and he is the father of lies (John 8:44).

However, once we come to Christ for forgiveness of our sins and for His redemption of our life as a sinner, we no longer live in habitual sin. We may miss the mark now and then and sin; but it is no longer our lifestyle.

If we continue to live in habitual sin, we are still dead in sin and do not have the Holy Spirit within us (Romans 8:9). We are not Born Again by the Spirit of God, but we continue to live as slaves of unrighteousness and we reap its destruction (Romans 6:15-23).

Maybe we were convicted and we called out to God for salvation; yet we were never converted. Salvation is a two-sided coin: The prayer of faith on one side, but the repentance of sin is on the other side (Mark 1:14-15).

If we are Born Again, we are embodied by God's Spirit and we are no longer a sinner. We are a Saint. At first this is only true positionally in our eternal standing with God, because we are still in need of sanctification in our soul.

As we pray without ceasing, allow God's Spirit to do His sanctifying work in our soul - our thoughts, choices and emotions - and walk according to the Spirit's direction for each moment of our day, we are literally free from the law of sin and death (Romans 8:2).

We grow in the grace and knowledge of Christ and our flesh decreases as He increases within us (2 Peter 3:18; John 3:30). He fills us through all of our being with all the fullness of God. We have the richest measure of His presence and we are a body wholly filled with God (Ephesians 3:16-19).

Christ is our whole life (Colossians 3:4), and we live to do His will with each moment of our day. We enjoy our times alone with God - even the silent moments when He is just enjoying our company. We walk in His truth and spread His peace every place we go.

We are amazed at the divine appointments that God sets up for us along the way. People are encouraged and blessed by the presence of Christ in us, and we are blessed to watch Him work in and through us.

Prayer:

Father God, let there be peace in the world, and let it begin with Your Saints. Remind us that we are free from the law of sin and death by the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus (Romans 8:1-2). We no longer live a lifestyle of sin, although we do miss the mark of Your perfection once in a while.

As long as we humble our self, admit our failings and desire to live Godly in Christ Jesus (2 Timothy 3:12), we remain in Your Spirit and follow His guidance to live in Your will each moment of our day. Thank You for empowering us by Your Spirit to live as Your ambassadors while we remain on this earth.

Thought for the Day:

God wants to use us for His Kingdom: He may lead us to fill a physical need for someone in the name of Jesus; a tear-filled face gives us the opportunity to share the compassion of Christ; a blank stare or faraway look in someone's eye allows us to infuse His love and joy into a frustrating or perplexing situation - be ready, willing and able to serve in Jesus' name. - Matthew 10:41