No Longer a Sinner - Christ Formed in Us

As we study the life of Christ, we can see how the Spirit of God is transforming us into His likeness with each passing day, changing us from one stage of Jesus' glory to the next (Romans 8:29; 2 Corinthians 3:18).

Since Christ abides in us, the Spirit in Jesus fills us to overflowing too. The glory of the Lord shines in us and on us and through us. His nature and character possess our entire being as we yield our self to Him.

He conforms us into a life filled with Christ in us and uses us for His purpose to draw people to Himself. He frees us from contentment with the flesh and gives us a hunger for the eternal.

The living Christ manifests Himself through us more each day. As we decrease by dying to our old, carnal self, He increases (John 3:30). His thoughts become our thoughts and His glory is revealed in and through us.

The more we focus on Jesus' life, attributes, power and holiness, and submit our will to the Holy Spirit within us, the quicker we become like Him and the more we exhibit His presence on the earth.

His love pervades every portion of our spirit and soul, and keeps our body in health and well-being. Even in times of trial and affliction, His abiding presence preserves us in His peace and fills us with His love.

God won our heart by His love and we entirely belong to Him as a servant to fulfill His will for our life (Ephesians 2:10). His joy is our strength and His love is our motivation to serve Him through all the days of our life (Nehemiah 8:10).

Prayer:

Father God, we bow before You in adoration and contrition, making our requests known to You through continual prayer throughout the day. Fill us with Your presence and manifest Yourself through us to the world around us. Use us for Your purpose and glory each moment of the day.

Thank You for becoming a human being through Christ, for filling us with Your Spirit and for giving Yourself to us in such a practical way. We look forward to living in Your Kingdom for eternity as joint heirs with Jesus of all that You have given Him (Romans 8:17).

Thought for the Day:

It is God's purpose to manifest the image of Christ in and through us, as we contemplate the glory of Christ and follow the guidance of His Holy Spirit through every moment of our day. - 2 Corinthians 3:18

Standing Firm in Our LIberty

 

The Liberty, which comes from Christ, sets us free from the penalty of sin, the power of sin and the presence of sin in our life (Galatians 5:1; Romans 6:14). We are truly free from ties to this earthly realm and given the power of the godhead in the spiritual realm (John 8:36).

We stand firm in our liberty through the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus and no longer allow the law of the spirit of sin and death to rob us our place of right-standing with God (Romans 8:2).

The truth of God's Word continues to set us free from bondage to sin and makes us bond servants to the righteousness of Christ in us (John 6:18, 8:32). We reap the rewards of holiness and inherit eternal life (Romans 6:22).

We belong to the body of Christ, raised from the dead to bear fruit for God (Romans 7:4). His Spirit even gives us life in our mortal body (Romans 8:11) and heals our soul - our mind, will and emotions (Psalm 23:3).

Since this life is only temporary, and what is unseen is eternal, we focus on the unseen spiritual world, regardless of what occurs around us on this earth (2 Corinthians 4:18).

In this world we have tribulation and experience many negative events full of suffering; yet, the Lord delivers us out of them all (John 16:33; Psalm 34:19). He turns our sorrow into gladness and we dance before Him in joy (Psalm 30:11).

God gives us His eternal wisdom, which is pure, peaceful, gentle, reasonable, without hypocrisy, full of mercy and produces good fruit. We sow this seed of righteousness in peace and reap peace in return (James 3:17-18).

We walk in God's love, which frees us from the condemnation of sin and gives us hope for an eternal future (Romans 8:1). We stop focusing on this world and the content of our life here and now. We dwell in the Spirit and interpret life through the Spirit (Galatians 5:15-25).

Prayer:

Father God, remind us that through Your wisdom and love we assist Your Body, meeting the needs of each member through serving in ministries in our local church family. We also reach out into our community; making a larger impact on our world by changing lives one at a time. As we serve those considered least in our world, we actually serve You (Matthew 25:31-46).

Remind us to maintain an eternal focus and not to pursue worldly gain during our lifetime, but to store up our treasures in heaven by walking in Your will for our life through each moment of our day (Matthew 6:19-21). We love You with all of our heart, soul, strength and mind and thank You for setting us free in the liberty, which only Christ can give (Luke 10:27).

Thought for the Day:

Through the perfect law of liberty, we serve God and the world around us by the direction of God's Holy Spirit and in the perfect will of God for our life. 

- James 1:25; Galatians 5:13; 2 Corinthians 3:17 

Many thanks to Matt Milligan for sharing his photo.

Living in the Depths of God's Love

When we experience the true depths of God’s love poured out on our life, it is a simple thing to share that love with others; not only in spiritual matters, but in physical matters as well. When you clean someone’s home, fix them a meal, repair their car, take their children for an afternoon so they can relax together, or any other practical help, this is as much an expression of God’s love as quoting a Bible verse to them.

This love does not come from a natural heart, which drives us like a slave to serve mankind. Instead, it is born from the heart of God and motives us by God’s Spirit to serve only where He calls us (John 14:15). Take Jesus’ life for an example. He walked past human need every day and only stopped to minister when He heard our Father direct Him to do so (John 5:1-18). The more time we spend listening to God’s Spirit, the more harmony we have with His will.

The more we live in harmony with God’s will, the more His love, rather than our carnal impulses, motivates our actions. We walk in peace and serve in His love rather than out of human compulsion for the need. We serve in deep abiding joy rather than obligation or obsession, and we fulfill the law of God each moment of the day (Galatians 6:2). We are no longer a human doer, but a spirit-filled follower of Jesus Christ.

Living in the love and will of God is the happiest place on earth. This existence brings us ultimate fulfillment and completion. We live our life through intimate union with Him and in the expression of His divine nature, which places in our soul the fruit of His Spirit who lives within us (Galatians 5:22-23). His love is the true inspiration of our soul – our thoughts, choices and emotions. Our will is in complete union with His will.

Prayer:
Father God, as we walk by the direction of Your Spirit, we do not fulfill the humanistic desires of our carnal flesh (Galatians 5:16, 25). Teach us to replace our self-centered life with a Christ-centered life by relinquishing our will, goals, desires and opinions to Yours, though the daily ministry of Your sanctification. Remind us to submit to Your growth process through the trials You bring into our life; so that our suffering will be replaced by the joy of experiencing Your presence in them. We love without reward, because our motivation is to live in union with Your will.

Thought for the Day:

There is no intimate union with God without a life lived in prayerful communication with Him.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sacrificial Love

In following Jesus’ example and direction, we live with sacrificial love for everyone around us. We put the needs of others ahead of our own needs. We give our resources, time, energy, empathy and compassion. However, this lifestyle will deplete our emotional energy, if we live it in the flesh. Codependent people are servants at heart, and they give so much to so many so often, that they burn out. God tells us to love others as we love our self. We need to take time to meet our needs too, and to allow others to meet our needs.

The only way we can truly love others sacrificially is through obedience to the Spirit of God. We grow into the fullness of the stature of Christ because His Spirit transforms us into His likeness (Ephesians 4:13; 2 Corinthians 3:18). God’s love within us allows us to forgive the slights, abuses and violations perpetrated against us. He also enables us to cry with those who suffer; and rejoice, without jealousy or bitterness, with those who are celebrating (Romans 12:15).

The world, the flesh and the devil do not want us to love unconditionally. They want us to fling accusations concerning our trials into the face of God (Matthew 16:23). They want us to react in hate, to wallow in bitterness and to unleash all of our negative emotions on the one who hurt us. However, Jesus says to turn the other cheek (Matthew 5:39). It is hard to do that when our normal response is to fight back. With each temptation to disobey the Lord, we struggle to lay down our life, and instead, to take up His life within us.

We face a struggle between our fleshly nature and God’s Spirit (Galatians 5:1, 25). We want to do what is right, but we often fail in times of crisis (Matthew 6:22-23, 16:13-16). Finding Christian friends who are experiencing a similar life crisis soothes our soul and gives us prayer partners. God proves His love and kindness to us as He guards, fortifies and leads us through these troubled waters. In the end, God’s faithful Saints will receive commendation, prominence and even more authority, once the Lord returns for us (1 Peter 1:7).

Our sacrifice of love is an expression of our love for and gratitude toward God. The world recognizes us as Believers, because of the depth of our love for one another and for the world around us (John 13:34-35). There are so many hurting people in the world who need the love of God; and we are just the ones to show them that we love them, because He first loved us. We have the only true, eternal hope, which is available to offer to our hurting family, friends, associates, neighbors and even people we have only just met (Romans 5:5).

Prayer:

Father God, many of life’s storms come to prove that our faith in Your faithfulness is valid, and worth more to us than any earthly riches. You often allow tribulation in our life to prove to us that You love us, or to redirect our course of action and to center us in Your will for our life. We can patiently wait and watch for Your divine intervention on our behalf (Exodus 14:13). Help us to share Your sacrificial love only with those You want us to reach out to.

Thought for the Day:

God so loved the whole world that He sacrificially gave His only begotten Son to save us from a life of sin.