A Surrendered Life

 

Once we are Born Again, we are one Spirit with Christ who dwells within us (1 Corinthians 6:17). He strengthens us to continually overcome the sinful desires and evil spirits that threaten and tempt our flesh (1 John 5:4; 2 Corinthians 2:14; Romans 8:37).

Every time Satan finds something to use to tempt us to sin, it is an idol in our life. These remaining secret unconfessed and unsurrendered sins still dwell in us, which the Spirit has not yet brought to our attention.

We brought those idols with us from our old life and they are still causing issues now in our new life (Genesis 31:34; 2 Corinthians 5:17). God calls us to willing lay down these secret sins as His Spirit draws them to our attention.

He will complete the work He started in our soul, just as He did in our spirit and will also do with our future immortal body (Philippians 1:6). Daily, He carries out His work of perfection until there is no longer any entrenched sin in our body or soul.

We simply enter Christ’s rest each moment of our day and submit to His Spirit’s mercy, grace and direction (Colossians 1:27, 2:2). As we walk in the Spirit moment by moment, we will never fulfill the lusts of the flesh (Galatians 5:15-25).

Then, God’s Spirit and the divinity of Christ within us renovate our thoughts, choices and emotions from carnal ones to those, which are spiritually minded (Romans 12:2; Ephesians 4:23).

Prayer:

Father God, without You in our life we are hopeless and undone (John 15:5). We thank You for giving us Your Spirit to perfect us day by day. We thank You for Jesus’ life and character that overcomes unrighteousness within us and presents us as a spotless Bride (2 Corinthians 4:7).

As we mature spiritually and enjoy a deeper and more intimate relationship with You, we will more clearly see Your purpose in our life. We learn to rejoice during trials and times of difficulty, because we know that patience is having her perfect work in us and seasons of great victory follow seasons of spiritual battle.

Thought for the Day:

Rather than box with the winds of adversity, we embrace them; the Bible has current answers for us regardless of the questions that plague our mind, if we will only take the time to search them out.

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

Abiding in Christ

The Apostle John, so in love with our Lord Jesus, experienced abiding with Christ in person and passed this experience along to us in His letters. He spent hours of unbroken fellowship with the Lord. He considered himself one of Jesus' best friends, beloved by Him.

We too can enjoy this same intimate relationship with Jesus, because He lives IN us by His Spirit. To abide in Christ literally means to dwell in Him, not to wander off, and to stand as if rooted to the spot.

Jesus said He was equal with God (John 10:38). The Pharisees were offended by this declaration, because they did not understand that they too could enjoy unbroken fellowship with God through Christ and His Spirit.

God dwelt in Jesus in the same way that He dwells in us (John 14:11). His character and nature are evident in our life as we mature spiritually and continually die to our old carnal nature (John 14:10).

Although Jesus literally and physically returned to His home in Heaven, He did not abandon us alone on this earth. He gave us His Spirit as our comforter and guide.

Jesus will return for us in time for our wedding feast as His Bride (John 14:18-20); but until then, His Holy Spirit sanctifies us more each day as we believe in Christ and remain in this vital union with Jesus and our Father.

We live and function in the same manner that Jesus walked with our Father during His lifetime (1 John 2:6-27, 3:6). If we desire to live in His will, He provides us with what we need each moment of the day.

We can do greater works simply because we, as His Body, are greater in number and He abides within all of us. All He needs is our availability and obedience to His Spirit on a continual basis as we walk in His will (John 14:3-15).

We eat His flesh and drink His blood, ingesting Him into our spirit, soul and body and drawing our nourishment from Him (John 6:56). We are united with Him and He is our whole life (Colossians 3:4).

Prayer:

Father God, You cleanse us with the blood of Jesus, our perfect Lamb of God (John 1:29). Thank You for choosing to give us His righteousness in place of our old, carnal nature and making us a new creation in Christ (2 Corinthians 5:17). We covet our time with You as You provide us with holy fellowship with You throughout the day.

Help us to continue in Your Word, for Your Word is life to our spirit and soul (John 8:31; 1 John 2:19-24). Remind us to keep Your commandments for they lead us on the path of holiness and help us to avoid the destruction reaped from a life of sin and degradation (John 15:9-10).

Thought for the Day:

Christ's life flows through us, just as the nutrients of the Vine empower the branches to bear fruit; but if we break fellowship with Him and grieve His Spirit through sin, pride or rebellion, we lose this perfect union until we repent. 

- John 15:4; Ephesians 4:30; 1 Thessalonians 5:19