Our Righteous Judge

Serving God as a Pastor's wife is a unique position. People at our community pool will apologize for their language when I'm around. One lady said, "Oh you brought your husband with you today. I'd better watch what I say and do."

Yet, the Psalmist said, "You have looked deep into my heart, Lord, and you know all about me. You know when I am resting or when I am working, and from heaven you discover my thoughts. You notice everything I do and everywhere I go" (v. 1-3, CEV).

People will do before God, who is our only righteous judge, what they would never do before the preacher and his wife. I actually tell people, "I am not your judge, God is; and He is watching you all the time." (James 4:12; Romans 14:4)

This makes them pause and think for a moment. Hopefully, it will make them realize that they answer to God for every thought word and deed (Revelation 20:12). I pray they will come to repentance and be saved (Isaiah 33:22).

The choices we make on this earth will determine our eternal destination, and God is the only judge who will make that final ruling (Matthew 10:28).

If our sins are covered under the blood of Christ, He paid their penalty for us. If we are not Born Again by the blood of the Lamb, we condemn our self already (John 3:18).

No one has an excuse (Romans 1:20). When we stand before God, He will not hear our pleas and explanations. It will be too late for apologies and repentance then.

Now is the time for salvation (2 Corinthians 6:2). We are not guaranteed one more breath of life. We may enter eternity and meet our righteous judge before we repent; and then it is too late.

There is no purgatory in which we can pay for our sins. There are no indulgences which we can pay to convince God to allow our loved ones to enter into His Kingdom. Jesus already paid the debt we owe. Come now and repent and believe (Mark 1:15).

Prayer:
Father God, our carnality has desensitized us from realizing Your awesome holiness and fearing You more than we fear people. We do not want anyone to tell us what to do or how to behave or what to think; yet You already removed the burden of righteousness from our shoulders by giving us the righteousness of Your dear Son.

No one is capable of fully obeying the law. You gave it, not for us to keep, but for us to realize the futility of our trying to make our self holy by attempting to conform to it. You provided the law to show us our need to accept Jesus as our Savior and Lord (Galatians 3:1-19; Romans 3:20). We thank You for giving us this way to know You now and throughout eternity (John 17:3).

Thought for the Day:
Once we surrender our life and destiny to God through repentance and salvation, His Holy Spirit conforms us to the image of Christ one step at a time. - 2 Corinthians 3:18

Christ's Divine Life in Us

The Trinity originally created mankind in their image (Genesis 1:6). Adam and Eve enjoyed an existence of body, soul and spirit in close fellowship with the Father. They maintained the same divine nature, which Christ exhibited.

Yet, when they believed Satan's lies, they chose to ignore their divine nature and to give in to Satan's temptation of their human nature instead. As a result, their spirit died; and at birth, our spirit is also dead in sin.

This did not take God by surprise. He already knows the end of time from the beginning (Isaiah 46:10). That is why, before He created the world, He planned to become Emmanuel (Genesis 1:1; Matthew 1:23).

He paid the ransom for the sin debt (Romans 4:25, 5:6) of anyone who will choose to submit to His will, rather than to our human desires or the devil's temptations (John 3:16-18).

God's Spirit regenerates our spirit and sanctifies our soul so that we will live in the divine nature of Christ in us, rather than through our human nature with its carnal thoughts and desires (2 Peter 1:4; John 1:1, 12-14).

This is possible, because our spirit is Born Again. It is no longer we who live, but Christ who lives in us (Galatians 2:20; Romans 12:2, 8:29; 2 Corinthians 3:18). We live, move and have our existence in Christ alone (Acts 17:28).

The life, which we live in this body, is lived through the faith of God's holy Son (Galatians 2:20). We are united with Christ in our spirit, just as Jesus' humanity was united with God, while He lived on this earth.

We continue the work of Christ and we do greater works, as we function as His Body (John 3:3-6, 14:12). We think, feel, speak and act in the will of God as we follow the leading of His Spirit through every decision we make and every action we take (Proverbs 3:5-6).

This affects our behavior and words in our vocation, marriage, family, neighborhood and church Body. We live as a city on a hill, and we never hide the light of Christ within us or darken it by sin (Matthew 5:14-16).

Prayer:

Father God, thank You for helping us to renew our mind through the washing of the water of Your Word (Ephesians 5:26). Since Christ set us free from sin, then help us to stay free from its destructive clutches (Galatians 5:1).

Teach us how to walk in the divine nature of Christ in us. Help us to live and move and have our being in Him, so that we can walk in Your will, exhibit Your character and do the works of Christ all the days of our life.

Thought for the Day:

Even though our body will die, because of the sin that curses this world, God's Spirit gives our soul His divine life as He resides within our regenerated spirit once He justifies us through salvation in Christ. - Romans 8:10

Following Jesus' Example

Jesus lived every moment of His life in dependence on our Father. He did not make His own decisions or live His own life, but consulted the Father throughout His day (Psalm 62:5-12). Our Savior and Brother gave us His perfect example of how God wants each and every Born Again Believer to live his/her life (Romans 8:17); totally surrendered to God and completely expended for Him without any reservations.

Christ’s death atoned for the debt of our sin. He died in our place and took our punishment upon His own body (2 Corinthians 12:9). He redeemed us by shedding His own blood (Matthew 26:28). Now He sits on His throne on high and intercedes for us (Hebrews 7:25). He is our advocate with our Father (1 John 2:1). At the same time, He dwells within us by His Spirit (1 Corinthians 3:16), empowering us to live a transformed life (2 Corinthians 3:18).

Jesus is the head of His Body, comprised of His Born Again Saints (1 Corinthians 12:27). The only way for us to truly experience the power of Christ’s resurrection is to conform to His death and become like Him (Philippians 3:10). As we die to our flesh Christ manifests His life in and through us (Romans 6:5). He impliments and perfects His life in us.  As we share in His sufferings, our comfort abounds (2 Corinthians 1:5).

Are we ready to die to the world and to our goals, aspirations, desires and wants for God? Does anything in our life mean more to us than God? Jesus did not come to do His will, but our Fathers (John 4:34). Do we have a separate agenda of our own that we prefer to follow instead of God’s will for our life? Living in the center of God’s will is the happiest place on earth.

Prayer:

Father God, knowing You in an intimate relationship is the reality of eternal life (John 17:3). We do not need to wait until heaven for this to occur. We can know You now. Bring us into spiritual maturity so that we can obtain the complete fullness of Christ in our body, soul and spirit (Ephesans 4:13). Remind us that as we conform to Jesus’ death, we live victoriously in His life. In eternity, we will also share in His glory (1 Peter 4:13).

Thought for the Day:

Only as we die to self will the life of Christ manifest in our life.

The Flip Side of Death

 

 

 

We all lived as children of wrath in the spirit of disobedience (Ephesians 2:2-3). Our father was the devil (John 8:44). We were lost in sin and owed their wages of death, which we could not pay (Romans 3:23, 6:23). Yet, God gave us the free gift of His Son, Jesus, who died to pay our sin debt and to bring salvation to each one of us. By His Spirit, Christ now dwells within our renewed spirit and allows us to partake of His divine nature both now on this earth and for eternity (2 Peter 1:4).

 

Now, the only way Satan has any influence over our life is if we give it to him by submitting our thoughts, words or deeds to him. Jesus defeated Satan at the cross of Calvary and He will come again to take all authority back from Satan, the current god of this world (2 Corinthians 4:4). Jesus will eventually lock the devil in the lake of torment forever. That is the fate of everyone who refuses to come to faith in Christ Jesus (Revelation 20:15).

 

On the other hand, those who surrender to Jesus are now joint heirs with Him (John 8:17), and will inherit everything God has in store for Him. Death is not an end, but the beginning of our true life. Our last breath on this earth is followed by our very next breath in Heaven. We graduate from the school of life and are carried into heaven by the angels to receive our diploma into the eternal Kingdom of God (Luke 16:22). We passed every test, and earned our rewards from the King.

 

God rejoices in the death of His Saints (Psalm 116:15). He is our guide and our refuge, even through death (Psalm 48:14; Proverbs 14:32). The day of our death is actually better than the day of our birth (Ecclesiastes 7:1), because we are no longer separated from God. We dwell in the reality of His Kingdom forever with all the Saints that have gone on before us along with those who will come after us. We will never die, because we take on the immortal aspect of angels, and we are the sons of God, the Body of Christ, whom He raised from death into new life (Luke 20:36).

 

Prayer:

Father God, our body, soul and spirit are filled with joy. We know You will never leave us among the dead. You will not allow Your beloved children to rot in the grave. Thank You for Your many joys in this earthly life, which You bestow on us. Our most exquisite pleasure is to enjoy Your eternal Presence both now and in eternity (Psalm 16:9-11). Create in us a clean heart, and renew our spirit until we come to spend eternity with You (Psalm 51:10).

 

Thought for the Day:

We are confident in the fact that if we are absent from our body, we will undoubtedly be with the Lord. – 2 Corinthians 5:8