The Divine Nature of God in Us

The trauma, inconsistencies and callous aspects of life, wear on our human soul, which intensifies over the years of our lifetime. Since conception, the abuse, injustice and deprivation turn us from skeptics to raging maniacs. We shut down emotionally or we allow negative habits to rule our behavior. We over-react to situations through our habitual self-defense mechanisms.

God is love. (1 John 4:8). His love for and in us removes our reasons to fear, which is the root of all of our negative emotions (1 John 4:8; Romans 13:10). As we surrender to His love, God’s Spirit fills us with more and more of His divine nature. Love banishes our selfishness, envy, pride, and rebellion, and fills up our soul – our mind, will and emotions (1 John 4:20). God displays His love through us to the world around us (1 John 4:12).

We cannot achieve this love in our own power or effort, but only as a gift from God through His perfecting power (Romans 5:5). God’s Spirit within us sanctifies us, and gradually gives us the divine nature of our Father God (Philippians 2:12-13; Ephesians 2:10). This results in a mind, which is set on holy and spiritual thoughts and desires (Colossians 3:2). God’s Spirit does not change our carnality overnight.

God’s Spirit imparts one aspect of God’s divine nature to us at a time. He peels away our sin nature one layer after another, replacing each earthly characteristic with His fruit (2 Corinthians 3:18; Galatians 5:22-23). He exchanges our carnal tendencies with a display of spiritual fruit. He reveals them in our behavior each time we allow Him to do so. The entire gamut of spiritual fruit, the nature of God, is in Christ in us.

Therefore, we already have each of these fruit resident within our soul through the abiding Holy Spirit. God replaces hatred with love, depression with true joy, discontentment with peace, irritation with patience, criticism with gentleness, backbiting with goodness, pride with meekness, excess with self-control, and worry with the faith of God as we are controlled and guided by His Spirit. The closer we walk in God’s will, the more holiness and spirituality we exhibit.

Prayer:

Father God, the perfect triangle of Your love for us, our love for You and our subsequent love for one another is a witness to the world of Your power (John 13:34-35). Heal our wounded hearts and remove any lies in our soul, which Satan planted in our subconscious mind. Share with us Your Truth about the trauma we experienced in this sin-filled world, and pluck Satan’s lies right out of our belief system. Allow us to view our self as You see us...as perfected in Christ.

Thought for the Day:

God’s divine nature in us is not something we use for personal gain or reputation, like so many people in this modern society, but for the glory of God and to further His Kingdom in the earth.

 

God's Little Love Letters

God tells us in innumerable, specific ways throughout the day that He loves us as His special children. He uses different signs and symbols that speak to the individual’s heart. For instance:

• God used butterflies to signal his love to my friend Ginny. They appeared during every milestone of her battle with cancer.

 

• Teresa felt God’s love whenever she found a heart-shaped stone or shell.

 

• Larry said that every time he noticed one of his shoestrings untied, it was God’s way of saying He was watching out and protecting him.

 

• Peter said that lightning demonstrated to him that God was giving him divine power to preach his sermon.

 

• When they find a penny on the ground, some people say it reminds them that God is their provider and in Him they put their trust.

 

• Becky felt God’s special love for her when she saw a male Cardinal in her window, or staring at her from a tree branch as she approached the tree. It’s vibrant color and distinctive melody warmed her heart and she felt the arms of God giving her a cherishing hug.

 

• One day as I waited for the shower water to warm up, a thin sheen of water covered the shower floor except for one spot. For no scientific rhyme or reason, that spot was in the perfect shape of a heart. It remained dry until the water was warm enough for me to get in, and then it slowly filled with water as well.

 

• A sunrise or sunset is very meaningful when we realize that God is giving us a new day. Then we realize He was protecting and providing for us all day as the sun sets again that night.

 

• A rainbow is a sign of God’s love, mercy and safety to many Christians.

 

• When I go out to walk the dog and Orion’s Belt is centered above me in the night sky, I am reminded that our mighty Savior is watching over and protecting us.

 

• As I walked across the parking lot at First Baptist, a perfectly shaped heart leaf blew across my path and settled at my feet. I grinned from ear to ear and felt God's love pouring over me like waterfall. As I bent down to pick it up, a wind gust blew it from my grasp. I heard the Lord's gentle reprimand..."No, my child, I want to bless others with this leaf as well."
  
Coincidence? A skeptic might think so; but a Believer sees the hand of God in all the little things He does for us each day.

Numbers not only have mathematical significance, but each one is a symbol with a meaning. For instance,

One = unity with God

Two = confirmation/witness, support
Three = completion
Four = relating to flesh/earth
Five = grace
Six = mankind
Seven = perfection
Eight = a new beginning
Nine = Fullness of blessing
Ten = Human government/laws; etc.

Most of the time I could not care less what time it is. For the most part, the minutes of my day are scheduled out for me. Therefore, when the Spirit directs me to look at the clock, God often uses the arrangement of the numbers to leave little love letter for me. I know it is God, because if I glance at the clock a minute before or after He directs me to do so, the numbers would be different. It is amazing how often during the week He uses one of these combinations to speak to my heart.

1:11 = is three one’s = complete unity with God.

2:22 = is three two’s = complete confirmation/ support.
2:55 = is one 2, and two five’s = confirmation of grace.
3:33 = is three three’s = total completion (Colossians 2:10).
5:55 = is three five’s = complete grace.
God uses all sorts of combinations to leave little love notes for me.

What does God use to show you His special favor and love? Maybe you never took the time to notice. Maybe you noticed, but did not understand why it was significant. Pay attention from now on and watch for God’s little love notes to you throughout the day. If you get a chance, send me an email and share with me about your little love letter from God. God bless you now and always, kat

kathleenbrdly@gmail.com

Thank you, "God Still Performs Miracles Everyday", for the use of your photo.

On Dry Land

Read: Joshua 3:1-17

“He rebukes the sea and dries it up; he makes all the rivers run dry.” - Nahum 1:4

The verses in Joshua 3:15-16 always intrigues me, "As soon as the priests who carried the ark reached the Jordan and their feet touched the water's edge, the water from upstream stopped flowing. It piled up in a heap a great distance away." No miracle occurred until the priests took that first step of faith into the flooded waters of the river. They had to look beyond their natural fears and inhibitions and obey God. Before revealing His mighty hand in our life, God is patiently waiting for full commitment from us, as well.

There are so many skeptics in today’s society that believe the Bible is a book of fairytales and stories written by men, rather than inspired by God (2 Timothy 3:16). They do not believe in the power of God because they do not see His power working in the world today. Is it because we have too little faith? Or is it because when He does things for us, we do not share His goodness with the rest of the world? The entire Bible is filled with testimonies of miraculous feats that God performs for His people.

When circumstances get out of our control, or present a problem too complex for us to handle, that is when God’s power manifests in our life. When Jesus healed people in the Bible, many took the time to proclaim the great things Jesus had done for them. Everyone was amazed at the testimonies (Mark 5:20). We have many avenues for sharing these miracles every day. Facebook is a great way to give God glory. Giving personal testimonies to our friends, relatives, associates and neighbors is another way to tell of His glorious and personal touch in the lives of those who serve Him.

Or perhaps due to disobedience or a lack of devotion on your part, God does not intervene on your behalf. There is an easy fix for this problem…repentance and reconnection to God is only a prayer away. Another problem is that many people are afraid to turn total control of their life over to God. They fear what He will require of them. They do not want to go to Africa as a missionary or sell all of their earthly good and give all the money to the poor. God rarely calls people to these drastic commitments of faith; but when He does, He gives us so much more than He ever requires from us.

Our Creator God, in all of His majesty and power, is just waiting to work miracles for us and for those whose lives we touch. He asks for total surrender of your will to His and a total commitment to spiritual goals and focus. Compare the deficient lives we live to God’s great universe. What do we have to lose? With the Trinity dwelling within us there is nothing we cannot do as we walk in obedience to the direction of the Holy Spirit moment by moment throughout the day.

Prayer:

Lord Jesus, You are the Mighty One who does great things for us (Luke 1:48) Joshua told the people, “Consecrate yourselves, for tomorrow the Lord will do amazing things among you” (Joshua 3:5). Help us to keep our life set apart to You, so that You can continue to do great things for us. In this story in Joshua, the moment the priests set their feet on the dry ground on the other side of the river, the waters of the Jordan River returned to their place and ran at flood stage again (Joshua 4:18). There is no denying the might works You do for those who love You, and they fill us with great joy and inspiration (Psalm 126:2-3).

Thought for the Day:

Surrender every area of your life to God and walk in the power of His Holy Spirit.

Why Bother Witnessing for Christ?

The skeptics of the world refuse to believe the evidence that we present to them. We have infallible proofs that the Bible is true and that the Christ of the Bible is the one and only Savior of the World, but who will believe it? Even when we use several schools of logic to appeal to their reason, they refuse to believe. They replace the truth of God for a lie, and they worship and serve created things rather than the Creator (Romans 1:25).

For instance, there are several scientific and logical progressions that prove the existence of God. Everyone knows that change only occurs with an impetus, which causes the change. Therefore, something unchanging had to cause the first change. Matter changes, but is never used up. Something had to create that matter in the first place. Someone had to create the gas that supposedly banged us into existence. I purport that God spoke and His breath created everything into existence. God is the unchanging cause that created all things.  

The order in our vast universe strongly suggests an intelligent designer. The fact that mankind has any intelligence at all is evidence of a higher intelligence, which created us. It stands to reason that our intelligent designer is God. With these facts in mind, we can draw the conclusion that Christ and the Holy Spirit are also God. Some religious denominations, such as the Jehovah Witnesses believe that Jesus is the Son of God, but not equal to God. Contrarily, the Bible makes it clear that Jesus is God, who came in the flesh (John 5: 16-23; Revelation 3:14; John 20:28; Colossians 2:8,10).

Salvation through Christ is evident through many Biblical references (Romans 5:2, 3:21-27, 10:9-10; Hebrews 7:25). However, denominations such as Roman Catholics and Mormons believe that our works obtain our salvation for us. If this were true, Jesus would not have needed to live and die, rise again from the dead and ascend into heaven. Satan used this same deceitful tactic in the Garden of Eden, convincing the first couple that God lied to them; and they would be as smart as God, if they would eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil (Genesis 3:4-5).

Whether or not a person believes the truth we speak, God still commands us to go into the entire world and share the truth (Mark 16:15). Some of our words plant seeds in a person’s heart, some water a seed planted there by someone else, but it is God who ultimately gives the increase (1 Corinthians 3:6-7). There are dominions and powers of darkness that oppose our efforts to witness (Ephesians 6:10). Significantly, no one can come to Christ unless the Spirit of God draws him/her (John 6:44).

Jesus often spoke in parables. They were mysterious stories to the common person. Jesus told his disciples that only the spiritually minded would understand them (Mark 4:10-13). No amount of reason or logic can convince a person to believe in Christ for Salvation, even though Biblical truth is perfectly credible and plausible. We never know when a neighbor, a person in the grocery line, a waitress at the restaurant or the stranger on the street is ready to hear the Good News of the Gospel of Christ (Matthew 28:19).

It only takes a moment to ask someone, “Do you have a church to attend?” If they say “No”, invite them to yours. Or you can ask, “What do you believe about Jesus?” Then, politely listen to their response before you give them your testimony about what Jesus did for you (Matthew 5:16). We are not in the Kingdom of God to take up space, but to spread the Word to anyone and everyone who will listen (Acts 1:8).

Prayer:

Lord Jesus, open the eyes and ears of our finite mind, so we can understand the Words of Life in the scriptures (Luke 24:44-45). We do not want to draw near to You only with our mouth, and honor You only with our lips. We do not want our heart to be far from You. We do not want to worship You in vain or to teach the doctrine of men, rather than Your Truth (Matthew15:8-9). We want to worship You in Spirit and in Truth, and we want to guide all men into Your truth as well (John 4:23-24, 16:13).

Thought for the Day:

Do not hide your light under a basket, but let it shine for all to see. - Matthew 5:15

Live and Let Live

Read: Matthew 7:13-14

"Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. - John 14:6

Up until my first year of college, I lived by the philosophy, "Judge not, or you will be judged." I did not want anyone stepping on my toes, because it always hurt. I just wanted to survive in a laissez-faire, non-judgmental existence. I believed that everyone who lived a good life would go to heaven. Many "religious" teachers supported my views, but what I did not realize is that Biblical truth did not sustain this belief system.

Thankfully, I learned that there is only one name under heaven by which we can be saved - Jesus Christ. When I accepted His forgiveness for my sins, I stopped traveling down the broad road of pious lies. I entered the narrow gate of His truth and started loving Him with all my heart, soul, mind, and strength (Mark 12:30). I developed my personal relationship with our living Lord. Now, I get so excited when I realize that eventually even the skeptics will one day recognize His Lordship and bow at His name (Philippians 2:9-11).

Prayer:
Lord Jesus, help me to lift You up to the highest place in my heart, soul, mind, and strength. Give me the ability to communicate Your truth to the lost and dying world all around me, while there is still time for them to hear and to believe.

Thought for the Day:
Eternal life only comes to us through faith in the name, which is above all other names - the name of Jesus Christ.