Our Glorious Hope

One of God’s mysteries is that Christ can actually dwell in our hearts by His Spirit (Colossians 1:26-27). When we choose to die to our self - to lay down our own dreams, goals and desires for our life - we embrace God’s will for us instead.

This does not mean that we live in destitution and unfulfillment. It actually guarantees that we find even more blessings in God’s service, than we ever did when we controlled our own life (Romans 8:5-8).

The fact that Christ actually lives in us by His Spirit gives us hope of living with Him in glory (Colossians 1:27). We reflect the glory of our Heavenly Father a little more each day, because Christ lives in and through us.

When we see carnality in our life, we confess it as sin, and rejoice that the Spirit is exchanging His fruit, through the sanctification process, for our errant attitudes and character traits (Galatians 2: 22-23; 1 Corinthians 6:11).

When we follow the leading of the Holy Spirit moment by moment throughout the day we are sure to succeed in everything we do (Deuteronomy 28:13).

We cannot live with one foot in the world and one foot in the things of the Spirit. This is impossible because the flesh lusts against the Spirit (Matthew 6:24).

God’s goal for us is that we walk in the Spirit (Galatians 5:16-17, 25; Romans 8:9-14). Christ buried us with Him in His death by baptism and raised us up from dead works by the glory of our Father (Galatians 2:20; Ephesians 3:3).

Prayer:

Father God, we are now Your sons, led by Your Spirit as we take the time to submit our life to Christ one moment at a time (1 John 3:2). We find fulfillment in living in Your will and we realize Your glory radiating in us and through us to the world around us.

Our inner man is renewed day by day, and this encourages us, even though our body is getting older. Thank You for raising us up as You raised up the Lord Jesus. Thank You also for bringing us into Your presence for eternity and giving us our eternal hope of Your glory.

Thought for the Day:

When God sees us, He sees us in union with Christ, perfected and cloaked in His righteousness. - Romans 13:14

Don't Blame God

In God's original plan for mankind, He created Paradise for us to enjoy. He delighted in fellowshipping with Adam and Eve in the cool of the Garden (Genesis 3:8). He never wanted us to experience one bad day in our whole lifetime.

In his rebellion and pride, mankind decided as he always does, to "do it his way", and rejected Our Father's ultimate plan for his life. Adam sowed to the flesh and reaped destruction, toil and hardship for us all.

Adam forfeited dominion on the earth to the devil when he sinned. Until Jesus comes again to take His rightful Kingship over the earth, Satan is the god of this world (2 Corinthians 4:4). Sin and destruction are his specialty.

Even creation is cursed by the effects of sin in this world. All creation groans for the unveiling of the sons of God to bring God's total glorification back to the earth (Romans 8:19-22).

All of the misery, trials, disappointments and loss we suffer in this world are spawned by Satan. We are reaping what Adam and Eve sowed by their rebellion and pride.

So if something bad is happening in your life, or in the life of some good or godly person that you know, don't blame God. The "credit" actually goes to Satan.

God knew mankind would not appreciate His generosity; so He planned to become a man to pay for our sins, to redeem us back to Himself and to prove His unconditional love for us (John 10:30). In salvation, God gives us back both now and in eternity what Satan stole from us.

By providing a way for our salvation, God gives us all a chance to choose eternal life (John 3:16-17). If anyone refuses to believe, we condemn our self to hell in this life on earth and also in eternity (John 3:18).

If you repented of your sins and came to Christ for salvation, you are now a Saint (1 Corinthians 1:2). The Good News is that God will restore His Saints to Paradise in just a short vapor of time (James 4:14).

Prayer:

Father God, when we consider eternity, the 6,000 years of mankind's toil on this earth are just a brief era. In Your perfect timing, Jesus will take His rightful place as ruler of this world and restore the Kingdom under Your government and order. There will be no more crying, toil, pain or hardship there (Revelation 21:4).

Those born on the earth during the following 1000 year Millennium will also have a chance to choose or reject Jesus' Lordship; so that everyone will be allowed to exercise Your gift of free will (Revelation 20:3-7). All of those who stay faithful to You through to the end will serve You and enjoy Your blessings throughout eternity (Revelation 22:3; John 12:26, 30).

Thought for the Day:

God rejoices over us with singing, and He delights when His Saints pass from this world through death's portal, and enter eternity to dwell forever in His presence. 
-Zephaniah 3:17; Psalm 116:15

Purpose for Our Life

God fearfully and wonderfully made each one of us and knit our body together in our mother’s womb (Psalm 139:14). Most people forget that we are actually made from the dust of the earth (Genesis 2:7). People rise from the dust and take many shapes and sizes. But like the mountains, our destiny is to rise into the Heavenlies.

God made each of us with various personalities, gifts, talents, assets and peculiarities. However, we all have one thing in common: we need Jesus Christ as our Savior and Lord. God has a plan for each of our lives, and once we come to Christ, He reveals it to us one moment at a time (Ephesians 2:10).

When they hear the Good News of the Gospel, some people indifferently walk away, others vehemently reject the message and sometimes even the messenger, then a few actually accept the sacrifice Christ made for all of us on Calvary’s cross. Aligning our life with the will of God brings us fulfilling love, peace and joy.

We live a more positive life, successful in all the areas that matter with family, friends and the necessities of life provided. We are able to share these blessings with those less fortunate than we are. We share with them the source of our faith too and encourage them to trust in Jesus completely for their present and future life.

Prayer:

Father God, reveal Your purpose for our life in such a way that we cannot possibly misunderstand or walk away from it. Give us Your wisdom and help us to follow Your Spirit when we have decisions to make. We seek You and Your strength, we seek Your presence continually (Psalm 105:4).

Thought for the Day:

Even Creation, which God made for mankind to enjoy, constantly honors the Lord and eagerly waits for the revealing of the Sons of God. – Revelation 4:11; Romans 8:19

The Anchor for our Soul

 

Eternal life is God’s promise (1 John 2:25), which enables us to know God intimately (John 17:3). This takes place both now and in eternity. It requires no self-effort, just total rest in His presence (Hebrews 4:10). God’s promises also provide pardon for sin, support in trials, the glorious resurrection, and eventually, immortality. God’s promises encourage us to cleanse our self of every evil desire (2 Corinthians 7:1).

When we choose not to live in God’s Will during each moment of our day, we lose the power of Christ in us. It is only through total surrender to His will that we accomplish all that He prepared for us to do (Ephesians 2:10). God shrouds us with His divine nature, which is the fruit of His Spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, gentleness, goodness, meekness, self-control and faith (Galatians 5:22-23).

As we mature, we increase in the measure of the fullness of Christ (Ephesians 4:13). God disciplines us to enable us to share in His holiness (Hebrews 12:10). This empowers us to put on our new self, which is created to be like God in both righteousness and holiness (Ephesians 4:24). Our humanity is dead and we are hidden with Christ in God (Colossians 3:3). As we walk in God’s promises, we receive His divine nature (2 Peter 1:4).

Confidently, we cling to God’s promises in tribulation. They are the anchor of our soul and the foundation for our hope. God keeps all of His promises (2 Corinthians 1:20). The nation of Israel wandered from God; yet, God is faithful and is keeping His promises to them (Zechariah 13:8-9; Romans 11:25-26). God guarantees His Body freedom from the law, sin and death. He freely provides us with eternal life in Jesus Christ (John 3:16).

We partake in the divine nature of God through Christ who dwells in our spirit. When we indulge in fleshly pursuits, the divine nature of God is grieved. However, as authentic Born Again Believers, we cannot continue to live in sin (1 John 3:9). God’s Spirit gradually makes all things new (2 Corinthians 5:17), and we bear His image through continual transformation (2 Corinthians 3:18).

Prayer:

Father God, Your Holy Spirit teaches us to deny unholy conduct and lust, at the same time He encourages us to live serious, blameless and holy lives (Titus 2:12). As we do, we inwardly partake of Your divine nature; which causes us to refrain from outwardly partaking in sin and degradation. Our body houses Your (1 Corinthians 6:15). We are members of Christ’s body, flesh and bones (Ephesians 5:30; John 14: 16-17, 17:20-23). You make Your home in those who love and obey You (John 14:23).

Thought for the Day:

We are now the sons of God, and it does not yet appear what we shall be, but when we see Him return in the clouds, we will be exactly like Him, for we shall see Him as He is. - 1 John 3:2

 

A Christian's Hope in Death

 
Paul was confident that the very moment our spirit and soul leave our body they are immediately present with the Lord (2 Corinthians 5:8). We are not disembodied spirits wandering the earth until we finish the business we failed to accomplish in our lifetime. Neither do we need to contact some human being to help us to leave a message for our loved ones or to straighten out some misunderstanding we left behind. We know that once we take our last breath on this earth, our very next breath will be in heaven.

Death is not the end; it is the beginning. We leave the limits of this earthly realm and enter into the glorious riches of the Kingdom of God. We graduated from the school of life, we passed all the tests and we earned our diploma in order to enter the grandeur of heaven and receive our rewards. God rejoices in the death of His Saints (Psalm 116:15), because we are no longer separated from Him, but we dwell with Him for eternity. The day of our death is actually even better than the day of our birth (Ecclesiastes 7:1).

God fills our body, soul – thoughts, choices and emotions, and spirit with joy as we experience exquisite pleasures in His eternal presence here on earth (Psalm 16:9-11). However, He does not leave us to rot in the grave. He is our guide, even in death (Psalm 48:14). He is our refuge in death (Proverbs 14:32). The angels carry us into the presence of God in heaven (Luke 16:22), where we will never die. We are like angels in this respect, because we are the sons of God. God raises us from the dead into a new life with Him (Luke 20:36).

Prayer:

Lord Jesus, I thank You for drawing us to Your heart during times of strain and sorrow, which accompany the death of our loved ones. I thank You that Your peace, which passes all human understanding, will flow over us like a waterfall. You fill our heart with Your love so fully that we will feel no other emotion. I ask that You help us to always find our refuge under the shadow of Your wings, our strength in Your joy and our comfort and clarity of thinking in Your wisdom, as You lead us beside the sill waters and restore our soul (Psalm 23).

Thought for the Day:

Our last breath on earth is followed by our first breath in Heaven.