Getting Off the Fence

 

There is a popular saying that runs the gamut of Christian circles every dozen or so years. It claims that we do not want to be “so spiritually minded that we are no earthly good”.

That is a lie from the pit of hell. Look at Noah...He preached for 120 years, and he and his sons spent much of that time building an ark big enough to protect anyone who wanted to be saved.

However, since it had never rained before this time, people scoffed at them as if they were so spiritually minded they were no earthly good.

Many wanted to get aboard the ark after it started raining, but it was too late. God already closed the door (Genesis 7:16). A shallow consent to accept Christ in times of trouble brings no real change to a life and requires no total surrender for the glory of God.

Many who claim the name of Christ are oblivious to the destruction they inflict upon the Kingdom of God by sitting on the fence and exhibiting carnal words and actions (Matthew 7:16-23).

Contrarily, authentic Christians can never be content with participating in ritualistic, religious motions. We seek relevance in every aspect of our life. Even our hobbies are Christ-honoring.

Our spirit and soul are grieved by anything that grieves Christ, because He dwells within us in all of His fullness. We refrain from participating in anything that is remotely sinful.

We exhibit the fruit of God’s Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23), which is the result of the refining fire of His sanctifying process in our life. We belong to Christ and we no longer live in the fleshly, carnal, worldly realm of life (1 John 3:9).

Prayer:

Father God, draw us by Your Spirit until we get off the fence and make a sincere and complete commitment to You and Your Kingdom on this earth. We grow in Christ and we are no longer in love with our self or addicted to sin. We lay down our idols – anything, which we want more than You. We submit to the total control of Your Spirit.

We remove our self from the throne of our life and put You in Your rightful place. We get off the fence and wholly commit our life to the Lordship of Jesus Christ. We make a difference in Your Kingdom by following the leading of Your Spirit moment by moment. We fall more in love with Jesus with each passing day.

Thought for the Day:

As we serve our Lord, we show greater and greater enthusiasm as we allow His Spirit to lead us in service and obedience to Him.

Transformed into the Mind of Christ

As the Holy Spirit perfects us, instead of looking at trials with a carnal mind, we view them with the mind of Christ. God’s divinity within us turns any trials into a momentary and light affliction (2 Corinthians 4:17).

Most people spend more time believing that God is going to give them what they want and do not have, rather than in focusing on His will for them moment by moment throughout each new day.

The more we look to the future, the more we waste the present. When we view our present trials as part of God’s will for us, we find Him in the midst of them (Romans 12:2).

Jesus asks us to separate our self from the human realm of life, even while we still live in it (John 15:19). We physically live in the world, but we do not belong to any part of it (John 17:14-15).

We find this place of spiritually mindedness by realizing that our humanity is dead in Christ, and we no longer live, but Christ lives in and through us (Galatians 2:20; Colossians 3:3).

Jesus already overcame any negative aspect we could ever experience in this life, and He dwells in us with all of the power of our triune God (John 16:33).

We walk in His victory as we experience each trial as a new adventure, which God brings our way. God uses these trials to transform us out of the earthly sphere into His spiritual Kingdom (2 Corinthians 5:17).

Prayer:

Father God, You gave us the life we have, just as it is right now. You want us to allow You to shine through us in it, rather than for us to wait around for something we think we need. Help us to learn to be content in Your provision for our daily needs, rather than wanting something different or more (Philippians 4:11).

Remind us to focus on what is eternal rather than on that which is earthly, because reality is only found in You. You do not promise us tomorrow; so help us to give You all of our self in this moment, without holding back anything or worrying about the future in any way.

Thought for the Day:

When we love the things of this world, we do not have the love of the Father in us. - 1 John 2:15

Get Off the Fence

 

There is a popular saying that runs the gamut of Christian circles in every century of time. It claims that we do not want to be “so spiritually minded that we are no earthly good”. That is a lie from the pit of hell. Look at Noah...He preached for 120 years and he and his sons spent much of that time building an ark big enough to protect anyone who wanted to be saved. However, since it had never rained before this time, people scoffed at them as if they were so spiritually minded they were no earthly good. Well, who had the last laugh in that scenario?

Many wanted to get aboard the ark after it started raining, but it was too late. God already closed the door (Genesis 7:16). Many who claim the name of Christ in their life are oblivious to the destruction they inflict upon the Kingdom of God by their words and actions (Matthew 7:16-23). A shallow consent to accept Christ brings no real change to our life and requires no surrender for the glory of God. Authentic Christians can never be content with participating in ritualistic, religious motions. We seek relevance in every aspect of our life.

If something is not Christ-centered, we have no interest in it. Our spirit, and also our soul are grieved by anything that grieves Christ, because He dwells within us in all of His fullness. We refrain from participating in anything that is remotely sinful. We exhibit the fruit of God’s Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23), which is the result of the refining fire of His sanctifying process in our life. We no longer live in the fleshly, carnal, worldly realm of life. If we do, we do not belong to Christ (1 John 3:9).

The Bible declares that if anyone claims to be a Christian, yet lives a worldly life, they are liars (Romans 8:9; 1 John 2:4). You might believe in God. You may have been convicted of your sin. You may like going to church and listening to religious music. However, you are not Born Again. Even demons believe and tremble at the name of Christ (James 2:19). If we are Born Again, we live by the Spirit of God in everything we think, say and do (Romans 8:9).  There is continual intimacy with the living Lord and growth in our character and actions, which are led by His Spirit.

Salvation is not an end in itself. It is the beginning of a whole new life (2 Corinthians 5:17). It is useless to attempt to become a better human being. Self-help methods will never allow us to exchange our carnality with the fruit of God’s Spirit. We are simply the branches. He is the Vine, which connects us to the life-giving flow of God’s supernatural power to enhance our life. Our humanity is already dead with Christ in God. God is love and if He abides in us completely, we have no need to strive to show love to others. His love fills us and overflows into the lives of everyone we meet.

Christ in us expresses the fruit of the Spirit in and through us. We are a vessel containing the living Lord of the universe with all the dynamic power of the triune God resident within us (Ephesians 3:20). We are no longer in love with our self. We are no longer addicted to sin and we lay down our idols – anything, which we want more than God. We submit to the total control of the Spirit of God. We get our self off the throne of our life and put God in His rightful place.

So, this is the bottom line: Get off the fence! Commit your life wholly and completely to the Lordship of Jesus Christ. Make a difference in His Kingdom by following the leading of His Spirit moment by moment throughout the day. Fall in love with Jesus. Living in the center of God’s will is the happiest place on earth.

Prayer:

Lord Jesus, the only person that may call him/her self a Christian is one with a vital and vibrant intimate union with You. If we live according to our own plans for the day and work You into them, we gravely miss every opportunity to allow You to work Your plans through us. Remind us to converse with You moment by moment throughout the day. You orchestrate the adventures in our life to fulfill Your purpose in us. We hunger and thirst for a deeper relationship with You, so that we may walk in the fullness of Your Spirit and allow You to accomplish Your will in and through us.

Thought for the Day:

Total submission to the control of Christ in our daily life is the next step after our salvation. Has that happened in your life? – 1 Corinthians 15:22-28

All or Nothing

 

Many people have a tendency to look at life with an all or nothing attitude. We think that to enjoy the features of living on this earth is to be earthly minded; and to pray, read the Bible and do Christian work is to live a holy, spiritually minded life. Although there is some truth in this, the reality is that God created all good things for us to enjoy (1 Timothy 6:17). He put us on this diverse and beautiful planet so that all creation would point us to Him (Romans 1:20). As we enjoy creation, we see His glory and majesty surrounding us.

What about our talents in music, mechanics, giving, art, engineering, caring, teaching, technology, preaching, serving, etc? We actually balance out these earthly pursuits with a spiritual mind as we do them all for the glory of God. Paul pointed out to us that even what we eat and drink should be done for the glory of God (1 Corinthians 10:31). God cares about every aspect of our life. We often attempt to perfect our self by giving up what we consider worldly pursuits. The perfecting process belongs to the Spirit of God, however.

If we try in the flesh to perfect our self, all we have is more flesh! Our soul requires times of leisure and recreation in order to maximize its effectiveness. If our soul does not prosper, our body and spirit will suffer also (3 John 1:2). It is the type of recreation and the amount of time and money we put into it that determines whether or not we are catering to the flesh. We relate to our physical world with our five senses, involving our desires, instinct and intellect. We interact in the spiritual world through our spirit, which is Born Again at the moment of salvation.

If our focus is consumed with the natural aspects of life, our spirit will suffer, and our body and soul will endure deprivation as well. Conversely, if we focus on God's will for each moment of our day, He will work out His perfection in us and He will lead us to live a healthy life in body, soul and spirit. If we primarily focus on fleshly, carnal aspects of life – even positive things such as our job, church, family and hobbies - they become idols. If we focus on religious aspects of life, we grow self-righteous and judgmental. God desires that we carry our spirituality into every detail of our daily lives (Colossians 3:17).

We can only develop true balance in life when we obey the direction of the Spirit of God for each moment of our day. Not a legalistic, petty structure of religious works, but a fluid stream of God’s gifts and character flowing through us into the world around us. The spiritual world is intangible and invisible, but God’s love and truth flow generously from a spirit connect to God though Christ. When we live with a balanced body, soul and spirit, we successfully navigate through life. We are simply the container from which God pours out His Spirit on everyone around us.

Prayer:

Father God, You gave each of us gifts to use for your glory (Romans 12:6; 1 Timothy 6:17). You did not give them to us so we could use them, however. You gave them to us, so that You can use them through us! We do all things through the strength and energy You supply for us. In this way, we cannot take any credit, but we will give you all of the glory and power forever and ever (1 Peter 4:10-11). You even give us comfort so that You can comfort others through us (2 Corinthians 1:4). If we trust in our own abilities and wealth, we will fail; but as we step aside and allow you to bless others through us, we will prosper as well (Proverbs 11:28).

Thought for the Day:

We are only consumed by our human nature if we refuse to allow God to reveal Christ in us according to His good pleasure. – Ephesians 1:9

Spiritually Minded

The Lord Jesus Christ is our God. He saves us, rejoices over us with gladness, quiets us with His love and rejoices over us with singing (Zephaniah 3:17). He dwells in the midst of our life. His Holy Spirit steadily draws us toward perfection as He convicts us of sin, and empowers us to walk in victory over these transgressions. Slowly, our soul – our mind, will and emotions – is sanctified, and readily rejects worldly pursuits and desires nothing more than to remain hidden with Christ in God.

As we fully absorb the concept that Christ now lives His life in and through us, we, as the Body of Christ, will truly make a difference in the world around us. We seek eternal goals and dreams, rather than material ones. God has a perfect will for our life, which surmounts the physical restrictions of this earthly realm (Acts 8:39). Time, space and matter no longer confine us. Jesus proved this when He walked on water. Christ in us put an end to sin and death in us. Now we can concentrate on His spiritual truth, rather than carnal limitations that we face in life.

We are dead in Christ, but also risen with Christ, in all of His wisdom, power and strength. The negative aspects and encounters we face in life take on a new meaning. We see them as instruments of God to improve our obedience and to perfect our faith. We view trouble and trials from an eternal mindset now. They no longer cause worry or stress, because we know without a doubt that God is in control even in these difficulties. Maybe our house burned down, the boss increased our quota, our loved one passed away, our mate divorced us, the bank account is empty or a child is bent on rebellion, to name a few circumstances. However, God is in control of even these trying times.

The soul in union with Christ no longer wastes any energy on worldly issues. We keep our focus solely on God and His peace reigns in our heart (John 14:27). We live in Him and by Him, because He dwells within us. Jesus gives us this union with the triune God. We have a personal, intimate relationship with the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Walking in the Spirit is not reserved for a few individuals, but is available for all authentic Believers who are willing to lay down their life and to allow Christ to live in them and through them (1 Peter 2: 21-25).

Prayer:

Lord Jesus, we long to live as exact replicas of You! You lived in love, humility and surrender to our Father. Help us to pattern our life after You, so that everything we say and do will last throughout eternity. Your coming brought the eternity into the present for all Believers. We live in eternity with You now, because You reside in our spirit. Thank You for Your sacrifice and for opening Your heart to us and including us in Your Body. You are our joy, our life, our peace and our salvation. We eternally lift up our praises to You .  

Thought for the Day:

We experience God’s best when we completely surrender our life to Him.
 





Thank you, Michelle Benge, for the use of your lovely photo.