No Longer a Sinner - Conformed to Christ's Image

God's glory within us increases incrementally as we cooperate with His Spirit's discipline and direction. We reflect this glory to the world around us and draw people to Him who want more of Him in their life as well.

His sanctifying work starts with the rebirth of our spirit and continues throughout our lifetime, as the imperfect in us is transformed into the perfected (Romans 8:29; 1 John 3:2).

As God's Spirit transforms us with the mind, likeness and divine character of Christ, we change from one stage of glory to the next (2 Corinthians 3:18). This is not a matter of Him changing us from one stage of sinner to the next.

We are no longer a worm, but a butterfly soaring in the spiritual realm of life. Our inner man is drawn by the Spirit of God into ascending realms of spiritual maturity, rather than Him dragging us out of our penchant toward one sin and then another (Ephesians 4:13).

This sanctifying work starts with the rebirth of our spirit and continues throughout our lifetime, as the imperfect in us is transformed into the perfected (Romans 8:29; 1 John 3:2).

Our cooperation with God's Spirit insures that our perfection continues without disruption until we are completely conformed into the image of Christ (Romans 8:18; 1 Corinthians 13:12).

Christ, who is the image of God and abides within us (John 1:14, 14:9), gives us both the desire and power to work out our salvation in cooperation with God's Spirit (Colossians 1:15; Philippians 2:12-13; Hebrews 1:3).

As we focus on Christ, as if looking in a mirror at His image in us, we reflect increasing stages of His glory. We realize that our carnal nature is all but dead, and that Christ is our whole life (Ephesians 3:3-4).

Prayer:

Father God, reveal to us that only the veil of sin, which so easily hinders us if we take our mind off Christ, will thwart our personal journey into perfection. Help us to allow Your Spirit to cut away the dead skin of the flesh, so that we walk in unity with Your Spirit and in the likeness of Christ in us.

Remind us to continually focus on Your glory reflected on the face of Christ within us. Fill us daily with Your Spirit and allow us to totally submit until He takes full possession of our body, spirit and soul - our thoughts, choices and feelings. Our whole desire in our life is to reflect Your glory to the world around us and to draw everyone in our sphere of influence to a closer walk with You.

Thought for the Day:
Our dark and sinful soul is transformed into the image of Christ as we consistently walk in His marvelous light. 

- 1 Peter 2:9

No Longer a Sinner - Accepted in Christ

 

Jesus is the picture of humanity at its finest, devoid of the depravity of sin and filled with the power of God. What Satan stole from humanity in Genesis 1-3, Jesus - the Sacrificial Lamb and the soon and coming King - restores to us in Revelation 20-22.

As authentic Believers, we see God's glory with an unveiled face as He transforms us into the appearance of Christ by His Spirit. We are changed into His image from one stage of glory to the next (2 Corinthians 3:18).

Christ abides within us and redeems us from sin, as God writes His laws on our heart and adopts us as His children (Hebrews 8:10-13; Ephesians 1:5). God's Spirit gives us liberty from the flesh and fills us with His fruit (1 Peter 1:19; Galatians 5:22-23).

This is an experience common to every Believer, with no respect to one person above another. It is a free gift, just as Salvation is free (Romans 6:23; Galatians 3:1-3). We all see the face of Christ reflected in us and in one another (1 Corinthians 15:48-53; Romans 8:17; 1 John 3:2).

Christ is our whole life (Colossians 3:4). We gaze upon His face in our private moments with Him, and feel His Spirit and His presence filling us to overflowing throughout the day.

Sin no longer claims our attention; its debauchery is disgusting to us; we have no desire to continue to reap the destructive consequences of its power. We abide in Christ and He in us (1 John 4:15).

We come to know God, and Jesus whom He sent, which provides us with eternal life now as well as for eternity (John 17:3). We see His glory in us, which comes from God and fills us (John 1:14, 17:24). Sin has no part in our life.

Prayer:

Father God, it is Your plan that all of humanity enjoy the benefits of Christ's death on Calvary, the glory of His resurrection from the grave, and the proximity to You from His vantage point on His throne in Heaven as we walk in the ever-increasing glory of holiness.

We are accepted through Christ into Your beloved family (Ephesians 2:19-22), pure, as He is pure; and our life reflects His perfect image. You provide us with every good thing that we need to fulfill Your will for our life (1 Timothy 6:17); and You sustain us through every trial that we encounter in life. For this we give You all of the praise and glory that is due to Your name.

Thought for the Day:

Through the processes of Justification, Sanctification and Glorification, we move from obscure sinner to sacred Saint in Christ, as we are filled with an increasing measure of the fullness of Christ through God's Spirit who abides within us. 

- Ephesians 3:16-19

The Choice is Ours

Read: Phillippians 3:1-11

"Apart from Me you can do nothing." - John 15:5

The Bible declares that Christ lives in us (Galatians 2:20). Scholars call this theme “Paul’s Obsession”, because he used the phrase “Christ in me” or “In Christ” more than 170 times in his writings. If we have Jesus Christ living in us, He daily delivers us from sin’s dominion by His resurrection life within us (Romans 5:10). He also gives us new values, priorities and goals in life (2 Corinthians 5:17). He gives us His peace that transcends human understanding (Philippians 4: 6-8). If we do not have the Son of God living in us, however, we do not have any of this (1 John 5:12).

Christ’s salvation goes beyond the spirit to the soul and body as well (1 Thessalonians 5:23). The original Biblical language uses three words for salvation: sotheis, sezosmenos, and sozomenos." They mean that believers are currently saved in our spirit through Justification, that we will be saved in our body when we see Jesus through Glorification, and lastly that we are being saved in our soul – our mind, will and emotions - through the lifelong method of Sanctification. Salvation is a process, three stages in an exciting journey that gets sweeter as the days go by.

I desire to know Jesus more intimately every day and to see myself grow into His beloved, mature child. My right standing before God is by faith in all that Christ accomplished on my behalf. I do not have to work for or earn this position. If I really believe this fact, then I will take advantage of the opportunity, which He gives me, to get to know Him more intimately as my redeemer, friend and brother. I do this by spending time reading God’s Word; by prayer – talking and listening; by attending a Bible teaching church; by fellowshipping with other Christians and by sharing with others what God is doing in my life.

On a recent trip to visit my friend in the hospital, I spoke to a lady in the elevator whom I did not know. She wore a beautifully ornate cross around her neck. I asked, “Do you know the Jesus who died for us on the cross?” Shocked at my question, she blurted out a bit sarcastically, “Well, not personally.” I felt so sad for her, so I said, “Well, He wants to have a personal relationship with you. Just read your Bible and attend a Bible teaching church and He will be your best friend just like He is to me.” The elevator door opened and I never saw her again. I truly hope she took the time to meet my best friend.

God freely offers everyone this gift of a personal relationship with Him. We have the option to either embrace His friendship or to refuse to acknowledge Him. The choice is ours. God gives us this opportunity to get to know Christ and to grow in our understanding of His power, His resurrection and in what He has to offer us in eternity. We can experience first hand both Christ’s sufferings and His victories as we walk through our trials with Him within us. Apart from Him, we can do nothing (John 15:5); but in Him we are conquerors over every trial, because He loves us (Romans 8:37).

Christ suffered rejection by the religious leaders of His day. They did not believe they were actually crucifying the living God, because they did not recognize Him for who He was. We do know Him, however. We have the opportunity every day to fellowship with Him; to walk in His mercy, power and grace; to be led by His Holy Spirit and to live with Him in eternity in Heaven. When we put our trust in Jesus and allow Him to live in us and to work through us, His power flows through us and from us as it changes the world around us.

Prayer:

Lord Jesus, thank You for Your death on Calvary’s cross, which paid the penalty for my sin (Romans 5:8). Thank You for Your resurrection that gives me life in my spirit, soul and body. Thank You for Your redemption that guarantees me a place in eternity with You. Thank You for life to live on this earth. Help me to make every day count for Your glory.

Thought for the Day:

Jesus gives me the opportunity to be one with Him in perfect love and acceptance, apart from any good deeds, pious performances or imposed restrictions, which come from my  self-effort.

Invaded by God's Spirit

Read: Philippians 2:5-11

“Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ;”
- 2 Corinthians 10: 5

God’s Spirit invades our lives like a conquering hero. He immediately begins His renovation process, gutting us like an old house and fashioning us according to His will and purpose for our lives. He does this through a three-stage process, which we call Justification, Sanctification and Glorification.

Justification takes place in our spirit in an instant. Our spirit, once dead in trespasses and sins, is born again. God fills us with His Holy Spirit, and we take in our first breath of the celestial air of eternal life. At this same instant, Jesus crosses the borders into our soul and the work of Sanctification begins.

Our soul – our mind, our will and our emotions – is where Sanctification takes place. It is a life-long process and requires much humility and surrender to the work of the Holy Spirit, as He perfects us from glory to glory (2 Corinthians 3:18). The Holy Spirit purposely enters the cerebral territory within us and unseats Satan from his throne in our lives. Then He starts the process of vanquishing the carnal flesh’s hold on us (Romans 8:7). We mature in our spiritual walk day by day, as God’s Spirit turns our motivation and desires from earthly lusts to spiritual passions.

Thankfully, He continues to conquer every temporal area of our mind, bringing them all captive to the mind of Christ (Romans 8:6). He humbles our will and makes it submissive to His. Then He heals our emotions from wounds of the past and brings them under the control of the Spirit of God. 

One day, Glorification will occur. When Christ returns, we shall instantly exchange our earthly bodies for immortal ones and we shall be like Christ, because we shall see Him as He is (1 John 3:2).

Prayer:
Lord Jesus, helps us to step out of Your way and to allow Your Spirit complete reign in our lives. Make us more like You with each passing day and perfect us according to Your will.

Thought for the Day:
Christ came not to condemn us, but to give us life. We condemn ourselves by our unbelief (John 3: 17-18).