Our Only Passion

By God’s grace, Jesus Christ brought salvation to the whole world. He dwells within us and inspires us to abandon all unrighteousness and carnal desires.

Living in union with Christ becomes our only passion. We live, move and have our being only in Him. He is our life, our motivation and our inspiration (Acts 17:8; Colossians 3:4)

He redeems us from sinful behavior and purifies us as a people who belong to Him. His Spirit within us allows us to live a self-controlled, holy and upright life in this world.

As we wait for our blessed hope, which is the reappearing of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, we cheerfully and zealously follow His Spirit’s direction (Titus 2:11-14).

Since we are in union with Christ, the kingdom of God is now within us, and God blesses us with all spiritual blessings from His throne (Luke 17:21; Ephesians 1:3).

We set our mind on things above, not on things on the earth, and our treasure in not from this world (Colossians 3:2; Philippians 2:5, 4:8). Jesus gives us great power, which comes from God and not from our self (2 Corinthians 4:7).  

The more we submit our life to God, the more we die to sin and the less Satan is able to hassle us. We live by the faith of Jesus who loves us and gave Himself for us (Hebrews 1:3; Galatians 2:20).

As we walk in the Spirit, we are assured that everything happening to us is the will of God for us. We may feel unhappy, stressed, anxious or fearful; but as we keep our mind on God, He gives us His peace (Isaiah 26:3; John 14:27).

God's Spirit enables us to change our focus about the negative issues in our life. We no longer see an empty cupboard, but room for more of God's blessings. He is always faithful to provide for all of our needs (Philippians 4:19).

Prayer:

Father God, the trials we experience are not as devastating to us as they used to be. They are only light and momentary affliction now, because we no longer focus on the things we see in this transient realm of life, but only on the eternal weight of glory You are preparing for us.

We look forward to this glory, which far exceeds anything we have ever seen or experienced on this earth (2 Corinthians 4:13-18). As we share the gospel of Jesus with others, Your grace extends to more and more people, which increases our thanksgiving to You (2 Corinthians 9:8).

Thought for the Day:

Everything we ever accomplished in our flesh is minimized by what we gain in Christ; being found in Him through faith in Him increases our passion for knowing Him in His exceptional greatness. 
- Philippians 3:7-9

Do You Feel Like an Octopus?

The Lord promises to be with us, even through the veil of death (Psalm 23:4). Nothing can separate us from the love of God (Romans 8:35-36). There is no insult, adversity, persecution or difficulty that we cannot rejoice in for the sake of Christ; because when we are weak, that is when He is strong in and through us (2 Corinthians 12:10). In any type of trial or trouble, Jesus gives us His peace, which surpasses all human understanding (John 14:27).

God’s peace is our solace at home, at work and in the community, even when hardships come our way. The first principle of living in victory over Satan and the world is wearing Jesus’ peace as a cloak against any stressful situation we encounter. The Lord is always with us (Psalm 118:6). His peace quells all of our fears, worries and setbacks. He causes our persecutors to stumble, so that they do not prevail in the end. They will not prosper, and they will fail and be disgraced (Jeremiah 20:11).

However, even the Christian life gets overbearing at times. We had so many expectations and ministries to fulfill that we neglect our quiet time with the Lord. We are burdened by expectations from our parents, pastor, friends, employers, children and church family. We get overly committed and start to drown in our myriad of responsibilities. Satan whispers false accusations in our ear and we believe what he says as truth. We start to resent all of these demands and the pressure they put on us to be everyone’s beck and call.

Jonah had these same feelings (Jonah 1:3). In fact, he ran from God and from the ministry God called him to accomplish. He got himself in all sorts of trouble. He even cost his fellow shipmates the loss of their income and almost their very lives. God knows how to take care of us, however, even in the difficulties we tend to create for our self. He knows how to discipline our iniquities and to help us to see His big picture. He reveals to us what our obedience means to His Kingdom and for our blessings.

This helps us to take our commitment to Him more seriously. We spend time reading God’s Word and listening to the leading of His Spirit. The Lord guides us and satisfies our needs, even when our strength fails us. During the dry, parched times of life, He causes water to spring up within us. We dwell as a well-watered garden, even in the midst of troubles and trials (Isaiah 58:11). God’s Spirit is our guide all throughout our life and even through our passage from this life into the next (Psalm 48:14).

Prayer:

Father God, Your infinite Spirit frees us from the restrictions of this world. You transcends time, space and matter (Psalm 139:8), and You fill the heavens and the earth. Your infinite power works for us, in us and through us as we wait on You (Jeremiah 23:23-24). Thankfully, You are not contained in a building, restricted in Your movements or denied Your will (Acts 17:24). You are never far from any one of us, because as Your children, we live and move and have our existence with Christ in You (Acts 17:27-28: Colossians 3:3).

Thought for the Day:
Even if our life does not unfold the way we planned it; God works it out better than our best ideals.