A Living Tabernacle

The faulty thinking of most Born Again Believers is that we are separated from Christ by the ethereal boundary between Heaven and earth.

We believe that God is only in Heaven with Christ sitting on the throne at His right hand. That leaves us all alone, struggling down here on Terra Firma to live a holy life.

Actually, Jesus substituted His life for ours on the cross. In the same way, He now lives our life for us and through us. Jesus fulfills our Father’s will in us as we follow the leading of His Spirit moment by moment throughout the day.

When we come to the understanding that we are dead, and that Christ is now alive within us (Colossians 3:3), we stop striving to perfect our self and we step aside and let God be God in our life. We are His Living Tabernacle.

Life no longer requires any effort from us. God only wants our obedience. We simply stand firm as we watch the Lord bring deliverance in us and through us (2 Chronicles 20:17).

There is nothing left for us to strive for or to attain to (Galatians 3:1-3). Therefore, there is no way we can boast about our accomplishments in the Lord. We boast about Him instead (1 Corinthians 1:31).

Once we get the focus off our self, and place it on Christ where it belongs, then He can use us to fulfill His purpose in the earth. We decrease, so that He may increase in and through us.

Prayer:

Father God, Jesus acknowledged that He is in us, and You are in Him. He wanted us to experience this same unity with You and with one another so the world would know You sent Him and that You love us as much as You love Him (John 17:23).

All of Your fullness dwells in Christ and He is the head of all powers and principalities. In Him, we are made complete (Colossians 2:9-10). Therefore, help us to let Your light within us shine so brightly, that people will see Christ in us and glorify You, who are our living hope (Colossians 1:27; 1 Peter 1:3).

Thought for the Day:

We search in vain for Christ outside of our self, only to discover that He lives in all of His fullness within every Born Again Believer. - Ephesians 3:16-19 Amplified Bible

The Purpose of LIfe

As authentic Christians, we now live by the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus (Romans 8:2). Our transformation rests firmly on the rock of the gospel of Christ through His Holy Spirit (Romans 12:2; Psalm 18:2).

We live by His faith in love, filled with the fruit of and following the leading of God’s Spirit on a moment-by-moment basis (Galatians 5:1; 5:22-23; Ephesians 5:18).

We no longer strive to earn God’s love or to live a holy life. We simply walk in obedience. We live on earth to glorify our Father, not by our own human efforts, but only by the power of Christ within us.

Jesus loves us so much, that for our benefit he gave Himself up to the horrific death on Calvary’s cross. Through His sacrifice, we are now acceptable to God in Christ (1 Peter 2:5; Romans 15:7).

We have been crucified with Christ. Therefore, it is no longer we who live our life, but Christ, the Messiah, who lives in and through us.

The life that we now live in our body on this earth, we live by faith in, devotion to, dependence on and complete confidence in the Son of God (Galatians 2:20, Amplified Bible).

Jesus is our only hope of experiencing God’s glory (Colossians 1:27). We could never be good enough in our human effort to earn a place in Heaven (Ephesians 2:8-10).

We completely surrender our plans, goals and will to God’s will for our life and we live in perfect union with Christ. Our old sinful nature is crucified with Christ, and sin has no more power over our choices.

Prayer:

Father God, You planned, before You ever created the earth, for Jesus to give up His glory in Heaven, to take the form of a man, to humble Himself and to willingly die in our place (Philippians 2:8). You call us to follow in His example and to die to our humanity as well, exchanging our sinful desires for His righteousness.

Now, by Your Spirit's power within us, we can put on the mind of Christ (Philippians 2:5). Therefore, because of Your mercy and grace, we will no longer succumb to the negative suggestions of our carnal nature, but we live a life that is free from the destructive consequences of sin (Romans 12:2; Galatians 5:16).

Thought for the Day:

We renew our mind by reading God's Word and walking in continual obedience to His Holy Spirit.

- Ephesians 5:26; John 14:15

The Perfecting Work of Patience - Part 2 - Entering God's Rest

The only striving the Bible encourages us to do is to strive to enter God's rest (Hebrews 4:10-11). We do not use self-effort to arrive at any other phase of our Christian walk.

The reason we have to strive to enter into God's rest is that it goes against our natural human tendency. Our pride and rebellion spur us on to do things our way, and submitting to God chafes our soul - our mind, will and emotions.  

We want to feel accomplished and to believe that we earned the degree or trophy or crown of glory by our hard work and effort. The truth is that we will throw our crowns at Jesus' feet, because we will finally realize that He, not us, earned and deserves them (Revelation 4:10-11).

In our free will, we can choose to disobey God's Spirit at any time; but then we reap the consequences of sin, as well as discipline for our disobedience from our Father who loves us a His children (Hebrews 12:4-12).

On the other hand, attempting to discipline our self to walk in good works and obedience to God's Word is often fruitless and counterproductive. The more we strive toward perfection the more our flesh draws us back into sin and rebellion.

We can only walk in perfection as we rely on the promises and Spirit of God (2 Corinthians 7:1; 2 Peter 1:4). Our obedience to God is both inspired and empowered by His Spirit within us (Philippians 2:12-13).

"Let patience have her perfect work" (James 1:4-8) is not telling us to be patient or to get patience. It is simply telling us to submit to God and to allow patience, which is a fruit from the Holy Spirit, to do its perfecting work in us (Galatians 5:22-23).

This takes all the stress out of life for us. We walk in freedom and joy, with God's peace in our heart regardless of circumstances; knowing without a doubt that God has a seed for a miracle in the midst of every trial.

Prayer:

Father God, remind us that our part in our spiritual walk is simply to surrender to the work of Your Holy Spirit in our life. We are but a lump of clay, and You are the Master Potter (Jeremiah 18:1-6; Isaiah 64:8). You are our Alpha and Omega and You give us Your living water as we thirst for You alone (Revelation 21:6).

Teach us that the Christian walk is not about self-effort, but about submission to You first and foremost in all areas of our life. We concede to You in everything we think, say and do; and You direct our path (Proverbs 3:5-6). We walk in Your ways now and serve You for eternity in Your new heaven and new earth (Revelation 21:1).

Thought for the Day:

By trusting in God to save and to perfect us in every way, regardless of the circumstances of our life, we enter His rest and remove all stress from our life.