Surrendering to God's Will

We can develop habits over time to create more joy in our life and to eliminate depression and melancholy. However, it takes a change of focus and total submission to God's Holy Spirit.

Many people live in the realm of "what ifs" and/or wanting what they do not have. They think that happiness will finally arrive when they accomplish their bucket list.

We allow circumstances to color our thoughts and feelings, which may diminish our joy. We wait for God to answer our prayers rather than to enjoy the life, which He already provided for us.

His peace and joy are available for us each moment of the day and do not depend on circumstances. It is possible to live in an economically depressed area with impoverished circumstances and still have total peace and joy.

There is no guarantee that we will live to see the next moment in time; so focusing on having possessions or certain people in our life will reduce our peace and joy.

Without surrendering our will to God's will each moment of the day, we hinder our effectiveness both in life and in our spiritual growth and ministry.

Once we repent of our sins and recognize Jesus as our only Savior and King, the very life of Christ saturates our entire body, soul and spirit. As His Spirit sanctifies us, we see more spiritual fruit and less of a draw from our flesh, Satan and the world.

The most critical exercise we can do as a baby Christian is to surrender our will to God's will. Even as older Christians, if we never surrendered, it is time to do so now.

When we totally surrender to the Lordship of Jesus Christ over our life, we feel less and less tension and stress, and more and more of His rest, peace and joy.

Prayer:

Father God, we tend to regret the past and fear the future. We spend so much time focusing in these two directions that we waste the current moment. This moment in time is all that You guarantee us.

You forgave our past, and it is over and forgiven. We just have to remember to forgive our self too. Remind us that once we do surrender to You, Your Spirit begins replacing our negative personality traits with His spiritual fruit and You flood our spirit and soul with Your love.

Thought for the Day:

Our future is in God's capable hands; therefore, trusting God in the moment provides us with a stress-free life.

Victorious Living

 

In this life, we often struggle with victory and are overcome by negative circumstances and trials. We focus on the negative aspects and surrender to Satan's lies, ending in depression and defeat. We cannot allow the devil to win victories in our life.

If we consciously embrace the fact that we are blood-bought children of God, we get a glimpse of what it means to live in abundance in body, soul and spirit. We find this life of freedom only through total submission to Christ in God.

God is our Father and He made Jesus our all, who is above all - even the angels - and lives in every authentic Believer. He also lives through us as we totally surrender our plans, goals and desires to Him.

Jesus and our Father are one (John 10:30); and in Christ we too are one with Jesus and our Father God (John 17:21), led by the Holy Spirit and fulfilled in both this life and the next (Galatians 5:15-25). We no longer live, but Christ lives in and through us (Galatians 2:20).

Jesus came to live, suffer and die so that we might have abundant, victorious life on earth and for eternity (John 10:10). We are born of the flesh and are hindered by the flesh, but as authentic Believers we are also born of the Spirit (John 3:6).

We cannot see the wind, but we can see the effects of the wind. In this same way, we cannot see the Trinity at this time, but we can see and feel the effects of their presence within us and as they use us to further God's Kingdom on this earth (John 3:8).

Jesus made the point with the rich, young ruler that no one is good regardless of how closely we keep the precepts of the law. Jesus even told the young man that only God is good. Only as we recognize God's presence in us can we accomplish anything for the glory of God (Luke 18:19).

Prayer:

Father God, You call all of us who are weary and heavily burdened to come to You to find rest - not as this world gives, but only as You supernaturally give us in abundant supply. As we share Your yoke, we learn from You and You shoulder and take the burden of our load of worries and cares and give us Your light and easy yoke in its place (Matthew 11:28-30).

You are our God of peace and you wholly sanctify us as we totally surrender our life and our burdens to You. We live a victorious life of abundance in You. You preserve our spirit, body and soul - our thoughts, choices and feelings - and make us blameless when we stand before You at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ (1 Thessalonians 5:23).

Thought for the Day:

God is faithful, and He calls us to Himself and provides us with eternal salvation for our entire body, soul and spirit now and throughout eternity. - 1 Thessalonians 5:24

No Longer a Sinner - The Express Image of God's Person

At Salvation, Christ moves into our spirit by His spirit. God charges us to stir up this gift within us and to grow in His nurture and admonition (Ephesians 6:4).

He takes possession of every piece of our self, which we willingly relinquish to Him, cherishing our submission to His love and pleased at our total surrender to His wisdom and grace.

The Christ, who is described in the Word of God, abides within us if we are a Born Again child of God (John 16:14). His Spirit conforms us into His image a little more each day that we remain submitted to God's will through continual prayer.

Jesus is the express image of God and we are the image of Christ on this earth (Colossians 1:15). We are filled with all of His anointing, power, wisdom, strength and goodness. His love and peace permeate every cell in our body.

We abide in a committed union and communion with Christ in us. God's Spirit replaces our carnality with the image and likeness of Christ as we relax and trust in Him.

Most authentic Christians seek to do God's will, prepare our heart, relinquish our idols, long for a more intimate union with Him and desire to be more like Him each day.

Putting aside the sins which so easily distract us from walking in the Spirit (Hebrews 12:1-3), we still our soul of idle thoughts and vain imaginations and sit in silence to hear from God.

God's glorious Spirit rests in us and fills us with divine power to function in the ministry into which God calls us. We are inspired, encouraged and fulfilled when we see His work in and through us.

Prayer:
Father God, we praise You for the assurance You provide for us through Your Spirit within us. He is the earnest of our inheritance and our proof for our salvation. Thank You that He leads us in Your will for each moment of our day and continues His perfecting work in our soul and spirit.

Let our face shine from Your glory within us, teach us during our times of devotion and meditation and fill us through our entire being with all of Your fullness. Reveal to us Your glory in us and that which is to come, and shower us with Your mercy and grace as we serve You in the work which You called us to do.

Thought for the Day:

We do God's works for His glory rather than our own works for our glory; He infuses our soul with His confidence; and we trust in Him, even in His silences which are times of rest for our soul.