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

Our Identity in Christ - Part 1

Our identity in Christ comes when we totally surrender to God's love in our life, we allow God to fashion us into a new creation and as we have faith in His faithfulness, which gives us assurance (2 Corinthians 5:17; Galatians 4:19).

God chose us for the praise of His glory, and uses us as a spiritual blessing (Ephesians 1:3, 1:11-12). We can always approach the throne of God with confidence (Ephesians 3:12).

At salvation He forgives our sins and wipes our slate clean (Ephesians 1:7; Psalm 103:12). With our identity in Christ, we have no shame or condemnation, because we love Him and keep His commandments (Romans 8:1).

God replaces our negative personality traits with His fruit (Galatians 5:22-23). As we live in the moment and keep our focus on Him, He replaces our destructive, stress-filled thoughts with His peace (1 Corinthians 2:16; Isaiah 26:3).

We are in Christ and Christ is in us (1 Corinthians 1:30; Galatians 2:20; Colossians 3:3). We have the wisdom of God and our labor is not in vain, because we follow His Holy Spirit’s leading through each moment of our day (1 Corinthians 15:58).

God gives us the incomparable riches of His grace and the guidance, which we need to minister in His name (Ephesians 2:7; 1 Corinthians 1:30). We can perform anything He calls us to do, because He dwells within us (Philippians 4:13; Ephesians 2:10).

God seats us in heavenly places and makes us His light shining in this dark world (Ephesians 2:6, 5:8). He causes us to walk in holiness and faithfulness to His calling on our life, until we come into maturity in Christ (Colossians 1:2, 28).

He takes individuals and forms us into His Body (Romans 12:5). We are also His church, His children and His bride (Galatians 3:26; Ephesians 2:22, 5:25-27). We look forward to living with Him for eternity (2 Corinthians 5:1).

Prayer:
Father God, thank You for supplying all of our needs with Your glorious riches (Philippians 4:19). You hold all things together and we cling to our hope of sharing eternal glory with You (Colossians 1:17, 27). 

You are beautiful beyond description, the worthy Lamb and our alpha and omega. Our life rises and sets in Your Son.

Thought for the Day:

In Christ, we have everything we ever need to live a fulfilled life, and nothing can ever separate us from His love. - Romans 8:38-39

Holy Contentment

 

Our life in Christ has nothing to do with the wisdom of the world. In fact, much of what we do defies natural, scientific laws and worldly expectations. Therefore, some of our friends, relatives, associates and neighbors will reject us over our beliefs and actions (Psalm 14:2-3). They are consumed with their self-important life and cannot conceive of why we would believe the precepts of what they consider an archaic religion (Proverbs 3:7). But we are not alone. Jesus lived a misunderstood life as well (Luke 23:11).

If we renounce the truth of God that we know, we will pay the penalty of a compromised soul. If we search the world to find something or someone to make us happy, we fall short of the glory of God. God does not call us to worship Him only with our mind and understanding, but in spirit and in truth as well (John 4:23-24). God reveals His truth to us as we seek Him with our whole heart (Jeremiah 29:13; 1 Corinthians 2:10). Our life becomes a Bible for others to read (2 Corinthians 3:2).

Satan wants us to believe we are hopeless sinners, unable to rise up to partake in holy living. The truth is that God imparted His divine nature in us (2 Peter 1:4). We are Saints of God (Romans 1:7). We walk as children of the Light and we give no place to the flesh (Ephesians 5:8; Galatians 5:16,25). God causes us to rise up with eagle’s wings as we escape the confines of this natural world (Isaiah 40:31). We trade our heavy load of selfishness and sin for His yoke, which is easy and light (Matthew 11:30).

From within our spirit, rivers of living water flow, straight from the throne of God (John 7:38). Apart from God, we have no righteousness, peace or joy (John 15:5). He saved us, not on our own merit of good works, but according to His mercy (Ephesians 2:8-9; Titus 3:4-5). As we fellowship in His sufferings, we also share in His presence and in His glory (Philippians 3:10). His life flows through our life and brings a holy contentment that transcends worldly trials and tribulation (Philippians 4:12).

Prayer:

Father God, teach us to accept one another and to encourage each other in Your love (Romans 15:7). Unite us with one another by Your  Spirit within us (Ephesians 4:13). Remind us that eternal life is knowing You in an intimate and personal way (John 17:3). We do not need to wait for eternity to have this relationship, but only to trust in Christ for our salvation. We can only bear fruit for Your Kingdom as we abide in You (John 15:5). Your love for us knows no bounds. It fills us to overflowing with gratitude and wonder.

Thought for the Day:

Holy contentment comes to those who possess peace with who they are in Christ and in what God provides for them.

Walking with God

As Born Again Believers we come boldly to the throne of God to receive His grace in our time of need (1 Peter 1:23; Hebrews 4:16). We have a high priest who represents our case to Almighty God on our behalf. We have no need to route our prayers through Mary, man-made saints or anyone else, because all Believers have direct access to the throne of God through Christ. The work of Christ on the cross marries the attributes of justice and mercy into grace, which overlooks the consequences of our humanity and sees us as righteous in the divinity of Christ.

The Kingdom of God dwells within us and we fully inherit the divine nature of Christ, which brings us closer to perfection each day (Luke 17:20-21; John 6:36; 2 Peter 1:3-4). We walk away from sin, and we see God manifest Himself in, through and instead of us in our life (Matthew 5:48; Hebrews 12:14). True joy is ours because purity and righteousness fill our soul. There is no need for us to feel the slightest bit of anxiety about anything life throws at us, because through prayer, we let God know all of our requests, and He cares for us (Philippians 4:6; 1 Peter 5:7).

Enoch walked with God for three hundred years after he became a daddy at age 65 (Genesis 5:22-24). Noah also walked with God (Genesis 6:9). They did not merely know God or know about God, they actually walked with God. They did not simply work for God or witness for God, they truly walked with God. We are conformed in our thoughts, words and actions from this temporal earthly world to the Heavenly, eternal realm just like Jesus, Enoch, Noah, Elijah, David and the rest of the Saints who pleased God and lived intimately with God by His Spirit (Hebrews 11:5).

In the will of God, Jesus suffered in the flesh on the cross to free us from our sins (1 Peter 4:1-2). Now we walk in that freedom moment by moment throughout the day. We put Jesus and His will as our priority and we enter into the rest of God as He does the work of the Kingdom of God in, through and instead of us (Acts 14:22). God’s Holy Spirit purges our mind from dead works so we can serve our living Lord (1 Thessalonians 2:10-13; Hebrews 9:13-14; Luke 1:72-75). We are able to have the mind of Christ, which allows us to talk and walk with God, because His Son lives within us (1 Corinthians 2:16; 1 John 2:6).

Prayer:

Lord Jesus, You work in the life of Your glorious church until You can present us as Your spotless bride, holy and without blemish before God (Ephesians 5:27). Through You we live a sinless life in this body by walking in Your Spirit (Heb 12:5-11). Every person who has our hope in You, allows You to purify us even as You are pure (1 John 3:2-3). We live in You and You live in us, so that we no longer pursue fleshly lusts, but we walk in Your Spirit each moment of the day (Romans 8:1; 1 John 2:28; Colossians 1:27; Galatians 5:16,25).

Thought for the Day:

God calls us to live up to the measure of the fullness of the stature of Christ moment by moment throughout the day. – Ephesians 4:13

There is a River

"Then the angel showed me a river with the water of life, clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb. It flowed down the center of the main street. On each side of the river grew a tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, with a fresh crop each month, and the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations.” - Revelation 22:1-2

Coming from the throne of God is this river of delights (Psalm 36:8). It comes from springs of life giving water (Revelation 7:17). The streams of this river provide for the inhabitants of the city of God, and it is situated in the holy place where the Most High dwells (Psalm 46:4). Water from this river will continue to flow on into the new world, when New Jerusalem descends from heaven (Revelation 21:2). Before the throne, there is also a sea as smooth as glass and crystal clear (Revelation 4:6).

God’s love also flows like a river from His throne, out into the nations. While our spirit was still dead in unholy living and sin, God loved us so much that He became man to pay the penalty of our sins on Calvary’s cross. He does not want anyone to perish in hell, but to live gloriously and eternally with Him instead. God’s mercy planned that Jesus’ death would restore our relationship with Him forever (Acts 15:11). We did nothing to earn this privilege (Ephesians 2: 8-9). It is a free gift (Romans 3:14; 6:23).

Yet, some people never repent of their sins. Therefore, they condemn themselves forever, because of their stubborn, insistent unbelief (John 3:16-18; Romans 5:8). It is only by God’s grace that we are saved, through faith in Christ (Ephesians 2:8). Out of our love for God, His Agape love flows out of us to the rest of the world. Jesus proved His love by His actions. We also carry on that witness by allowing God’s river of love to flow through our life as well. We go out into the world living the example of who Jesus is and what He did for us all.

We never judge a person by their conduct in the moment, because God is their judge (Romans 14:4). We do however, have discernment to know whether someone is living by the Spirit of God or not (1 John 4:1; Matthew 7:151 Thessalonians 5:1; 2 Peter 2:1; 2 John 1:7). We pray for our friends, relatives, associates and neighbors constantly. We are ready in a moment to give an accounting to them of our faith and the reasons behind our beliefs (1 Peter 3:15). 

Jesus example is the only life we should follow. Everyone else, even those in our church family, are merely sinners and not very good examples on which to base our life. However, Jesus teaches us to love our neighbors and church family with the same sacrificial love that He gave us when He laid down His life on Calvary’s cross (Matthew 22:37-39; John 13:34). Some of us are better at this than others. Some people never even take the time to get to know their neighbor’s name. How can we win them for Christ unless we have a relationship with them?

God puts us in people’s lives to be able to help them in their time of need. If we care for a person’s physical and emotional needs, they will be more open to us when we tell them that Christ is the answer for their spiritual needs. Jesus also referred to this river as the moving of His Spirit (John 7:37-39). If we take time each day to drink of the living water of the Word and the Spirit, we will thirst no more and have the Spirit of God living within us, guiding and encouraging us throughout our life (Ephesians 5:26).

Prayer:

Lord Jesus, whomever drinks of natural water will thirst again; but whomever drinks of the water or Your Spirit and Word will never thirst again. Remind us to read Your Word and to be led by Your Spirit; so that we will become in You a fountain of water springing up and flowing out into the world around us. Help us to drink of and to share Your living water with everyone You bring our way. (John 4:13).

Thought for the Day:

God’s love, His Word and His Spirit in us are all part of God’s river of life to the world.