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

Transformed into the Mind of Christ

As the Holy Spirit perfects us, instead of looking at trials with a carnal mind, we view them with the mind of Christ. God’s divinity within us turns any trials into a momentary and light affliction (2 Corinthians 4:17).

Most people spend more time believing that God is going to give them what they want and do not have, rather than in focusing on His will for them moment by moment throughout each new day.

The more we look to the future, the more we waste the present. When we view our present trials as part of God’s will for us, we find Him in the midst of them (Romans 12:2).

Jesus asks us to separate our self from the human realm of life, even while we still live in it (John 15:19). We physically live in the world, but we do not belong to any part of it (John 17:14-15).

We find this place of spiritually mindedness by realizing that our humanity is dead in Christ, and we no longer live, but Christ lives in and through us (Galatians 2:20; Colossians 3:3).

Jesus already overcame any negative aspect we could ever experience in this life, and He dwells in us with all of the power of our triune God (John 16:33).

We walk in His victory as we experience each trial as a new adventure, which God brings our way. God uses these trials to transform us out of the earthly sphere into His spiritual Kingdom (2 Corinthians 5:17).

Prayer:

Father God, You gave us the life we have, just as it is right now. You want us to allow You to shine through us in it, rather than for us to wait around for something we think we need. Help us to learn to be content in Your provision for our daily needs, rather than wanting something different or more (Philippians 4:11).

Remind us to focus on what is eternal rather than on that which is earthly, because reality is only found in You. You do not promise us tomorrow; so help us to give You all of our self in this moment, without holding back anything or worrying about the future in any way.

Thought for the Day:

When we love the things of this world, we do not have the love of the Father in us. - 1 John 2:15

No Longer a Sinner - Changed into His Glory

We are not only in Christ positionally, but we are in Christ practically and experientially as well. We are set free now from the bondage to the flesh that Paul describes in Romans 7.

We do not have to wait to go to heaven in order to walk in the freedom from sin that Paul found through the power of the law of the Spirit of life in Christ; because at salvation, this law sets us free from the law of sin and death (Romans 8:2).

Whom the Son sets free is free indeed (John 8:36). We enjoy this freedom now, not just in eternity. The veil is removed from our eyes at salvation, and we see and reflect the glory of the Lord as we walk in the Spirit.

God's Spirit makes us more like Jesus every day as we mature spiritually, pray without ceasing and walk continually in obedience to the Holy Spirit (2 Corinthians 3:18).

We are predestined to be conformed the His image (Romans 8:29). We no longer allow Satan to squeeze us into the mold of this world, but are transformed by renewing our mind by the washing of the water of the Word (Romans 12:12; Ephesians 5:26).

If we sin, we break God's heart; and we would never want to break the heart of the One who loved us enough to die for us. Therefore, we make no provision for our flesh and the flesh loses its desire to sin (Romans 13:14).

As we used to live in the image of the world and the flesh, we now live like Christ, in the image of the spiritual man (1 Corinthians 15:49). The old flesh died, and we are now a new creature in Christ (Colossians 3:3; 2 Corinthians 5:17; Ephesians 4:22-24).

We are renewed in the knowledge of Christ who dwells within us (Colossians 3:10). Jesus gave us the glory, which our Father gave to Him; so that we may live in union with the Father and the Son (John 17:22). We are filled with Him through our entire being (Ephesians 3:16).

Prayer:

Father God, You created us in the image of Jesus and gave us His divine nature by Your Spirit (2 Peter 1:4). We are no longer sinners, but Saints who are free to walk in the fruit of Your Spirit and to choose life rather than sin and death. Do not allow us to fall under the lie of Satan that we will never be free from sin on this side of heaven.

Remind us that Christ in all of His divinity abides within us and we have His nature now as our own. A nature that is free from the power and the practice of sin as we walk in the Spirit and do not fulfill the lusts of that old, dead carnal nature (Galatians 2:20, 5:15-25).

Thought for the Day:

We are already crucified and risen with Christ, and it is no longer we who live, but Christ who lives in and through us; and the life which we now live in this mortal body is accomplished through the faith of Christ in us. - Galatians 2:20