Things of This World

When we lived on Tonya Ct. in Bonita Springs, FL I loved my one bedroom/one bath home, my flower gardens, my mini-van and my Pomeranian and calico cat. However, my dog died and we sold our Tonya Ct. home.

Things of this world are temporary at best. I've always loved sappy movies, treasure hunting at thrift stores, writing novels and devotionals, walking in nature, hanging out with my husband and worshipping with God’s people.

Yet, we can lose our standard of living or people or things that we cherish in this life without a moment's notice. 

I always attempt to remove anything in my life that causes a spiritual impediment. I deal with any physical ailment using nature’s remedies and with as little medicine and surgery as possible. Yet, we all die of something.

Once I get the “big one” that is going to take my life, I will not fight it; because I look forward to my homecoming in Heaven. How can I say this?

In Christ dwells all the fullness of the triune God; and this same powerful Jesus dwells in us. He hides us with Himself in God (Colossians 2:9, 3:3; Romans 6:8).

Prayer:

Father God, we are Your offspring and You transform us with ever increasing glory into the likeness of Your Son (2 Corinthians 3:18; Romans 12:2). Christ is glorified in us when we live and move and have our existence in Him (Acts 17:28; John 17:10).

Sanctify us until we exhibit Christ’s character in us, which is the fruit of Your Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23). With Your divine nature infusing every part of our spirit, body and soul – our mind, choices and emotions, we live a fulfilled and victorious life (Acts 17:28-19; 1 Thessalonians 5:23).

Thought for the Day:

God wants to fill us through all of our being with all of His fullness, so that we might acquire the richest measure of His divine presence within us until we are completely filled and flooded to overflowing with God Himself (Ephesians 3:16-19; 4:13 Amplified Bible).

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

The Divine Life

The divine nature of Christ was not changed when the Word became flesh (John 1:14). He was fully human and still fully divine.

All the fullness of the triune God resides within Christ, and Christ dwells within the spirit of every Born Again Believer (Colossians 2:9). We are the temple of God’s Holy Spirit, which resides within each of us (1 Corinthians 3:16).

Therefore, all the fullness of the triune God dwells within each authentic Christian. We often struggle with our human and spiritual natures, which war against one another.

However, we learn obedience through the things that we suffer, just as Jesus did (Hebrews 5:8). Even though we dwell in a mortal body, we are buried with Christ in baptism and raised to walk in newness of life (Romans 6:4).

We are transformed by God's Holy Spirit who renews our mind until we have the mind of Christ, and who enables us to absorb the truth of the Word of God (Romans 12:2; 1 Corinthians 2:16; Philippians 2:5, 4:8).

Through regeneration we come to identify, understand and seek after the things of God. We live a fulfilled life of faith, love and complete holiness, absorbed in the presence of God.

We have the divine nature of Christ within us (Colossians 3:3). As our life decreases, His divine nature in us increases (John 3:30; Acts 17:28). This makes a huge difference in how we face life and what we accomplish in it.

We have more faith, because of God's faithfulness to us. We have more power because we cease living in our own efforts. We enjoy God's divine presence within us, because we know that without Him, we can do nothing (John 15:5).

Prayer:

Father God, never let us feel superior or prideful because You dwell within us. Humble us in Christ's humility and remind us that it is only through Christ that we can accomplish anything good (Romans 7:18). You are the Vine and we are the branches, and You cut off any branch that does not bear the fruit of Your Spirit (John 15:2-5).

We cling to You with our whole being, knowing that this world holds nothing for us without You. You are our motivation, our success and our whole life (Colossians 3:4). We meditate on Your Word day and night, and we find our only source of life within the verses on each page.

Thought for the Day:

As Believers we grow to enjoy the divine nature of Christ, free from the passion of sin and loving only what He loves.

- Romans 6:6; 1 John 4:4; Galatians 5:22