God's Divine Purpose

Without Christ in our life, we know something is missing. We optimistically search everywhere to find it. Since the time of Adam and Eve, the spirit of man is dead at birth, buried under layers of sin (Ephesians 2:1-5).

We all have a living soul – our mind, will and emotions - which often fails under the weight of life, because circumstances beat us down relentlessly.

Our dead spirit and our unhealthy soul affect our body as well. What we lack is the vital power of God. Without the Spirit of God rebirthing and dwelling in our spirit, we are crippled in life.

No one is intrinsically good except God (Mark 10:18). However, when Christ moves into our life, we daily die to our carnal flesh and we grow in His good judgment and nature (Galatians 2:20; John 12:24; Luke 9:23).

We start to make wiser choices, which last for eternity; rather than desiring options, which are carnal, temporal and momentary.

Over time, Jesus becomes our only life and we have no meaningful existence outside of Him (2 Corinthians 13:5; Colossians 3:3). This does not mean that we sit in a meditative state all day, every day.

Jesus and the apostles interacted with people. They were anointed with the Holy Spirit and with God’s power. They went everywhere the Spirit led them, and they blessed people with healing, wisdom and deliverance (Acts 10:38).

Once we come to Christ we are totally complete in Him (Colossians 2:9-10). We live and move and have our existence in Jesus each moment of our day (Act 17:28).

We come to realize that if we do not have something we think we need, it is because God knows we do not need it at this time. He has other plans for us. Accepting His will with joy brings us ultimate fulfillment.

Prayer:

Father God, we realize that Christ actually does Your work through us. Our true identity as Authentic Christians comes from Christ living in us. Christ expresses Your character through us, which is the fruit of Your Spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, gentleness, goodness, meekness, self-control and faith (Galatians 5:22-23).

We are all united with Christ in His Body. You utilize us as individual members of this Body, each with unique gifts and talents, in a ministry to a corporate, church Body. Thank You for using us to fulfill Your purpose in the earth (Romans 12:15; Ephesians 1:22,23; Colossians 1:18; 1 Corinthians 12:27).

Thought for the Day:

Salvation is the beginning of our walk in Christ, but the next step is to develop awareness in our conscious thoughts of the reality of Christ living within us.

Our True Identity in Christ

cChrist lives in us, and we are united with Him, just as He is one with our Father (John 14:20). We are joined to and united with God's Spirit, as a branch to a vine (1 Corinthians 6:17; John 15:4-5).

We are free from the law of sin and death, by the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus (Romans 8:2). Daily, we live as a witness to others of the love and nurture of the eternal, triune Godhead living within us (Romans 8:4).

Sin no longer has power over us, because of God's grace ruling in our heart (Romans 6:14). Since the Son of God set us free, we are absolutely free to live a life of holiness (John 8:36; Romans 6:18).

His divine power enables us to excel in our vocation, spiritual calling and family relationships through His divine life within us (Colossians 1:27). The fruit of His Spirit replaces our carnality (Galatians 5:15-25).

God's Spirit also enables us to have the courage to boldly share the gospel with everyone we meet. Not in a preachy or condemning manner, but in the spirit of love and peace with the words He gives us (Ephesians 6:19).

Jesus delivers us from our sinful nature, which used to serve sin; and He gives us a mind, which is now a slave to God's nature, principles and Kingdom (Romans 7:25).

As slaves of God, we are set free from the slavery to sin in order to reap the blessings of holiness and eternal life (Romans 6:22). We belong to Christ, who was raised from the dead, so that we will bear fruit for God's Kingdom (Romans 7:4).

We pray through any rocky stretches of road by the direction of God's Spirit and we petition Him to meet our needs and for the needs of all of His Saints (Ephesians 6:18).

Prayer:

Father God, help us to actually see the reality of the fact that we do not need to sin; because the spirit of life in Christ sets us free from the law of the spirit of sin and death (Romans 8:2). When Christ sets us free, we are truly free (John 8:36). We bask in Your presence and praise You for including us in Your eternal plans.

Thank You that we are no longer strangers and pilgrims in this world, but part of Your universal family. We are fellow citizens of the Kingdom of God and Saints in Your holy presence. Our love for Your Body is very important, because You prepared us for a holy dwelling place for Your Spirit. Jesus is our chief cornerstone and You are building us into Your eternal dwelling place (Ephesians 2:19-22).

Thought for the Day:

God gave us Christ as our redemption, not so we can sit back and continue living a life of sin with the false hope of escaping eternal judgment, but so that we can enjoy an intimate union with Him filled with all of His glory and the greatest measure of His spiritual presence. - Ephesians 3:16-19

Our True Identity

 

 

We do not base our identity on the talents of our flesh or the state of our soul – our mind, choices and emotions; but on our relationship with Christ. Our authentic self is found in the person of Jesus Christ who dwells within us. We find our success by living, moving and having our existence in His divine presence (Acts 17:28). For instance, God took my insecure, introverted, melancholic personality and exchanged it for the fruit of His Spirit one aspect at a time. Thanks to the Holy Spirit’s regeneration, I am Christ secured and assured. I look at life through His outlook of faith and I never meet a stranger (Romans 12:2). That is true transformation!

God searches our hearts and knows the mind of the Spirit because the Spirit intercedes for us according to God’s will (Romans 8:27). His life is manifested through us as we follow the leading of His Holy Spirit (2 Corinthians 4:12; Galatians 5:25). Jesus pours out His life in us to others (John 12:24; 1 Peter 2:20-25). As we follow His direction, He prospers our way and gives us His success (Joshua 1:8). He matures and fortifies us, as He makes His home in us (1 Peter 5:10). He also meets the needs of others through us, so that we might win to Christ whoever is willing to believe (1 Corinthians 9:22).

The Lord does not remove us from temptation or tribulation. Since He lives in us, He walks through it with us. He gives us everything we need to resist trials and to withstand sin’s persuasion; we simply need to utilize his wisdom and strength. He gives us His mind about the movies we watch, the books we read, the television we view and the people we hang around with. If we choose to ignore Him, then we will certainly reap corruption in our body, soul and spirit. If we choose to follow the Spirit’s leading, we will shine like stars in the Heavens (Philippians 2:12-18).

We have the abiding love and peace of God residing within us (Romans 5:5; Ephesians 2:14). We desire to live Godly lives, and we have everything we need to accomplish this through Christ Jesus (2 Timothy 3:13; 2 Peter 1:3). We are controlled and guided by His Spirit, which fills us (Ephesians 5:18). This is accomplished by the particular gifts of the Spirit, which He gives to each one of us individually (Ephesians 4:8-16; Romans 12:1; 1 Corinthians 12:1-11, 27-31). Christ performs His work through us, which God prepared for us before the world ever began (Ephesians 2:10). 

Prayer:

Lord Jesus, we function in life as a lamp, a vessel or a branch. You are the Light, which shines through our lamp, the vine to which our branch is connected and the substance within our vessel. We bear Your life in us, and it flows through us out into the world (John 15:5; Romans 9:21). We have no goodness of our own, not even by keeping the mandates of Biblical law. Our human attempts at righteousness are simply filthy rags in Your sight (Isaiah 64:6). It is only by faith in You that we receive in our spirit Your imputed righteousness (Philippians 3:9).

Thought for the Day:

Once we are dead to this world, we no longer submit to its standards, practice its worldly religious rituals or partake in fleshly extravagances. - Colossian 2:20-23

 

Go Deeper - Part 2

 

Please, first read Go Deeper – Part 1,  before reading this post.

God calls us to go deeper into the river of His spiritual life. He wants an enhanced, more intimate relationship with us. The first step into the shallow water is to accept Jesus Christ as our Savior from our sinful lifestyle. We make Him the Lord of our life and desire to do only His will on a daily basis. Then we continue into ankle deep water and start the practice of weekly worship, daily devotional reading and prayer.

Some people fear the unknown and decide to live as shallow Christians rather than to totally surrender to the Will of God. It is so much easier to live in shallow carnality where we have more control over our destiny, than to trust God in the unfamiliar aspects of life in the Spirit (Galatians 5:15,25). However, God is calling us to go deeper. 

A few will slowly move deeper into the river. As the water rises up to our knees, it is darker here and murky. We cannot see where we are stepping or what is lurking beneath the surface of the water. At this level, we begin to exhibit faith in God’s faithfulness. We start attending more than one church service a week. We take notes on what we hear and we review our notes during the week. We attempt to allow the Lord to order our steps (Psalm 37:23). Many Christians want to hold onto their secret sins and they have no desire to go deeper spiritually. Yet, God is calling us even deeper.

As we get thigh deep in the river of our walk with God, we add a ministry to our weekly schedule. This allows the Lord to work through us to further His Kingdom. We are also more fully surrendering our will to the will of God and are guided by His peace, which transcends human understanding (Philippians 4:7). We find our true identity and self-worth in Him. Many Christians never go any deeper with the Lord. They just want to be fed by the Word of God. Their soul and spirit grow obese, because they continually feast at the Lord’s Table, without the exercise of giving back to the Kingdom of God. Nevertheless, God continues to call us deeper yet.

Those willing to follow God’s call this far find themselves waist deep in the river. Now, we start to spend quiet times with the Lord. We pray and listen to His voice. We praise and worship God for who He is without expecting anything in return. We fully submit our will to the will of the Father; and we relish our deepening personal relationship with the Trinity. Some people swell with spiritual pride at this point. They elect their self as judge and jury, and they constantly complain and criticize the church and its leaders. They do not want to go deeper, so they try to discourage others from going deeper as well. Nevertheless, God is calling us all deeper still. 

The water rises to our chest now. We start to lose our earthly footing as the natural buoyancy of the Spirit causes us to float. Our friends and family try to discourage us from continuing with our desire to cross the river into the Promised Land. Satan will also try to stop us at this point. He wants us to drift along in apathy. If he cannot convince us to go back to the worldly side of the river, he attempts to drape us with a complacent attitude of indifference. We dodge these arrows of the devil by putting on the full armor of God (Ephesians 6: 10-18).

As we continue to follow the Lord, the ground falls away from our feet. The water is over our head now. We must either go back to the bank, start to swim or drown. If we have the courage to swim across the river, we learn to pray without ceasing and to communicate to others what we learn in God’s Word (Hebrews 5:12-14). We may not be able to teach or to write, but we can share with anyone who will listen about God’s Truth and the peace He provides for us (John 14:27). We take up our cross daily and walk in tune with the Spirit’s direction each moment of the day and night (Luke 9:23; Galatians 5:16,25).

Incredibly, God’s Spirit leads us to go even deeper. We are almost to the Promised Land and we realize that we are either in a trial, coming out of trial, or about to go into another trial. Broken tree limbs, submerged and drawn by the current, hit us without warning. Rip currents, piranhas, eels and alligators threaten our life. We start to lose faith and spin into a spiritual spiral. As we start to drown in the circumstances of life, we totally give up our life and completely surrender to the Spirit of God. We realize that the only way to live is to die to our own desires, ambitions and goals, and to hide our life with Christ in God (Colossians 3:3). It is then that we enter the Promised Land of oneness with Christ on a daily basis.

Prayer:

Father God, we trust in Your protection of us each day of our life. Life holds no surprises for You. Our committed walk unfolds before us in one accord with Your perfect will for each one of us. Even if we end up in a foreign country, in jail, in the hospital or in the nursing home, we completely surrender to Your will, because You have a ministry for us there. You are with us and Your Spirit will guide and direct us no matter where we live, or with whom we live, or even if we live quite alone. Your faithfulness gives us the faith to cross the river and to enter into this intimate union with You that is perfect and eternal.

Thought for the Day:

Will you accept the challenge and go deeper in your relationship with the Lord?

Victim to Victor

Read: Romans 8: 31-39

“Who is he that condemns? Christ Jesus, who died—more than that, who was raised to life—is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us.- Romans 8:34

Did you grow up and/or are you living in an abusive situation? Are you living in a perpetual downhill spiral that never seems to end? It is very easy to model our current life on the basis of our history and to choose to believe that our past and present is our “reality”. To be stuck in this victimized thinking, however, will continue to create negative energy in our soul and it will perpetuate the idea that we cannot help but to be victimized by life and others.

There is a huge need in most people today to be liberated in our beliefs, thinking, words and actions by the Word of God. Do you know how fortunate we truly are? God gave us the wonderful ability to make decisions. In reality we are never truly stuck. We can decide to create a new life and move forward no matter what our “reality” looks like. It may seem that we are powerless, but the truth is: we are actually more than conquerors (Romans 8:37).

Even when you have a supportive family and friends, at some level you know that you are the only person who can get you out of the negative spiral in which you are living. This fact can feel terrifying. After all, aren’t you so grieved and broken already that the thought of getting strong and motivated and making balanced and authoritative decisions feels about as feasible as climbing Mount Everest without any equipment?

When we are shattered by hurt and loss, anything new, self-confronting and empowering seems light years away from our capabilities to achieve. However, the Good News is that when we are weak, God in us is strong for us. We can do all things through Christ who gives us strength. Even if we are terrified and have to crawl along, or curl up in a corner somewhere and grieve for a while, Christ is waiting to help us to find the victory.

When we finally understand that God has a plan for our life, we realize that we really do want to hold onto and honor the life He has given us. Through His power, we can let down the walls within us that keep our shattered soul from being healed and set free.

Christ gives us the victory to know that our life CAN change for the better. This is how we overcome depression and defeat. This fact keeps us from getting sidetracked and drawn down by the upheavals and chaos of our circumstances and the people in our lives.

Humility is incredibly empowering and transformational. Humility admits that we cannot, but God can. The humility to admit that we are powerless leads us to surrender to God. Our most important function in our road to recovery is to submit to God as He develops His character and fruit within us.

It isn’t until we are forced to our knees that we finally understand God’s purpose in all the pain we experienced throughout our lifetime. As we release the pain of the past and survive, we start to realize that we truly will thrive through Christ in us. Then, He gives us the potential to experience the aspects of our life that our heart truly desires.

The key is to create a solid sense of Who We Are in Christ (see former post on this blog). Then regardless of what is occurring in our outer world we have these truths filling our personal concept of who we are. Jesus is our inner security, anchor, direction and purpose in life. Godly principles do not react to anything – they remain constant and consistent. Life evens out and things flow more smoothly. This strongly formed core of values is consistent in the face of outside influences. Life may be changeable, but Biblical values and principles are timeless and unchangeable.

This inner security comes from knowing our true identity in Christ and having healthy self-worth based on the fact that you are a child of God. With this fact firmly planted in our mind, we know that we have the ability to emotionally, and if necessary, to physically detach from situations outside of our self that we have no control over. This gives us a firm mental, emotional and spiritual foundation within our self.

Since Christ lives within us, Godly values and principles become our ultimate reality. All of our experiences are viewed through this lens, and our world completely changes. Even our vision of life, circumstances and ourselves begin to take on a new shape and are viewed from an eternal rather than an earthly perspective. We no longer react to life, but we act according to the direction of His Spirit within us.

Prayer:
Lord Jesus help us to submit our past, present and future to You, one moment at a time. Help us to view life from Your perspective and to love the things You love and to turn away from the things You despise. Help us to make Jesus the center of our focus and to walk in Your joy and peace throughout our life.

Thought for the Day:
But thank God! He gives us victory over sin and death through our Lord Jesus Christ. - 1 Corinthians 15:57