The Divine Life of Christ in Us

 

Christ 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

One Day Closer to Home

 

“Precious in the sight of the LORD is the death of his saints.”

- Psalm 116:15 KJV

When the doctor orders a follow-up mammogram, our imagination starts running wild. We envision radiation burns, a bald head and weakened physical stamina. We visualize pain, loss and mortality. We come face-to-face with the fact that death is a real possibility. 

When I encountered such a prognosis, God whispered to my heart, “Precious in the sight of the LORD is the death of his saints”. God does not look at death as loss, but of gain. When the beggar in Luke died, he caught a ride with the angels up to Abraham’s bosom (Luke 16:19–31)! I look forward to my translation on angels’ wings.

In insecure situations, peace comes by realizing that our times are in God’s capable hands. If we trust in Him for salvation and keep His word, we shall never really taste death (John 8:51). We close our eyes in mortality and open them in immortality, inhaling the breath of God in Heaven.

John the Revelator said, “Then I heard a voice from heaven saying to me, "Write: 'Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on.' "Yes," says the Spirit, "that they may rest from their labors, and their works follow them" (Revelations 14:13).

We are united with Jesus in His death, and we will also certainly be united with Him in His resurrection. We know that our human nature is crucified with Him already, and we are no longer slaves to sin. Once we die with Christ, we live with Him, free from sin and death forever (Romans 6:5-11).  

Prayer:

Lord, help us to lay our life down daily for Your Saints, because You promised that if we love Your family, we know that we have passed from death to life (1 John 3:14). 

Thought For The Day:

If we remain faithful until death, God will give us the crown of life. - Revelation 2:10 

Prayer Focus ~ Those with cancer

 

Free at Last

 

God gave us the law to bring us to the realization that we can never keep it and to point us to our Savior, Jesus Christ. Jesus set us free from the law, because He writes His law in our hearts (Hebrews 8:10; Romans 8:2). We obey them instinctively. We are no longer separate, but we are one with both our Father and the Son (John 17:11, 21-23). We live and move and have our being only in Him (Acts 17:28). We stop courting our own way of life or pursuing our goals, ambitions and desires.

As long as we insist on working “for” God, we are like the foolish Galatians (3:1-3). We try in our own strength and effort to please God. Until we realize that our old human nature is dead and passed away. Everything about us is a new creation (2 Corinthians 5:17). We live only for Christ now, just as He lived only for our Father. We are united with Christ in God, and Christ is our only way, truth and life (Colossians 3:3-4; John 14:6).

God and Christ have a difference in manifestation, with Christ being Immanuel, the physical form of God; and also in persons, with God as the Father and Jesus as the Son. However, Jesus states that He and our Father are one. Due to their union, Christ who dwells in us by His Spirit unites us with the Trinity (John 17:21). We do greater works than He did, because His Spirit abides within each one of us (John 14:12). We are His instruments for righteousness (Romans 6:4-11).

When we stand firm in the power of Christ’s might (Ephesians 6:10-12), we withstand the devil and all of his demons. We are no longer slaves to sin or under the penalty of the law of sin and death (Romans 8:2). Jesus took our sins and nailed them to the cross, giving us His righteousness in exchange (2 Corinthians 5:21). We are raised to walk in freedom in this new life, not to indulge our flesh, but as an expression of Christ in the earth.

Prayer:

Father God, as long as we hold onto the barest shred of carnality, we hinder our union with the Lover of our soul. Our only hope is to totally surrender as Your Spirit crucifies the desires of our flesh, especially when they attempt to retake control our life. Help us to completely surrender to Your holy virtues through our life in Your Spirit. Use us to improve the quality of nature in our city and to nurture the hurting lives, which live all around us. Remind us that we serve as Your representatives for spiritual change in the sphere of life all around us.

Thought for the Day:

Without total death to our carnal, self-life, we have no hope of living in the freedom of a passionate walk with our Lord.

United With Christ

As Born Again Believers, we are filled throughout our entire body, soul and spirit with all of God’s fullness. We possess the richest measure of His divine presence within us and we are wholly filled and flooded to overflowing with God Himself (Ephesians 3:19, Amplified Bible). We are united with Christ in the very marrow of our spirit (Hebrews 4:12). He provides us with everything we need to live a healthy, Spirit-filled life. Then, His Spirit infiltrates the joints of our soul – our thoughts, choices and emotions - to realistically perform His perfect will in and through us (Hebrews 4:12).

We are liberated from living in this earthly realm, even though we physically continue to dwell here. Paul counted all of his worldly possession and gain as lost when compared to the joy of his salvation and the riches he received from intimately knowing Christ (Philippians 3:7-11). In this same way, we detach from our connection to this world, even the good parts of life which hinder our walk with God, such as family, houses and lands – in order to obtain the better blessings provided for us by Christ (Luke 14:23-33; Philippians 3:10).

We realize that even the worst of adversity in our life comes from God to perfect and to provide for us (Hebrews 11:32-34; Job 1:8, 2:3). What Satan plans to harm us, such as the death of Christ on Calvary’s cross, God means for our good, such as bringing His resurrection life to lost sinners (John 19:10-11). Satan has no authority of his own. He can only do the bidding of our Father God. The Lamb, who is opening the seal, bowl and trumpet judgments, even directs the plans and purposes of the anti-Christ during the Great Tribulation (Revelation 5:2-10).

All of Satan’s wiles against us are orchestrated by God to work out His purpose in us, through us and for our eventual good (1 John 4:4; Romans 8:28). So stop spending so much time fighting Satan. Submit to God instead, then resist the devil and he has to flee from you (James 4:7). This does not mean our trials in life will end, however. Our Heavenly Father loves us and makes us more than conquerors through them all (Romans 8:37). He even makes all of our paths straight because of our enemies (Psalm 27:11; Zechariah 4:7). Jesus is exalted in us as we overcome as His joint heirs by His power within us (1 John 3:2; Ephesians 3:6).

We find our true self, hidden with Christ in God (Colossians 3:3). He called us out of sin into His glorious life. God elected us as His holy and stately priests. We are God’s special possession created to declare His praises to a lost and dying world around us (1 Peter 2:9). We actually become the love of Christ to the world (John 2:12-14; Exodus 33:13). Jesus went to the cross with joy in His heart as He focused on the glory awaiting Him in Heaven (Hebrews 12:2). We live life with this same joy in our own hearts, looking forward to sitting together with Christ for eternity (1 Corinthians 4:9-13; 2 Corinthians 6:8 10; Ephesians 1:21, 2:4-6).

Prayer:

Lord Jesus, You take pre-eminence in our heart over all other aspects of life (1 Corinthians 9:22). We knock on doors and invite our neighbors to church. We pray for them and for everyone You bring to our mind. We shed Your light within us for all the world around us to see, so they may live with us in eternity as the redeemed of the Lord (Psalm 107:2). You bore our sins in Your body on the cross; so that we too can die to sin and live righteously and victoriously, just as You did (1 Peter 2:24). We give You all the praise and glory and honor due Your name (Psalm 96:8).

Thought for the Day:

Problems are simply opportunities for God to prove Himself strong on our behalf. We find out what He is doing in every situation and then join Him.






Thank you, Naturally North, for sharing your beautiful photo.