Union with Christ - Transformation

 

Prior to coming to Christ, we were shackled with our old soul nature and a spirit dead in sin. We were crippled by having a body that started dying the day we were born, a dysfunctional soul, and a dead spirit to cart around with us as we danced through life to the tune of lies from Satanic spirits (1 John 5:19).

We did our best to survive and thrive. Yet, even if we are successful in the eyes of the world, we still lack the basic connection with the God of the Universe, who took on the form of a human being in order to bring us new life.

At times, even God's servants go off on our own tangents and smear God's name, purposes and direction for our life. We work in God's name, but do not follow God's will, which defames His name among the nations - the exact opposite of God's plan for us (Ephesians 2:7-3:19).

When we come to Christ, He forgives our sin, rejuvenates our body, gives our spirit new life, and heals our soul. This gives us the maximum benefit of having a wholesome body, soul and spirit in order to relate to the issues in our life.

Our God-shaped vacuum within us is no longer empty and lifeless, but filled with God's Spirit and renewed each and every day because we are Born Again. We have a purpose in life, our identity in Christ and our vision clearly focused on the will of God.

The old sinful nature died and we are resurrected in Christ. He is now our whole life (Ephesians 3:3-4). We experience the exuberant goodness of our God toward us through His love (John 3:16-17).

Christ's sacrificed His life on the cross to eliminate our sin debt for us and to guarantee the Holy Spirit's residence within us, if we will only humble our self in the sight of the Lord (James 4:10).

Prayer:
Father God, please forgive us for giving You a "bum wrap" and "bad press" among the society of nations across the ages and around the world. Our human behavior, done in Your name, tainted Your name and defamed Your honor among the nations. True salvation connects us to the living water within us, and allows it to flow from us to those You bring into our life (John 7:38).

Lead us in a level path in this exact moment, and all of the moments of our life, because of our enemies. Help us to walk in true holy living according to Your Spirit for Your name's sake (Psalm 23). Regardless of our circumstances, when You are involved in them with us, You turn all of them around for our good (Romans 8:28).

Thought for the Day:

With the same conviction we enjoy in knowing that we are born of God's Spirit through our salvation, which comes from Christ alone, we live with the fulfillment and power of realizing that our sanctification also comes from Christ alone. - Galatians 3:1-3

Union with Christ - Enoch Walked With God

 

Enoch walked with God. This was the testimony that Enoch exhibited before God and his neighbors. Enoch also instructed his family in the ways of God, even his great grandchildren.

Scholars tell us that Enoch saw great visions from the Lord about heaven, Satan’s rebellion, worldly nations throughout the ages, as well as the consequences of wickedness and the rewards of the just.

Jude tells us that Enoch was the seventh generation from Adam, and that he prophesied about the Lord returning with His Saints and executing judgment on the ungodly for their unbelief (Jude 1:14-15).

Enoch walked in the ways of the Lord and all went well with him and his descendants (Deuteronomy 5:33). He lived to around the age of 365. He saw a vision of the great flood and told his children about it.

Noah lived by his great grandfather’s example, and walked with God as well (Genesis 6:9). The more Enoch knew God, the more he loved Him, and his love for the world dwindled (1 John 2:15).

Enoch was a man of integrity and a pure heart. He saw righteousness flowing like water, and mercy scattered like dew over the whole earth. In a wicked and perverse world, Enoch longed to dwell with the righteous.

He realized that the Lord strengthens the spirit of the righteous for the sake of His own righteousness, and that many actually see Heaven without tasting the sleep of death.

Therefore, rather than allowing Enoch to enter heaven through the path of the grave, God translated Him to Heaven and he did not see death (Ephesians 5:10; Hebrews 11:5).

Prayer:

Father God, we want to walk with You, commune with You, listen to Your wisdom and direction, and walk by Your Spirit moment by moment throughout the day. Reveal Yourself to us in Your secret places, and teach us to walk in Your ways (Palm 91:1). Your mercy is great as is Your patience with us.

All of your powerful works are wondrous for us to behold. You reveal all things to Your Saints, to Your elect. You write all of our deeds in Your books, and nothing we do escapes Your sight. Let us walk in justice and righteousness for Your name’s sake now and forever. If our ways please You, translate us to Heaven as well.

Thought for the Day:

If Enoch can walk with God in this devoted intimacy, we can too.

Accountability Partner

We all have areas of our life that we ignore; little habits, words and facial expressions, which are less than stellar. We do not even think about them...but other people see them. Even more importantly is the fact that God sees them too. He has been watching and dealing with us about these issues throughout our whole life. They are called "blind spots".

We merrily go about our life without noticing that our testimony is tarnished by what we say and by the way we act. That is why it is so good to have an accountability partner. Someone that we love and trust, and that we know "has our back" through thick and thin. They love and respect us in spite of all of our idiosyncrasies.

We choose an accountability partner who would never turn on us or hurt us by the intimate details of our life, which we share with them. They should be spiritual, and endeavor to follow Christ with their life as well. They see our blind spots, those little nagging issues, which we ignore or are unaware of, and they are not afraid to point them out to us in love.

They are committed to God, and care about us as a friend and a fellow Christian. They are humble and recognize that they have faults as well; and they are growing and changing in their own lives. We can share anything with them and they will keep our confidence. These particular people willingly pray for God to strengthen us and to give us wisdom.

Prayer:

Father God, Jesus had twelve disciples, but He only took three to the mountain to see His transfiguration. He had three special friends whom He knew cared for Him deeply and would need the vision of His glory to strengthen them as they carried on His work after His resurrection. Help us to find those faithful few whom we can trust with our life and who will help us to grow in Christ.

Thought for the Day:

Since we dwell on this earth together, let us help rather than hinder one another.

His Exact Replica

After Salvation, we often focus our attention outwardly. We see God on His throne in Heaven, but we see our self as struggling alone in life and in need of His divine help. Some people say we are nothing but puppets, forced to serve as our Divine Manipulator dictates. However, we are more like a glove. Christ exactly fills us and we are perfectly molded to His character and nature (2 Peter 1:4).

Our union with Christ involves our spirit, soul and body. He unites them in vision and purpose with Christ. Through this union, God expresses His heart through us in sympathy for the hardships of others, in patience in tribulation, and in devotion in Bible study, prayer and fellowship with other Saints of God. Consequently, God fulfills through us His purpose for us in the earth (Ephesians 2:10).

In this manner, the union between the Creator and the created, the divine and the human, the eternal and the temporal is complete (Colossians 2:10). The Spirit directs us, and we move as His exact replica on the earth. Jesus also walks beside us, as well as living within us. He completely surrounds us, finishing His work of sanctification in our soul. We live, move and exist in Him (Acts 17:28).

Christ redeemed us from sin by the cross, and He works out His intentions in us and through us (Ephesians 2:10; Colossians 2:9-10). Jesus is our all in all (Colossians 1:17). He justifies our spirit; sanctifies, inspires and directs our soul; and will eventually glorify our body. Jesus is the expression of God’s glory and the exact image of God’s being (Hebrews 1:3). He speaks the oracles of God through our voice (1 Peter 4:11).

Also, Jesus heals a sick body through the laying on of our hands (Mark 1:41; 6:5; 5:3; 7:32, 33; 8:23, 25; 16:18; James 5:15). He sees a need and meets it through the resources He provides for us (1 John 3:17). He will even raise the dead, cleanse the leper and cast out demons in and through us (Matthew 10:8). As we walk in union with Christ, by the direction of His Spirit, we walk as shining stars, shedding His light in the dark, lost world around us (Colossians 1:27; Philippians 2:15).

Prayer:

Father God, Your will flows from a combination of Your divine love and wisdom. Harmony in our relationship with You increases as we live in union with Christ. This guarantees that more accord abides between our will and Yours. We soon find that our purpose is to do nothing more in life than to allow Christ to work through us. Fill us with the spiritual gifts and fruit of Your Spirit, and help us to lay down our plans and expectations, so You can use us for Your purposes each moment of our day. 

Thought for the Day:

If we only focus on Christ on the cross, we may forget the fact that the risen Lord dwells within our spirit.

Standing Up

Read: Luke 21:14-19

“But all these things they will do to you for My name's sake, because they do not know Him who sent Me. - John 15:21 (NKJV)

Sometimes, when we stand up for Jesus, our relationships with others fall down. Even close family members reject Him and may reject us as well. However, when we live with an eternal mindset and vision, the carnal, temporary life holds little value in the whole scheme of what is truly valuable.

A few years ago, my daughter told me that if I respected her, I would never mention Jesus Christ or scripture to her or her friends again. I explained that Christianity is not what I do, but who I am. Therefore, I could not take it off and put it on again. It is permanent. She chose to end our relationship because of what she perceived as my lack of respect for her.

I take comfort in the fact that the world rejected Jesus also. I also continue to pray that once she knows Him who sent me, our relationship will be restored.

Prayer:

Lord, I pray for those I love who do not know You as their Lord and Savior. Thank You for revealing Yourself to them now and always.

Thought for the Day:

Sometimes life demands that we let go in order to receive.