The Essence of Hope

 

Every human ever born adheres to some form of belief that requires faith (2 Corinthians 4:18). Even if we simply believe in our self. Any ideology or action, regardless of how mundane it is or how regular it occurs, requires an initial moment of faith. Many people scoff at Christians for believing in Christ by faith. They proudly proclaim their penchant for having proof before they believe in anything. We all hope for and hope in so many aspects of life, which faith provides.

 

We use faith without even realizing it. We get out of bed in faith that there is a floor to support our weight. We sit in a chair with faith that it will hold us up. We turn the key in the ignition of our car in faith that it will start. We pick up the phone and dial in faith that the call will connect. We rarely consciously realize how often we utilized faith in our daily life. Faith actually transcends our natural world, however. Faith deals in the supernatural, believing what cannot be seen with the human mind (Romans 8:24).

 

Faith in Christ is not simply another form of faith in our self or in some humanistic or temporal aspect of life. By faith in Christ, all things are possible (Mark 9:23). We can do all things through Christ who anoints and empowers us (Philippians 4:13). Every person is born with the possibility of a connection to God. We all have a spirit; however, until we accept Christ as our Savior, our spirit is dead in sin (Ephesians 2:1-5). We merely need to constantly and consistently walk in obedience to God’s Spirit, and we will receive His direction and loving blessings throughout the day (Galatians 5:16,25).

 

The Christian walk is all about faith. The more we see God working in and through our life, the more resident our faith becomes. We rest in His faithfulness and follow the leading of His Spirit moment by moment throughout the day. We stop looking at only what we can see, and place our faith in God who sees what we cannot see. Our problem arises when we believe that God will act on our behalf, yet we doubt that He wants to grant our request. We believe, but at times, we need God to help us with our unbelief (Mark 9:24).

 

There is no reason for us to waver in our belief regarding the promises of God. When God speaks a clear word to us, we can trust Him and give Him the glory for providing for us (Romans 4:20). It is only in those areas that we desire something in our flesh, and that God did not clearly speak to us, that we have reason to doubt. The temporal aspects of life are mere shadows of reality. They are outward, temporary issues that God is using to transform our character into the nature of Christ (Romans 12:2). It is the eternal aspects of our existence that are the core of true reality and the substance of our faith (2 Corinthians 4:18).

 

Prayer:

Lord Jesus, our faith in You both sanctifies our heart and regulates our affections (2 Corinthians 1:22). Our soul believes with the heart and our body confesses with our mouth (Romans 10:8). Faith does not only believe, but also it trusts You within us and acts upon what Your Spirit directs us to do. Faith is not just a thought, but it is the substance of what we hope for (Hebrews 11:1). We surrender our mind, will and emotions to You, because our faith is confident in Your faithfulness. Once our spirit is reborn of Your Spirit, we are complete in You (Colossians 2:10).

 

Thought for the Day:

“If we ask any thing according to God’s will, He hears us.” - 1 John 5:14

 

 

 

Thank you, Megapixal Mike, for sharing your photo.

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Dynamite Power

The word “dunimis”, pronounced “doo’-nam-is”, is the root for our word “dynamite”. It means to have the power residing within, by virtue of its nature. It allows a person or thing to put forth this dynamite power for performing spectacular events. This is the same word used to describe the power by which Jesus raised Himself from the dead. Jesus claimed that no one could take His life from Him and only He had the “dunimis” power to raise it up again (John 10:18).

Once we come to Christ through salvation, all of this “dunimis” power is also resident within us. It is equal to a zillion fireworks going off inside of us at one time. Christ’s light shines in our hearts. We radiate Christ to the world in the same way that a light bulb radiates light. The light does not come from the bulb, but from the electricity flowing to the bulb. The power in us does not come from us, but from God’s “dunimis” power working in us and lighting up our world through us.

We contain Christ in the same way that a glass contains water. The container is not the object of focus, the water is. We usually do not pick up a glass to admire it, but to drink from it. Although we are simple “clay jars”, made from the dust of the earth, we contain God’s greatest treasure, Jesus Christ, who actually lives within every Born Again Believer (Colossians 1:27). Satan wants us to focus on our failings, and he tries to make us feel like failures. However, if Christ is in us, although our body is dead in sin, God’s Spirit gives us life (Romans 8:10). God fills us with His Spirit to sanctify us and to complete us in Christ (1 Corinthians 6:11; Colossians 2:10).

When we recognize the truth that we are dead and our life is hidden with Christ in God, we step aside and allow Christ to live through us (Colossians 3:3; Galatians 2:20). Our light will shine so brightly that people will see our good works and glorify our Father in Heaven (Matthew 5:16). We are so united with Christ that His thoughts fill our mind, His wisdom directs our steps, His life flows through us like a river and His love radiates in us and from us (Philippians 2:5; James 1:5; John 7:38; Isaiah 58:11). We do not focus on the mundane activities of life. We keep our mind on Christ and live in perfect peace (Isaiah 26:3).

There is a balance between living in the flesh and living in the Spirit. The key is to walk in the Spirit 24/7. That is a challenge at first, but it gets easy with practice. We follow His peace within our spirit, and do not consider human logic and reasoning. Christ in us wants to live His life through us, while we work at our job, care for our home and family and community, and minister to our church family. We just follow the leading of God's Spirit moment by moment and we live in fullness of joy, even in negative circumstances (Psalm 16:11). Our Father is always well pleased with us (Matthew 3:17).

Prayer:

Father God, Your grace draws us to Jesus, keeps us pursuing holiness and finishes our perfection through sanctification (1 John 3:2). Jesus is our advocate with You (1 John 2:1), and the Holy Spirit makes intercession for us before You (Romans 8:26). You each have your function as a person of the Trinity and You complete us within and without (Colossians 2:10). You direct our steps and use us for Your glory to advance Your Kingdom in the earth (Luke 17:21).

Thought for the Day:

Living in the center of God’s will is the happiest place on earth.






Thank you, Flowers With Heart, for the use of your photo.

Abundant Life

It is foolish to count our worth according to our fame, fortune or success in this life. These are fleeting and transitory and can change in an instant. As followers of Christ, we no longer pursue aspects pertaining to this earthly realm, but we focus our mind, affections and goals on the purposes of God for us (Colossians 3:2). We no longer desire to fulfill the deeds of the flesh in our mortal body; because we are putting on the new self, which Jesus is renewing within us (Colossians 3:10).

 

Without the understanding of Christ dwelling within us, we cannot walk in victory over sin, sickness and death. Once we come to an epiphany of our union with Christ, anything is possible, according to the will of God (Mark 10:27). We serve the God who graciously forgives our sin debt (1 John 1:9). On top of that, He saves us from the punishment of our sins (Romans 6:23). Then He moves into our spirit to live His life through us.

 

The greatest aspect of our relationship with God is to come to intimately know Him as the one true Father of compassion, the God of all comfort, and to realize that He wants to live His life through Christ in us moment by moment throughout the day (2 Corinthians 1:3; John 17:3). God provides us with the desire and the will to bring Him pleasure (Philippians 2:13). He also gives us His Spirit to teach us all things that we need to know for a successful life of Godliness (1 Corinthians 2:12; 2 Peter 1:3).

 

We are never more fulfilled than when we are walking closest to God through Christ in us. God changes our nature from carnal, earthly flesh to one full of purity, Godliness and spirituality (2 Corinthians 3:18). He gives us a way out of every future temptation (1 Corinthians 10:13). He walks with us every moment of every day, giving us His strength to go through every trail and to deliver us from it (Philippians 2:12). With our mind focused on God, we walk in perfect peace (Isaiah 26:3). Our deepest affections are reserved just for Him.

 

True abundance in this life only comes when we adopt a spiritual purpose (Matthew 6:19-21). When we focus on our life with an earthly perception, we experience stress, anxiety, anger and many other negative emotions. The consequences of our choices and actions follow us into eternity. When we focus with an eternal perspective, we are only interested in God’s intentions, instructions and His inclusion of us in His plans. His peace, which transcends all human understanding, fills our heart and mind through Christ Jesus (Philippians 4:7).

 

Prayer:

Father God, we want to daily contemplate Your goodness, majesty, power, mercy, love, wisdom, justice and sovereignty. We are to walk in a different dimension than unsaved humanity. Remind us that our values and purpose are centered on Your Kingdom. You supply us with the spiritual resources to perform supernatural feats as we interact in our daily activities with family, church, work and community. When the love we feel for our fellow mankind springs from our love for You and from You, it is more committed and unconditional. All of creation is eagerly waiting for the manifestation of Your sons (Romans 8:19).

 

Thought for the Day:

When we surrender our life to the Lordship of Jesus Christ we enter the realm of abundant life, which He promises. - John 10:10

Thank you, Tracy Hassall, for the use of your photo.

We Never Walk Alone

God is our Shepherd who cares for us as His own. He abundantly supplies all of our needs according to His riches in glory (Philippians 4:19). He provides green pastures upon which we feed and revitalizing, quiet water to quench our thirst. He gives us rest for and heals our weary soul. He directs our steps in His way of holiness (Luke 22:42). He calls us to obey Him and to follow His directives even when we have no idea of where He is leading us (Hebrews 11:8). He loves us and He gave His life for us (Ephesians 5:2). He never leaves us or forsakes us (1 Peter 5:7).

Although life is often out of our control, it is never out of God’s control (Ephesians 1:11). When we are in pain, we cannot go around it. We have to go through it. However, we do not walk alone. God is with us and in us, bringing us comfort, peace and joy. No matter what trials await us, He is there to shelter and provide for us. He encourages and protects us with His rod and staff. His goodness and mercy surround each of our days. He honors us in front of our enemies. He prepares a place in His Kingdom for us to abide forever (Psalm 23).

Tomorrow comes with no guarantees.  However, our confidence in our Savior grows with each passing day. As we surrender our life to Him, He proves His faithfulness to us. Our focus gradually changes from what He does for us, to who He is. We rejoice not in His blessings, but in His blessedness. His love frees us from the tyranny of fear and the bondage to our self-effort (1 John 4:18). He created nature to give us proof of his eternal authority and divine character (Romans 1:20). Every newborn baby is a testimony of the miracle of His creative forces in the earth.

God adopted us as His sons (Ephesians 1:5), and we are now His people and members of His household (1 Timothy 3:15; Ephesians 2:19). We are strangers and aliens in this world (Hebrews 11:13). Our citizenship is in Heaven (John 17:16; Hebrews 11:16). We, along with all of creation, eagerly await His return (Romans 8:19). Eventually, God will exchange our mortal body for an immortal one like Jesus had after His resurrection (Philippians 3:19-21). Our bridegroom is preparing an eternal home for us in the Heavenlies, which will descend to earth at the end of the Millennium. New Jerusalem, a 1500-mile cubed city, will be our dwelling place forever.

We never walk in darkness, because we have the light of life living within us (John 8:12). We are children of the Light (John 12:36), and we are to walk as children of the light (Ephesians 5:8). Jesus within us continually leads us, even during times when we cannot see the way, along unfamiliar paths upon which we never walked before. He turns the darkness into light before us and makes the rough places smooth (Isaiah 42:16). He never leaves us or forsakes us (Isaiah 42:16), and He is always with us (Matthew 28:20). 

Prayer:

Lord Jesus, You promised that in You we will live in peace. No matter how much trouble we experience in this world, we never need to loose heart. You live within us and You already overcame the world (John 16:33). Everyone experiences temptation, but because of Your sanctifying work, it no longer holds any appeal to us. You are faithful and You keep us from any temptation, which is beyond what we can withstand. Even in those times when we are tempted, You always provide us with a way to escape it (1 Corinthians 10:13).

Thought for the Day:

God heals our broken heart and binds up our wounds. – Psalm 147:3





Thank you, Donna's Corner, for the use of your photo.

Baby Steps

The sad state of affairs in this world is that most people focus their attention more on their own ability to solve issues and their own talent to obtain riches rather on following God’s Spirit throughout their day (Galatians 5:16, 25). They fill their soul so full of carnality and self-effort that there is no room for Christ. They prefer to find enjoyment in carnal pursuits rather than in Christ. They end up leading discontented lives in the degradation of sin, and they are doomed to reap the curse of their own decisions and actions both now and in eternity.

When we repent of our sins and are baptized in the name of Jesus, we receive the Holy Spirit as a gift from God (Acts 2:38). We are sealed with the Spirit as a down payment of our inheritance with Christ (Ephesians 1:13). There are some Believers in Christ who never pay attention to God’s presence within them. They suppress the expression of Christ in their life. Possibly, they worship with Believers on Sunday, and maybe even on Wednesday night, but they ignore Christ the rest of the week.

Still other people strive to keep every word of the law in order to gain God’s favor. They forget that God’s love is a free gift (John 3:16; Romans 6:23). God gives Born Again Believers the ability to walk in union with Christ as He transforms our life one baby step at a time (John 14: 16,20,23). Since we are rooted deeply and grounded securely in Him, we personally experience the breadth, length, height and depth of God’s love for us (John 3:16; Ephesians 3:17-18, Amplified Bible).

Our intimate relationship with Christ starts when we, by faith, invite Him to make His permanent home in our spirit. His presence renovates our soul – our mind, will and emotions; the center of our inner man. Christ gives us fortitude of character. Then He fills us through our entire being with all of His fullness. We receive the richest measure of His divine presence within us, until our body, soul and spirit are entirely filled and flooded with the power of God. We come to know Christ in a practical way, through our daily experience in prayer, Bible study, service and devotion (Ephesians 3:16-19, Amplified Bible).

We come to love God, because He first loved us (1 John 4:19). We repent of our willful sin and ask the God of the universe to dwell within us. We find our true self-worth and identity through our relationship with Christ. We are strengthened and reinforced with His mighty power in our inner man by the Holy Spirit Himself. He dwells in our spirit, and permeates our body and soul as well (Ephesians 3:16, Amplified Bible). Aspects of life, which formerly crippled our soul or tempted us away from the straight and narrow road (Matthew 7:13-14), no longer have any affect on us, because we maintain our faith in His faithfulness.

Prayer:

Lord Jesus, trials and temptations serve to strengthen our relationship with You. You allow them into our life in order to reveal to us our true nature and areas in our life, which displease You. All of our self-will, rebellion, unfaithfulness and unfruitfulness are slowly pruned away by Your Spirit’s gentle touch.  May we fully experience the complete dimension of Your divine love for us. It is so utterly supernatural that we often fail to recognize it. We think of Your love in humanistic terms and miss the little things You do for us each and every day.

Thought for the Day:

In our weakness, we depend upon God’s strength.

Eternity's Secret

So often, the overwhelming difficulties in our life hang like anchors around our neck. We are usually devastated by many of our trials. Eternity has a secret, however, and once we learn it, life takes on a whole new meaning. God declares that He is involved with us in every issue of our life (Matthew 28:20). He does not want us to depend upon our human might to solve our problems by our self. He uses these conflicts to build Godly character in us and to further His Kingdom in the earth. Then Jesus successfully settles every one of them for our eventual good (Romans 8:28).

We can embrace every negative issue with faith and peace, knowing that the Lord Jesus Christ dwells within us with all the power of the triune Godhead (Colossians 1:27). He gives us healing, courage, wisdom and divine revelation to resolve them, or He instructs us to leave them in His capable hands. This is how we dwell in serenity all the days of our life. It is important for us to understand that God already arranged for a solution for these issues prior to them ever happening. He knows the end from the beginning (Isaiah 46:10), and He has a perfect plan for our life (Romans 12:2).

Let us live life in full awareness of the immense potential available to us through our union with Christ. Jesus within us breaks the chains of every type of satanic or earthly hindrance that attempts to steal our spiritual freedom from us (Psalm 107:14). He encourages us to take His yoke upon us, and to learn from Him; so that we can find rest for our soul (Matthew 11:29). Jesus is poised to deliver us from the bondage of every negative emotion, wound and circumstance we experience and to bring us astounding joy that is beyond words and full of His glory (1 Peter 1:8).

Our supply for each circumstance, and the wisdom to deal with it comes from Christ in us, our hope of glory (Colossians 1:27). I recently learned that scientists discovered 10 “colors of noise” in our world, ranging from white noise, which has equal amount of energy in all frequency bands; to black noise, which refers to silence with occasional spikes of sound. This calls for us to adjust our “headphones” to hear only the voice of God and to block out all of the worldly and satanic static in the chaos of life swirling all around us.

We can look at our problems as adventures rather than as challenges. God works them all out for our good, just as He promised He would (Romans 8:28). Jesus, in the full power of His divine nature, dwells within each authentic Believer. His divine nature in us infuses us in body, soul and spirit. Once we realize this, we rise above the dissonance of our concerns and we enter a new realm of being led by the Spirit of God. Every negative circumstance, which life throws at us, can be overcome by faith in God through Christ within us.

Life is not about you or me. It is about proclaiming God to the world. He provides us with the energy and power to teach and admonish others about what we learn from Him (Colossian 1:28-29). We live a life of thanksgiving and praise to God for His willingness to sacrifice His Son for our redemption, and for demonstrating His glory in creation and in our everyday life. Jesus, the Word, is the physical manifestation of God’s glory. He exhibits his glory and divine character in and through every one of us who lives a completely surrendered life before Him.

Prayer:

Father God, awaken our sleepy soul and raise us from the dead. Remind us that Christ lives as a light within us, showing us the way You would have us to walk in this world. Help us to pay attention to how we live, so that we use Your wisdom in everything we say and do. Remind us to make the most of the time You give us and not to foolishly use time for our own selfish gains. Show us Your will for our life and help us to walk in it (Ephesians 5:14-17).

Thought for the Day:

When we see our problems as God’s opportunities, it changes our focus and attitude about them.

 

 

 

Thank you, Peter Dehart, for the use of your photo.

The Hope of Glory

The fact that Christ actually lives in us by His Spirit gives us hope of living with Him in glory (Colossians 1:27). When we see carnality in our life, we should confess it as sin, but then rejoice that the Spirit is exchanging His fruit, through the sanctification process, for our errant attitudes and character traits (Galatians 2: 22-23; 1 Corinthians 6:11). The more we submit our life to God, the more we die to sin and the less Satan is able to hassle us. We start to reflect the glory of our Heavenly Father a little more each day, because Christ lives in and through us.

One of God’s mysteries is that Christ can actually dwell in our hearts by His Spirit (Colossians 1:26-27). When we choose to die to our self - to lay down our own dreams, goals and desires for our life - we embrace God’s will for us instead. We live by the faith of Jesus who loves us and gave Himself for us (Hebrews 1:3; Galatians 2:20). This does not mean that we live in destitution and unfulfillment. It actually guarantees that we find even more blessings in God’s service, than we did when we controlled our own life (Romans 8:5-8). Living in union with Christ becomes our only passion.

By God’s grace, Jesus Christ brought salvation to the whole world. He dwells within us and inspires us to abandon all unrighteousness and carnal desires. He redeems us from sinful behavior and purifies us as a people who belong to Him. His Spirit within us allows us to live a self-controlled, holy and upright life in this world. As we wait for our blessed hope, which is the reappearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, we cheerfully and zealously follow His Spirit’s direction (Titus 2:11-14).

When we follow the leading of the Holy Spirit moment by moment throughout the day we are sure to succeed in everything we do (Deuteronomy 28:13). We cannot live with one foot in the world and one foot in the things of the Spirit. This is impossible because the flesh lusts against the Spirit (Matthew 6:24). God’s goal for us is that we walk in the Spirit (Galatians 5:16-17, 25; Romans 8:9-14). Christ buried us with Him in His death by baptism and raised us up from dead works by the glory of our Father. Now we can walk in newness of life forevermore (Romans 6:4).

Since we are in union with Christ, the kingdom of God is now within us, and God blesses us with all spiritual blessings from His throne (Luke 17:21; Ephesians 1:3). Jesus gives us great power, which comes from God and not from our self (2 Corinthians 4:7). We set our mind on things above, not on things on the earth, and our treasure in not from this earth (Colossians 3:2; Philippians 2:5, 4:8). We are now the sons of God, led by the Spirit of God as we take the time to submit our life to Christ one moment at a time (1 John 3:2).

Prayer:

Father God, thank You for raising us up as You raised up the Lord Jesus. Thank You also for bringing us into Your presence for eternity. Our inner man is renewed day by day, and this encourages us, even though our body is getting older. The trials we experience are not devastating to us any more. They are only light and momentary affliction now, because we no longer focus on the things we see in this transient realm of life, but only on the eternal weight of glory You are preparing for us. We look forward to this glory, which far exceeds anything we have ever seen or experienced on this earth (2 Corinthians 4:13-18). As we share the gospel of Jesus with others, Your grace extends to more and more people, which increases our thanksgiving to You.

Thought for the Day:

When God sees us, He sees us in union with Christ, perfected and cloaked in His righteousness. 



Thank you, Kelly Bradley Davidson, for allowing me to use your photo.