A Deeper Walk

Sinners are in mortal combat with God. They fight in opposition to everything God is, and that for which He stands. Once we come to Christ in repentance, asking for forgiveness for our sins, He exchanges our sin for His righteousness.

We do not simply create a superficial contract with God, but we enter an intimate relationship with Him, which includes a unified life. Developing this union with Christ in God (Colossians 3:3-4) allows God's triune presence to permeate our spirit and soul, and to heal our body.

We unite our life with the Spirit, and He carries out God's plans in and through us. God purifies us in increments, going deeper with each penetration of His holy fire, until we radiate Christ’s nature from within us.

He replaces our carnal nature with the fruit of His Spirit, which is actually the very nature of God (Galatians 5:22-23). This gives us the wisdom and courage to face life's challenges. We cling to His presence in us with our thoughts, choices and emotions.

The less we function out of our humanity, and the more we wait on God, the more He expresses His character in us and through us. As we embrace His divine nature, we are filled to overflowing with all of Him, and His very life flows out of us (Ephesians 3:16-19 Amplified Bible).

Our human way of thinking and feeling passes away, and we are now an entirely new creation (2 Corinthians 5:17). We walk in communion, fellowship and accord with Christ within us (2 Corinthians 6:14-15). We belong to God’s household as co-heirs, priests and saints.

Prayer:

Father God, unbelief separates us from You for eternity (John 3:18). Therefore, our union with You is based on our faith in Your faithfulness. When our trust fuses with the faith of the Son of God, who loves us and gave Himself for us, we have perfect unity with You (Ephesians 5:2; Galatians 1:4).

Our intimate bond with You is broken only by our propensity to sin. However, if we walk in accord with the direction, wisdom and love of Your Spirit, we will never fulfill the lusts of our flesh (Galatians 5:15- 25). We thank You that Your forgiveness totally eliminates our confessed sin – past, present and future.

Thought for the Day:

The degree to which we exhibit the fruit of the Spirit in our life corresponds with the depth of our love for and obedience to Christ within us; the more we experience Christ as our life, the further away we run from the world, straight into our Savior’s waiting arms.

- Colossians 3:3-4; John 14:15

A Good Marriage -A Healthy Interdependent Relationship

There are four types of human relationships: Independent, Codependent, Dependent, and Interdependent. At times, our relationship with someone is a mixture of two or more of these. The healthiest type, though, is an interdependent relationship.

In an interdependent relationship we are capable of meeting our own needs without an unhealthy expectation of having to wait for our spouse to meet our needs for us. We share mutually fulfilling activities, but we are free to pursue our own interests as well.

We enjoy being together, and equally give to and take from the resources in our marriage. We graciously serve one another. We form a budget together and discuss any deviations one of us wants to make. We are capable of standing alone, but we prefer each other's company.

Our intimacy with one another grows with each passing year, but we are also fulfilled with our personal life in Christ. We share the same values financially, mentally, emotionally and spiritually. We help each other to feel safe, understood, respected and cherished.

If one of us has a dysfunctional attitude or belief, we help one another to find healing from the wounds of our past, and we do all in our power to keep from increasing those wounds in each other by our own behavior.

This requires us to be vulnerable with each other, and honest in relating our past experiences to one another, as well as our current feelings and needs. We have no desire to control our mate and our circumstances, because we are mutually caring, pray together, and seek God first before making any decisions.

Prayer:

Father God, teach us that our value has no dependence on our bank account, worldly goods, or prestige. Help us not to allow our appearance, abilities, mental capacity, etc. to change the way we view our self and one another. Remind us that our worth comes from Christ in us, and not from our own accomplishments (Ephesians 2:8-10).

Help us to see that people will let us down, break their promises, make mistakes, and change over the years because they are human; but we can love them unconditionally with Your Agape love. Teach us that patience is a virtue, and we can allow patience to do her prefect work in us, rather than to get stressed about things in life that we cannot change. Our trust is in You, Lord, and we live to serve You together because You are our life (Colossians 3:3-4) ????

Thought for the Day:

Seeking God's will for our life changes the choices that we make, helps us to have faith in His faithfulness to meet our needs, and to unify us with our mate in an intimate, interdependent relationship.

Peace in the Storm

Have you ever found yourself in the middle of the stormy seas of life? The blustery winds and driving rain threaten to blow us right out of the boat into the tumultuous seas all around us. However, there is always hope in the Lord, regardless of our circumstances.

Each morning we start by spending time chatting with the Lord and meditating on His Word before we ever get out of bed. Five minutes to an hour of peaceful introspection, surveying our thoughts and emotions, will give us a clue about our soul's true condition.

This gives us a chance to listen to God's truth, which heals us, and to center our focus on Him throughout the day. Taking time for a few deep breaths also helps. We breathe in air to the count of 6, hold our breath for 6 seconds and breathe out until all of the air is removed from our lungs.

This practice cleanses our lungs of the stale air in them, and helps us to calm our nerves, reduce blood pressure, and restore equilibrium to our soul. When we get out of bed, we have more peace to get our children ready for school, commute to work or to do our daily chores at home, as we stand against the spiritual warfare that the devil has planned for our day.

We do not need to have our TV tuned to the 24-hour news cycle. Listening to the negative broadcasters fills our mind with their slant on the events in our world. Playing praise music is so much more edifying and positive. We can catch the news once a day to keep us informed on how to pray for our world.

Seeking God's will, as we jot down our to-do list for the day, helps us to stay organized, in touch with God's Spirit as He directs each moment, and joyfully singing praises to God in our mind. We have more order, energy and stamina, and we are prepared for the divine appointments that God planned for our day.

Prayer:

Father God, remind us to spend time feeding our soul each day too. We can read an uplifting book, watch and informative documentaries or positive movies or follow our sports team, listen to praise music, start a blog with positive info for our contacts on social media to read, build a campfire, gaze at the stars, soak up the sun's rays, plant a flower garden that attracts bees and butterflies, dance around the house as we do our chores, learn useful hobbies, etc.

Remind us that no matter how many friends we have on our social media accounts, we do not have to read everything that everyone posts every day. Help us to choose to follow those who are uplifting and positive, and to peruse the notifications from our closest friends and family. We can check in with everyone else when You put them on our heart. This gives us more time to listen to Your Spirit as He directs our day.

Thought for the Day:

We can mitigate the persistent stress that accompanies our daily life by increasing our intimacy with the Trinity of God who lives within us; we do this through prayer, Bible reading, singing melodies in our heart to the Lord, and giving Him all of the honor, glory and praise that is due to His name; this positive behavior will reduce our anxiety, give us positive thoughts, minimize negative emotions, and keep us connected to God's Spirit each moment of our day.

Our Gift to God

By living in the moment, we practice paying attention to the here and now. The key is to concentrate on what is happening to us in this very present second. It is through this attentiveness to what is actually going on around us, that we become completely aware and fully alive.

We also become more effective in ministry, because we are in tune with God’s Spirit moment by moment. His awesome presence permeates our being as we learn to consciously live each moment by faith in His love (Matthew 6:25-34).

God did not put us on earth to amass worldly goods, but to be His vessel from which He can change our world. We serve as a lifeline to all those around us. Perfection or complete spiritual maturity are not prerequisites for helping others in their walk with the Lord. We just need to be willing for God to use us.

When the Holy Spirit leads us moment by moment throughout our day, we truly make a difference, which also brings fulfillment to our spirit and soul. We will exercise when the Spirit leads us, in the manner in which we need, in order to be physically fit. We also eat what He leads us to eat, resulting in physical health (1 Corinthians 10:31).

We become fulfilled spiritually by what He leads us to read during our devotion, and by the church to which He leads us to make a covenant. He will lead us to minister to people and to be ministered to by people according to His timely schedule, and here we find our emotional and spiritual fulfillment.

As we give our prayerful attention to the moment as God gives it to us to enjoy, we are aware of God’s presence in our life. What we do with each minute is our choice and our gift back to God. This allows us to follow the leading of His Holy Spirit moment by moment throughout the day.

Prayer:

Father God, if we think about it, in actuality the present moment is all we really have. Your Spirit leads us to make the most of each minute for Your glory. We draw our strength from You, and You are our refuge in every negative circumstance that we face. We can trust in Your love, enter into Your rest, relax in Your peace, and exult in Your joy.

Thank You for making us as a vessel for Your honor and glory (Romans 9:23). We never want to do or say anything that could tarnish Your name (Psalm 23:3). We want to live for Your glory and to join You in our heavenly home the moment that You are finished using us in this earthly realm. We look forward to serving our King Jesus for eternity.

Thought for the Day:

When we put our trust in Him, God causes us to hear His loving kindness each new morning, and as we lift our soul to Him, He shows us the way that we should go during every moment of our day.

- Psalm 143:8

Life-changing Ministry

So often we put on a mask, a persona, and give a false impression to the rest of the world. We may do this on purpose, or without any conscious thought. We put up boundaries, and hide behind busyness in order to project an image that we have it "all together."

Yet, inside we are torn apart by a wounded soul full of negative thoughts, attitudes, and lies from the devil. Fear, anxiety, insecurity, resentment, self-doubt, etc. plague each step that we take. At times, we cannot relax, because we are holding our breath without realizing it.

God always sends the right people at the right time to speak His truth into our life. My former husband had a lightbulb go off in his head one day, and he said, "I understand now. You act and appear on the outside to be confident and assured, but inside you are a very fearful and insecure person."

Truth in its first form may feel false, so I had to think about that for a while. As the truth of his words sunk into my soul, however, a calm peace settled over me. Finally, someone unlocked the door of my soul and let me out.

I was so relieved that he finally understood my deepest need, and I hoped that he would help me to find my way out of the dark forest that I had lived in my whole life up to this point. Unfortunately, this never happened.

It merely caused him to feel more disdain for me, and it erected another wall between us until he finally saw no option for us but divorce. God did not give up on me, though. He sent our worship leader who taught me through God's Word that Christ lives within us.

Then He provided me with a new husband who recognized from the first day we met that fear and insecurity plagued my life. He reacted to me with devoted understanding. His unconditional love and devoted attention helped me to change the way I reacted to the world.

I gradually realized that I could truly trust God with my vulnerability, rather than to attempt to control my life to keep myself safe. Dread and uncertainty diminished as I hid under the shadow of His wing (Psalm 91:4). I learned to trust Him with my whole heart (Proverbs 3:5-6).

Thankfully, my new husband also encouraged me to go to a prayer counselor who helped me to access the lies from the devil that were the root of my fears and insecurities, and to discover God's personal truth for me about them, which set me on a path of serenity and fullness (Ephesians 3:16-19).

( https://www.transformationprayer.org/preparing-journey-introduction/  )

Prayer:

Father God, thank You for your divine appointments, and for making all things beautiful in Your way and time (Ecclesiastes 3:11). Your Spirit inspires our choices, behavior, and conversations; and You fill our days with Your mercy, love, peace, joy and grace. We find it easy to be vulnerable with You about our thoughts and feelings, because Your goodness humbles us and melts our heart.

You never give up on us, and You set us free with Your truth (John 8:36). We know that You have ultimate control of our life, and that we have no need to fear, because You are with us and in us (Colossians 1:27; Philippians 4:6). Your unconditional love fills the cracks in our life caused by both life's circumstances as well as the people who maintain influence over us. We give You all of the praise and worship due to Your name.

Thought for the Day:

When we relinquish our plans for our life, God's Spirit is able to direct our steps, and we find our self ministering to our self and others, and receiving ministry from others that is life-changing and eternal; God cares about every aspect of our body, soul and spirit.

- 1 Thessalonians 5:23

Spiritual Battleground

Most spiritual warfare occurs in our mind. Satan loves to plant his lies in our soul through our thoughts. He whispers a lie that sounds plausible, we consider it, and either cast it away or receive it as truth. He belittles us, redirects us from God's plans, and feeds our fears.

Due to Adam’s sin, Satan is now the prince of the power of the air (Ephesians 2:2). Tempting us to dwell on the worse-case scenarios of any situation is one of the devil's chief tools. These negative thoughts discourage us, depress us and defeat us.

Blasphemous, sexually deviant, unholy, angry, bitter, resentful, belittling, and other negative thoughts are straight from the pit of hell. A searching inventory of our thoughts allows us to take the negative ones captive, so the devil does not make us a captive of his plans for us (Philippians 2:5, 4:8).

When we entertain and then believe these lies, Satan knows that he has us right where he wants us. Another issue is the carnal sin nature in our soul that is being sanctified by God's Holy Spirit. As we cooperate with the Spirit, holiness happens much quicker (Romans 6-7; 1 Corinthians 3:3; Colossians 3:1; Galatians 5:15-25).

When we believe Satan's lies, we exhibit negative attitudes. We get "stinkin' thinkin'." Satan knows that if he captures our mind, then he can control our emotions and actions also. Our only hope of success in life is to bring our thoughts into obedience to Jesus.

When we do this, we put on the mind of Christ (2 Corinthians 10:4-5). We win every spiritual battle when we listen to God's Spirit, as well as when we consult the Bible for God's truth about every negative thought that we are tempted to entertain.

Prayer:

Father God, thank You for the purifying fire of Your Spirit in our soul, cleansing us from all ungodliness and giving us the mind of Christ. He guides us into Your truth as He teaches us to discern the difference between the devil's lies and Your plans for our life (John 14:26-27, 16:13). He allows Your peace, which transcends all human understanding, to guard our heart and mind through Christ Jesus (Philippians 4:7).

We can reject Satan's condemning, shaming thoughts in our mind too, because in You there is no condemnation (Romans 8:1-2). There is a big difference between his shaming condemnation and Your conviction of our sin. You give us instruction in righteousness through Your Word (2 Timothy 3:16). Teach us to care for our needs when we can, and to leave the rest in Your capable hands (2 Corinthians 13:5-6; Colossians 2:13-15; Lamentations 3:40-42; Ezekiel 36:2-27).

Thought for the Day:

As we mature spiritually, we no longer conform to the lies or the temptations of the flesh, the devil or the world, we refocus our thoughts to dwell on whatever is true, noble, right, pure, lovely, excellent, admirable and praiseworthy;

- Romans 12:2; Philippians 4:8

Life's Unpredictability Resolved

When people focus on Paul's lament in Romans chapter seven to the exclusion of the other verses around that chapter, I am so sad for them. They find an excuse in chapter seven for their sinful penchants, and they cling to it, limiting the fullness of their relationship with God.

However, if we read that chapter in context with Romans chapters six and eight, we realize that Paul was not making a doctrine out of chapter seven, but simply lamenting that he was not yet walking in the fullness of what authentic Believers enjoy as a new creation (2 Corinthians 5:17-21).

We are not hopeless sinners, doomed to fail; but victorious Saints bought by the blood of Jesus and co-heirs with Him of the Kingdom of God (Romans 8:17). Romans six and eight open our eyes to the availability of an amazing, fulfilled life that is hidden with Christ in God (Colossians 3:3-4).

When we attempt to squeeze life into our mold for it, issues inevitably slip out of our control. At times, we feel like we are drowning in overwhelming tribulation, until we change our focus from the issues, and squarely center it on the Lord (Isaiah 26:3).

God grants His adopted children every right and privilege that He gave His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ. The entire Godhead dwells within each and every Believer, and He is all we need to survive and to thrive in this world.

We are more than conquerors over every trial and circumstance (Romans 8:31-39), because Christ abides within us (Colossians 1:27). Our carnal, human wants and desires no longer hold much meaning for us, when we trade them for God's perfect plans for our life.

Prayer:

Father God, You work in us and through us to bring about Your will for us, and in those whom You bring into our life. Jesus is the answer to all of our questions, and He resolves all of our problems in Your timing and way. This gives us confidence to totally trust in You (Micah 7:5). We love how You work on our behalf at the same time that you simultaneous glorify Yourself through our life (Isaiah 43:7).

We no longer seek our own agenda, make lists of our earthly desires in our prayers, or use You as our Aladdin's lamp. We decrease more and more, so that You can increase in our life. You are our focus, and furthering Your Kingdom is our daily goal. We cherish You for who You are, Your intimate presence in our life, and we praise You with every breath we take.

Thought for the Day:

Unity with our Creator God is the most fulfilling relationship in this world, and He is our portion of our inheritance as authentic Believers; we immerse our self in His grace, we rely on His mercy, and daily we seek His face - He is all we need.

- Psalm 42:1-2