God's Agape Love for Us

We find rest in our soul - our thoughts, feelings and choices - in God alone, because He is our only source of true hope (Psalm 62:5). No other person, place or thing, regardless of how much we love them or how well-suited we are to one another, can bring us this fulfillment.

We can completely enjoy being our true self in the presence of God in us, but we are continually endeavoring to earn the love of humans in our life. We pretend to be someone we think they want us to be and we are rarely relaxed and spontaneous around them.

Even our best friend requires that we put on a mask now and then; but Jesus already knew us when we were developing in our mother's womb (Psalm 139:13).

We do not need to hide any failure, flaw or foible from Him, because He loved us while we were still sinners (Romans 5:8). His love is unconditional and we cannot earn it, run from it or lose it (Psalm 139:8).

Our relationship with Christ has the potential of growing into the most intimate bond we can ever experience, as we seek Him and obey Him while His Spirit directs each moment of our day.

No human being could ever grant us the desires of our heart as intimately and completely as Jesus can (Psalm 37:4). At salvation, He comes to dwell in us and He knows us better than we know our self.

Secular self-help groups promote the practice of turning over our life to our Higher Power. Almighty God is the only "higher power" that can provide us with His peace, joy and security in this tumultuous and insecure world in which we dwell.

Prayer:

Father God, once we accept Christ's atoning redemption for our sins, You raise us from eternal death and give us Your ever-lasting life. You teach us to focus on eternal matters rather than on earthly concerns. You help us to die to our old sin nature and You regenerate our spirit with Christ's life, in which we are hidden in You (Colossians 3:1-3).

Intimacy with You is more fulfilling than any relationship on earth. We share with You our deepest thoughts and divulge our most dreadful concerns without fear of ridicule or rejection. You care deeply for all that we are, all that we do and all that we hope for tomorrow. You are our best friend who sticks closer to us than a brother (Proverbs 18:24).

Thought for the Day:

It is time to completely surrender our life to the Lordship of the true Lord Jesus Christ, submit our self to God and live according to His plan and purpose for our life, because it is only in His presence that we will ever find fullness of joy in this life and in the next. - Psalm 16:11

United in Christ's Death and Divinity

God calls us to walk away from sin in all of its forms, and to pursue holiness and Godliness instead (Romans 6:2-4). We no longer reap the consequences of sin, but enjoy the benefits of abundant, eternal life in this world and also in the next (John 10:10).

Christ removes from our soul all of the condemnation we accumulated over our years of living in sin (Romans 8:1). He frees us from our sin nature as we choose to live as a bond servant to God now and throughout eternity (Romans 6:22).

We unite with Christ in His death and arise to live a whole new life of divinity in Him (Romans 6:6, 11), because God conforms us to the image of His Son by sanctifying our soul a little more each day (Romans 8:29).

A life in Christ does not require us to put aside our needs. God meets our true needs more abundantly and successfully than we could ever succeed in insuring their fulfillment in our own efforts.

If we live according to God's will, rather than insisting on living life our way, our decisions may be one-sided; but they succeed, because they are chosen for us by God rather than other people or our own human reasoning.

In Christ, we never have the concern of losing His love for us, as we do with some human relationships which we include in our life. He simply recommends that we spend time seeking His will and ways for each hour of our existence (Proverbs 3:5-6).

Living in the center of Gods will is the happiest place on earth. Devoting time by praying without ceasing insures that we live successfully in each moment of our day and night.

Prayer:

Father God, we are often guilty of creating a God in our mind that suits our paradigm of life and which is contrary to Your Word. You are love, but You are also justice; You are mercy, but You are also discipline us in love. You are a balance of grace and righteousness.

You never leave us without support, forsake us, or fail us. You keep Your strong hold on us and supply all of our needs when we actually need them (Hebrews 13:5, Amplified Bible). Thank You for the intimacy with You that we enjoy each moment of our day, and for filling us with Your presence and Your Spirit.

Thought for the Day:

We are, at this moment in time, as intimate with God as we choose to be; living a committed life of faith and trust in Jesus Christ results in fulfillment in every area of our life.

Amazing Praising

The only tool that Satan has in his toolbox is deception. He is quite adept at using it in all situations, and he can even craft circumstances with it to come against the Saints of God.

Deception is a powerful tool. Satan uses it to blind the eyes and to dull the mind of the wounded, weak or foolish people who choose to believe his lies. He can even deceive the elect of God.

He leads them like oxen with rings in their noses and they do his bidding and haul his load without complaint. Some are even proud of their rebellion and accomplishments for his glory.

However, there are those who come to Christ in humility, abide in His Word and serve as His disciples. He sanctifies us as He teaches us His truth; and His truth frees us from bondage to Satan's deceptive lies (John 8:31-32, 17:17; Ephesians 6:14).

God's love in our heart bursts forth in psalms, hymns and spiritual songs. We sing and make music in our heart to the Lord all day long, giving thanks to Him for everything He brings our way, even the negative aspects (Ephesians 5:19-20).

We are not required to live as a super-Saint in order to praise Him in the negative circumstances. We praise by the power of Christ in us regardless of our spiritual maturity, feelings, anxiety and stress level.

It is amazing how praising will turn the most debilitation anxiety into a tiny nagging bother, which we can easily turn over to God's capable hands whenever we encounter it or think about it.

Prayer:

Father God, the world encourages us to take control of our life, which is virtually impossible to do for very long. However, You lead us to surrender control to You and to wait patiently for Your deliverance and guidance in the midst of our trauma and the tangled webs woven by Satan to restrict our walk with You. We thank You for Your involvement in our individual life.

When we become new Believers in Christ, You transform our thinking from negative worriers, as the world trains us to do, to positive victors by Your Holy Spirit. You conform our thoughts to Your thoughts and You direct our steps to accomplish all that You plan for us during each day (Proverbs 3:5-6). We continually praise You for caring so much for every one of us and each detail of our life.

Thought for the Day:

A sanctuary is a safe and secure place designed to give people a place to duck away from the trials and enemies plaguing us; it is a place of holiness and worship, and God desires that we dwell with Him in His Sanctuary each moment of our entire life.