Galatians 2:20 NLT
My old self has been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. So I live in this earthly body by trusting in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.
Wow. Christ lives in each and every believer. That is so powerful and yet not really grasped by most of us. The creator of the universe, all that is, lives inside us. He is in us!
If we really had a grasp on that reality, would we be watching the kind of movies we watch? Would we be telling the jokes we tell? Would we be ingesting the foods and drink we find ourselves attracted to? Would we be the worldly person we seem to be most of the time?
I remember how my character seemed to change when I was young and would be around my grandparents and older aunts. I was that wonderful little boy they knew. Even when I was a teenager! Not that I was into anything real bad, but I did test out swearing and talking back at adults and a few other things.
That old man grew from boyhood into an adult and picked up more bad habits from those he hung around with in the early days. Then I became a believer and a follower of Jesus Christ. Oh what a change that made.
I did not have an earth shattering conversion like we hear from many. I just accepted Jesus into my heart and asked him to save me. He did and He sent Holy Spirit to confirm my conversion. The spirit of Christ was now living in me and my life began to change.
What I thought was fun and exciting shifted from those worldly things to do into godly things to do. And I was not forcing it upon myself with self discipline. The Lord was in it all the way. It did not happen suddenly. It has taken many years and He is still doing a work in me.
I thank Him everyday for what He has done in me and through me. As we allow Holy Spirit to show us the way daily, we grow a little more each day, and we become more and more Christ like, Thank you, Jesus.
Monday, April 13, 2015
Monday, April 06, 2015
Not Magic
Matthew 4:23 NLT
Jesus traveled throughout the region of Galilee, teaching in the synagogues and announcing the Good News about the Kingdom. And he healed every kind of disease and illness.
It is one thing to receive prayer for healing, but it is not magic. It requires us to do something too. When I hear from someone who I prayed for last week and they come and say that it didn't work I know they looked at it like a switch. For them I flipped it on and it switched off when they did not mix it with belief and perseverance. They doubted.
When Jesus heals, He heals not just for the moment. You are healed. The enemy is very quick to attempt to sneak back in and reverse it by giving us thoughts of doubt, by causing that pain or symptom to come back for a moment. As soon as we allow the enemy to stay, he takes over.
Why do we let the enemy come back in so easily? Why do we doubt? The healing has not gone away and yet we allow the enemy to come in and steal it from us. And he is a thief. He has no legal right to come into our house and take or leave anything. But we let him.
It is time we stood our ground. Time we kicked him out of our house. It is time we put our internal security system on and when the intrusion alarm goes off it is time to send the enemy packing.
Jesus traveled throughout the region of Galilee, teaching in the synagogues and announcing the Good News about the Kingdom. And he healed every kind of disease and illness.
It is one thing to receive prayer for healing, but it is not magic. It requires us to do something too. When I hear from someone who I prayed for last week and they come and say that it didn't work I know they looked at it like a switch. For them I flipped it on and it switched off when they did not mix it with belief and perseverance. They doubted.
When Jesus heals, He heals not just for the moment. You are healed. The enemy is very quick to attempt to sneak back in and reverse it by giving us thoughts of doubt, by causing that pain or symptom to come back for a moment. As soon as we allow the enemy to stay, he takes over.
Why do we let the enemy come back in so easily? Why do we doubt? The healing has not gone away and yet we allow the enemy to come in and steal it from us. And he is a thief. He has no legal right to come into our house and take or leave anything. But we let him.
It is time we stood our ground. Time we kicked him out of our house. It is time we put our internal security system on and when the intrusion alarm goes off it is time to send the enemy packing.
Monday, March 30, 2015
MYOB
1 Thessalonians 4:11 NLT
Make it your goal to live a quiet life, minding your own business and working with your hands, just as we instructed you before.
Everybody is so much into other people's lives today. It is like our lives are one big soap opera. Or perhaps using today's popular shows, one big reality show. A quiet life is hard to come by today. Even vacations end up being more work than quiet. We cram so much into that week off we need another week to recuperate.
The old empty nest thing seems to have shifted to parents being too involved in children's lives. Many a grandparent today seems to be raising their grandchildren. Sure, it enables the parents to work two jobs and get ahead faster. But does enablement produce healthy growth?
I am from the era where one parent worked and the other stayed home and raised the children. Everyone ate together at dinner time. And they spent time together instead of finding more and more ways to get out of the house. Family time was important and mom and dad could always be depended on to be there.
Then when they grew up and left the home they were on their own. They made their own mistakes and figured out what to do next. They did not depend on mom or dad to bail them out all the time, but they knew if things got real bad that their parents would be there. And that no matter what choices were made the parents would stand behind them and support their choice no matter how right or wrong that choice was.
Minding our own business is a hard thing to do, especially for a parent. Today parents are labeled helicopter parents because they seem to constantly hover over the children, even their grown up and married ones!
Lord help us to mind our own business in the workplace, with our friends, and with our children and their families. Enable us to be prayer warriors for them and give us the wisdom needed to answer their questions without jumping in to solve their problems. May we be good examples for them of how to trust in You, Lord. Let your light shine through us and may our mouths be filled with encouraging words. Thank you, Jesus!
Make it your goal to live a quiet life, minding your own business and working with your hands, just as we instructed you before.
Everybody is so much into other people's lives today. It is like our lives are one big soap opera. Or perhaps using today's popular shows, one big reality show. A quiet life is hard to come by today. Even vacations end up being more work than quiet. We cram so much into that week off we need another week to recuperate.
The old empty nest thing seems to have shifted to parents being too involved in children's lives. Many a grandparent today seems to be raising their grandchildren. Sure, it enables the parents to work two jobs and get ahead faster. But does enablement produce healthy growth?
I am from the era where one parent worked and the other stayed home and raised the children. Everyone ate together at dinner time. And they spent time together instead of finding more and more ways to get out of the house. Family time was important and mom and dad could always be depended on to be there.
Then when they grew up and left the home they were on their own. They made their own mistakes and figured out what to do next. They did not depend on mom or dad to bail them out all the time, but they knew if things got real bad that their parents would be there. And that no matter what choices were made the parents would stand behind them and support their choice no matter how right or wrong that choice was.
Minding our own business is a hard thing to do, especially for a parent. Today parents are labeled helicopter parents because they seem to constantly hover over the children, even their grown up and married ones!
Lord help us to mind our own business in the workplace, with our friends, and with our children and their families. Enable us to be prayer warriors for them and give us the wisdom needed to answer their questions without jumping in to solve their problems. May we be good examples for them of how to trust in You, Lord. Let your light shine through us and may our mouths be filled with encouraging words. Thank you, Jesus!
Monday, March 23, 2015
His Nature
2 Peter 1:4 NLT
And because of his glory and excellence, he has given us great and precious promises. These are the promises that enable you to share his divine nature and escape the world's corruption caused by human desires.
We blame a lot on human nature. It seems to be used often as an excuse for bad behavior. Instead of taking responsibility for one's actions or reactions, we just accept our behavior as being part of our human nature.
True, we were all born into a human body. We all inherited the original sin of the first Adam. And we were all taught how to think for ourselves; how to make our own choices based on a "what is good for me" attitude.
Now that we are believers filled with the Holy Spirit, the spirit of Christ our new life is not all about us. We are in Christ and He is in us. He wants to be involved in all of our day to day life. He wants us to be in relationship with Him.
That is a big change in our lives, especially in the beginning of our walk with Jesus. Those of us who are married remember the change we had to go through running decisions that we used to make solo by our spouse so we could agree ahead of time. I mean we could no longer come home in a new vehicle our spouse knew nothing about and expect a warm reception.
As we remember to run all our decisions by Holy Spirit our day to day life becomes so easy. Our decisions bring forth fruit instead of frustration. And we begin to walk in His Glory.
Thank you Jesus for allowing such a blessing in my life. Thank you for taking up residence in me and helping me every day giving me comfort and guidance and teaching me more about you as You help me change to take on more of Your nature.
And because of his glory and excellence, he has given us great and precious promises. These are the promises that enable you to share his divine nature and escape the world's corruption caused by human desires.
We blame a lot on human nature. It seems to be used often as an excuse for bad behavior. Instead of taking responsibility for one's actions or reactions, we just accept our behavior as being part of our human nature.
True, we were all born into a human body. We all inherited the original sin of the first Adam. And we were all taught how to think for ourselves; how to make our own choices based on a "what is good for me" attitude.
Now that we are believers filled with the Holy Spirit, the spirit of Christ our new life is not all about us. We are in Christ and He is in us. He wants to be involved in all of our day to day life. He wants us to be in relationship with Him.
That is a big change in our lives, especially in the beginning of our walk with Jesus. Those of us who are married remember the change we had to go through running decisions that we used to make solo by our spouse so we could agree ahead of time. I mean we could no longer come home in a new vehicle our spouse knew nothing about and expect a warm reception.
As we remember to run all our decisions by Holy Spirit our day to day life becomes so easy. Our decisions bring forth fruit instead of frustration. And we begin to walk in His Glory.
Thank you Jesus for allowing such a blessing in my life. Thank you for taking up residence in me and helping me every day giving me comfort and guidance and teaching me more about you as You help me change to take on more of Your nature.
Saturday, March 21, 2015
Monday, March 16, 2015
The Firewall
God is not concerned about what we do not do. He is blessed by what we do. Jesus stands as a firewall between God the Father and us. The Father does not see our transgressions. He does not see what we miss. He does not see when we mess up and take our eyes off Him. Thank God for the Blood of Jesus that covers us in all actions and reactions as we walk out this life on earth, this salvation walk in fear and trembling.
His Grace
2 Timothy 1:9 NLT
For God saved us and called us to live a holy life. He did this, not because we deserved it, but because that was his plan from before the beginning of time-to show us his grace through Christ Jesus.
Grace is defined in the dictionary as a controlled, polite, and pleasant way of behaving. I believe it is more than that. I think of His grace as His unmerited favor in our lives.
Ephesians 2:8 NLT
God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can't take credit for this; it is a gift from God.
It was His grace that allowed us to be saved. When we stepped out in that tiny bit if faith to ask for His forgiveness we were washed clean in the blood of Jesus and stepped into a new reality. We were born again and received the Holy Spirit, the spirit of Christ to become one with our spirit man.
Our new man does not need God's grace. In Him we have it all. All authority. All power. All righteousness. The fullness of God through Christ who strengthens us.
Our old man is another subject. He is being changed daily to line up with our new man. It is in our continued walk through this earthly life where we continue to need God's grace. He covers us as we walk in the flesh, as we walk out our salvation with fear and trembling. His unmerited favor is upon us as we look to Him daily.
As we allow Holy Spirit to teach us, we learn daily to die to parts of our flesh and turn over our life to our new man, our spirit man who is pure and righteous.
Thank you Jesus for changing me, for renewing my mind, and giving me the grace to learn from my fleshly mistakes and walk more and more in the spirit.
For God saved us and called us to live a holy life. He did this, not because we deserved it, but because that was his plan from before the beginning of time-to show us his grace through Christ Jesus.
Grace is defined in the dictionary as a controlled, polite, and pleasant way of behaving. I believe it is more than that. I think of His grace as His unmerited favor in our lives.
Ephesians 2:8 NLT
God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can't take credit for this; it is a gift from God.
It was His grace that allowed us to be saved. When we stepped out in that tiny bit if faith to ask for His forgiveness we were washed clean in the blood of Jesus and stepped into a new reality. We were born again and received the Holy Spirit, the spirit of Christ to become one with our spirit man.
Our new man does not need God's grace. In Him we have it all. All authority. All power. All righteousness. The fullness of God through Christ who strengthens us.
Our old man is another subject. He is being changed daily to line up with our new man. It is in our continued walk through this earthly life where we continue to need God's grace. He covers us as we walk in the flesh, as we walk out our salvation with fear and trembling. His unmerited favor is upon us as we look to Him daily.
As we allow Holy Spirit to teach us, we learn daily to die to parts of our flesh and turn over our life to our new man, our spirit man who is pure and righteous.
Thank you Jesus for changing me, for renewing my mind, and giving me the grace to learn from my fleshly mistakes and walk more and more in the spirit.
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