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Philippians 2:13
For it is God who is at work in you, both
to will and to work for His good pleasure
We present Jesus as the Messiah who came to die for our sins. We
tell people that if they accept Christ they will go to heaven when they die. What's wrong with that? First, it's only half
the gospel. Second, it gives the impression that eternal life is something we get when we die. Jesus had to die for sins in
order to cure the disease that caused us to die. Then He gave us life, making us new creations in Christ.
Suppose that you are a prostitute. One day you hear that the king
has decreed that all prostitutes are forgiven. Since you're a prostitute, that's great news! But would it necessarily change
your behavior or your self-perception? Probably not. You may dance in the streets for awhile, but chances are you would continue
in your same vocation. You would see yourself as nothing more than a forgiven prostitute.
Now suppose the king not only forgave you, but he made you his bride
as well. You're a queen. Would that change your behavior? Of course. Why would you want to live as a prostitute if you were
a queen?
The church is the bride of Christ! You are far more likely to promote
the kingdom if you are the queen rather than a forgiven prostitute. We are not redeemed caterpillars; we are butterflies.
Why would you want to crawl in some false humility when you are called to mount up with wings as eagles?
"I would be filled with pride if I believed that," says the skeptic.
You are defeated if you don't believe it! Humility is not putting yourself down when God is trying to build you up. Self-abasement
has the appearance of wisdom, but it has no value against fleshly indulgence according to Colossians 2:23. Humility is confidence
properly placed. We need to be like Paul and "put no confidence in the flesh" (Philippians 3:3). Let's put our confidence
in God: "For it is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure" (Philippians 2:13).
Prayer:
Lord, thank You for not only forgiving me but also for taking me as Your bride. May this realization shape my walk
with You today.
Who Does God Reveal Himself Too?
John 14:21 “Whoever has my commands and obeys them, he is the one who loves me. He who loves me
will be loved by my Father, and I too will love him and show myself to him." NIV
So many people seem discontent in their relationship with God. Many of them have being
going to church their whole lives, they pray some and even read the Bible at times, yet they are confused as to why God doesn’t
seem more real to them.
I think many of us have misunderstood the path to really knowing and experiencing God in our lives,
but John 14:21 gives us the answer. Jesus starts out by saying that the one who loves Him is the one who will be able
to obey Him. While this is a whole devotional in itself, I want to focus on the next part of the verse. Next He
says those who obey Him, will be loved by Him and the Father and that He will “show myself to him”. Wow!
What a promise! Jesus has just given us the secret to experiencing God. He says that if we obey Him, it is guaranteed
that He will show or reveal Himself to us. Or basically as we obey Him, He will become more and more real to us and
we can experience more of Him all the time.
Now you might be thinking this is pretty elementary, tell me something I don’t know. But
the more I speak to different people, I am becoming increasingly aware that while people “understand” this concept,
very few actually put it into practice.
It has been my observation that when we read the scriptures or go to church, we listen to understand
but not to apply. For example, too many times when we hear a sermon, we intellectually understand what is being
said and we mentally agree with it, but that is as far as it ever goes. We leave church thinking that as long as we
understand the scripture, that is all that is necessary and then we expect things in our life to change for the better. However
it will never happen! What we should be doing when we listen to a sermon or read the scripture, is not just seeking
to understand it in our head, rather we should be seeking to apply it to our lives. Remember James 1:22 Do not merely
listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. NIV. This verse is basically saying if you simply listen
to the Word and don’t put it into practice you are just deceiving yourself because nothing in your life will change
until you actually put it into practice.
This principle is true in any context. Say I decide that I want to get in shape. As a result,
I read every single work out program known to man. Then I buy a gym membership. After I have done all that I walk
into the middle of the gym and just stand there. How many of you know nothing will happen to me. I can do all
that stuff but unless I actually begin to lift a weight or run or do something, nothing in my life will change. To simply
understand the work out programs and be around them is not enough to change one thing in my body. It is the same with
God. We can know all the scriptures and go to church all the time but until we put His Word into practice we will remain
unchanged.
Revelation by itself will never change you. It is only the application of revelation that
will change your life”. Therefore as children of God, we need to hunger more for application than we do for revelation.
When we don’t feel like we know God close enough, most of us think we must be missing some amazing revelation
about God that will change everything. However this is not the case. More than likely the answer is not that we are
missing some pivotal piece of information, but rather that we are not applying the information we already have. Most
of us have so much “revelation” already that if we would just start applying what we know, we could be busy for
the next 10 years without ever learning anything new. Don’t get me wrong, I am not saying we don’t need
to keep learning. It is always helpful to gain new understanding about God. The point I am making is if you don’t
apply the knowledge you are getting it is pointless. You may know all “about” God, but you will never actually
“know” Him until you apply or obey the knowledge you have. I would rather someone read one verse per day
and apply it, than 10 chapters that will just stay head knowledge.
I know we all want God to show Himself to us, so let’s change our focus from simply
understanding the scripture to obeying or applying the scripture. From now on when we read our Bibles or hear a sermon,
let’s constantly be thinking about how to apply it to our lives. Remember John 14:21 says “whoever”
does this, God promises, He will show Himself to that person.
THOSE WHO OPPOSE US
Ephesians 6:12
Our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers,
against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly
places
Virtually all evangelical Christians and even many liberals agree that Satan is a
living being who is an evil force in the world. Historically, Christian confessions of faith have always included statements
about belief in a personal devil--not that every person has his own personal devil, but that the devil is an actual personage
rather than merely an impersonal force. But when you talk about demons being alive and active in the world today, a lot of
Christians bristle, "Hold on there. I believe in the devil, but I don't buy that stuff about demons."
My questions to these people is: How do you think Satan carries on his worldwide ministry
of evil and deception? He is a created being . He is not omnipresent, omniscient or omnipotent. He can't be everywhere in
the world tempting and deceiving millions of people at the same moment. He does so through an army of emissaries (demons,
evil spirit, fallen angels, etc.) who propagate his plan of rebellion around the world. It is clear from the context of Ephesians
6:12 that the rulers, powers, and forces which oppose us are spiritual entities in the heavenlies (the spiritual world).
Disbelief in personal demonic activity (or an inordinate fear of demons) is further
evidence of the static that Satan perpetrates in our minds to distort the truth. In the classic Screwtape Letters ,
C.S. Lewis wrote: "There are two equal and opposite errors into which our race can fall about the devils. One is to disbelieve
their existence. The other is to believe and feel an unhealthy interest in them. They themselves are equally pleased by both
errors and hail a materialist or a magician with the same delight."
Prayer:
Father God, I announce that You are the only legitimate fear-object and sanctuary,
and I renounce all demonic activity in my life.
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