Today live in My Presence. I want you and I to be one, closer than any other relationship. I want to envelop you and empower you, equip you and excel through you. Come and receive from Me so I can use you in a powerful way today.
The gift of self-interest has become twisted. What began in a more perfect world as a healthy motivation to support and enhance life has degenerated in this fallen world into a power struggle—man against his fellow man in an egotistical attempt to improve his standing in life.
Satan is well aware of this weakness in our nature. So he uses it to dominate man, taking him down the road to self-destruction in an endless cycle of immorality and greed.(Ephesians 4:19) The truth is that self-will can never be satisfied devoid of relationship with God, and it’s desperately sad that so many have been blinded to this reality.
Man’s first taste of the bitterness of self-will was experienced by Adam. The fall of man is a very sad beginning to human history, but is also interesting because it says so much about our nature. Many Christians view Adam as being a perfect man—someone very different from man as we know him today. The fact is he was a perfect man. He was created sinless in a sinless world, which is the reason God could inhabit his being so freely and completely.
Yet this raises a question as to what the true definition of human perfection actually is. I think Adam was human in all the ways we’ve seen man’s nature to be in the foregoing chapters. What perfected his humanity was his relationship with God, and the fact that he dwelt in fellowship with God in a sinless world.
Can you see how important it is to have the presence of the Holy Spirit indwelling our being? Only through an impartation of His life can our conscience be restored to a healthy state. Our conscience then has tremendous influence on our will, which in turn is able to dictate itself more intentionally to the thoughts and feelings of our mind.
The transformation of the mind brings about change in our behavior not merely by attempting to control our flesh through an external system of do’s and don’ts. Rather, genuine change comes from a deep rebuilding of our character—that quality which directs our actions from within and stands firm no matter what we find facing us.
None of it’s possible, though, without a vibrant connection with the Spirit of God. Consequently, developing a lifestyle of communing with God is the key to genuine change. We can’t simply pay lip-service to this spiritual discipline. It has to be real; it must be alive.
Vibrancy in any relationship comes as the result of intimacy. The beauty of it is that such intimacy with God is not only possible, but His design brings with it the expectationfor both growth and bountiful flowering in each and every one of His children. But if that’s truly the case, why do we so often stubbornly refuse it? In a word: self.
Excerpted from: Free from the Power of Sin: The Keys to Growing in God in Spite of Yourself
Why does God allow us to encounter so much conflict and hardship in life? How does it all fit in with His plan to bring us into union with Him? Choice is the answer!
Our redemption does not merely rest on our initial decision to make Jesus Lord of our life. It’s true that receiving Christ as Lord is the bedrock of our salvation, but our relationship with Him is built on a series of decisions we make over the course of a lifetime. Because life’s circumstances are tough, these choices are rarely easy. God allowed sin to exist for this very reason.
If God had designed things so that it would be easy to follow Him, our choices would have little meaning. Our pursuit of Jesus, while forsaking our own selfish desires, is what He wants. And He’s created the ideal system to measure our progress: life here on earth.
My child, have this one aim above all else, to know Me. Seek above all else, My face. Let everything else fade as you pursue a deep, intimate relationship with Me.
My child, I am the Great I AM and My desire is to spend time with you. I want an intimate relationship that can only develop when we spend time together. Give Me your time. Give Me your heart. Let Me have full reign in your life. I have a good plan for your life. One that only I can fulfil when you are completely surrendered to Me. Let that happen today. I will put in motion all that I have ordained for you from the beginning of time, even before you were in your mother’s womb. Come and spend time in My Presence. Give Me your entire being. I have much in store for you.
Going from diapers to being house broken is not an easy transition. We’ve all been there, both in our childhood and in our spiritual infancy. But why stay there? Let’s be honest: because it’s easier! It takes effort to learn a new way of doing things, doesn’t it?
God wants each of us to graduate from milk to solid food (1 Cor. 3:1-2). Only then can we begin to grow and mature according to His wonderful purpose for our life. We begin with a commitment to pursue Him–no matter how much inconvenience it may cause–because only in truly communing with Jesus will we ever be able to hear from Him. Only spending quality time with Him will we ever experience substance in our relationship with Him.
So, diapers or disciples, which will it be? Let’s ask Dad to help us make this critical transition.