Arise, Ye Thankful

The American Christian is usually thankful for their comfortable life here in this world. But this feeling is no different than the grateful worldly person who is enjoying the same things. It is logical to think that a believer will have a different kind of thankfulness. We are, after all, seeking a better place in the spiritual world and this makes an enormous difference in the life we are living right now. The satisfaction that we feel for our life of comfort and ease begins to shrink as we become aware of the things that God is preparing for our future. Eventually, a real Christian will hardly notice the nice things that the world has to offer because they are so greatly outweighed by what the Lord is doing. The Bible tells us; Do not love this world nor the things it offers you, for when you love the world, you do not have the love of the Father in you. 1 John 2:15 (NLT) Life is about the things we love. The total life package that God has provided for real “seekers” contains three distinct components. If we attempt to describe these three parts of the Christian life maybe our hearts will recognize some of the things that God wants to give us. Hopefully, we will arise in a wonderful new type of thankfulness.

First of all, our life must find new management. Even some worldly people are aware that Christians have said “yes” to a change of their leadership. The natural behavior of any unsaved human, at its best, can never join in a union with God. Do not despair because the Spirit of God is ready to provide the leadership we need for a good spiritual life. When new management comes in to our life the first thing they do (God is a trinity) is clean house. The Bible says it this way; you have no obligation to do what your sinful nature urges you to do. For if you live by its dictates, you will die. But if through the power of the Spirit you put to death the deeds of your sinful nature, you will live. For all who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God. Romans 8:12-14 (NLT) Notice that the Spirit does not clean house for us. We must clean house by using the power that new management makes available to us. This passage mentions that after the cleaning up of our life the Spirit of God continues to lead or manage our life. The leading of the Spirit is what we call our new management. In other words, after we have been led into justification we will begin to live a life of love with no end.

This brings us to the second part of our Christian life. The developing of our new character in order to live the way God has asked. To put it simply we must become righteous or, as some call it, Godly. This is where most of us can really use some help. The following verse is a simple description of this second component of our life; Do not let any part of your body become an instrument of evil to serve sin. Instead, give yourselves completely to God, for you were dead, but now you have new life. So use your whole body as an instrument to do what is right for the glory of God. Romans 6:13 (NLT) Our new management wants to change the characteristics of our life into something totally different that the way we were born. This is a long hard job but it must be done. It is called sanctification in the Scriptures and it confuses some people. We are told that Jesus gives it to us completely when we are saved but then we are asked to make it come true in our life. To really understand this we must be actively taking part in it. When the Bible talks about walking in the Spirit it means that we are involved in the process of becoming righteous which is being Godly. This is certainly a different character than we were born with.

We will really begin to feel our new type of thankfulness as we mature in our Christian walk with the Lord. The fact is we live “an honored life” when we become a part of God’s family. There is no end to the reasons why we are so privileged. However, the primary reason is that Jesus sent his Spirit to live inside of us. Wow, this indwelling power can make possible every privilege that is available from God. Each Christian is beginning a life of privilege that we have no way of knowing what heights of glory it will contain. Think about the meaning of this verse; My prayer is not for the world, but for those you have given me, because they belong to you. All who are mine belong to you, and you have given them to me, so they bring me glory. John 17:9-10 (NLT) We have an opportunity to bring glory to our Creator. Most of us have struggled to bring glory to a team or a business, maybe even to a church or preacher. But what is that compared to the opportunity to bring Glory to the Son of Almighty God. The bottom line reason that we are in the process of receiving a privileged life is to be placed in a position that can bring Glory to God.

How do we bring glory to Jesus? The thankfulness of our privileged life is much different than a worldly mind would imagine. Our spiritual life is powered by the Spirit of God which places ideals in us that are not natural and therefore difficult for our logic. Consider this verse; Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you:  But rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ's sufferings; that, when his glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy. If ye be reproached for the name of Christ, happy are ye; for the spirit of glory and of God resteth upon you 1 Peter 4:12-14 (KJV) Our instructions are to rejoice (be thankful) in hard times. Our opportunity to glorify Jesus means reproach in this life which may not be pleasant. It is obvious that we really need the power of the Spirit in our life to make this kind of response a reality. We must be enthusiastic about this unusual life if we are to enjoy the victories in our Christian life. Believe it or not, even the rough times can be very rewarding in this privileged life.

Spiritual thankfulness is something we should give some thought. Hopefully, knowing the three components of a Christian life can be helpful to our meditations. Having new management in our life can actually relieve a lot of stress. The fact that Jesus cleans the sin out of our life gives us a  peace that is very deep. It feels good to see a new righteous life being built in us as we adjust to our new character. There is room for this new privileged life because the old life is done away with. The thanks involved in this verse is way beyond normal; And since we are his children, we are his heirs. In fact, together with Christ we are heirs of God’s glory. But if we are to share his glory, we must also share his suffering. Yet what we suffer now is nothing compared to the glory he will reveal to us later. Romans 8:17-18 (NLT) It will be an odd feeling to be part of the greatest royal family.        What a life!          Arise, children of God and feel the wonder of real thankfulness.

Struggling With God

Sometimes we meet believers that are struggling as they try and live a Christian life. They usually have bags under their eyes and a strange frozen smile on their face. They have so many religious responsibilities that their life is ruled by a schedule. This is far from the peaceful, happy life that God wants for us. All three persons of the trinity want us to live a serene, quiet life that will foster our righteous reality. The Father gives people into the hands of our Savior so that CHRIST may redeem us. At just the right time the SPIRIT calls us to be marked for God’s family. Finally we give ourselves into the hands of the triune GOD to be used for His purpose. For all who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God. So you have “not” received a spirit that makes you fearful slaves. Instead, you received God’s Spirit when he adopted you as his own children. Romans 8:14 (NLT) Our quiet new life depends entirely on the activities of God except for our continuing act of yielding to the Spirit. The normal human life is about serving the things that we enjoy. This creates a struggle with both ourselves and with God.

A long time ago Jacob struggled with God. Jacob had been a manipulator all his life. He and his mother had schemed to win the favor and blessing of God. They both knew his “calling” but did not have the faith to wait for God to do it His way. But this time he was alone because he had sent his family on ahead to face the mess with Esau upon his return home from Syria. After everybody left, Jacob had a long, hard struggle. The struggle with God lasted all night and was certainly about who would be running his life from then on. The father of Israel must have decided that God would control his life or he would not have been spared that night. Jacob named the place Peniel (which means “face of God”), for he said, “I have seen God face to face, yet my life has been spared.” The sun was rising as Jacob left Peniel, and he was limping because of the injury to his hip. Gen 32:30-31 (NLT) As a reminder of that decision God gave Jacob a permanent limp. The question every believer must answer is “who will run my life?”. All the wonderful things God has prepared for us depend on our yielding control to Him.

The truth is that we will never win a spiritual victory on our own. No matter how hard we try the “Law of Sin” is much stronger than we are and it will always defeat us. Our will is always making good resolutions that are doomed to failure. Because the Law was given by God we think that we struggle with Him but it is actually our failures that are the problem. God only wants to help us overcome the weakness that lives in us. Our continual struggle with God is counterproductive and only delays His help. Yielding is of life or death importance to our spiritual life. Because you belong to him, the power of the life-giving Spirit has freed you from the power of sin that leads to death. Romans 8:2 (NLT) If we could realize deep-down inside that the Spirit living in us has more power than sin, our life would change for the better. Every time we are delivered from any sin it is a real spiritual victory that is provided by the Spirit of Christ. Because our new life is under the “Law of the Spirit” we will be part of one victory after another. Giving control to God is the only way to find a life that is truly full of peace and Godliness.

The “Law of the Spirit” will always be manifested when we get out of the way. Many believers think they must “copy” Jesus Christ. Imitating the Savior involves great effort on our part. What we should be doing instead is allowing Jesus to live a new life through us. Our life will be much different from the life Jesus led but if we yield to Him, it can be even greater.  Jesus said; I tell you the truth, anyone who believes in me will do the same works I have done, and even greater works, because I am going to be with the Father. You can ask for anything in my name, and I will do it, so that the Son can bring glory to the Father. John 14:12-13 (NLT) God has not asked us to die for anyone’s sin like Jesus but we have been asked to tell everyone what Jesus did for us. The fact that some believers do not live a victorious life does not mean that the Word is not telling the truth here. The greater life with God is available if we will turn our lives over to the direction of the Holy Spirit. This is all about our daily walk with our God. We must learn to live in the Spirit of Christ or our ignorance of this subject will certainly limit our life with God.

Our walk with God is about building the best spiritual life possible. The Scripture says; But on the judgment day, fire will reveal what kind of work each builder has done. The fire will show if a person’s work has any value. If the work survives, that builder will receive a reward. But if the work is burned up, the builder will suffer great loss. The builder will be saved, but like someone barely escaping through a wall of flames. 1 Cor 3:13-15 (NLT) Who wants to live in heaven smelling of smoke all the time? If our work for God is burned-up we will be the poorest person in Heaven for all eternity. When the rewards are given out our name will not even be called because there is no honorable-mention. The answer is even given to us in the very next verse;  Don’t you realize that all of you together are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God lives in you? 1 Cor 3:16 There is no reason to struggle with God because He is always wanting to help us with everything. God will give us the power we need for victory in every part of our life.

It does not make sense to struggle with God because He is the one that gives us our power in the first place. All humans are weak when compared to spiritual beings. The Bible tells us that Jesus became weak while He lived on earth. Now that Jesus has returned to heaven He is very powerful and is giving power to His spiritual brothers. Although he was crucified in weakness, he now lives by the power of God. We, too, are weak, just as Christ was, but when we deal with you we will be alive with him and will have God’s power. 2 Cor 13:4 (NLT) Believers today can have power to be victorious over sin. The Spirit of Jesus will also give us power to accomplish any work that God wants done. Paul said in this verse that he had the power of God needed to deal with the church that was not living right with God. If we ever need to deal with our church we will certainly need help from the Spirit of Jesus. The truth is that the American Church is almost spiritually powerless because men rule it with an iron fist. However this does not diminish what God can do through one spirit filled individual. Let us yield to the Spirit and cease all struggling. Each of us is responsible for our own life. We must learn to accept the peaceful life Jesus can provide for us.

There is nothing as beautiful as a life devoid of struggling. It is available to anyone that will allow the Spirit of God to have control of their life. The power of peace in our life can make us successful in every part of our Christian walk. We must not bow ourselves to any kind of law until we have obeyed the Law of the Spirit. When we place ourselves under the Law of the Spirit all other laws are cancelled. This is how we get our priorities straight. Not only does the peace of God give us the personal power of a righteous life but it can help other people around us. When we are not struggling there is a calming effect on our brothers and sisters in the Lord. The Spirit that lives in us is able to reach out to others in His own gentle way. Jesus told us about this before He left this earth. I am leaving you with a gift—peace of mind and heart. And the peace I give is a gift the world cannot give. So don’t be troubled or afraid. Remember what I told you: I am going away, but I will come back to you again. John 14:27-28 (NLT) In the meantime Jesus sent the Holy Spirit to comfort us and apply God’s peace in our life.