Living a Life that is Pleasing to God

Matthew15:19

For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false witness, slander.

Found in the core structure of the flesh is sin.  To think otherwise is to contradict the Word of God.  We are firmly bound to sin when we operate outside the guidance of the Holy Spirit.  

We can lead good lives by worldly standards, but we cannot lead Godly lives without the saving grace of Jesus Christ and the filling of the Holy Spirit.  Purity is too deep down for man to get to naturally.  We need the Holy Spirit to guide us in surrendering our lives to Jesus Christ so that we may live in accordance with His unsullied purity.

Prayer

Heavenly Father, we thank You for giving us Your Son, Jesus, to be the supreme authority over our hearts.  We pray that the Holy Spirit will strengthen us in our battle to live our lives in a manner that is pleasing to You.  By Your loving kindness, Your mercy and Your grace, may we repent of everything in our lives that displeases You.  May we surrender all that we have and all that we are to You.  We rejoice in knowing that we will serve You for all eternity. 

Victory Over Our Old Man

Revelation3:17

For you say, I am rich, I have prospered, and I need nothing, not realizing that you are wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked.

The teachings of Jesus can seem out of all proportion with our natural way of considering things.  In fact, reading His teachings can lead to astonishing discomfort.  Without the Holy Spirit's guidance, it may be challenging for us to rationalize the inerrant teaching in the Word.

The corruption of the world has become so commonplace that it is often overlooked and at times completely approved of as acceptable behavior.  The Word of God magnifies the differences between the ways of Our Risen Lord and the ways of the world.  When the Holy Spirit leads us to see the power and joy in the lifestyle of Jesus Christ, we begin the process of gaining victory over our old man.

Prayer

Heavenly Father, we thank You for sending Your Son to show us the way, the truth and the life that is available to us through our salvation and the daily working of the Holy Spirit in our lives.  We pray that You will shine Your light on the world so that all the darkness is exposed for what it is.  May Your Holy Spirit send laborers into the field to bring in a great harvest of disciples of Jesus.  May we join You in Your good work.

Our Righteousness is in Jesus Christ Alone

Matthew 5:20

For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.

No man can make himself pure enough to enter heaven by obeying the laws.  The Pharisees created laws upon laws that were supposedly put in place to prepare them for their way to heaven.  Jesus put to rest the folly in their thinking.

We are born in sin.  There is no possibility for us to enter heaven without being washed clean by the blood of Jesus Christ.  No matter how many good things we do, no matter how many laws we adhere to, we are not worthy for heaven without the cleansing and indwelling of Our Savior.

No one can stand before the eternal light and consummate holiness of Almighty God with the slightest taint of sin.  We are incapable of reaching this pure condition without the remaking of our nature by Our Blessed Hope and Assurance, Jesus Christ.

Prayer

Heavenly Father, we thank You for making it possible for us to stand in Your presence one day.  We praise You for making The Word flesh so that we could be inheritors of the only bloodline without sin.  We rejoice in knowing that one day our holiness will be complete as we shed our earthly bodies and take on the pure, supernatural bodies that You have set aside for us.  We pray, Lord, that Your Spirit guide us and strengthen us as we learn to shed the corruption of our flesh here on earth in preparation for the time that we go to our full glory in Jesus Christ.

Our Holiness Flourishes on Earth

1 Corinthians 1:30

God has united you with Christ Jesus. For our benefit God made him to be wisdom itself. Christ made us right with God; he made us pure and holy, and he freed us from sin.

Are we willing for God to make sanctification as real in us as it is in His Son, Jesus?  The sanctification process begins with submission.  The submission process begins when we humbly receive Jesus Christ as Our Redeemer.  Our sanctification begins immediately upon our submission to Our Savior.  The sanctification process flourishes as we deny ourselves and rely entirely on Jesus to release His holiness in our lives.  The sanctification process continues until the day we stand before the Lord in the fullness of our completed holiness.

Sanctification is impossible in our flesh alone.  It is only possible with the indwelling power of the Holy Spirit in full operation in our lives.  Through the power of the Holy Spirit, we access all the perfections of Jesus and slowly, but surely, begin to live a life of holiness on this earth. 

Prayer

Heavenly Father, we thank You for taking us from the corruption of our old man into a condition of holiness in our new man in Christ.  We worship You and bless Your name from the fount of holiness that Our Savior has created within us.  We pray that we will receive the grace that we need to remain steadfast on our journey of sanctification.  We seek to have our journey become a living testimony to those who you have placed in our lives.  We ask for the wisdom and the courage to share our sanctification story with  them.  

The Struggle Within

Hebrews 13:21

equip you with everything good that you may do his will, working in us that which is pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen.

Upon receiving Jesus Christ as Our Savior, the Holy Spirit begins to show us what sanctification means. Immediately the struggle begins. Everything that we do that is displeasing to the Lord comes to light.  

Jesus became man so that He could die for our sins.  When He comes to dwell within us, there is no room for the sins of the old man.  We must allow our old selves to die as we assume our new life in Christ.  The two cannot abide together.  To try and hold on to our old lives once Jesus has arrived is to enter into a struggle that is filled with endless pain. The new life of joy is found only in the death of our old lives.

Prayer

Heavenly Father, we thank You for giving us Your Holy Word that defines the things that please you.  We praise You for revealing to us all the things in our lives that displease you.  We bless the name of Jesus for giving us victory over the sins that try to defeat us.  We pray, Lord, that the Holy Spirit will strengthen us in our struggles to overcome the torments of our flesh and the attacks of the enemy.  May the Holy Spirit enlighten us in the areas that the world tries to redefine as acceptable when You have already defined it as sin. May all that we do be acceptable in Your eyes. May it all be for Your glory.