Turning Natural Life into Spiritual Life

This devotional from Oswald Chambers really hit home with me and the fact that Jesus has already conquered our sins for us then next step we take is making our life spiritually based on Christ through moral decisions we make every single day and demolishing our worldly habits and bringing glory to Jesus.

Oswald writes:

Do It Yourself (1)

. . . casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God . . .

— 2 Corinthians 10:5

Determinedly Demolish Some Things. Deliverance from sin is not the same as deliverance from human nature. There are things in human nature, such as prejudices, that the saint can only destroy through sheer neglect. But there are other things that have to be destroyed through violence, that is, through God’s divine strength imparted by His Spirit. There are some things over which we are not to fight, but only to "stand still, and see the salvation of the Lord . . ." (see Exodus 14:13). But every theory or thought that raises itself up as a fortified barrier "against the knowledge of God" is to be determinedly demolished by drawing on God’s power, not through human effort or by compromise (see 2 Corinthians 10:4).

It is only when God has transformed our nature and we have entered into the experience of sanctification that the fight begins. The warfare is not against sin; we can never fight against sin— Jesus Christ conquered that in His redemption of us. The conflict is waged over turning our natural life into a spiritual life. This is never done easily, nor does God intend that it be so. It is accomplished only through a series of moral choices. God does not make us holy in the sense that He makes our character holy. He makes us holy in the sense that He has made us innocent before Him. And then we have to turn that innocence into holy character through the moral choices we make. These choices are continually opposed and hostile to the things of our natural life which have become so deeply entrenched— the very things that raise themselves up as fortified barriers "against the knowledge of God." We can either turn back, making ourselves of no value to the kingdom of God, or we can determinedly demolish these things, allowing Jesus to bring another son to glory (see Hebrews 2:10).

Proverbs 24:30-34

"I went past the field of the sluggard,
past the vineyard of the man who lacks judgment;

³¹ thorns had come up everywhere,
the ground was covered with weeds,
and the stone wall was in ruins.

³² I applied my heart to what I observed
and learned a lesson from what I saw:

³³ A little sleep, a little slumber,
a little folding of the hands to rest-

³⁴ and poverty will come on you like a bandit
and scarcity like an armed man."

-Proverbs 24:30-34

I learned a amazing lesson from this passage: if you become lazy, stop thinking and living for God for even a moment all you have worked hard for could be lost. Learn from the sluggards mistake here. Continue to work hard and strive in all you do in the name of Jesus Christ our savior.

God's Amazing Power

All God created was good. He provided everything needed for humans to live. Until humans left his path and sought their own knowledge and selfish desire, there was no self reliance, but all was dependent upon God. From this point on humans are born to trouble. They are born to hardship. They are born to weakness and disappointment. They are born to struggle and fall short. Despite all of this, Satan is still under the dominion of God, God has full control and is a billion times more powerful than Satan.

With God in full control why do bad things happen? Why are there tragedies? These are questions are near impossible for humans to wrap their minds around. People how could God let the Holocaust happen? Why does God let war happen? I view it like this we are lucky that God let just the Holocaust happen. We are lucky that God just lets war happen. We should be thankful that Hitler did not unleash the Holocaust against everyone that wasn't German. The Holocaust was a horrific and terrible occurrence, and yes it is hard to imagine, but it could have been much much worse. We should be thankful that God doesn't let demons and devils run ramped around the earth destroying everything. We should be thankful that God lets us breath because no matter what we do we are not worthy of God's love, but yet God continues to love us unconditionally.

At the point of Adam and Eve being ostracized from the garden of Eden, God put full protection around the world. This protection being from Evil and Good. Now that humans have turned their backs on God, they have opened up all of the evil possible, but thanks to God for not allowing this. God keeps us from experiencing demons running around and causing mayhem across the world and only allows a certain amount of evil to enter the world. God only allows trouble that we can handle, which may seem horrible at the time, but God is blessing you by not allowing it to be worse.

Another thing God protects us from since our original separation is his physical presence. If we were to be in the presence of God right now we would surely die. Anything and everything that is unholy in the presence of God is destroyed. So me and all humans as sinners, are not perfect, and are unholy in the presence of God and would be destroyed. So, God lets us live life to the full, and we are only allow to see God upon reaching Heaven. Upon reaching Heaven you are blameless, and holy because of the sacrifice of Jesus Christ.

Writing this brings me to understand further the power God holds. This makes me further understand when the Bible says "Fear God." If God stopped protecting us at any moment we would all instantly perish, but God does not do this because of his perfect and unconditional love for every single human that God has ever created. Thank God for loving us so much, despite knowing that we are all sinners. The least we can do is to love God with all our heart, all our mind, and all our soul and love all other humans as we would love ourselves.

Be Transformed, Seek, Strive

Once we accept Jesus Christ we are transformed, new, shaped and molded into His image. We leave our desires and temptations of this world no longer rule our lives. These distractions are still in our lives trying to disrupt our focus and our purpose, but they no longer are what we strive for. We strive to please, gain knowledge, and grow closer to our savior Jesus Christ.

"Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is his good, pleasing, and perfect will. " ~ Romans 12:2

So now seek the kingdom of Christ 1st and foremost, before and above all. When this is done you can be assured that Jesus will take care of the other parts of your life and supply you with what is needed. No longer store your heart with treasures of this earth for they are only temporal items, but seek and strive for the joy and greatness of the treasures of heaven. "For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also." (Luke 12:32-34)

Know that where your eyes are your heart will follow. When your eyes are focused on the kingdom and love of Christ your heart will be there also. But when your eyes see money, lust, material possessions, then your heart will be there as well. "Your eye is the lamp of your body. When your eyes are good, your whole body is also full of that light. But when they are bad, your body is also full of darkness. See to it, then, that the light within you is not darkness." (Luke 11:34-35)

Remember to put to use what you learn at bible studies, in church, in your alone time with Christ. Let what you learn be put to use to spread the glory and love of our Lord Jesus Christ. Apply what you learn to everything you do, it is one of Satan's greatest joy's to see Christians learn from bible studies and church to only forget what they have learned once they leave.

Seek, Strive, and Be Transformed by God, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit

Community

I have put this verse to memorization and find that I often do not include all people into my community.

"Here there are no, Gentile or Jew, circumcised or uncirumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave or free, but Christ is all and is in all." - Colossians 3:11

This is speaking to what the community of Christ looks like. In the community of Christ there are no labels, there are no generalizations, there are no stereotypes. CHRIST IS ALL, regardless of race, or background, or beliefs. This is the type of community I am striving to live in, a community where the love of Christ prevails.