Walking In The Reborn Spirit

Galatians 5:17 tells us that the flesh fights against the spirit and the spirit against the flesh. This is because our flesh is not reborn when we accept Jesus Christ as our Savior. Our spirits are reborn. The fleshly attitudes in us are against God and will never be subjected to him. The fleshly way is against God and the flesh can never be subjected to God's way, love or law. (Romans 8:7) I know that when I am disappointed in God, unhappy with him and not appreciating and respecting him, I am walking in my flesh. 

My reborn spirit loves God with a perfect love. The more that I walk in the spiritual life, or in the spirit, the more that I am happy and satisfied with God. This knowledge and revelation helps me to quickly get back into my reborn spirit side of my being, with the help of the Holy Spirit, when my thoughts and feelings are not helpful or fair. It is difficult to resist the fleshly way of thinking because we are born into it. We always need the help of God's Spirit in us to get back into our reborn spirit's way of functioning.

While on this earth, we as Christians have our reborn spirits and we still live in bodies that function by fleshly control. The best that we can do with our flesh is to crucify and bring it under.  (Galatians 5:24, I Corinthians 9:27)  Doing that with that same flesh, however, does not have lasting effects. The flesh, any way that you cut and dry it, profits us nothing. That's why we fall back into our detrimental habits and destructive ways when we try to make ourselves do better.

Romans 8:13 shares that through the spirit man we do mortify the deeds of the fleshly man. This profound knowledge helps me to know that I am not bad or wrong when I suffer through my fleshly attitudes and habits, because my fleshly influence does not go away or die in this life. My reborn spirit man is real and I need to use it like God means for me to. I must always remember that I have a reborn spirit and that I must spend quality time building it up. I must use the spiritual strength that comes from God to quickly get back into my reborn spirit when the flesh directs my thoughts.

Happy Wednesday: God's Daily Provision

God will always provide our needs daily. We are to practice good management of our lives but this does not include obsessing and stressing about the future. 

Our main management efforts are to focus on today and also not to be overly absorbed with physical and material needs and wants for today. 

God wants us to be centered on spiritual growth each day. Through that commitment will we then see God's provision in every way, each day.

Matthew 6:33-34

***

A Little Leaven Leavens The Whole Person

Evil spirits always want to entice us with what we should not have but it's rarely in the form of an outright transgression. It's usually something on the thin line between what is acceptable and what is not, something that our flesh can slip past our reborn spirits. 

Paul, in Galatians 5:7-8, says, "You were doing well in your faith." He then asks, "Who persuaded you to not continue in the truth? It was not God the Father who called you to follow his Son Jesus." He goes on to share that he believes that through the Lord they will understand and remember the truth about the leaven of lies and seduction. 

We may think that little, questionable indulgences are not that bad but a little leaven will eventually leaven the whole attitude and direction of the person. It will cripple our walks in Christ. (Galatians 5:9) Succumbing to those minor fleshly desires will wreak havoc in our spiritual lives over time. 

Temptation and enticement to subtle, ungodly things are not insignificant. Evil spirits are not out to play with us. They are out to destroy us in as many ways and from as many directions as they can. The more that we brush off accepting small allurements and discount receiving little inducements the more destruction that rulers of the darkness of this world can do. Just as we eat and drink the Word of God everyday, they eat and drink plans for our destruction every day.  

When we work with God as he shows us the little issues, we allow our spiritual eyes to be opened so that we can see what the enemy is doing. We can perceive evil influence and control in our lives. We can obtain the answers that we need and information on directions to take regarding issues in our lives. Leavening takes over. That's what it's designed to do. Depending on what the leaven is, it can also be beneficial.

Adding the leaven of the Word by reading and studying it everyday will transform us. The Holy Word is living, like leaven, and will cause us to become more like Christ and draw closer to God. We don't have to be overcome by all of the Christian practices and traditions that we are judged for not being able to keep. When we focus upon putting the Word inside of us, we will please God and grow in him. A little leaven leavens the whole person, for bad or for good.

Christian Creativity: Cross Thank You Tags

Cute Christian thank you tags that I made as an incentive gift when I was selling physical handmades online. I die-cut circles, distressed the edges with a purple ink pad and stamped them in green.; with a thank you stamp.

I think I ordered the crosses from a paper crafting seller, because I can't recall that I have a cross punch. The unique thing that I did was pop up the crosses with dimensional tabs similar to Pop Dots. Then I punched holes in the top with my nifty rectangle hole punch. I added magenta-colored ties made with embroidery floss.

Making thank-you tags is a nice hostess gift, birthday gift or just because gift. 

Spiritual Weapons For A Spiritual Devil

Satan wants to destroy your happiness and your hope. Don't allow him to do it! He will use every little thing that he can find. The big attacks are obvious. The little attacks are not. Recognize how much he hates you because you love God and have acknowledged and accepted Jesus Christ as your Savior. His commitment to devastate you never ends. He never rests in his malevolent goals.

It's not the people who are attacking you and making your life difficult. It's evil influence from the fallen Lucifer, who was once an angel in Our Father's kingdom. He is the father of lies who was cast out of Heaven with his fallen angels followers who kept not their first estate. You believe and want help from God's angels but you find it difficult to believe in a devil and demons? 

Our daily battles are not against flesh and blood, the people that we encounter. The battle is in the spiritual world. We are spiritual now, no longer choosing to live in the flesh, though we are still here in this world and in the flesh. Our Heavenly Father helps us in his spiritual ways. We are not alone. We are not without battle weapons but the weapons that we must use are not carnal through fleshly fighting. 

Our weapons are mighty to defeat the devil's plans, though it may seem like he wins at times. Our weapons of power are not of this physical world. They are Godly weapons that establish God's plans and purposes in our lives. It's not about stopping people and getting back at them. It's all about triumphing through God's good, expectable and perfect will.

Learn about the weapons of warfare that we can successfully use (Ephesians 6:10-18) against the very real principalities, powers, rulers of the darkness of this world and spiritual wickedness in high places. Every little evil thing matters to the very real devil. Every little holy and righteous thing should matter to us! Ask our Father to sharpen your spiritual eyes so that you can detect the wicked works of the devil against you. Ask him also to make the weapons of his warfare real and practical to you!

6 Powerful Spiritual Weapons Of Warfare

Our loins girded about with truth. 

Having on the breastplate of righteousness.

Having our feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace. 

The shield of faith with which we can quench the enemy's fiery darts.

The helmet of salvation.

The sword of the Spirit which is the Word of God.

Where Is That Church's Cross?

I enjoy contemporary churches and modern-day worship. What I don't like is that so many church building designs have removed the symbol of the Cross of Christ. It's just a religious icon to many and we are also told in the Word to not embrace anything as an idol. A cross on a church building is special to me though.

Whether at the top of a steeple or on the façade of the church structure, a cross is regal and dignified. It lends an air of holiness to the property. Approaching a church and looking up at a pristine cross always leads me to think of Our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, and all that he did for me at Calvary. Whether white, silver or colored, a cross is a lovely symbol of the righteousness that I now have through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ.

I have seen new-construction churches without a cross included in the outside design.

Many churches today are also housed in unusual structures like shopping centers and storefronts. Some church organizations acquire buildings that were not previously churches. Sometimes these churches erect a cross somewhere on the non-traditional structure or they include it in a renovation. They too value the comfort of the symbol of Christ's obedience to his Father. They want to see it whenever they enter their house of worship.

Some church designs have the cross included but in an inconspicuous way. You have to look closely to see it. What is the purpose of it if it is not obvious? The symbol of our Lord's sacrifice should not be hidden.

I can have a wonderful time of worship and be just as blessed in a church building without a cross on it but I would miss it. Think about the classic brick or wooden church building with the very tall, slender, white steeple piercing the blue sky. What is at the pinnacle of that steeple? A small, white, perfect cross, symbolizing the pure perfection of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ of Nazareth. So beautiful to behold! 

*********

All images in this post are from Google.

Why Is God Taking So Long?

God is working it out in a way that you can receive what you have asked for. God is not limited, but we are. He chooses to work around our challenges to bring us into the fullness of our faith and His glory. This is in addition to bringing about what we want according to his will.

God is not restricted by time but in our current earthly life, we are. He works with us and time to bless us, not only materially, but also in a way that encourages us to store up riches in Heaven. Don't forget that in his Word he also promises to redeem time for us. He does this in various ways, in relation to his plans and purposes.

Our Heavenly Father is processing it for us, always.

Scripture Book In The Works

I'm working on a fav scriptures book to publish at Amazon KDP. The title is I Am Prospering In Every Way: Scripture Declarations & Prayer Prompts. It's a book encouraging Christian growth and living by faith. I'm sharing the scriptures that I have memorized and quote every morning.

There are 32 scriptures and I've written up 9 of them so far. In each chapter I quote 1 scripture and write a paraphrase of it that makes it more practical to apply to our daily lives. I then add a simple prayer prompt.

For the cover design, I started with a photographs design using Affinity Photo. I then decided to create a vector design using Affinity Designer. I've shared both draft designs below. The spreads are showing the backs and fronts. I am sure I'll be going with the vector design (the 1st one). I like its crispness.

I'm trying to write up 1 scripture per day so that I can publish as soon as possible. This will be my first Christian book and I'm anxious to get it done. Are you doing any Christian publishing or design work? Christian crafting?

God Has Never Failed Me

I remind myself that nothing will separate me from God's love.

I remind myself that God has my best interests at heart and that no matter how things have been, how they look today and what may come tomorrow, he will never fail me.

I remember that even though some things have not happened in the way in which I had hoped, God has never failed me.

I remember that I have seen God's glory. I've seen God's deliverance. I've seen God's blessings. I've seen God's protection in my life.

I remember that God has never failed me and he never will.

Nothing will separate me from God's love.

Remind yourself today.

Happy Friday: God's Sin-Covering Love

It is with God's love only that we can love our enemies because it is his love that covers a multitude of sins. When we try to love with our own, fleshly love, we can't, especially when we have been offended, disappointed or hurt. God's love, however, triumphs over all of that. It is through God's love in us flowing out towards the unlovable, that we are able to make Jesus Christ's sacrifice on the Cross valid. 

If we can't come to love those whom we insist that it is impossible to love, then Our Savior's sacrifice has no power in our lives. If we are working with God to love ourselves then we can, through the help of his Holy Spirit, come to truly love those who have offended us.

Ask God to fill your heart with love and expand it within you so that you can love the unlovable in the way that pleases him.

HAPPY FRIDAY!