...that ye may be the children of your Father
which is in heaven: for He maketh His Son to
rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth
rain on the just and on the unjust.
Mathew 4:45
But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit,
if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you.
Romans 8:9
For as many as are led by the Spirit of God,
they are the sons of God. For ye have not received
the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have
received the Spirit of adoption, whereby
we cry, Abba, Father
Romans 8:14-15
What know ye not that your body is the temple
of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have
of God in your body, and in your spirit,
which are God's.
1Corinthians 6:19-20
Psychiatry in their attempt to aid people is to say that they are to get to know themselves. It is true that we should know something about ourselves: i.e., our ethnicity, our background, what has been an influence in our lives, we need to know who we are if we will have any chance of living a fulfilled life. Christians must know also as to who their are, but more, they need to know whose they are, who is it that is influencing their lives. It is this influence, this external and internal influence that develops character and that character then is exercised by that influence. We must be clear: WE ARE NOT OUR OWN: WE HAVE BEEN BOUGHT BY A PRICE. Our character will live with us forever albeit there will be changes in our exercise of our faith, even in heaven. Yes we will get a new body, immutable, incorruptible, but we will be us, not another person. We will live forever in the eternal presence of God. That is then when sin will have its destruction and we will not be influenced any longer by sin, Satan. Until then we live in this life, this world and there are challenges that we face. It is true that we have the Spirit of God indwelling in us but our old fallen nature has yet to be changed into the nature of Christ. It is in the process of changing now in this life as we conform to the will of God and follow Jesus Christ, follow the commands and precepts of God. A real problem we face now is that our old fallen nature lives in us and we have the Spirit of God in us and they cannot live in harmony. How do we face this challenge? It is by knowing that we are adopted sons and daughters of God and that we live for Him, for the Son of God who paid that awful price to save people and that the Holy Spirit lives now in us. We can have a determination to pursue conformity to the character of Jesus Christ. This is the distinguishing mark of Authentic Christians versus cultural Christians, we have resolved to pursue conformity, to grow in the image of Jesus Christ.
It sounds to be drudgery to always have to fight that good fight to conform into the image of Jesus Christ. Can we not just believe and then go to heaven? NO! If you are an Authentic Christian you will fight the good fight and when you do you will find that this pursuit is filled with joy. Jesus said that He would be with His bride now, and into eternity (Matthew 28:20). When you are obedient to God and allow your faith to become Authentic Christian Faith you will understand that the glory of God gives to you a sense of trust, hope and an appreciation with all awe that He is Good, and you life will become filled with joy and gratitude.
It is true that people have in various degrees some sense of this joy and yet have not allowed themselves to be influenced to the utmost in their personality, life, circumstances, spiritual maturity, and others factors that are determining factors in developing character. It is true that faith in degrees will be characterized by some measure of all these factors. What is the common factor? It is the determination to devote themselves to the service and glory of God. A person must understand just how inadequate they are to achieve this goal to conform to God's commands, and to allow themselves to grow into the image of Jesus Christ. This is done by the empowerment of God through His grace and by the power of the Holy Spirit that lives in all Authentic Christians. All Authentic Christians are to be servants and children of God, to submit tho Him with the attitudes and actions that belong to such a relationship.
We are commanded: "Jesus said into him, Thu shall love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. this is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thu shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. On these two commandments hand all the law and the prophets" (Matthew 22:37-40). Do you want to love others? Then love God with all your heart, soul, and mind and then when this love is in you and your character changed, you will exercise God's love towards others, you will be conforming into the image of Jesus Christ. This requires determination, effort, but all will bring joy.
LORD, who shall abide in Thy tabernacle?
Who shall dwell in Thy holy hill?
He that walketh uprightly, and worketh
righteousness, and speaketh the truth
in his heart.
Psalm 15:1-2
Draw from God strength
Richard L. Crumb
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