But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ – 1 Corinthians 15:57
Written in “Win Each Day” is that those who accept Christ are all unified as one in Christ. They are one team that is devoted and willing to work together to make a difference. Satan can’t match up against the most unique aspect of the church which is the hearts and minds of its members.
See the victory because as the song Battle Belongs by Phil Wickham points out, each battle we face belongs to the Lord. Nothing can stand against His power and He wins every battle.
The local church I’m a member of has an app as a spiritual resource. There are live sermons on-line, prayer request can be submitted, and there is a check in to register attendance. Each local church is a part of the same team called the universal church that can make a difference on God’s winning team. On a sports team, they try to win each play and in life we try to win each day.
As explained in today’s reading of Ephesians 2:11-22, the blood of Christ makes unity possible for Gentile and Jew because there is forgiveness of sin. Those who accept Christ are all unified as one in Christ.
Any successful team must be devoted and willing to work together; it’s no different with God’s team with each member belonging to the universal church. The foundation of the church is the apostles and prophets with Christ Jesus as the chief cornerstone.
The hardest thing for Satan to match up against is the most unique aspect of the church which is the hearts and minds of its members who each have spiritual strengths to benefit the whole. Each individual can think about ideas and take action on them by using their God given strengths.
I remember my pastor Steve Ramsdell from years ago who said once in a sermon that a church’s mission is not to compete against other churches. A church’s mission is to transform people into the likeness of Jesus Christ and into people that others want to emulate. The mission is to put hell out of business one person at a time. With this type of thinking, there is off-the-charts capacity through the power that Jesus provides.
To get in the game,think of ways to help a neighbor or lift up a friend with encouragement. Each individual can come up with ways in which they can use their talents for God’s glory. Here is a link to some practical steps to following God’s Plan. This day with God, start stepping ahead with confidence because God’s plan for us will always bring victory.
This day we are growing in faith step by step. We are connected to each other in unity through the blood of Christ. Our greatest accomplishment in life is accepting Christ as Savior and we celebrate today the victory. Each time a new person accepts Christ as Savior, there is a cause for celebration because we know that the best days are ahead. Amen.
As far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us. – Psalm 103:12
God through Christ gives us a restart in life as explained in “Reboot”; we are refreshed, cleared, and ready to do what we were intended to do.The response for this gift of grace should be to do good works. To use our God given talent to help others by letting good works flow naturally out of who we’ve been made to be.
As you listen to the song East to West by Casting Crowns, find rest in knowing that the arms of God’s mercy removed your transgressions as far as the east is from the west. Think of ways to demonstrate to those around you that you are God’s workmanship.
From Beaumont in east Texas to El Paso in west Texas, it’s almost 900 miles. A person could leave Beaumont when the sun comes up and if they make good time, could arrive as the sun goes down in El Paso. This day with God, remember that as far as the east is to the west, He forgives and separates our sin from us.
This concept of separating sin from us is explained in Ephesians 2:1-10. God takes the initiative to offer grace. This gift of God enables the Spirit to wrap around our heart. This day, let us take the opportunity to open this gift from God and tell others what we’ve received.
The consequences of following the ways of the world is death but because of God’s great love for us, He has taken the initiative in saving us from these consequences by making us alive with Christ. It is by grace we have been saved (v. 5).
Some things in life just can’t be explained and we ask questions. The genius Albert Einstein said to never stop questioning. He was quoted one time to say that the important thing is to learn from yesterday, live for today, and hope for tomorrow.
Sometimes computers do weird things. I work with them as a part of my job and there are times when we can’t find a reason for an application not working. We just come up with a work around that usually involves a manual process to make the application do what it was intended to do until we can find a permanent fix. Sometimes the application faces contention with other applications or it’s running slow because of a recent software upgrade. The action taken many times is simply to reboot.
God through Christ gives us a reboot in life; we are refreshed, cleared, and ready to do what we were intended to do.The response for this gift of grace should be to do good works. To use our God given talent to help others by letting good works flow naturally out of who we have been made to be. Our good works demonstrate to others that we are His workmanship. We are not saved by works but for works. Our good works are a result of our salvation.1
Lord, we understand that some things in life just can’t be explained but today we find rest in knowing that the arms of Your mercy have removed our transgressions as far as the east is from the west. You took the initiative and Your gift of love motivates us to use our talents. We start by doing small things and step by step, they turn into big things for Your glory. Amen
This Day With God - A Spiritual Journey 