Author: Charlie Brignac

Jesus Christ dwells within each Christian.  He is a living fount of holiness, righteousness and loving kindness.  If we had access to any other resource that we could access daily to be given gifts of similar value in our lives, would we ever miss a day of reaching out for our bounty?

Why is it that we allow ourselves to be distracted from using daily the most precious resource in existence?  May each of us be steadfast in drawing from the strength of Our Lord daily.  May the the world see Christ in us each and every day.

A day in the life of the average Christian goes something like this – wake, quick prayer, on to the work of the day, quick prayer, sleep.  Some days may include a little time for the Word of God and little extra time may be spent in prayer if something of need has arisen.

God is present with us at all times.  Why don’t we spend more time including Him in our day?  If our earthly father spent a day with us, did we not involve him in our activities?  And if we spent at day at his house, did we not engage him in constant communication?  Why is it so different for Our Heavenly Father?

Let us learn to delight in the presence of God in our lives.  Let our praise and worship become a constant flow surrounding our intermittent prayers for our needs.  Let us prepare for the time when we will spend all of our time in Our Heavenly Father’s house.  

Scripture records that our prayers are stored in God’s bowls in heaven.  When we are praying we are filling His holy arsenal.  At His perfect timing, He pours out the prayers of His children to fulfill every need and to destroy the work of the enemy.

It pleases God to allow us to participate in the dispensation of His powers through our prayers.  God also uses our prayerful service from here on earth to make us ready to serve Him when we join Him in our true home for all eternity.

The most difficult part about getting in sync with God’s plan for our lives is recognizing that He is the one in control.  We get out of sync with God when we try to control our lives instead of submitting to His lordship.  We have difficulty keeping in sync with God when we let our trials distract us from His perfect plans for our lives.

We will begin our synchronization with God when we begin to understand the blessings that come from our trials because God has allowed them for our good.  We will accelerate the synchronization process when we look forward to each day without fear or worry because we know that He is in control.  We will perfect the synchronization process when we stand before God and hear the words “well done good and faithful servant” because we trusted in the wisdom of God instead of our own.

In 2 Corinthians 12:9, we are taught that His strength is made perfect in our weakness.  God knows how weak our flesh is.  Through His loving kindness, mercy and grace, He provides a way for us to overcome our weakness.

When we come to realize that there is nothing in us that is worthy, we open ourselves up to receive the perfecting work of Christ.  As we submit to His lordship, our lives are transformed.  As we die to selves and allow His Spirit to flourish within us, the evidence of His presence in our lives is visible for all to see.

Throughout our lives, we have been instructed to set goals and to develop step-by-step plans to reach the dreams that we have for ourselves.  Most of us have followed our self developed plans to some extent or another.  In the eyes of the world, some have been more successful than others.  Regardless of success, trying to live the dream is what the substance of life has been about for most of us.

God’s supernatural world is totally different.  His plan for us has nothing to do with our earthly dreams.  His plan is to prepare us to live with Him for all eternity.  Everything we go through in life is part of the process that God puts us through or allows us to go through in order to prepare us for life with Him in new Jerusalem. The good news is that following God’s plan will lead us to a life beyond the imagination of our fondest earthly dreams.   

Whenever trials arise in our lives, the natural response is to focus on the problem, the issue or the pain.  The supernatural response is to focus on the solution – Jesus Christ.  Not only will He take you through the trial to a better place, He will bring you out of the trial stronger than ever. 

Peter wanted Jesus to avoid the Crucifixion and all the trials associated with it.  Had Jesus done that, we would not have a plan for our salvation.  Jesus rebuked Peter because He knew that the trials of the Crucifixion were necessary.

Actions speak louder than words.  Nowhere is this old adage more applicable than in our living testimony.  No one wants to learn about Jesus unless they have seen Jesus in us.  Our greatest orations will never win a soul without a visible expression in our lives that we are living what we are teaching.

Let those around us see peace, love, joy, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control expressed in our lives.  Then they will seek the source of these gifts without us asking, teaching or preaching.

Praise and thanks to the Lord for He will faithfully fulfill His promise to finish every good work in us that He begins.  He will steadfastly stand by us even as we stumble over and over again.  Just as a loving parent who is training a child to ride a bike will pick up their child over and over again until they get it right, God will pick us up time and time again until we get it right.

Of course, we will never get it completely right until we stand before Him in heaven.  Nonetheless, He never forsakes us as we learn to fulfill His purposes for our lives.  Hallelujah!!

We are commanded to love one another as we love ourselves.  How can we be called to that level of love?  Doesn’t God know how impossible that is for us to fulfill that level of love for others?  Of course, He does.  That is precisely why He expressed His perfect love and forgiveness toward us through the life, death and resurrection of His Son, Jesus.

When we accept Jesus as our Savior, He indwells in us, giving us the capacity to love as He does.  If we try to relate to others through our own capabilities, our frailties will be exposed.  If we let the power of His Spirit reign in our lives, we are enabled to become vessels of His perfect love and forgiveness.  We are then able to meet the great command to love one another as ourselves.