 “I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called, with all lowliness and gentleness, with longsuffering, bearing with one another in love, endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.” Ephesians 4:1-6 (NKJV).
The hope of your calling is found in Jesus Christ, His faith and His baptism. By faith, you were baptized into Christ’s death and resurrection, resulting in you becoming a new person in Christ Jesus. The change has begun from the inside out. Your core being is new, resulting in a lifeline freedom to be new in your lifestyle. “But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.” 1 Peter 2:9 (NIV). Your new eternal identity is that you are a chosen, holy, royal priest who God dotes upon. You’re His special possession. It is from the power of this identity that you praise “Him who called you out of darkness into His wonderful light.” You core being is programmed to generate holy behaviors and holy words that praise God, illustrating to the world that you’re LIGHT and not darkness anymore. Along with the power of being a new person who is no longer defined by that old sinful person you once were, you also are filled with the same power that raised Jesus from a state of total death. “I also pray that you will understand the incredible greatness of God’s power for us who believe him. This is the same mighty power that raised Christ from the dead and seated him in the place of honor at God’s right hand in the heavenly realms.” Ephesians 1:19-20 (NKJV). There are many parallels here. Just as Christ was dead and now He’s alive, you were dead and now you’re alive. The power of God did this for both of you. Jesus Christ is no longer defined by death and shame, instead He’s been raised to the place of honor. Similarly, you are no longer defined by death and shame, as you have been seated in Heavenly places with Christ Jesus. As you realize the power for godliness that lives inside of your saintly spirit, you’ll have hope and motivation to align your soul and behaviors with your identity. When you participate in this sanctifying process, you will be empowered by the Holy Spirit, who empowered Jesus’s lifeless body. Was He successful? Will you be successful? “The Spirit of God, who raised Jesus from the dead, lives in you. And just as God raised Christ Jesus from the dead, he will give life to your mortal bodies by this same Spirit living within you.” Romans 8:11 (NLT). The Life-Giver lives inside of you and your spirit is infused with the life of Christ. You are steeped in the power of God and He has clothed you with the garments of righteousness. “I will greatly rejoice in the Lord, My soul shall be joyful in my God; For He has clothed me with the garments of salvation, He has covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decks himself with ornaments, and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.” Isaiah 61:10 (NKJV). This is who you are. Be the same person on the outside as you are on the inside. You are saved, so proudly wear your garments of salvation. You are righteous, so model for the watching world your garments of righteousness. Prayer: “Dear Heavenly Father, Teach me to walk in your ways, wearing my garments of salvation and my robe of righteousness. You have given them to me, and I want to wear them daily. Empower me to rebuke my flesh and choose to walk in the Spirit. Thank you for making me a righteous saint and for filling me with the power to be godly. Please baptize me in that power, just as you have baptize me in Christ Jesus. In Jesus’s name amen.”
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 “When he died, he died once to break the power of sin. But now that he lives, he lives for the glory of God. So you also should consider yourselves to be dead to the power of sin and alive to God through Christ Jesus.” Romans 6:10-11 (NLT).
You were born into slavery to sin and were a loyal subject in Satan’s kingdom. Of course, you didn’t recognize that you were a slave, as you thought that you were serving yourself. The spiritual death that defined your spirit also permeated you soul, deceiving you into believing that you were autonomous and free. As a born slave, you could only purchase your redemption or look to someone else to provide your redemption. All of the world’s religions offer a way for you to purchase your redemption, but all of them fail because the price of your redemption is eternity in Hell. This is why Jesus Christ came into your world to die for you. Since He was infinitely worthy as God’s Son and completely human as Mary’s son, Jesus was able to pay your redemption price with His life, achieving victory and rising again on the third day. Jesus died to purchase you from your estate of slavery to sin and Satan. He rose again to give you a life of righteousness. The power of Satan and sin over you has been broken and replaced with the power of God and righteousness in you. When you realize the power of Christ’s sacrifice to release you from slavery, you discover the key to the lifestyle of grace. His death bought your freedom and His life provides your righteousness. His righteousness is defining your spirit, and His righteousness is working through you in your godly desires and choices. “Since we have been united with him in his death, we will also be raised to life as he was. We know that our old sinful selves were crucified with Christ so that sin might lose its power in our lives. We are no longer slaves to sin. For when we died with Christ we were set free from the power of sin. And since we died with Christ, we know we will also live with him.” Romans 6:5-8 (NLT). If you are a new person in Christ, you have been immersed into His death and resurrection, resulting in the old you dying and the new you being created. This all happens the moment that you are regenerated and respond in faith. You now have a nuclear power plant of righteousness inside of you, producing megatons of power to live a godly life. “By his divine power, God has given us everything we need for living a godly life. We have received all of this by coming to know him, the one who called us to himself by means of his marvelous glory and excellence.” 2 Peter 1:3 (NLT). Your life was born from His grace when He called you to Himself and gave you life. That same source of power continues to flow from inside of you, straight from the Throne of Grace, where your Heavenly Father sits thinking about you. The power of Christ’s life lives inside of you. Since your old sinner spirit died with Jesus, your new saint spirit wakes up every day full of power to live in Jesus. Your will has been set free, and you are now free to be YOU. Take authority over your choices and live life to its fullest because righteousness defines the life. Prayer: “Dear Heavenly Father, I desire to live in the freedom to be righteous. I hate sin, and I want to live free from sin. Please empower my spirit to make godly choices. Your grace defines me as a saint. Please give me the grace to live a life characterized by holiness. In Jesus’s name amen.”  “May you always be filled with the fruit of your salvation—the righteous character produced in your life by Jesus Christ — for this will bring much glory and praise to God.” Philippians 1:11 (NLT).
We know our salvation is through faith in Jesus Christ and that our faith is a gift of God, produce through reading His Word. As you meditate on His Word, you will increase in faith, which will further fill you with the fruit of your salvation: the character of Christ living inside of you. It will no longer be you who live, but Christ who lives inside of you. You will be like a tree planted in Christ, drinking His Words and producing His fruits! This is the lifestyle of grace: Abiding in Him and naturally producing His fruits. “I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser… Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me. I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing… By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be My disciples.” John 15:1, 4-5, 8. (NKJV). Jesus commands you to abide in Him and produce fruit through that relationship with Him. How do you abide? You abide by living in His grace. When you abide in Jesus, the Holy Spirit opens up the pipelines of grace and saturates the soil of your soul, nourishing your spirit. The foundation for abiding in Jesus Christ is to spend time in His presence and listen to His perspective. Part of abiding is getting to know Jesus by reading about Him in the Bible and looking at His actions, attitudes and reactions. As you become familiar with His character and life choices, you will reflect His character in your own life choices. Another part of becoming close to Jesus is by praying. When you surrender your burdens and life’s stresses to Jesus, you become connected to Him. Prayer creates dependency on Him, as well as gives you opportunity to receive His guidance through the Holy Spirit. It is difficult to live in grace when you are alone, carrying your own burdens. It is easy to live in grace when you are choosing to give Him your burdens. This frees you up to trust and obey. A positive result of being connected to Jesus through reading the Bible and prayer is that your prayers become more effective. Simply, as you participate in prayer, you become more aligned with God’s will and your prayers produce more fruit. “You didn’t choose me. I chose you. I appointed you to go and produce lasting fruit, so that the Father will give you whatever you ask for, using my name.” John 15:16 (NLT). As you mirror the character of Jesus, you will align with the Father’s will, resulting in a strategic alliance for carrying out His Kingdom work. Remember that you’re a tree planted by the rivers of His Word, producing fruits of Christlikeness and enjoying the wholeness and health that His grace gives to you. “They are like trees planted along the riverbank, bearing fruit each season. Their leaves never wither, and they prosper in all they do.” Psalm 1:3 (NLT). Prayer: “Dear Heavenly Father, I belong to you. Please help me to abide in Jesus and live in your grace. Please forgive my sins and prune my dead branches. Please take my burdens and direct me in your paths of righteousness. In Jesus’s name amen.”  “Oh, the joys of those who do not follow the advice of the wicked, or stand around with sinners, or join in with mockers. But they delight in the law of the Lord, meditating on it day and night. They are like trees planted along the riverbank, bearing fruit each season. Their leaves never wither, and they prosper in all they do.” Psalm 1:1-3 (NLT).
What do you delight in? What dominates your thoughts as you go through your day? Are you following the advice of the wicked or thinking critically of others? Or, are you interested in God’s perspective on your day, thinking hope-filled, graceful thoughts about others? The environment that you immerse yourself in will try to saturate your soul. You will assimilate into the culture of the people you spend your days with. To experience joy and blessings, don’t listen to ungodly people for advice. Don’t listen to podcasts of vulgar, ungodly commentators. Turn off the sitcoms and worldly media shorts. Instead, meditate on God’s Word day and night. Wash your mind with the water of His wisdom. Hydrate your soul with the pure Words of God. “The words of the Lord are pure words, like silver tried in a furnace of earth, purified seven times.” Psalm 12:6 (NKJV). To meditate means to read a Scripture and think repeatedly about it’s meaning and application. As you do this, you will actively be sitting in the presence of God. Jesus is the Word of God personified. The Bible is the Word of God in written form. When you meditate on the written Word, you enter into the presence of the Personified Word. “You will show me the path of life; In Your presence is fullness of joy; at Your right hand are pleasures forevermore.” Psalm 16:11 (NKJV). It is there in His presence that you find the path of life. When you invite Jesus into your day, you find fullness of joy. Increase your capacity to experience joy by increasing your time in His presence through mediation on His Word. They are like trees planted along the riverbank, bearing fruit each season. Their leaves never wither, and they prosper in all they do.” Psalm 1:3 (NLT). As you root down into Christ, you will draw in the nourishment and be gardened by the Holy Spirit. You will be like a tree planted by the riverbank, healthy and fruitful. This requires participation from you in what type of seeds you’re planting. “I said, ‘Plant the good seeds of righteousness, and you will harvest a crop of love. Plow up the hard ground of your hearts, for now is the time to seek the Lord, that he may come and shower righteousness upon you.’.” Hosea 10:12 (NLT). Plant the good seeds of holiness, by reflecting the character of God. As you do this, you will produce fruits that reflect His core nature: Love. His love will define your perspective and characterize your actions. This will result in you being soaked by His righteousness! “May you always be filled with the fruit of your salvation—the righteous character produced in your life by Jesus Christ —f or this will bring much glory and praise to God.” Philippians 1:11 (NLT). We know our salvation is through faith in Jesus Christ and that our faith is a gift of God, produce through reading His Word. As you meditate on His Word, you will increase in faith, which will further fill you with the fruit of your salvation: the character of Christ living inside of you. It will no longer be you who live, but Christ who lives inside of you. You will be like a tree planted in Christ, drinking His Words and producing His fruits! This is the lifestyle of grace. We started by saying that the godly person rejects the advice and close fellowship of the ungodly, resulting in a healthy, fruitful life. This is the contrast between life in the flesh or life in the Spirit. “Those who live only to satisfy their own sinful nature will harvest decay and death from that sinful nature. But those who live to please the Spirit will harvest everlasting life from the Spirit.” Galatians 6:8 (NLT). Prayer: “Dear Heavenly Father, please fill me with your seeds of righteousness and rain on me a harvest of love and righteousness. Please give me a thirst for your Word, and a desire to sit in Your presence. Fill me with Your joy and make my leaves healthy. In Jesus’s name amen.”  “No, dear brothers and sisters, I have not achieved it (perfection), but I focus on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us.” Philippians 3:12-13 (NLT).
Regret is a sign that you are not perfect. If you were perfect, you would never regret anything. This is one of the reasons why living in grace is the answer to regret. You were unable to perfectly obey the law of God in your past, so there are memories that bring you regret. This is the purpose of the cross. Perfection sacrificed Himself on the cross because you are imperfect. He took all of the shame and consequences for your imperfection into Himself and gave you all of His honor and perfection. We call this justification because you are both forgiven by His sacrifice and you are acquitted by His perfect obedience. But, what does this have to do with regret? When you receive God’s grace, you receive it for all of your sins and embarrassing memories. To live in grace means that you are willing to let God’s grace cover even your biggest regrets. For the believer, every day is a new day for hope and growth. The spirit of perfection reminds you that you could have done better or should not have done that evil thing. The Holy Spirit reminds you that you are under grace for those terrible sins and that He is helping you do better now and in the future. The blood of Jesus is potent enough to delete those regrets. Will you release those regrets to Jesus? Will you choose to live under grace, rather than under the law? Say this out loud, “I choose to receive God’s grace for my regrets. I will no longer require perfection from myself for those moments of regret. In Jesus’s mighty name, spirit of perfectionism and spirit of regret, leave me now. I renounce all agreements with you. (blow out). I am forgiven and I am empowered to live a holy life!” “Well then, should we keep on sinning so that God can show us more and more of his wonderful grace? Of course not! Since we have died to sin, how can we continue to live in it?” Romans 6:1-2 (NLT). This verse answers an obvious question about living in grace. The delightful part of living in grace is that God graciously changes your capacity to be more in control of your mind, mouth and actions. This means that you can grow from those regretful experiences and learn how to not repeat them. You are dead to those sinful predispositions to sin, so you can now live in a way that creates less opportunity for regret. Replacing regret with grace erases your self-hate of the past and empowers your authentic saintly behaviors in the present. You can honestly say that you aren’t perfect yet and that you are focusing on your spiritual growth. You are pressing onward in a context of grace: Grace for your past and grace for growth. You can say with Paul that “I have not achieved it (perfection), but I focus on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us.” Philippians 3:12b-13 (NLT). Living in grace is being realistic about your inability to be perfect, which is why you need grace. Submit even your most regretful memories to be baptized in grace and washed away. Forgive yourself for not being perfect. Stop looking backward and expectantly look forward. Grace looks with hope into your future because the work of grace is to bring your soul into alignment with your spirit. Your spirit is already perfectly righteous and grace is making your soul increasingly holy, as you participate in your own sanctification. “By his divine power, God has given us everything we need for living a godly life.” 2 Peter 1:3a (NLT). Your future is bright because you are not doomed to repeat the mistakes of the past. Participate in God’s growth plan for you. He has given you everything you need to live a godly life, including grace for your imperfect moments. Prayer: “Dear Heavenly Father, I have regrets and I give them to you to wash away, I’m sorry that I’ve been holding myself to a perfect standard and not accepting your grace. I want to be perfect like you and holy like you. Please continue to fill me with your grace and increase the fruits of righteousness in my life. In Jesus’s name amen.”  “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” 1 John 1:9 (NKJV).
Ask yourself, “Why is God faithful (relationship term) and just (legal term) to forgive me of my sins and cleanse me from all unrighteousness?” There is only one answer for you, if you are living in grace: Jesus paid it all. Forgiveness is a legal decision with a corresponding relational aspect. When you forgive someone, you give the injustice of the entire action and resulting trauma to Jesus Christ. You say, “Jesus, I’m releasing (name) to you for what they did to me when (describe situation) and I’m giving you all of the injustice that they caused me from that action.” The legal injustice has been deposited into the hands of Jesus, so you no longer carry that burden or bitterness. You can also release the shame to him at the same time. With the legal part of forgiveness relinquished to Jesus, you now have a choice to either resume the relationship or not. If the offending person is super toxic, you probably will decide not to continue the relationship. However, if the person you forgive is willing to work on a healthy friendship, you probably will continue to invest in them. With God, He chooses to legally forgive you and be reconciled with you in the relationship. The purchase price of Christ’s life, blood and death is sufficient to legally release you and relationally restore you. The miracle is that you are restored as a regenerated person. God doesn’t have to choose whether to remain in a toxic relationship because He takes the initiative and rebirths you as a saint who desires a healthy relationship with Him. The grace of God is so amazing that it turns an enemy into a close friend, changing you on the inside. As you look at yourself in the mirror of your past, you may see some deeply toxic moments, where you sinned egregiously. These time periods in your life or events can haunt you with regret and self-hatred. There is only one place where you can take these hated memories: The Cross of Jesus. Is the death of Jesus sufficient to absorb the guilt, shame and regrets of those specific sins? Or, will you refuse to accept His sacrifice for those horrible actions? Honestly, it’s easy to accept forgiveness for sins that weren’t that bad. It can be difficult to accept forgiveness and cleansing for the really bad sins in your past. Take a minute to accept God’s forgiveness for those specific regretful sins in your past. “Dear Heavenly Father, I give you (describe the events) and I choose to accept your forgiveness for them. I know that Jesus’s sacrifice was enough to pay for those horrible actions. I choose to not hold myself to a perfect standard of obedience to the law in my past. Instead, I choose to accept the blood of Jesus to cover my imperfections.” “There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit.” Romans 8:1 (NKJV). Who is there to condemn you, except the Accuser and your own thoughts? If you’re a believer, you are wired to walk according to the Spirit, denying the world, the flesh and Satanic spirits. There is NOW no condemnation for you because you are in Christ Jesus. Do you continue to live in condemnation for the sinful deeds of the past? Now that you’ve accepted God’s forgiveness for those specific sins, you need to stop living in condemnation of yourself. God is not condemning you. He is loving you and appreciating you. God has forgiven you and doesn’t condemn you. Reflect His image of grace and do the same for yourself. Join Paul, Peter, and David, choosing to forgive yourself and give yourself grace for your past. “Dear Heavenly Father, I accept your love and affirmation for me, despite my failures in the past. Thank you for forgiving me. I choose to forgive myself for not being perfect and for doing those horrible things in my past (be specific). I accept your cleansing and I will no longer condemn myself because your grace is sufficient to cover all of my sins, even the worst ones. Thank you! In Jesus’s name, amen.”  “Make it your goal to live a quiet life, minding your own business and working with your hands, just as we instructed you before. Then people who are not believers will respect the way you live, and you will not need to depend on others.” 1 Thessalonians 4:11-12 (NLT).
In the Garden of Eden, Adam and Eve were blessed with a quiet life of stewardship. Together, they used their talents to manage the garden, working with their hands. Adam’s sin brought death and stress into the garden, which also brought sweat into stewardship. Jesus brings you back into the Garden of Eden, where you can walk with Him throughout your day and you can steward your gifts in His presence. He does not take the causes of stress away, but He does give you His rest and wisdom. The quiet life does not mean an effortless life. It means a life that is filled with stewardship and contentment. Instead of envying the success of others, you focus on your own work. Instead of gossiping, you mind your own business. Work with the talents that God has given you and watch Him bless the outcomes. This is a lifestyle that unbelievers will respect. Also, you won’t have to depend on others for financial assistance. The lazy person envies others and always has an excuse for why he is without money or opportunities. The good steward lifts others up and isn’t threatened by the success of others. It’s a lifestyle of stewardship and godliness that produces a quiet life of blessings. Are you creating a quiet life? Are you stewarding your money, time, and talents so that you don’t have to depend on others for their provision? Work quietly with your hands and mind your own business. This will result in others respecting your lifestyle. “For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.” Ephesians 2:10 (NKJV). God created you in Christ Jesus as a faithful saint who is capable of doing God’s good works. This is part of the challenge: You have to use you will to choose to participate. Your Creator made you so that you could live in His path, doing His good works. You are the only person who is a perfect fit for doing the good works that God has planned for you. God has created you to be a faithful saint, inside and out. Jesus already made your faithful and holy inside. Now, you get to shine that identity into the darkness that surrounds you by doing your Father’s good works. God has chosen you and created you. He’s with you! “I know the Lord is always with me. I will not be shaken, for he is right beside me. No wonder my heart is glad, and I rejoice. My body rests in safety. For you will not leave my soul among the dead or allow your holy one to rot in the grave. You will show me the way of life, granting me the joy of your presence and the pleasures of living with you forever. Psalm 16:8-12 (NLT). Prayer: “Dear Heavenly Father, Please take away all darkness in my soul and replace it with goodness. Please bless me to be a good steward for You. Please give me the joy of being in Your presence and give me rest for my soul. Please lead me in the way of life and help me to live a quiet life and to mind my own business. In Jesus’ name, amen.”  “Do everything without complaining and arguing, so that no one can criticize you. Live clean, innocent lives as children of God, shining like bright lights in a world full of crooked and perverse people. Hold firmly to the word of life.” Philippians 2:14-16a (NLT).
Be firmly anchored into the Word of Life. Remember, wickedness brings death and godliness produces life. The world uses words to argue, complain, deceive, gossip, slander, betray, curse, tear down, bully, hurt, manipulate, and control others. All of these uses produce pain and death. As a believer, you can choose to produce darkness or to produce light. “Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruit.” Proverbs 18:21 (NKJV). Are your words producing the fruit of life in yourself and in your relationships? Do your family members enjoy listening to you? Is your speech a blessing to others or a curse? “Out of the same mouth proceed blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not to be so.” James 3:10 (NKJV). Light is energy that helps bring life to plants, oxygen to the atmosphere and Vitamin D into your body. Light is a blessing that illuminates your way throughout your day. Spiritually, light fills your soul and pours out as wisdom, joy, blessings, and godliness. Is your home a place of blessing or drama? Is your mouth a fountain of cursing or forgiveness? Does your heart pour out bitterness or hope? “Guard your heart above all else, for it determines the course of your life.” Proverbs 4:23 (NLT). The world operates in lust, greed, hatred, selfishness and divisions. Even the charity of the world is man-centered. Your hearts can produce these worldly fruits, if you don’t pull out those weeds and plant seeds of righteousness. Watch your attitude and words. Instead of being negative or judgmental, be kind and forgiving. Live a clean life and be intentionally innocent. Shine the light of God’s word into the world. Shining God’s word requires you to learn God’s words and apply His ways to your thinking and lifestyle. What is your reputation? Are you known for drama, control or gossip? Or, are you known for wisdom, restraint and kindness? “But now you yourselves are to put off all these: anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy language out of your mouth… Therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, put on tender mercies, kindness, humility, meekness, longsuffering; bearing with one another, and forgiving one another, if anyone has a complaint against another; even as Christ forgave you, so you also must do.” Colossians 3:8, 12-13 (NKJV). The light of Jesus is the opposite to the darkness of Satan. But, Jesus is more than just the opposite of Satan. Jesus is infinitely more good than Satan is evil. Satan produces anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy language. Through Jesus, you are chosen, holy, beloved, merciful, kind, humble, meek, patient, forgiving! Prayer: “Dear Heavenly Father, You are light and you have put Your light inside of me. Please teach me how to use my words to spread your light. Please forgive me for sinning with my words. I want to bless others with my speech. In Jesus’ name, amen.”  “Be filled with the Spirit, speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord, giving thanks always for all things to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, submitting to one another in the fear of God.” Ephesians 5:18b-21 (NKJV).
Being filled with the Holy Spirit is the path to living a life that matches your identity as a child of God. You must intentionally make lifestyle choices that produce a life of singing God’s praises, thanking Him and being a humble listener to others showing that you respect God. What do you think the lifestyle choices are that put you in the right mindset and relationships to be filled with the Spirit? Lifestyle Choice #1: Think Biblically. To be filled with the Spirit, you must think truthfully and reject unbiblical cultural ideas and practices. You must evaluate and tear down every worldly philosophy and replace them with God’s thoughts. “And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.” Romans 12:1 (NKJV). Lifestyle Choice #2: Have Jesus’ Perspective. The Bible says that you have the mind of Christ. It is there already, so you have to choose to use that mind. Simply, you must think from Jesus’ perspective. Live your life like He did. “Those who say they live in God should live their lives as Jesus did.” 1 John 2:6 (NLT). You have received the perfect righteousness of Jesus Christ, so live in a way that brings that from the inside of you into the outside world. “As you therefore have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him, rooted and built up in Him and established in the faith, as you have been taught, abounding in it with thanksgiving. Beware lest anyone cheat you through philosophy and empty deceit, according to the tradition of men, according to the basic principles of the world, and not according to Christ.” Colossians 2:6-9 (NKJV). Lifestyle Choice # 3: Walk in the Spirit. You must reject the world, the flesh and the devil, if you are going to walk in the Spirit. There is no room for lies, manipulation, control, drama, bitterness, anger, lust, pride, guilt, shame, selfishness or rudeness if the Holy Spirit is going to fill your lifestyle. Walking in the Spirit means valuing His choices, following His guidance and His Word. Walking in the Spirit includes honoring His feelings and insisting on personal holiness. The Holy Spirit will fill your life with His characteristics: “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law.” Galatians 5:22-23 (NKJV). Lifestyle Choice # 4: Choose Your Attitude. God is joyful and sings. He also enjoys blessing others and giving grace to those who least deserve His grace. Every day, you get to choose to have a Holy Spirit attitude about your life and relationships. “The Lord is my strength and my shield; My heart trusted in Him, and I am helped; Therefore my heart greatly rejoices, and with my song I will praise Him.” Psalm 28:7 (NKJV). Prayer: “Dear Heavenly Father, I want to be full of the Holy Spirit and walk in His Presence. I want to make godly lifestyle choices. Please teach me how to be in the Spirit. In Jesus’ name amen.”  “Abba, Father,” he cried out, “everything is possible for you. Please take this cup of suffering away from me. Yet I want your will to be done, not mine.” Mark 14:36 (NLT).
Jesus walked into the storm of torture, shame and death with this word “Abba” on His lips. “Abba” means Dad and is the name that a beloved child would use for his or her dad. The relationship that Jesus demonstrated with his Dad, Father is a beautiful combination of trust, obedience, and love. As the Son, Jesus loved His Dad, Father so much that He chose to obey, even when obedience would cost His health and life. Why would He do this? For love. Jesus drank the cup of suffering so that you can drink of the cup of blessing. There will be times when you will drink from the cup of suffering, yet you will always also be drinking from your Dad’s cup of blessing. Why didn’t Jesus call His Father by a more formal name in His prayer in the garden of Gethsemane? Are you drinking from a cup of suffering right now? Pour out your heart to your Dad, Father. Trust in His will and submit to His plans. You will soon realize that His Friendship and Parenting is the source of your blessings. “For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, ‘Abba, Father.’” Romans 8:15 (NKJV). When you are in times of suffering, fear can enslave your mind and emotions. Fear could have enslaved Jesus, making Him ineffective in His mission. But, He relied on His Dad, Father, to whom He cried out with loud cries and tears. Because Jesus conquered fear, sin, and death, you can now live in His victory. You can now live in reliance on and trust in your Abba, Father. Say this truth proclamation out loud: “My Dad, Father chose me in Jesus Christ before the foundation of the world, so that I am holy and blameless before Him in love. My Dad, Father predestined me to adoption as a son or daughter by Jesus Christ to Himself. He did this because it pleased Him and it was His will. My life is now an opportunity show how wonderful and glorious God’s grace is. It is through His grace that He made me accepted in the Beloved, who is my Big Brother Jesus Christ!” (Ephesians 1:4-6). He will feed His flock like a shepherd; He will gather the lambs with His arm, and carry them in His bosom, and gently lead those who are with young.” Isaiah 40:11 (NKJV). Your Dad, Father loves you and cares for you. Be His little lamb. Let Him carry you close to His chest and hug you. Follow the Shepherd and hold His hand. Let Him gently lead you through the meadows, valleys, and along the scary cliffs. Don’t try to earn God’s love. Instead, accept His love. Trust and obey, like Jesus did when He was living His life for you here on Earth. God’s favor or love is a shield that protects His beloved children. “But let all who take refuge in you rejoice; let them sing joyful praises forever. Spread your protection over them, that all who love your name may be filled with joy. For you bless the godly, O Lord; you surround them with your shield of love.” Psalm 5:11-12 (NLT). Prayer: “Dear Dad, Father, I take refuge in you. Please bless me with your close relationship and surround me with your favor and shield of love. In Jesus’ name amen.” |
