“Our Daily Bread”   

http://odb.org/2012/09/16/from-duty-to-delight/

The Daily Devotions of Greg Laurie                                  

http://www.harvest.org/devotional/daily-devotions/home.ht

Romans 13:14… But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to fulfill its lusts.  (NKJV)

I know I have used this phrase to “puton the Lord Jesus Christ” in the past; associating putting on God’s whole set of spiritual armor, with putting on the Lord Jesus Christ Himself… God’s complete set of spiritual armor protects the Christian from Satan’s attacks; as written about by the apostle Paul, in…Ephesians 6:10-20…

Today, I am offering a different take on the same phrase… Just like getting dressed in the morning, here are my thoughts on putting on the Lord Jesus Christ… I suggest that Christians wake up in the morning…thank God for protecting them through the night…and ask God to guide and direct them through the endless pitfalls and mine fields that they will have to navigate during the upcoming day…  God wants us to come to Him for His help… The mistake many of us make is to think we can get by without asking for God’s help… This is our flesh (or Satan) telling us these lies, which will lead us away from God…

But as Christians, we can’t expect God to help us, until we come clean, and confess and repent of any and all sins…1 John 1:9… If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.  (NKJV)

Before I go to bed, I usually ask the Lord to forgive me of any sins that I might have overlooked seeking forgiveness for during the day… But as Christians, it doesn’t hurt to make sure that we start our day by walking with the Lord…  With all of our sins confessed to Him, we are again deemed righteous in the Lord’s sight, and Spirit filled… Our intentions should be to let the Holy Spirit take control of every step we make for the day…

As a Spirit filled Christian, we are at peak strength to take on the world…  But our strength comes from our Helper, the Holy Spirit (John 14:26); who we must allow to step in and guide us at every turn… What better place to remind you again, of what the wise Solomon wrote, in…Proverbs 3:5-6…  Trust in the Lord with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding; ⁶ In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths.  (NKJV)

If you run into a roadblock during the day…before you open your mouth with anything but kind words, just stop and say to yourself…“What would Jesus say or do ??”  I call this, to “Think Jesus” first…and then respond… The apostle James gives us some similar advice, in…James 1:19-20… So then, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath; ²⁰ for the wrath of man does not produce the righteousness of God.  (NKJV)

As a Christian, God must be the focus and the very center of our lives… By “Putting on Christ”, and keeping Him on all day long…you should experience a supernatural peace (Philippians 4:6-7) that will allow you to go through your day (even a day filled with trials) with a joy and a peace in your heart that only comes from God…

Heavenly Father, I pray that You would urge all Christians to “put on the Lord Jesus Christ” each and every morning before they start their day…  I pray Lord, that this peace will be experienced by all Christians who come to You with their confessions of sin… And that as Spirit filled Christians; they will seek to walk in Your will and Your ways…  I pray for this sweet fellowship for all of us…in Jesus’ most precious name and for His sake…Amen…

written by bruce r mills