bible study

Today is Day 2 of Week 2 in our study titled, Victorious Living.

The theme of our study today is finding victory in a renewed spirit. This could not be a more timely study for me. I hope that it comes at a perfect time for you today. Have you lit a candle to prepare for your prayer time today? I would love to see a picture here in the comments or on my Facebook page! I would also love to see pictures of your workbook pages!

Behold, the Lord has proclaimed
    to the end of the earth:
Say to the daughter of Zion,
    “Behold, your salvation comes;
behold, his reward is with him,
    and his recompense before him.”

Isaiah 62:11

There will come a time when the Lord comes again.We should seek after holiness, for He comes for His servants and saints. His promises are proclaimed in the Bible and they shall come to pass. Spend time in prayer today renewing your spirit. His salvation is with us. The world may be turning upside down but our God is steadfast. His promises live on forever. He will never go back on His word and salvation, His reward.

Now may the God of peace himself sanctify you completely, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.

1 Thessalonians 5:23

Oh, how I love this passage! God IS peace. Paul prays that the “God of peace” will sanctify us (to set apart as holy). He speaks of the WHOLE person-spirit, soul AND body, for we know that we are all of these. One cannot exist without the other. So, Paul is praying in his letter that God will sanctify (make holy) our body, mind and spirit (the WHOLE) of us. Such beautiful words, in essence praying that God would touch His people with His complete peace, from the inward part of us to the spiritual part of us that we cannot deny ( that which is the sum of who we are), and our physical being, (the temple by which the Holy Spirit makes a way through the world).

As you are praying today, think about the word, “holiness”. When we are sanctified by God in our mind, body and spirit, we are renewed. At the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, we shall be renewed and find our final victory. As Christians, this is what gives us strength, hope and encouragement to carry on in the faith. This assurance brings us from victory to victory, knowing that the things we face here today are only temporary.

to put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.

Ephesians 4:22-24

To “put on the new self” is to change our lives to put on righteousness. We have a desire to go to heaven when the time comes, but we often lack the discipline to change our lives. As a Christian, your life should look fundamentally different than before you were in the faith. We must have a lifestyle of daily repentance, growing in faith and relationship with Christ. When we receive new life in Christ and we walk in it, our hearts will show us areas that need to be conformed or changed more into the likeness of Christ rather than in the futility of our own mind.

As we put off our old lives and put on the new life, change happens. As we grow in the faith and we come to know Jesus more personally we let go of our “deceitful desires”.

Lord, because I am your child, my victory has already been won. You will come again and bring your reward with you. During these troubled times here on earth, I pray that you will continually renew the spirit within me, that I may find comfort. Let all of your creation rejoice as you make your proclamations to the ends of the earth. Amen.

Praise: Praise the Lord, for He says to rejoice! I have victory through the power of the Holy Spirit.

Take time today to list some times when God brought you comfort and a renewed spirit while you were going through a trial:

Give God praise that He is able to renew your spirit. Write three praises:

Think about the message today and write a prayer of victory for the ways that God spoke to your heart.