God our Heavenly Father is the Almighty King! We know that we are children of the Lord – the King’s children. Yet we live our lives as common peasants of this world. We look at our lives and we see all of the flaws, the weaknesses, the sins we struggle over and we certainly don’t feel like royalty. The Lord wants us to fulfill our destiny and live mindful of the fact that we are His royal children – blessed abundantly and living in His favor!
LIVING LIKE ROYALTY
I have no doubt that every person reading this has a deep desire to have a close, personal walk with the Lord. In our hearts we desire spiritual victory and success.
Yet maybe you feel like I do sometimes…
I hear a great sermon about living for God or I go to a ladies’ activity or a conference and I get stirred to be closer to Him and “I just want to be close to my Heavenly Father – the King of Kings!”
I truly intend to be closer and follow through on my decisions.
Yet somehow, it seems like the more I want to do what’s right, the harder it seems to follow through. Anyone else ever felt like that?
I have gotten so discouraged sometimes. I have been so determined and yet it seemed that I continued to fail.
SOMETIMES IT HAS SEEMED THAT THE HARDER I TRY TO CHANGE MYSELF, THE MORE I FALL AND FAIL! I know the King wants me to live my life in the fullness of His favor – Jesus said in John 10:10,
“I am come that I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly!”
Our Heavenly Father doesn’t want us to live a life of failure and regret – nor does He want us to live a life full of spiritual pride because we think we’ve achieved a spiritual level higher than those around us. He wants us to live in His ABUNDANCE – He wants us to LIVE LIKE ROYALTY!
WHILE WE KNOW THIS IS TRUE – WHY DO WE LIVE OUR CHRISTIAN LIVES AS THOUGH WE’RE BARELY MAKING IT?
WHY DOES IT SEEM LIKE THE HARDER WE TRY TO BE CHRIST-LIKE, WE SEEM FAIL EVEN MORE???
THE LORD SAID WE’RE MORE THAN CONQUERORS – WE’RE HIS CHILDREN –
WE ARE ROYALTY! – YET WE ARE LIVING LIKE SPIRITUAL PAUPERS!!!!
A while back I was reading the Bible and God showed me something that helped me so much.
The Bible reads in John 15:1-15…
“I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman.
Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away: and every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit.
Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you.
Abide in me, and I in you.
As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me.
I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.”
THE BIBLE TEACHES US…If we are going to see true and lasting changes in our lives we must abide in Christ!
Yet while God tells us that in order to be successful in our relationship with Him by abiding in Him and totally depending upon Him – we often try to do just the opposite!
We try to live the Christian life on our own willpower!
We lean upon ourselves to get through this life when the truth is – it won’t ever work that way!
Look at how He ends verse 5 – “for without me ye can do NOTHING!”
In order to have spiritual success, I must abide in Christ. What does it mean to “ABIDE?”
To ABIDE means to be “strongly anchored in” or
“totally dependent upon” – “to dwell within!”
How do we do this? How do we “Abide in Christ?”
Jesus used the object lesson of a grape vine. Just as a grape can’t grow and thrive on it’s own – it must be connected to and totally dependent upon the vine in order to grow and develop as it should – we must live a devoted life totally dependent upon Christ to grow and develop as we should in our spiritual life!
God tells us to have a heart that is “strongly anchored in” or “totally dependent upon” – “dwell within Christ!”
I must live my life – moment by moment – each and every day leaning upon the Lord and abiding in Him!
Our lives must be inseparably linked to the Lord in each and every area!
How do I do this???
How do I daily abide in Christ, living dependent upon Him?
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Develop the Habit of Drawing Near to God.
James 4:8 says, “Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you.”
How do we draw near???
Only through routine, regular exposure to God’s Word and by spending time talking to Him can we learn to abide in Christ!
If I am to grow more and more dependent upon Him and I am supposed to remain anchored on Him – I must pull in closer!
IF I AM NOT AS CLOSE TO THE LORD AS I SHOULD BE – IT’S ME THAT’S MOVED – NOT HIM!
WE MUST be in the Word of God.
Look again at John 15 verse 3 - “Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you.”
We cannot fully learn to abide in Christ until we are cleaned by His Word and changed by it!
You will never be successful on your Christian walk until you are in the Bible for yourself!
What is the best way to do this?
How can I draw nigh to God through His Word?
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Design a Personal Time for Drawing Near to God.
As women, we’re used to planning, designing and scheduling the events of life! We know how to pull off parties, weddings, holidays and even retreats like this one!
When it comes to planning your time each day with God, it should be no different – especially when you consider its eternal value!
When? Decide what kind of time would work best for your relationship with the Lord!
Keep in mind – Something is better than nothing! The only “wrong” time to pick for having time alone with the Lord would be “no” time! Pick a time that matches your lifestyle!
(Early bird or night owl?)
Once you decide the time, make a standing appointment with God at the time that best fits each day.
Where? It doesn’t matter where you meet the Lord, as long as you do!
What Will You Need? Bible, highlighter, pen, paper or notebook, dictionary, coffee… Whatever you will need, make sure it’s there and ready to go!
Do whatever it takes to get the Bible into your life! Maybe you aren’t a great reader. That’s ok – use a Bible app and listen to the Word of God read to you!
Any Bible is better than none!
Allow Him to speak to you, but also take time to speak to Him.
Pray, but in an ever continuing conversation.
(Pray without ceasing.)
Talk to the Lord throughout your day.
Include Him in everything!
Share what’s happening with Him.
Stay in constant communication with your Lord.
He’s listening!
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Yield to and Walk in the Spirit at All Times.
The Bible says in Romans 6:11-16
“Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof.
Neither yield ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin: but yield yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God. For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace.
What then? shall we sin, because we are not under the law, but under grace? God forbid. Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness?”
The Bible also says in Galatians 5:16:
“This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh.”
I must yield myself to the power and control of the Holy Spirit and allow him to guide and direct my thoughts, emotions and actions continually. I must then live each day “Spirit sensitive” and listen to His directions.
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Envision the makeover of your life!
The Bible says in Jeremiah 29:11 “For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.”
Jeremiah 29:11
God dreams for you! He tells us over and over in His Word that He dreams for our lives!
Ladies, you sit here today, as a woman of faith not failure! God loves you and longs to be close to you. He wants to use you each and every day. I think that oftentimes we just fail to see it!
How we think about ourselves is so very important.
God’s Words says in Proverbs 23:7, “As a man thinketh in his heart, so is he!”
You will be what you think of being! How you view your future is usually what it will become!
As beloved daughters of the King, we should dream of all that God could use our lives to accomplish. We should dream of living a life wholly abiding in Him!
Just imagine what kind of transformation would occur in your life and in your Christian walk if you lived out these principles each day! Then truly you would be living like the royalty that you are!
Lynn Fanelli says
What a wonderful article! Thanks Penny it was as always very helpful as well as a great reminder!