July 2

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Christ Jesus…. made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. Philippians 2:5-7

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🔊 God’s first answer to mankind’s problems was to send His Son to become a man. Because all had sinned, there was no-one else good enough to show the human race the way of escape. Jesus shows the sinless life. Jesus was God but, as Paul explains, He became one of us. He took on human form in order to show us how to live and walk with God. Jesus Christ is God’s pattern for human beings. We cannot attain His way of life by self-effort, but we are able to attain it through His gift of salvation and the power of the Holy Spirit. By a new birth, we begin a new life, just as He began His life in the manger. We may not have the power to be totally sinless, but we do have the power to be holy and to live day by day without sin. If we walk with God, we will go through similar times in our lives to those that Jesus went through in His earthly life – through waiting years, temptations, anointing with power, agonising prayer, and works of power. We are to be like Him; Jesus came first to show us how to live, and then to give us His life. We are not to be like the disciples in the Gospels, but like Christ and like the disciples in their victorious living in the book of Acts. God wants you to give yourself to Him so that He can give His Spirit to you and live His life in you. What a beautifully simple plan!