The following by no means intended to be an exhaustive or novel list, just a few essential principles those of us who’ve been chosen by Christ and who have chosen Him in return need to be constantly aware of:

1) Our substance. We are new creations. Our sin-soaked humanity was crucified with Christ (This is cool because crucifixion/death had no power over Him, and so it is with us if we’re crucified with Him, death has no power over “with Christ” crucifixions. Then we were reborn into The Kingdom of Heaven – into The Kingdom of The Christ – The Kingdom of Light (The Kingdom looks different – is expressed differently on earth – differently in this reality than in the heavens or in Heaven. More on that another time).

2) Our identity. As a Child of The King and citizen of Heaven, the new life we’ve been given, inherited – especially as Gentile Believers a) belongs to The King – not to us. Tricky for our modern Western culture to wrap its head around.  But remember – we don’t belong to this culture. So this new life – even new life form belongs to Him. It is no longer our old sinful enemy of Christ-type humanity that exists, but Christ living in us (“It is no longer I who live but Christ lives in me.” Galatians 2:20). We are now a new Christ-man (Perhaps a more fitting name than Christian. But that’s what the term Christian should represent. We are a Christ-man, Christ-woman, Christ-kid, little Adams 2.0). We become a new Arc so to speak – vessels redesigned to host The Spirit of The Living God. Now, that new life came at the greatest cost possible, and always has a call/demand on it. We must be continuously willing to continually learn what that call is, and then continually surrender our Christ-man to the will of The Father, since we are undergoing the process of being perfected (“He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ.” Philippians 1:6). We don’t normally attribute sufficient weight to the word “good” here. I like to think It’s the same kind of good that God used to describe His works at creation.  

3)  To stand guard, submit, resist.  We must guard our hearts and minds to keep them protected from enemy attack that threaten force us into behaving like some artificial version – a clone of our former selves. We’re instructed to resist (“Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. James 4:7), but we’re powerless to resist without submission.

We guard and submit and resist and stand so that lying, arrogant, death-trap thoughts and actions don’t get in the way, and obscure or diminish the Light who needs to shine forth in darkness great or small. And so that our thoughts and actions don’t once again become co-conspirators, and unwitting accomplices; contributing to and facilitating wicked agendas that we fail to discern (“For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.” Ephesians 6:12).

4) Protection and resistance require armor – The Full Armor of God.

The belt of Truth, The Breastplate of Righteousness, The Helmet of Salvation; The Sword of The Spirit which is The Word of God (The Spirit’s sword … amazing. The more of God’s Word we have written on our hearts – on our psyche; the more we display Christ in us the hope of Glory – the more effective is the weaponry the Spirit has at His disposal to thwart enemy attacks on our behalf), the shield of Faith for extinguishing the fiery darts of the enemy and having our Feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace. We’re instructed to  make prayer and petition a routine practice – especially for other Believers, and we dare not step into a new day without asking The Lord to outfit us with His Armor.

5) Attend unto the Person of The Holy Spirit.

Be mindful of how thoughts, actions and inaction impact The Holy Spirit. Our scripture warns against grieving or quenching Him.

And do not bring sorrow to God’s Holy Spirit by the way you live. Remember, he has identified you as his own, guaranteeing that you will be saved on the day of redemption. Ephesians 4:30

Depending on your version of choice –  Do not stifle, restrain, quench, extinguish, subdue, run away from The Holy Spirit [by being unresponsive to His guidance or workings.] 1 Thessalonians 5:19