Knowing Who I Am In Christ
Have you discovered how amazing your life in Christ is meant to be? This list reveals the truth about who God created you to be and how He wants you to live!
▪️ I am complete in Him Who is the head over all rule and authority - of every angelic and earthly power.
Colossians 2:10
πππ π¦ππ’ πππ πππππππ‘π ππ π»ππ, π€βπ ππ π‘βπ βπππ ππ πππ πππππππππππ‘π¦ πππ πππ€ππ.
▪️ I am alive with Christ.
Ephesians 2:5
ππ£ππ π€βππ π€π π€πππ ππππ ππ π‘πππ πππ π ππ , ππππ π’π ππππ£π π‘ππππ‘βππ π€ππ‘β πΆβπππ π‘
(ππ¦ πππππ π¦ππ’ βππ£π ππππ π ππ£ππ),
▪️ I am free from the law of sin and death.
Romans 8:2
πΉππ π‘βπ πππ€ ππ π‘βπ ππππππ‘ ππ ππππ ππ πΆβπππ π‘ π½ππ π’π βππ ππππ ππ ππππ
ππππ π‘βπ πππ€ ππ π ππ πππ ππππ‘β.
▪️ I am far from oppression, and will not live in fear.
Isaiah 54:14
πΌπ πππβπ‘πππ’π πππ π π¦ππ’ π βπππ ππ ππ π‘πππππ βππ; πππ’ π βπππ ππ πππ ππππ ππππππ π πππ,
πππ π¦ππ’ π βπππ πππ‘ ππππ; π΄ππ ππππ π‘πππππ, πππ ππ‘ π βπππ πππ‘ ππππ ππππ π¦ππ’.
▪️ I am born of God, and the evil one does not touch me.
1 John 5:18
ππ ππππ€ π‘βππ‘ π€βπππ£ππ ππ ππππ ππ πΊππ ππππ πππ‘ π ππ; ππ’π‘ βπ π€βπ βππ ππππ ππππ ππ πΊππ
πππππ βπππ πππ, πππ π‘βπ π€πππππ πππ ππππ πππ‘ π‘ππ’πβ βππ.
Application of God's Word: Hebrews 12:3
Verse: Hebrews 12:3
For consider Him who endured such hostility from sinners against Himself,
lest you become weary and discouraged in your souls.
lest you become weary and discouraged in your souls.
Application:
When we face hardship and discouragement, it is easy to lose sight of the big picture. But we're not alone; there is help. Many have already made it through life, enduring far more difficult circumstances than we have experienced. Suffering is the training ground for Christian maturity. It develops our patience and makes our final victory sweet.
Do you constantly ask God to clean up every messy are of your life? To brighten every dark corner and to dress up every shabby appearance? That's okay; our concerns are His concerns. But don't expect perfection. The perfect world we crave is for a future glory, not for now. Ease and comfort are not usually His prescription for us, because they will not prepare us for that future glory. No, God will leave us reminders of brokenness to serve as reminders of His grace. Endure those reminders well.
Do you constantly ask God to clean up every messy are of your life? To brighten every dark corner and to dress up every shabby appearance? That's okay; our concerns are His concerns. But don't expect perfection. The perfect world we crave is for a future glory, not for now. Ease and comfort are not usually His prescription for us, because they will not prepare us for that future glory. No, God will leave us reminders of brokenness to serve as reminders of His grace. Endure those reminders well.
Redirecting Your Thoughts
“I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go;
I will counsel you with my eye upon you.”
Psalm 32:8 (ESV)
What do you fixate on? Fixations are the things we constantly think about. They come out in our words, feelings and decisions. They are the focus of the books we read; the podcasts, websites and groups we search out; and the obsessions we pursue. It might be our weight, finances, worries over our kids or fear for our health … but something is absorbing our thoughts.
Here’s the thing: God has given us the power to interrupt this fixation! That’s what the Bible says, and it’s news we desperately need to hear. But how can we interrupt the downward spin?
The answer, at least in part, might lie in counseling, community or fasting - and certainly in prayer. For you and me both, the answer will center on God: His presence, power and grace. Every spiral can be interrupted. No fixation exists outside of God’s long-armed reach. As He says in our key verse, Psalm 32:8, “I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you with my eye upon you.”
God has given us power, tools and His Spirit to shift the spiral. When we’re willing to take the initiative in choosing different thoughts and choosing His Truth, some pretty cool stuff starts to unfold.
For one thing, when we think new thoughts, we physically alter our brains. We grow new neurons. We blaze new trails. When we think new thoughts, everything changes for us. What we think about, our brains become. What we fixate on is neurologically who we will be.
So who will you be? Tell me what you’re thinking about, in other words, and I’ll tell you who you are.
So who will you be? Tell me what you’re thinking about, in other words, and I’ll tell you who you are.
If we don’t like where we're going, we have the power to redirect our thoughts, reminding ourselves what is real and true, like a parent might do with a kid when they start losing it: “Kiddo, time out. I love you. You’re OK. You don’t have to panic. You can choose another way. You don’t have to be steamrolled by this.”
To redirect our thoughts, we first have to remind ourselves that change is possible. We have a choice! And the more often we grab hold of that truth, the easier it will be to interrupt our fixations and the downward spiral of our thoughts, leading them somewhere new.
You may find that some thoughts, once interrupted, will simply lose their power. God can do this. Other thoughts, however, may require daily, hourly or moment-by-moment capturing and redirecting. But even those thoughts can be captured and contained (2 Corinthians 10:5).
You can be set free. You can learn to “mind your mind.” The battle for your mind is won as you redirect and refocus on Jesus - every moment, every hour, every day.
You may find that some thoughts, once interrupted, will simply lose their power. God can do this. Other thoughts, however, may require daily, hourly or moment-by-moment capturing and redirecting. But even those thoughts can be captured and contained (2 Corinthians 10:5).
You can be set free. You can learn to “mind your mind.” The battle for your mind is won as you redirect and refocus on Jesus - every moment, every hour, every day.
Jesus, thank You for giving me a choice! Help me parent my mind well, with the same kind of love and compassion You give me. Lead me to choose what is true today. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
- Jennie Allen
Provided by "Proverbs 31 Ministries"
Note:
For 100 days of power-packed devotions that will inspire you to stop toxic thinking patterns and remind you of God’s power to set you free, get a copy of Jennie Allen’s new devotional, Stop the Spiral Devotional: 100 Days of Breaking Free from Negative Thoughts.
Provided by "Proverbs 31 Ministries"
Note:
For 100 days of power-packed devotions that will inspire you to stop toxic thinking patterns and remind you of God’s power to set you free, get a copy of Jennie Allen’s new devotional, Stop the Spiral Devotional: 100 Days of Breaking Free from Negative Thoughts.
Jesus Wants You To Know...
"How do you know which voice is Mine? Spend time with Me - quiet time in prayer and praise. Just as good friends know each other’s voices, you will come to know Mine. And I will tell you the right way to go."
Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, “This is the way; walk in it.” - Isaiah 30:21 (NIV)
- "Jesus Calling for Kids" by Sarah Young
Anatomy of a Surrender: Idolatry
2 Corinthians
6:14-7:1
14 Do not be unequally yoked together with unbelievers. For what fellowship has righteousness with lawlessness? And what communion has light with darkness? 15 And what accord has Christ with Belial? Or what part has a believer with an unbeliever? 16 And what agreement has the temple of God with idols? For you are the temple of the living God. As God has said:
14 Do not be unequally yoked together with unbelievers. For what fellowship has righteousness with lawlessness? And what communion has light with darkness? 15 And what accord has Christ with Belial? Or what part has a believer with an unbeliever? 16 And what agreement has the temple of God with idols? For you are the temple of the living God. As God has said:
“I will dwell in
them
And walk among them.
I will be their God,
And they shall be My people.”
17 Therefore
“Come out from among them
And be separate, says the Lord.
Do not touch what is unclean,
And I will receive you.”
18 “I will be a Father to you,
And you shall be My sons and daughters,
Says the Lord Almighty.”
7 1 Therefore, having
these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the
flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.
Paul points out the obvious conflict between light and
darkness to urge the Corinthians to disassociate from corrupting influences.
The principle applies to our social relationships, but it also applies to the
struggles within our hearts. If light and darkness do not mix within the
church, which is the temple of God collectively, they do not mix within
ourselves, who as individuals are the building blocks of that temple. We cannot
entertain elements of the kingdom of light and elements of the kingdom of darkness
simultaneously and expect God to bear fruit in us. He wants purity.
That's a problem for every human being who has ever lived.
We aren't pure. Long after we've made that landmark decision to follow Jesus,
we still have internal struggles with sin and obedience. The decision was
right, but the follow-through proves difficult. And it's the follow-through
that makes the difference between unusual blessing and mediocrity. We cannot be
mature Christians until the initial decision to let Jesus be our Lord actually
becomes a way of life. We cannot make a commitment to light while maintaining
our grip on darkness. We must surrender ourselves.
Nearly every Christian has remnants of darkness that cloud
his or her discipleship. We like to call them character flaws or weaknesses of
the flesh. In reality, they are idols. They may range from the alarming
addictions of temper, lusts, and obsessive greed to the relatively minor flaws
of bad diets, time mismanagement, and mild obsessions with hobbies. Regardless
of their severity, they are our battlegrounds. They are points of conflict
between us and our Creator. They test us on whether we will, or will not, obey.
All Christians have had their struggles with idolatry. Many
of those struggles rage today. Some of them rage within your heart. The issue
is not whether they are big or little sins; the issue is whether we trust God
enough to do what He tells us, even in the small things. Choosing our will over
His, at any level, is idolatry.
- William Ullathorne
[An excerpt from "The One Year Walk with God Devotional" by Chris Tiegreen]