Who I Am In Christ Devotionals

  For this is what love for God is: to keep his commands. And his commands are not a burden because everyone who has been born of God conquers the world. This is the victory that has conquered the world: our faith. 1 John 5:3-4 I CAN keep His commandments. I am a blessed believer, child of the King. I am light (Ephesians 5:7). I have to say that every now and then to remember it. He's the one who said it. If I don't repeat it, I start thinking that I'm just a regular person. No. I'm a new creature. Brand new. And He asks me to keep His commands. So you know what? I can. I've often been the guy who reads right over that thinking, "Never mind. I know better; I'm going to fail." See, I was believing lies. I can keep His commands and they are not a burden. In fact, I'll say that His commands breathe life and freedom into my heart and mind. Everyone who has been born of God conquers the world. Now John says, "...everyone (did you catch that? EVERYO

  The Lord your God will clear away these nations before you little by little. You may not make an end of them at once, lest the wild beasts grow too numerous for you. Deuteronomy 7:22 Little By Little I am a grateful follower of the Lord Jesus Christ. I am a child of the one-true King. I am a sheep, and He is my shepherd. And He doesn't always tell me where we're going. Nor how long it's going to take before we get there. Mostly, I have my hands full being faithful today, now. And I know for a fact that He is teaching me patience... "The Lord your God will clear away these nations before you little by little." Little by little. I want patience. And I want it now. I'm six years old in the back seat: "Are we there yet?" In the verse He reveals a little bit about His motives. If He makes an end of your enemies immediately, the wild animals will grow too numerous for me. My thoughts about who I am in Christ were skewed. Now, usually, my enemies aren'

  Therefore, as God’s chosen ones, holy and dearly loved, put on compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience, bearing with one another and forgiving one another if anyone has a grievance against another. Just as the Lord has forgiven you, so you are also to forgive. Colossians 3:12-13 Long Tempered I am looking at verse 13 but I wanted to see the context of verse 12 with it. I am a grateful follower of the Lord Jesus Christ, who died for my sins. Yet, I am convicted that I lack patience. The verse says, "...bearing with one another..." That is patience. People are described sometimes as being "short-tempered." They get mad at other people easily. But what about calling people the opposite, long-tempered? Patience is being long-tempered. This patience is paired with forgiveness. And that is important. If I am not patient, I will have issues with forgiveness. I'll either be flying off at people, or I will bottle up that anger. Speak the Truth in Love

  The Lord is near all who call out to him, all who call out to him with integrity. - Psalm 145:18 I will not get left out. I believe. The Lord is near. To all who... I'm pausing right there to read just that much. Now: To all who call out to Him. I have often missed this part. I have felt left out. But see, I wasn't calling out. If I call out, I will not get left out. God requires a relationship. For me to call out humbly, is part of that relationship. Then, the verse qualifies it more: those who call out to Him with integrity. In lots of other versions where this version uses the word integrity, they use the word truth... to all who call out to Him in truth. How many times have my prayers been little more than my mouth moving with a puff of air coming out between my lips? Believe that He exits. This is like where the book of James says, "...ask in faith with no doubting." The idea is to believe He is good. He answers. Hebrews 11:6 says it like this: Now without fait

Seek the Lord your God, and you will find Him if you seek Him with all your heart and with all your soul. Deuteronomy 4:29 Ask and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened. Matthew 7:7-8 My seeking is motivated by my pain. I have not been a seeker. I've been a waiter. I've waited. But God is changing me. I am becoming a seeker. Little by little. My seeking comes out of my own pain at first. Then, the Lord opens my eyes and I see more. Do I seek with all of my heart and with all of my soul? Sometimes, I think. But the Lord is seeking me. And I am responding more and more. He is calling and I am not turning a deaf ear; I am listening. Now. Today. I am asking. Today. Right now. I repent for not seeking in the past. And now, I am asking. Now, I am seeking. Today, I knock. Everyone who asks, receives. And the Lord says that EVERYONE w

  “No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no heart has imagined, what God has prepared for those who love Him.” But God has revealed it to us by the Spirit. The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God. We have not received the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we may understand what God has freely given us. “For who has known the mind of the Lord, so as to instruct Him?” But we have the mind of Christ. - 1 Corinthians 2:9‭-‬10‭, ‬12‭, ‬16 Freely Given Does God love me? Yes. There's no question. Do I love Him. Yes. But I'm sloppy at it at best. Still, he keeps sanctifying me. Making me holy. And I can't imagine what He has prepared for me and His church. I'm sure that applies to the afterlife, but it looks to me that the context here is more about the now. He reveals things to me by His Spirit. He does. That's right. He does. This happens most directly through His word. But also through songs and discussions with believers. And lis

  Surely you heard of Him and were taught in Him--in keeping with the truth that is in Jesus-- to put off your former way of life, your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be renewed in the spirit of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness. Ephesians 4:21-24 Being Sanctified I am a believer. So, I am putting off my former way of life, my old self (today). I know when I was saved, I put off the former self, I was renewed. I was justified. An act done by God in the courts of heaven. Amen. Yet, I am still being sanctified. And the Holy Spirit does that in me too. It is too much. I am drawn back to my old self. But He is there gently calling me to put off, put off, put off. Daily. My "adamnish" doesn't just vanish. Jesus is scrubbing, washing, cleansing. But this verse tells me what it looks like from my end. He tells me to put off my former way of life. And I am a believer. If he (He) tells

  His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through the knowledge of Him who called us by His own to His own glory and excellence. Through these He has given us His precious and magnificent promises, so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature, now that you have escaped the corruption in the world caused by evil desires. 2 Peter 1:3-4 Precious and Magnificent Promises I have everything I need for life and godliness. Everything. God has equipped me through the knowledge of Him. Peter wasn't making this up. He knew the Lord. Peter understood his own battles with faith and sin. He knew what his people were going through. And I believe him. I have, right now, everything I need. Through the knowledge of Him.  So that means increasing the knowledge of Him is important. I can read some scripture every day. I can spend time with other believers. I can go to church where I worship and fellowship. He has given me precious and magnificent

Turn to me and be gracious to me, as is your practice toward those who love your name. Make my steps steady through your promise; don’t let any sin dominate me. Psalms 119:132-133 I get to ask God to be gracious to me. I know the Lord. He has brought me up out of darkness into His glorious light. But sometimes I feel like one groping around in the darkness. I can wonder if He has forgotten me in all His busy schedule.  He hasn't. He knows what I'm going through. I must ask for His help. That's how this relationship works. And I want to learn to say to Him, in the moment, "Turn to me and be gracious to me." I find this model prayer to be so powerful for me. David (the writer of this verse) is a child of God. I am a child of God too. I get to ask God to be gracious to me too.  I'm addressing the maker and savior of everything and asking Him to be gracious to me God rules. And David is asking from the perspective of knowing that he is a believer who sins. He call

  The Lord helps the fallen and lifts those bent beneath their loads.  Psalm 145:15 I am a believer who falls. I am a believer who falls. I fall physically. I pick up something too heavy and hurt my back. I fall relationally. I can show a lack of kindness where it would have meant so much to someone. I fall spiritually. I fail to seek the Lord when He is right with me. (Draw near to God and He will draw near to you.) I have spent so much of my life embarrassed by my falling, that I've tried to cover it up over and over again. When I cover, I corrupt the healing process; I create more pain, spreading it to my loved ones. My pride says, "I should never fall." But here's the good news (can you feel a brand new day!). The Lord helps the fallen. He does. My pride says, "I should never fall." How much better it is to say, "I fell down today!" Rather than, "I'm good; nothing to look at here." He helps the fallen. And even when I dig a hole

  Yet even now, declares the Lord, return to Me with all your heart, and with fasting and with weeping and with mourning. Rend your heart, and not your garments; return to the Lord your God, for He is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love; and He relents from punishing. Joel 2:12‭-‬13 Wandered Away From Him As a believer, I have often wandered away from Him. In some sense, I stray every day. He calls me back. There have been miserable times in my life where I have resisted His work in my life for years. At times I would have looked like an unbeliever especially to those who didn't know me. A few years ago, due to disaster in my life, I began to realize how much I had rebelled. And He was right there. I began to pray for His conviction and that I would seek His face. That I would repent. I petitioned the Lord day after day and started to see it happen. Steadfast, Patient Love Like the verse says, He was gracious and merciful. Not only that, He was an

  So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do everything for the glory of God. 1 Corinthians 10:31 Normal, Regular Activity Am I believer who eats? Yes, I certainly am! Eating is a normal, regular activity. I do it over and over. Every day. The verse says to do it to the glory of God. I see eating, in this verse, as being an example of a normal, regular thing I do. I do lots of things that are normal, regular things. I eat. I drive. I say hi to people at work. I cook. I get dressed. I read. I watch tv and listen to music. Now, wait. That's getting personal. I want to watch and read what I want. Right? Every Thought Captive The bible also tells me to take every thought captive. Every thought. Back to this verse. It says WHATEVER I do, do EVERYTHING for the glory of God. Okay, let’s get real here: I fall short. By miles. Now what. How can I absorb the words in this verse? He says to have the faith of a mustard seed. Just a little. Use even just a tiny bit. I can do that tod

  Now may the Lord of peace Himself give you peace always in every way. The Lord be with you all. 2 Thessalonians 3:16 Paul Knows the Lord's Power The Lord says don't be shy about my requests! Right? Here's what I mean... This is a prayer, written in a letter to a church from the apostle Paul. Look at this prayer. "May the Lord of peace Himself give you peace ALWAYS IN EVERY WAY." I can't tell you how many times I have rushed through these verses, never pausing to understand what they are teaching me about prayer and how powerful it is. We know from scripture that prayer is powerful. We know we can pray for others, in this case, other believers. Paul is not timid; He knows the Lord's power. Over-The-Top Request First, He establishes that he is asking the Lord of peace. That means he is going straight to the top with his request. He is asking the One who can actually deliver on the request. He's asking that they be granted peace from the Lord of peace.

  Blessed is he who has the God of Jacob for his help, whose hope is in the Lord his God, who made heaven, and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, who keeps faithfulness forever... Psalms 146:5‭-‬6 My Hope Is In The Lord I am a blessed believer. Why? Because I have the God of Jacob for my help. My hope is in the Lord. Today. I've learned the hard way. When my hope is in me or some wonderful opportunity, I can sink into some messy depths when things don't turn out "right." God usually doesn't tell us what's behind the door when we trust Him. Joseph, in Genesis, got sold into slavery, and thrown into prison, for years. And God raised him up to be the second most powerful man in Egypt, even in the whole region. My hope must be in the Lord. I don't know what He has in mind. It's His plan, not mine. My own plans are at best a prayerful guess at His plans. Solid Reasons To Hope In Him And there are solid reasons to hope in Him. He made heaven (and every

  Revive me, O Lord, for Your name’s sake, for Your righteousness’ sake bring my soul out of trouble. Psalms 143:11 I don't want to admit it... Sometimes my prayers are quick. Sometimes they are thought out. And sometimes they come from a deeply felt hurt. Yet, I have often failed to pray even when I was feeling those deep hurts. Why? Probably my pride. I don't want to admit it when I'm laid low. I want to act like I've got it all together, even in front of God. I get embarrassed. I must bring that embarrassment to Him and confess it. He knows it all anyway. Why do I hold back. Something about sin and hurt make me want to hide, to pretend even. To deny. He displays His righteousness... He wants me to ask Him for help! The Lord of glory. The King above all kings. Wants ME to ask for His help. He loves it. He isn't interested in me working through all of this without Him -- work, work, work without the grace. That's not Him. The Psalm above says "...for Your

  Teach me to do Your will, for You are my God; may Your good spirit lead me onto level ground. Psalms 143:10 Desire to Obey Doing God's will didn't just come to me magically when I was reborn, but my desire to obey began to emerge. The Psalmist says, "Teach me..." Why? Because it has to be taught; It doesn't come in an instant download to my software. But good news. The Lord himself is my teacher. He is patient, loving, and kind. And really, He's the only one who can get through my thick skull. Of course, He uses means to teach me. Like regular reading of the bible. Also sermons preached and books written by godly men. Even an off hand comment from a child can work into my soul. Without Anxiety Here's another thing I learn from this verse: I get to  ask  Him to teach me. See, this is the Psalmist's prayer request. Some might say, "Oh, that's just HIS prayer, I don't get to use it." I reason differently. This is part of God's insp