Who I Am In Christ Devotionals

This post is an audio only series of 7 podcast episodes on Psalm 119. You can find part 1 of the series here: https://arseayli.blogspot.com/2023/02/the-psalm-119-series-part-1.html.  If you like these or if you have a helpful critique, please let me know at arseayli@gmail.com.

  But now, since you know God, or rather have become known by God, how can you turn back again to the weak and worthless elements? Do you want to be enslaved to them all over again? Galatians 4:9  Believers, children of God, those called by him to be holy, slip sometimes. I certainly do. I can slip in two general ways; neither of them is about depending on God. I can slip by just letting go and ignore being godly. I can give into my flesh. This always nips my behind when I go there. I can laugh and seemingly enjoy it for a minute; then, it’s like some iron gate clashes, closes in my face, leaving me foolish and stupid. And then, if I’m still stupid, I try to work my way into God’s good graces, so He’ll talk to me again. Of course the bible tells me to draw near to God and He will draw near to me. And really, I think that’s just an awareness. God is already with me. But if I am acknowledging the relationship I have with God, if I am seeking Him, if I am looking for Him, if I am humb

  When the chariot commanders saw Jehoshaphat, they shouted, “He must be the king of Israel!” So they turned to attack him, but Jehoshaphat cried out and the Lord helped him. God drew them away from him. 2 Chronicles 18:31 CSB Jehoshaphat is one of the great names in the bible. I just had to say that. By the way, it means Yahweh is judge. Okay. Jehoshaphat was a king of Judah, and he was a mixed bag as kings go. He did some really good things, and he did some dumb and dumber ones too. But I’ll let you look that stuff up. It’s great bible history. And Jehoshaphat was right in the middle of one of his not-so-smooth moves when the events in this passage happened. He was in a battle. And it wasn’t even his battle; it was Israel’s King Ahab’s fight. Jehoshaphat was along for the ride, a ride he should have never taken. If the name Ahab doesn’t ring a bell, remember this: he was Jezebel’s husband. For many, her name is synonymous with evil. So Jezebel’s husband, King Ahab asked Jehosha

  Do you not know? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the whole earth. He never becomes faint or weary; there is no limit to his understanding. He gives strength to the faint and strengthens the powerless. Youths may become faint and weary, and young men stumble and fall, but those who trust in the Lord will renew their strength; they will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not become weary, they will walk and not faint. Isaiah 40:28-31 Yes, I have heard that the Lord is the Everlasting God! He is. When’s the last time you took that in? Hey, I need to do it more regularly! He is the creator. Why does Isaiah bother saying all of this about God? Here’s what I think: It’s because there is something about me that easily drifts into making up my own designer god of my own imagination, one seemingly more convenient for me than the Lord of Heaven and Earth. One I can control.  The idol that I invent is good for nothing but to make me miserable,

  But whoever listens to me will live securely and be undisturbed by the dread of danger. Proverbs 1:33 (CSB) The verse says, “Whoever listens to me…” That’s believers. That’s what believers do; they listen to God. They do that by reading the word, praying, and even waiting on the Lord. They talk to other believers. They fellowship. They listen to preachers. They read books written by people who love Jesus. They resist bad company. And listening implies obedience. Hey, everybody wrestles with obeying Jesus. Our flesh pulls us in the wrong direction. We have to purposefully walk by the Spirit, so we will not carry out the desires of the flesh. It’s a walk. But it’s a walk with sword in hand, ready to fight temptation while yielding to the Holy Spirit. This listening obedience brings blessing, on top of blessing, and more blessing. This Proverb says that these listeners will live securely. Now, we need to stop for a second and remember something about proverbs. They spotlight

  Do not be deceived: “Bad company corrupts good morals.” 1 Corinthians 15:33 Don’t be deceived: God is not mocked. For whatever a person sows he will also reap, because the one who sows to his flesh will reap destruction from the flesh, but the one who sows to the Spirit will reap eternal life from the Spirit. Galatians 6:7-8 Paul wrote letters to churches in the city of Corinth and Galatia. Believers. And in both of them he says this: do not be deceived. So, just in case I wonder, believers can be deceived. Even though He has given us a spirit of sound judgement (2 Timothy 1:7), in my pride, I can ignore that divine power and be deceived. To the Corinthian church he warned them about what? Bad company. Bad company is a huge problem for believers today. Huge. It’s a huge problem for me. Follow me here. Almost every believer I know has an endless supply of bad company right in their pocket. All of those things that the book of Proverbs warns young men about are on my “smart” ph

You caused me to experience many troubles and misfortunes, but you will revive me again. You will bring me up again, even from the depths of the earth. You will increase my honor and comfort me once again. Therefore, I will praise you with a harp for your faithfulness, my God; I will sing to you with a lyre, Holy One of Israel. Psalm 71:20-22 This verse makes my head spin around and say, “Wait, what did that just say?” The Psalmist, talking to God says, “You caused me to experience many troubles and misfortunes.” God caused. Not the devil. In my imagination, when I hurt, I can wrongly think that God is far away from me. I can think He wishes I wasn’t going through it. That’s not what the verse says. God causes my troubles and misfortune. That’s heavy.  And of course He loves me. How can I get those ideas to synch together? Here’s the question: Why would a loving God do such a thing? Here’s my thought: over and over in the Bible God tells His covenant people to depend on Him. This must

Now may the God of peace himself sanctify you completely. And may your whole spirit, soul, and body be kept sound and blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. He who calls you is faithful; he will do it. 1 Thessalonians 5:23‭-‬28 CSB God answers prayer. And He listens when we bless someone. This passage from 1 Thessalonians is a blessing. It’s like a prayer, but the format is a bit different. In a blessing, I am trying to keep God’s power in mind and the needs of my brothers and sisters in Christ. Blessings in English usually start with the word “may.” What I love about this blessing is this: Paul does not hold back on his words. He expects God to do great things for these Thessalonians. Look at what Paul says: “Now may the God of peace himself sanctify you completely.” Completely. This word makes it something that only God does. Nobody can sanctify me. I can’t do it for myself. And I certainly can’t do it completely. Complete - that’s a God word. Paul goes on. And no

  This is part one of a series of podcasts on Psalm 119. They are audio only and do not have a text component yet.  Blameless - Psalm 119:1-2 Not Be Ashamed - Psalm 119:4-6 Upright Heart - Psalm 119:7 Never Abandon Me - Psalm 119:8 Young Man - Psalm 119:9 Treasure the Word - Psalm 119:10-11 In the Dust - Psalm 119:25-26

  I am at rest in God alone; my salvation comes from him. He alone is my rock and my salvation, my stronghold; I will never be shaken. Psalms 62:1-2 I long for this passage to flow through my very lungs. To inform my heart. To inhabit my dreams.   I am at rest in God alone. How often I have looked for rest elsewhere. May the Lord help me be at rest with Him. Not money. Not food. Not my job. Not even my family. I trust that those are blessings He has graciously given me. See, He alone is my rock. I can't stand on anything or anyone else. Not my good thinking. Not my good looks. Umm... And He is my salvation. May my first thought in times of trouble be Him. May I reach there. Not to all those other promises. His promises are true. Not even my own promises to myself or others can hold without leaks. When I have this mind, the mind of the Psalmist, I will NEVER be shaken. It's His word, not mine. Never be shaken. Lord, you make promises that I often don't ever measure the d

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has passed away, and see, the new has come! 2 Corinthians 5:17 There is now no condemnation for those in Christ Jesus… Romans 8:1 Anyone who believes in him is not condemned, but anyone who does not believe is already condemned, because he has not believed in the name of the one and only Son of God. John 3:18 This devotional blog and podcast is called Who I Am in Christ. And in it I make claims about the Children of God, about Christians.  But not everyone is in Christ. Not everyone enjoys these benefits. Many are lost.  That then begs the question: “What does it take to be in Christ?”  It must be hard right? Yes, it’s so hard that you can’t do it.  But the good news is that the work has already been done. Somebody already did the work.  That’s right. Jesus knew that human beings were a mess, so He made a way for us to be with Him, in Him, empowered by the Holy Spirit, and to join the victorious in the war over death and

If only you would hide me in Sheol and conceal me until your anger passes. If only you would appoint a time for me and then remember me. Job 14:13 Believers trust in the Lord, and yet when bad things happen, it is easy to think He has forgotten us. We think God wandered off somewhere and one day, maybe he’ll be back. And when bad things happen to us (especially due to our own sin), we can think that God is done with us. I am not worth His time anymore. I have messed up so badly that I need to dig my way out of this before He’ll ever listen to my cry. And I’ll never be able to do it. Those are half-lies. God is right with his Children at all times. If you seek Him, He will be found (yes He will!).  God is not done with me when I sin. God uses the sin as a tool to chisel me. It’s a painful discipline, but it is ultimately joyful. In the case of Job, he didn’t do anything evil. Job stood up for himself in this. His friends told him to repent and his wife told him to curse God and di