Who I Am In Christ Devotionals

  He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him. But to all who did receive him, he gave them the right to be children of God, to those who believe in his name, who were born, not of natural descent, or of the will of the flesh, or of the will of man, but of God.  John 1:11-13 I have a right to be a child of God. What? I am so blessed to be a believer today. What grace He has given me to be able to open my eyes wide enough to see Him! Even many of His own people did not. Still, some did. Oh, and like me, He gave them the right... ...to be children of God. That is a phrase needs some of my attention. It says that He gave them the right. The right. What is a right? In the United States of America we talk about rights. We have a bill of rights. The people who wrote the constitution declared that Americans have these rights, meaning, they can't be legally taken away from you. I am a child of God by right. Not because I was born on one side of a border but by the declaratio

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

 

For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them. Ephesians 2:10 Things work out, even very painful things, in His time. I am His workmanship. That means He put thought and wisdom into making me. He knew what He was doing when He made me, when He saved me, and made me new. I am now a new creation. I am being made a new creation. And one day in glory, I will be fully complete. I have heard many testimonies of people who got saved and still struggled with their hurts, habits, and hang-ups. God kept working. They learned to keep coming to him over and over. And when they thought they were fully depending on Him, they realized they were still holding back something for themselves.  God demands all. I know that sounds impossible; He makes it possible.  He chisels away. Working, crafting. Wiser than Solomon. More talented than Michelangelo.  Things work out, even very painful things, in His time. I am His workmanshi