Who I Am In Christ Devotionals

  I say, then, walk by the Spirit and you will certainly not carry out the desire of the flesh. For the flesh desires what is against the Spirit, and the Spirit desires what is against the flesh; these are opposed to each other, so that you don’t do what you want. Galatians 5:16‭-‬17 CSB For many years, even as a believer, I rarely thought about walking by the Spirit. Not in so many words anyway. But God is gracious, so He often generously led me into His light anyway, showing me how to walk by the Spirit. But I wouldn’t keep walking in the light because it wasn’t a discipline. I went to church, sure, but I just thought the other stuff would come naturally. See, I wanted to figure it all out for myself. I wanted to spiritually power up like a video game hero and fight my way through. I wanted to earn points for myself.  But that’s not the way God works. He works by His Spirit. Zechariah 4:6 says, “Not by might and not by power, but by my Spirit says the Lord.” Christians ...

This is an audio only devotional. 

  Little children, guard yourselves from idols.  1 John 5:21 Paying Attention Just because I’m a child of God does not mean that everything is smooth sailing and I have no work to do. If I’m not paying attention, I will stumble into idolatry. Wait. Did I just say that? That sounds like it might have been an issue for 1st century Christians, but not me living in the 2000s. I don’t see any idolatry in my neighborhood, right? And certainly Christians don’t worship idols. Okay, so I've never seen a Christian buy a carved image and bow down to it. But we still manufacture idols. I know, now I don’t sound like I’m making any sense. John Calvin said it like this: “The heart is a perpetual idol factory.” See, I make up my own idols out of thin air. Possessions Earlier in this letter, the apostle John said it like this: “For everything in the world — the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride in one’s possessions — is not from the Father, but is from the world.” I can t...

  But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead lives in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit that lives in you. Therefore, brothers, we are debtors not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh. For if you live according to the flesh, you will die, but if through the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. Romans 8:11-13 He Gives Life What is happening in me because I'm a believer? He lives in me. I mean, that is wild, isn't it? We hear that all the time as Christians. And for me, I think it is important to slow down and remember what that means. More specifically, the Spirit of the one who raised Jesus from the dead lives in me, but I barely give this attention. I'm not badmouthing myself here. I'm stating a fact. Why? Because I want this to resonate in my every thought and action. I want to welcome Him, not take Him for granted. And the verse says that He gives life to ...