Who I Am In Christ Devotionals

May the Lord answer you in the day of trouble! May the name of the God of Jacob protect you! May he send you help from the sanctuary and give you support from Zion! May he remember all your offerings and regard with favor your burnt sacrifices! Selah May he grant you your heart’s desire and fulfill all your plans! May we shout for joy over your salvation, and in the name of our God set up our banners! May the Lord fulfill all your petitions! Psalm 20:1‭-‬5 ESV Blessings start with the words, "May the Lord..." The bible is full of them (there are seven of them right here).  Blessings aren't commonly spoken among believers today in my experience. The closest we get is to say, "I hope..." Though not always the case, "I hope," for us is more like saying, "Good luck." And we say that too.  Is good luck a Christian thing to say? I'm not saying that you're not a Christian if you say it, but I'm just suggesting that it needs some rethinki

  But you rebelled against the command of the Lord your God and refused to go in. You complained in your tents and said, ‘The Lord must hate us. That’s why he has brought us here from Egypt—to hand us over to the Amorites to be slaughtered. Deuteronomy 1:26-27 (NLT) I am God’s child and He blesses me, but I don’t always recognize it. I want a million dollars to drop in my lap, but God’s blessings never look like that! Sometimes they don’t look like blessings at all. Recently, I did something that some would call stupid: I prayed to ask the Lord for humility. Why would I do such a thing? Here’s why, the Bible shows us over and over that the Lord blesses humility. Verses like James 4:10, “Humble yourself in the sight of the Lord and He will lift you up,” and 1 Peter 5:5, “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble:" these are clear. There are loads of verses about humility and blessings. The book of Proverbs even says that humility is linked to financial wealth. I have

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

    Like a servant’s eyes on his master’s hand, like a servant girl’s eyes on her mistress’s hand, so our eyes are on the Lord our God until he shows us favor. Show us favor, Lord, show us favor, for we’ve had more than enough contempt. Psalms 123:2-3 Remind Me Who He Is As a believer in Jesus, I must speak those truths that remind me who He is. Who He really is. I so easily imagine that God is an angry fire-breathing person, ready to stomp on me as soon as I get out of line. Satan loves for me to pray to that one, for he knows the damage it does. When I see God this way, I hide. I fill up with fear and resentment. This is not the loving Creator who breathed the breath of life into me. I love that when Adam sinned, God went walking, calling to Him. He didn’t come on like the Wizard of Oz. Nor is God the one preached in so many churches who wants me to be rich and comfortable, wants me to believe in myself (follow your heart) no matter how sinful and unrepentant. Don’t get me wrong, I a

  It is the Lord who goes before you. He will be with you; he will not leave you or forsake you. Do not fear or be dismayed. Deuteronomy 31:8 Is He With Me? When I take a minute to look at what blessings I have as a believer, I am in awe! Look at how this verse opens: the Lord goes before His people. He checks things out before I get there and this, for my good. How many times I've really thought or acted like the the Lord must not be paying attention! I've felt like He didn't care about what was going on in my little life. That's my ignorance for sure. He goes before me. Why? Because I am His child and He cares like that. And He sets things up as he sees fit, for His purposes. There is no such thing as deism, the idea that God made it all but isn't really present. All of scripture speaks of His presence, His interaction with His people, the covenant, His care for His children. He is with me. Now. God Matters I can think He is troubled with something more important,