Who I Am In Christ Devotionals

But as for me, my prayer is to you, O Lord . At an acceptable time, O God, in the abundance of your steadfast love answer me in your saving faithfulness.  Psalm 69:13 I get mad at the Lord sometimes. And I know this is wholly unsafe. So, I hide my anger behind my back like a schoolboy who got caught taking something out of another student’s backpack. And of course, the Lord sees all. Gently, He whispers His corrections. Working on this or that in my chaotic soul, invisibly. And sometimes, He roars like a lion, scaring the mess out of me. Which turns out to be a loving thing to do. For then, I know that he sees. There’s no question. And that is a blessing. I’m not going to lie; I have a hard time with the Lord’s timing (I repent Lord). I think, why didn’t you do this or that, then? Why did you let it get so bad? Why so much pain and hurt? And I have to remind myself, “I am not God; I serve Him.” He answers at an acceptable time. His timing. Not mine. He is the one who holds th

  “What you’re doing is not good,” Moses’s father-in-law said to him. “You will certainly wear out both yourself and these people who are with you, because the task is too heavy for you. You can’t do it alone.” Exodus 18:17‭-‬18 CSB Humble Listening Believers take advice from godly people. That is the norm. Or it should be anyway.  Knowing the difference between good, godly advice and rotten, stinking, destructive counsel takes wisdom. I’ve listened to both kinds in my life. I’ve been blessed or paid the price.  How can I position myself to recognize good advice when it comes? And how can live a life where I’m not so full of myself when the advice comes that I actually take it? This passage in Exodus shows Moses’s father-in-law, Jethro, giving him advice, advice he sorely needed.  Now let’s think about this: Moses was a leader of an estimated 2 million (or so) people counting men, women, and children. He led this huge group of people out from underneath the tyrannical hand of a Pharaoh

  Therefore I, the prisoner in the Lord, urge you to walk worthy of the calling you have received, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love. Ephesians 4:1-2 Humility I love the Lord. It is important for me, a child of God, to declare that I love Him. All that I am flows from that. And I can forget this, so I repeat it. I am His. This verse is an urging. A command even. A command to be active. To walk. What does it mean to walk? Walking is something that people do without even thinking about it if they are beyond infancy and healthy. They just get up and go. It’s regular and normal. How should I, a child of God, walk? Worthy of the calling I have received. That calling is that I obey. That I walk in the light, in the spirit. That I do things like pray and study what God wants of me. That I am kind and humble. Walk with humility. I admit, I used to dislike that word. It sounded so passive. Well, I misunderstood the word. Because, Jesus was meek (s

  I am the one, I sweep away your transgressions for my own sake and remember your sins no more. Isaiah 43:25 I have swept away your transgressions like a cloud, and your sins like a mist. Return to me, for I have redeemed you. Isaiah 44:22 All of It God works and keeps on working in the lives and hearts of believers, in me. Even when I go through dry times and I feel like God has forgotten me. That’s me being self-deceptive. Living in denial. God is with me, and He does expect me to trust and obey Him. I am in no way able to handle my own sin. It handles me. And the God of all creation knows all about it. He knows all about my sin. Nothing is hidden. And He sweeps my sin away. The dirt is gone. He sweeps up my jealousies. He sweeps up my unrighteous anger. He sweeps up my unfaithfulness. He sweeps up my laziness. He sweeps it ALL up. Throwing Out the Garbage Not only does He sweep it away, but He remembers it no more. He sweeps away my sins like a mist! Poof, just like smoke it disapp

  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

  Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins. Offer hospitality to one another without grumbling. Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms. 1 Peter 4:8-10 The impulse to do bad things subsided. I'm a believer who needs my godly friends. It takes humility to rely on friends and grace to help them. The verse says, love covers a multitude of sins. One way to look at that is that we need each other. And if love covers a multitude of sins, that means that friends know about those sins. I am blessed to have godly friends that I reach to. They reach out to me too. We listen to and help each other. They remind me to be bold, to forgive, to make amends, and to be honest. They are Christ-like though they might not ever describe themselves that way. The other day, I was tempted hard. I reached out to two friends. One got the notification and texted me back immediately.