Who I Am In Christ Devotionals

For this reason also, since the day we heard this, we haven’t stopped praying for you. We are asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding, so that you may walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him: bearing fruit in every good work and growing in the knowledge of God, being strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might, so that you may have great endurance and patience, joyfully giving thanks to the Father, who has enabled you to share in the saints’ inheritance in the light. He has rescued us from the domain of darkness and transferred us into the kingdom of the Son he loves. In him we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. Colossians 1:9-14 *I learned how to do this from Donald Whitney’s Book Praying the Bible . I am a man who can easily pray shallow prayers. Over and over. Snore.  And it’s not that they should be filled with poetry and King James language like I used to hear in my youth when people pray

Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, be steadfast, immovable, always excelling in the Lord’s work, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.  1 Corinthians 15:58 CSB Weak, useless, unworthy are the whispered accusations that echo in my mind. Well,  I am indeed those things. Guilty as charged.  And so what? For I am the Lord’s and He is mine. See, I can always seek the face of God like Peter when he first jumped off the boat to run to the Lord.  Or I can foolishly choose to look at the waves. Worried. And that would be the normal thing to do right? To fill up on anxiety. To hopelessly try to fix it.  But did He call me to be normal? No. I'm not normal. I'm empowered, I'm filled with the Holy Spirit.  See, Paul is addressing the believer who even in his weakness boldly runs to Jesus. The one who seeks the face of God. And e ven in the depths of despair and misery, I can seek the face of God. I must.  Paul says, "Be steadfast." Never mind. Done

  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 walk by t

  Then they said to Him, “What shall we do, that we may work the works of God?” Jesus answered and said to them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He sent.” John 6:28-29 Who am I in Christ? I am a believer. I believe what He says. But wait, do I? Yes, but only by His grace, for when left to my own thinking, I either think I’m a cowboy/superhero who can jump in and do God’s work, or I run away scared like a cockroach in the light. I do believe by His grace. When Paul’s jailer in the book of Acts, trembling asked, “What must I DO to be saved? Paul said, “Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved.” Believe. Back to the passage from John 6 the question is different: What shall we do, that we may work the works of God?” But the answer is the same. Jesus answered, “This is the work of God — believe.” Believe. Belief is special. Belief is powerful. And unlike what pagan Americans say, we can’t just believe in whatever sort of power we want; we must

And God is able to make every grace overflow to you, so that in every way, always having everything you need, you may excel in every good work. 2 Corinthians 9:8 CSB Some fathers ignore their children. At best, this kind of man rushes out to work and,  when he get home,  takes care of his own needs and comfort. Sometimes, he looks up to pat the kids on the head. Does God treat me like that, or does He walk with me, take care of me, and make my path straight? Okay, that's an easy answer. He loves. He is love. He is a good father.  That love involves testing too. These tests make me. And in this testing, sometimes, God seems like He ignores me.  He does not ever ignore me.  He is much more like that gymnastics coach who has his hand underneath my back the first time I try to do a backbend on a balance beam. I might not even be aware his hand is there. Yet, when I falter, when I slip, He is right there. He is fully able and engaged.  And He makes grace OVERflow to me. Overflow

  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

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

  And be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving one another, just as God also forgave you in Christ. Let all bitterness, anger and wrath, shouting and slander be removed from you, along with all malice. Ephesians 4:31-32 God’s children are kind. I’m His child, so I forgive. Why? Because I am forgiven EVERYTHING! But I can’t forgive. I can’t control my anger. And I say stuff about other people, even believers. In frustration. So It’s okay. I was frustrated, right? I can’t control this. Not when I’m actually angry. That’s not what it says. Deep breath. Let. All. I can’t do this. I know I can’t. I’m just not this good, this righteous. What about Jesus? Was He righteous? Yes. What did He say about doing things on His own? In John 5:30, Jesus says that He can nothing on His own. JESUS said it. If Jesus doesn’t do it on His own, why in the world do I think I can take things over? So here’s what I got so far… I must be kind. I must be compassionate. I must be forgiving. And I must l

Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what is the good, pleasing, and perfect will of God.  Romans 12:2 BSB Daily Renewal I am a believer. Though I am tempted to be worldly, I am in fact not. Do I fail at that. Yes. Yes. But the Lord, encourages me to know that I don't need to be shaped by the world. His way is for me to renew my mind. I know that renewal of my mind must happen daily. But, I so want to be one and done. I prayed. I'm done. I sought the Lord; He answered me. Done. That is not the way it works. Is life one and done with my kids or my wife. No. It's daily. For years, decades. Maybe half a century or more. No one and done. It's a daily renewal of my mind. How can I do that? Well, I can read scripture. I can enjoy fellowship with believers. I can read books written by godly men. I can listen to sermons preached by godly pastors. I'm living in a time of access the world

For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light, for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness, righteousness, and truth. Test and prove what pleases the Lord. Ephesians 5:8‭-‬10 For His Pleasure I was once darkness. Now I am light in the Lord. That's not "Super Christian;" that is me. Paul is telling the whole Ephesian church that they are light in the Lord.  I am light in the Lord. Yet, I only understand that a little bit.  I know that it includes things like honesty, wisdom, and courage. All of which I feel I lack. But see, He has begun a good work in me. And by His grace, I desire for Him to keep doing it. Never stop! Now what I think is happening is that the Lord is growing a capacity in me for these things, but I don't always see it. He is making me good. He is making me honest. He is making me righteous.  Why? For His own good pleasure. That’s why. He shows what He can do with me, and then, others get excited about

  I am sure of this, that he who started a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus. Philippians 1:6 I Am Light I am a believer. God loves me. He has called me out of the darkness into His glorious light.  I love God. I surrender to Him today.  And He works. When I pray, He is already at work. He is everywhere present at the same time, so sure, He is in Heaven, working and ruling, but He is right here. Right now in this place. Working. On me.  He is patient with me. He knows I am dust. (Psalm 103:14) He has already justified me in the courts of heaven. But the cleansing process takes a long, long time. It took a year to prepare Esther for the king. The Lord is taking a lifetime to prepare me for His court.  And there are days when I feel like I have blown it so badly that He is done with me. Or that I never was his. That's a lie from the dark. But I was once darkness. NOW I AM LIGHT. (Ephesians 5:8) For His Purposes He is not finished with me. H

His God teaches him order; he instructs him. Isaiah 28:26 Order in His Creation Who am I in Christ? I’m His servant, His Child, and even His friend, but I’m also His student. He teaches me. God teaches me order. This is so interesting because the non-believing world pushes the idea of chaos not order. They don’t publicly recognize the Creator of all. In fact, they say it all came from nothing. Or dust. Even life came from non-life. That’s what they say. It’s all a bunch of chaotic physics they say. But that’s not what God teaches. He teaches order. And He teaches me order even in His own creation. His natural law. The first chapter of bible, Genesis 1 is a study in order. And yes there is apparent chaos in the world, but the chaos isn’t the creator; the chaos is the breaking down of creation. He Instructs Why does it break down? Because Adam and Eve ate the fruit that God told them not to eat. Adam and Eve sided with Satan, the great deceiver. He told them to believe in magic. He told

  See what great love the Father has given us that we should be called God’s children — and we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it didn’t know him. Dear friends, we are God’s children now, and what we will be has not yet been revealed. We know that when he appears, we will be like him because we will see him as he is. And everyone who has this hope in him purifies himself just as he is pure. 1 John 3:1-3 I Am His Child God’s children hope. It’s a good and glorious hope. I am His child. Right now. I don’t have to die and go to heaven first. I am chosen. Chosen to be his child. Chosen to talk to Him. Chosen to be tested and trained by Him. Chosen to be used by Him. Chosen to be blessed by Him (over and over again). And I did nothing to deserve it. I’m like Charlie Bucket from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory who found a dollar in the snow and bought a chocolate bar with a golden ticket inside. Only in my case, God did it. It wasn’t random. Plus, it’s infinitely better