Who I Am In Christ Devotionals

  I pray that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, would give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him. Ephesians 1:17 I need wisdom. Paul wrote this letter to the believers in the city of Ephesus. He is praying for all of them that they would have the Spirit of wisdom.  And James says (James 1:5-6) that if I need wisdom to ask for it. And He will give liberally (but ask in faith with no doubting). You know, I love to see what Paul prays for believers. This very thing that Paul requests for the Ephesian church is something I need too. I need the Spirit of wisdom. And I reason that if Paul prays this for believers, so can I for both myself and others.  See, my thoughts can be so difficult to sort out. I often wonder if I'm thinking clearly. It can all feel so cloudy, varying from day to day. Seeking God's Help Yet I know that challenges to my ability to think clearly are God-ordained. It's these challenges that keep me reaching out ...

  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 ...

  And without faith it is impossible to please God, for he who comes to God must believe that He exists and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him. Hebrews 11:6 Faith Comes in Amounts This is a sit-up-and-pay-attention verse for believers. I mean, the word believer implies that one has faith, right? And faith comes in amounts. Some have lots of faith. Some have less. In the bible, Jesus commends the Roman who knew that Jesus could heal his child without seeing her. At another time he says, "Oh, you of little faith." And in the book of Mathew, He says says how much they could do with just a bit of faith, the size of a mustard seed. To me, my faith feels embarrassingly small. And I think I attach that to what God wants to do for me and with me. That has much to do with why I write this devotional every day. I want to increase my faith and my knowledge of who I am in Christ. The verse says something important. We can't please God without faith. I want to plea...

  What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? Romans 8:31 Who can be against me? Is this verse really in the Bible? Yes, it most certainly is. I am a believer. If God is for me, who can be against me. What a powerful group of words! These words need to live in the heart of every Christian, in me. These words need to bubble up to the surface whenever life seems threatening. He means it. I am His child. He is for me. I matter to Him. Today. Now. Even in my struggles. I don't have to get all better for Him to be for me. He is working on me right now. He loves me in the deepest way. No holding back. I have to remind myself of this because I can have subconscious "tapes" telling me that He doesn't, that He expects me to get it together before He will talk to me. None of that is true. That's just stuff that I thought up in my little-boy head to try to make sense of the world around me. Out of Darkness He is for me. And because He is ...

  Return, you faithless children. I will heal your unfaithfulness. “Here we are, coming to you, for you are the Lord our God. Jeremiah 3:22 Repair Even believers sometimes act like faithless children. God knows me. He has made a way to repair the relationship between Him and me. It is centered in the death, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus. But it didn't stop there. It's interesting that (at least in this translation) the verb for dealing with faithfulness is healing. Healing. Not punishing. Not breaking. Not Ignoring... Healing. But I must be careful. This healing is for me when I return, not before. Return. What a beautiful word. We see this over and over again in the scripture. When His children come to Him wanting clean hearts, he responds with healing. Mustard Seed Steps The tragedy is that so few actually come to Him. The message is this: I must not run from Him. And I don't need to fix everything first (but I need willingness). Sometimes I can be in so deep, all ...

  Therefore, he had to be like his brothers and sisters in every way, so that he could become a merciful and faithful high priest in matters pertaining to God, to make atonement for the sins of the people. For since he himself has suffered when he was tempted, he is able to help those who are tempted. Hebrews 2:17-18 It feels like He's mad at me. I get tempted. And this verse says that I suffer when tempted. Suffer. That means it is trying, testing, difficult. I can't wave my hand and make it go away. But in other scripture He says He will never leave me nor forsake me. He is with me. But it doesn't feel that way. It feels like He's mad at me or not really paying attention. Both are wrong. When I get tempted, it doesn't mean that he's mad nor absent. It's a test. And He is there with me. And it can be so hard to trust that. When that temptation comes, it is important for me to turn to Him, and really, that might feel like the last thing I want to do in that ...

To You, O Lord , do I lift up my soul. O my God, I trust in You; may I not be ashamed; may my enemies not triumph over me. Psalm 25:1-2 Trust Believers in Jesus turn to Him. They share their lives with Him. When I'm feeling down, it is easy to do the opposite. I typically want to zombie-out. Pretend that everything is okay. Hey, I don't want people to ask questions, right? The Psalmist says he lifts his soul to God. That is saying, "Here I am Lord. I am yours. I surrender." "And I trust in You." Why does that bible repeat this over and over again? Trust in Jesus. Trust the Lord. Trust God. I bet it says it 150 times (I'm guessing). Why the repetition? Maybe his people need to keep hearing it. Maybe it's very easy to quit trusting Him. I need to hear it over and over for sure. I easily run right back to that horrible place where I wall myself off, but pretend like I have it all handled. Not depending on Him. Not Ashamed I must trust. When I'm trus...