Who I Am In Christ Devotionals

“As many as I love, I rebuke and discipline. So be zealous and repent.”  Revelation 3:19 Some Christians say that God does not discipline believers.  And I get where they are coming from.  They are wanting people to come freely to Jesus without fear. So they present God as only being nice. Arms out. Hugs. Everything is happy. So lets say that someone buys this idea that God does not discipline his children. Now, something bad happens.  Something so bad that the believer is miserable for a long, long time. Now what do we have? The answer from the people who say God does not discipline his Children is that God didn’t do that to the person; Satan did it.  Now, we have a bigger problem I think. Now we have an almighty God that supposedly loves me, but he can’t keep something miserable from happening to me.  How about this: God loves me. And he disciplines me.  He disciplines me because He loves me. He saved me, sure. And that is marvelous. But now that I a...

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 ...

I cry aloud to the Lord ; I plead aloud to the Lord for mercy. I pour out my complaint before him; I reveal my trouble to him.  Psalm 142:1-2 (CSB) The Lord expects me to seek Him out. And He knows I’m not an avid seeker. He knows He needs to poke me sometimes to get me moving. And these pokes come in the form of everything that happens in the tapestry of time and space. Everything that happens is directly a part of His plan.  Sometimes things feel so incredibly bad. In this Psalm, David is hiding in a cave. Now, let’s remember the history. Samuel the prophet anointed David while Saul was still king. And God began to bless David. It seemed like everything David put his hand to turned out right. He killed the giant. He was victorious in battle . (See 1 Samuel) Then, things went incredibly bad. And Saul, the still reigning king, started to hunt David down to kill him.  David hid out in caves with his mighty men. And he got depressed. The prophet had told him he would reign,...

Note: The audio podcast here is a RambleCast and was recorded before the blog piece was written, so it does not match word for word. Not even close.  I sought the Lord , and he answered me and rescued me from all my fears. Those who look to him are radiant with joy; their faces will never be ashamed. This poor man cried, and the Lord heard him and saved him from all his troubles. The angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear him, and rescues them.  Psalm 34:4-7 (CSB) Some days I really beat myself up. Things not going great. Get so down that I get down for being down. And guess what? I don't ever have to do that again. I don't have to. I don't. I can always turn to Jesus. I have the Holy Spirit living right inside of me, right? I am His temple. I get to stand on that. I must.  And that's what the Psalmist of Psalm 34 knows. He owns it.  "I sought the Lord and He answered me." Hey, I could stop right there and think on just that for a thousand years or mo...

  For the Lord your God is the God of gods and Lord of lords, the great, mighty, and awe-inspiring God, showing no partiality and taking no bribe. Deuteronomy 10:17 (CSB)

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." Neve...

Who is a God like you, pardoning iniquity and passing over transgression for the remnant of his inheritance? He does not retain his anger forever, because he delights in steadfast love. He will again have compassion on us; he will tread our iniquities underfoot. You will cast all our sins into the depths of the sea. Micah 7:18‭-‬19 ESV Who am I in Christ? I am a receiver of divine mercy. Like an awkward wide receiver in a middle school football game, the football of mercy dropped into my arms. Only no opponent can intercept it. And I will step into the end zone, for He who has begun a good work in me will continue until I am perfected in Him. I am blessed.  He has pardoned me, a hopeless bum who had nothing but a desolate future ahead.  I am not only a pardoned criminal. I am now His grateful child! What? Yes! I am an inheritor of good gifts which he continually showers upon me.  And sure, He has been angry with me. But not anymore. And even now, when I stumble, when I fa...