Who I Am In Christ Devotionals

 

  "In him we have boldness and confident access through faith in him." Ephesians 3:12 Unending, God-given Supply I am bold in Him. Right? I don't know; I don't feel so bold. If you want to know the embarrassing truth, I feel sorta timid.  I don't want to open my mouth. I don't want to reveal my thoughts. I even carry around old remembered shame from my childhood, so I'm afraid of getting hit with even more hard knocks. But this verse says I have boldness. Now. Present tense. It's mine. So who should I believe? The scripture or me?  The scripture, Right?  Okay, why am I even asking such an obvious question? Here's why: I debate this in my own mind regularly. Should I listen to Jesus or not? And maybe the words don't form so obviously wrong in my mind, but my actions show that the debate took place, and that I decided to do the thing I wanted to do.  I must stand on this: The Word of God is the truth. Period.  So, I actually DO have boldness.  Wh

 

For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them. Ephesians 2:10 Things work out, even very painful things, in His time. I am His workmanship. That means He put thought and wisdom into making me. He knew what He was doing when He made me, when He saved me, and made me new. I am now a new creation. I am being made a new creation. And one day in glory, I will be fully complete. I have heard many testimonies of people who got saved and still struggled with their hurts, habits, and hang-ups. God kept working. They learned to keep coming to him over and over. And when they thought they were fully depending on Him, they realized they were still holding back something for themselves.  God demands all. I know that sounds impossible; He makes it possible.  He chisels away. Working, crafting. Wiser than Solomon. More talented than Michelangelo.  Things work out, even very painful things, in His time. I am His workmanshi

"Let my cry come before you, O Lord; give me understanding according to your word!" Psalm 119:169 Hiding Does Not Work Some days, I hurt and don't understand why. When I feel shame or anger, my thinking gets cloudy. I want to hide it, unfeel it. And I've tried (cause that's such a healthy thing to do). Hiding does not work. There's no running from it. I must cry out. (Maybe not in the middle of the grocery store...) But I need to feel it. If I refuse to feel this, I isolate myself from feelings of joy, respect, kindness, and forgiveness too. I need to welcome the feelings. Not hide. No denial. The feelings might be there because I caused damage, or because I feel betrayed or misunderstood. Open About How I Feel The Psalmist says, "Let my cry come before you, O Lord." This is being open before the Lord about how I feel. In the depth of my pain, I don't understand. I just feel bad. Feelings aren't understanding. Being honest about them can lead

  "Turn to me and be gracious to me, as is your way with those who love your name. Keep steady my steps according to your promise, and let no iniquity get dominion over me." Psalm 119:132‭-‬133