Who I Am In Christ Devotionals

This post is an audio only series of 7 podcast episodes on Psalm 119. You can find part 1 of the series here: https://arseayli.blogspot.com/2023/02/the-psalm-119-series-part-1.html.  If you like these or if you have a helpful critique, please let me know at arseayli@gmail.com.

  But now, since you know God, or rather have become known by God, how can you turn back again to the weak and worthless elements? Do you want to be enslaved to them all over again? Galatians 4:9  Believers, children of God, those called by him to be holy, slip sometimes. I certainly do. I can slip in two general ways; neither of them is about depending on God. I can slip by just letting go and ignore being godly. I can give into my flesh. This always nips my behind when I go there. I can laugh and seemingly enjoy it for a minute; then, it’s like some iron gate clashes, closes in my face, leaving me foolish and stupid. And then, if I’m still stupid, I try to work my way into God’s good graces, so He’ll talk to me again. Of course the bible tells me to draw near to God and He will draw near to me. And really, I think that’s just an awareness. God is already with me. But if I am acknowledging the relationship I have with God, if I am seeking Him, if I am looking for Him, if I am humb

  When the chariot commanders saw Jehoshaphat, they shouted, “He must be the king of Israel!” So they turned to attack him, but Jehoshaphat cried out and the Lord helped him. God drew them away from him. 2 Chronicles 18:31 CSB Jehoshaphat is one of the great names in the bible. I just had to say that. By the way, it means Yahweh is judge. Okay. Jehoshaphat was a king of Judah, and he was a mixed bag as kings go. He did some really good things, and he did some dumb and dumber ones too. But I’ll let you look that stuff up. It’s great bible history. And Jehoshaphat was right in the middle of one of his not-so-smooth moves when the events in this passage happened. He was in a battle. And it wasn’t even his battle; it was Israel’s King Ahab’s fight. Jehoshaphat was along for the ride, a ride he should have never taken. If the name Ahab doesn’t ring a bell, remember this: he was Jezebel’s husband. For many, her name is synonymous with evil. So Jezebel’s husband, King Ahab asked Jehosha

  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

  Do not be deceived: “Bad company corrupts good morals.” 1 Corinthians 15:33 Don’t be deceived: God is not mocked. For whatever a person sows he will also reap, because the one who sows to his flesh will reap destruction from the flesh, but the one who sows to the Spirit will reap eternal life from the Spirit. Galatians 6:7-8 Paul wrote letters to churches in the city of Corinth and Galatia. Believers. And in both of them he says this: do not be deceived. So, just in case I wonder, believers can be deceived. Even though He has given us a spirit of sound judgement (2 Timothy 1:7), in my pride, I can ignore that divine power and be deceived. To the Corinthian church he warned them about what? Bad company. Bad company is a huge problem for believers today. Huge. It’s a huge problem for me. Follow me here. Almost every believer I know has an endless supply of bad company right in their pocket. All of those things that the book of Proverbs warns young men about are on my “smart” ph

You caused me to experience many troubles and misfortunes, but you will revive me again. You will bring me up again, even from the depths of the earth. You will increase my honor and comfort me once again. Therefore, I will praise you with a harp for your faithfulness, my God; I will sing to you with a lyre, Holy One of Israel. Psalm 71:20-22 This verse makes my head spin around and say, “Wait, what did that just say?” The Psalmist, talking to God says, “You caused me to experience many troubles and misfortunes.” God caused. Not the devil. In my imagination, when I hurt, I can wrongly think that God is far away from me. I can think He wishes I wasn’t going through it. That’s not what the verse says. God causes my troubles and misfortune. That’s heavy.  And of course He loves me. How can I get those ideas to synch together? Here’s the question: Why would a loving God do such a thing? Here’s my thought: over and over in the Bible God tells His covenant people to depend on Him. This must