Archive for the ‘Christian Living’ Category

You are Blessed

Friday, October 27th, 2017

you-are-blessed

You are blessed! What does it mean to live in blessing? Do you know that Jesus came that we might have life, and have it more abundantly? (John 10:10)

If we understand how to receive God’s blessings, we will be able to give to others what we have received; in turn, blessing those around us.

Life in abundance, that’s what Christ came to give us. It doesn’t mean monetarily, although in my life, God has supernaturally blessed me beyond my wildest dreams many times in the area of finances. The two most lavish things I’ve gotten from God is a trip to the Bahamas (God gave me back my honeymoon from the rapist) and a trip to Guatemala (to show my husband and kids where I grew up as a missionary kid). Both of these vacations were funded supernaturally by money coming in suddenly from unexpected sources at the last minute when we had no money whatsoever.

Last week God gave me a piano. It cost me nothing, and it was delivered at no cost. My son was taking piano lessons and is excelling with a natural talent for it. I had no money, so I asked God for a piano for my son. You see, I still don’t have any money, but I’m walking in abundance. The reason I’m supernaturally rich is because I’m connected to an Almighty God who owns everything.

blessed

Blessed are the poor, because they rely on God for everything. Cursed are the rich, who have no need of anything and therefore don’t actually lean on God at all. (Cue the rich young ruler walking off the stage with no salvation.)

But blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence is in Him.” Jeremiah 17:7 NIV

In the beatitudes from Matthew 5:3-12, Jesus says that the following people are especially blessed: the poor in spirit, those who mourn, the meek, those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, the merciful, the pure in heart, the peacemakers, those who are persecuted. Are any of these things true about you? Jesus says these people receive blessings: heaven, comfort, inheritance, satisfaction, mercy, seeing God, being called sons of God, and a great reward in heaven.

blessed

Those who persevere under trial are blessed (James 1:12). You will come out as gold on the other side of the trial, so if you don’t feel like you are living the inwardly abundant life, hold on. You will make it. The agony will be lifted. You will be comforted and healed.

“O taste and see that the Lord is good;
How blessed is the man who takes refuge in Him!” Psalm 34:8 NASB

Matthew 10:37 says that freely you have received, freely give. When God blesses us, we can’t help but have it spill out to others. Look for ways to bless the people around you, especially your own family members.

I have always loved this benediction from Numbers 6:24-26, so I’ll end with this:

“The Lord bless you and keep you;
the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you;
the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace.”

If you don’t want to miss any of these posts from the series “31 Days to Regaining Your Identity,” why not sign up for my free monthly newsletter below, and follow my prayer page on Facebook.

you-are-a-masterpiece

 

My daughter and I created the artwork for this series from the course {aff} “You are a Masterpiece” by Alicia Gratehouse. If you love to do art and are discovering who you are in Christ, this is a great art course for you!

You are Equipped and Strong

Thursday, October 26th, 2017

you-are-equipped-and-strong

You are equipped and strong. Not only do you already have everything you need to live out your purpose, but you are empowered by God to do so!

First of all, you must know that you are equipped by God. 2 Peter 1:3 NASB says: “Seeing that His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness, through the true knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence.” His divine power is the Holy Spirit who dwells in us. It’s the Holy Spirit that equips us, not our own strength.

We also have the Scriptures to equip us. Scripture is God-breathed and useful “so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.” 2 Timothy 3:17 NIV

May God “equip you with everything good for doing his will,” says Hebrews 13:21 NIV. God will equip you with the right personality to fit the job description of what He designed you for. He will give you whatever experiences you need to equip you for what lies ahead. He has already given you the gifts and talents that He intends for you to use.

equipped

Secondly, you must know that you are strong. The Holy Spirit empowers us to do what He has called us to do. “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you,” says Acts 1:8a ESV, and we are told to be strong and courageous (Joshua 1:9).

If the power that raised Christ from the dead lives in you (Romans 8:11), then you absolutely have the power that you need for whatever you are required to do.

equipped

If Satan or any other created thing tries to make you feel defeated, or that you are not good enough to do anything for the Lord, don’t listen to them! Listen God, who has created you to be you! If God says He has given you the power of the Holy Spirit, who are you to say you can do nothing? Yes, apart from Him we can do nothing (John 15:5), but with God all things are possible! (Matthew 19:26) This includes whatever God is asking you to do.

So step out in faith and do what God is calling you to do! You are equipped and strong!

eyes-of-the-Lord

If you don’t want to miss any of these posts from the series “31 Days to Regaining Your Identity,” why not sign up for my free monthly newsletter below, and follow my prayer page on Facebook.

you-are-a-masterpiece

 

My daughter and I created the artwork for this series from the course {aff} “You are a Masterpiece” by Alicia Gratehouse. If you love to do art and are discovering who you are in Christ, this is a great art course for you!

You are a Minister of Reconciliation

Wednesday, October 25th, 2017

minister-of-reconciliation

You are a minister of reconciliation! We reconcile people to God!

“Now all these things are from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation, namely, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and He has committed to us the word of reconciliation. Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were making an appeal through us; we beg you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.” 2 Corinthians 5:18-20 NASB

Someone commented on my blog post “You are a Citizen of Heaven” that we are ambassadors for Christ because we live in a place that is not our home. We have another city waiting for us in heaven, and that’s where we truly belong, not here. We are therefore Christ’s ambassador, representing Him to the people around us who do not yet know Him.

Because we know Christ and He lives in us, we are the link that can cause people to be reconciled to God. They see the love of Jesus in our eyes, and they are drawn to that supernatural love. The more we know who we are, the more we shine Jesus to others, and the more people will be drawn to Christ.

mini-masterpieces

When people ask us for the hope that is within us, we can tell them that it’s Christ! No matter how horrible this life is, we will one day be with Christ forever in heaven, without any tears or sorrow. There will only be joy, and we can have a taste of that joy when we yield to Him here on earth, even in the middle of difficult circumstances.

“But sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts, always being ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you, yet with gentleness and reverence.” 1 Peter 3:15 NASB

reconciliation

Remember, you are a minister of reconciliation—you have the power within you to win people for Christ! Just ask for opportunities to share your faith. If you are going through sorrow, allow other believers to minister to you so that you can be filled up and strengthened. When you ask Christ what He wants you to do and do it, there is so much joy! It’s energizing!

If you don’t want to miss any of these posts from the series “31 Days to Regaining Your Identity,” why not sign up for my free monthly newsletter below, and follow my prayer page on Facebook.

you-are-a-masterpiece

 

My daughter and I created the artwork for this series from the course {aff} “You are a Masterpiece” by Alicia Gratehouse. If you love to do art and are discovering who you are in Christ, this is a great art course for you!

You are United with Christ

Tuesday, October 24th, 2017

you-are-united-with-Christ

You are united with Christ.

Jesus says, in His high priestly prayer for unity: “The glory which You have given Me I have given to them, that they may be one, just as We are one; I in them and You in Me, that they may be perfected in unity.” John 17:22-23a NASB

Can you imagine the incredible unity that Christ is talking about? He just said that in the same way that God the Father and God the Son are one, so we as believers are to have the same kind of unity. God the Father and God the Son are the same essence. They have one will. They are one in every sense of the word except that they are separate individuals. It’s an internal unity, and it must be possible among believers, or Jesus would not have prayed it.

We see in the early church this kind of unity, where people shared everything with each other and didn’t hoard anything. They broke bread and had fellowship with each other, laughing and crying together in sweet unity. They prayed together and didn’t care about earthly objects, but only about the will of God to be accomplished. This is why they had so much power in the Spirit, because they had no idols. Christ was all in all.

Being united with Christ is what it means to be saved. When you invite Christ into your life, Christ is in you (2 Corinthians 13:5), and you are in Christ (1 Corinthians 1:30).

watercolor

“But whoever is united with the Lord is one with him in spirit.” 1 Corinthians 6:17

And if Christ is in each of us, of course we will love each other and have unity in the Spirit because we love Jesus. We see Jesus when we see each other. If this is not happening, perhaps you are around carnal Christians who are not allowing Christ to be their greatest joy. (I estimate that up to 90% of church-goers are not true believers. You cannot see Christ in them at all because He isn’t there.) Out of selfishness, carnal Christians live their lives for themselves. Scripture asks us to examine if we are in the faith, in case we are not actually saved. If Christ is in us, we will be excited about the things of God. It is oxygen and life and feels clean and fresh and beautiful.

A. W. Tozer says: “I will never be through talking about the union of the soul with the Savior, the conscious union of the believer’s heart with Jesus. Remember, I am not talking about a ‘theological union’ only. I am speaking also of a conscious union, a union that is felt and experienced.”

It is not just a theoretical idea that we are united with Christ—He and we are ACTUALLY one. Let that sink in… Wow!

unity-in-Christ

This means that we are also united with Christ in His death and resurrection: “For if we have become united with Him in the likeness of His death, certainly we shall also be in the likeness of His resurrection.” Romans 6:5 NASB

When we choose to die to sin, we experience resurrection power in our lives as we see impossible things happen—changed lives, answered prayer, bitterness gone, healing from past wounds, etc.

If you want to understand the illustration of the Vine and the branches from John 15 that I explained in the video, I wrote more about that here: Abiding in the Vine.

If you don’t want to miss any of these posts from the series “31 Days to Regaining Your Identity,” why not sign up for my free monthly newsletter below, and follow my prayer page on Facebook.

you-are-a-masterpiece

 

My daughter and I created the artwork for this series from the course {aff} “You are a Masterpiece” by Alicia Gratehouse. If you love to do art and are discovering who you are in Christ, this is a great art course for you!