Through the Eyes of Chirst

I have a poster hanging by my bathroom mirror. It's a beautiful work of calligraphy and it tells me Who I Am in Christ. I read it regularly and it's changed me a lot. It lets me know when I'm feeling down or discouraged because I'm believing a lie. The words on it release me from shame and insecurity.

I am God's child...Christ's friend...free forever from condemnation...cannot be separated from the love of God...can find grace and mercy in time of need...have been chosen and appointed to bear fruit...may approach God with freedom and confidence...

One day I was standing there, my peace disturbed by the actions of someone else, when I felt convicted to read those statements with the offenders name in place of "I". You see, these statements are true of everyone who has received by faith the work of Christ on the cross. With His blood He purchased this freedom for all of us.

_____ is a friend of God..._____ is bought with a price and belongs to God...______ has been justified..._____ is free from any charge against him...______ cannot be separated from the love of God..._______ is hidden with Christ in God...______ is God's temple...______ is God's coworker...______ is seated with Christ in the heavenly realm...

By the time I had read all thirty-three statements in this other person's name, I was humbled and aware of a much greater love in my heart than I'd had before. I'd seen them through the eyes of Christ. I was able to extend grace and honor--and it wasn't hard. My mind had been renewed.

In this case, I needed to let go of an offense. If confrontation had been required, I can't imagine a better way to prepare yourself than by reading this list with the other person's name inserted. Christ has paid such a high price for our freedom. He wants us to know who we are, and He wants us to relate to His other children based on who He says they are, not on how they behave.

Click here to see the full list of statements and scriptures about who you are in Christ. Study the supporting scriptures. Receiving it and believing it about yourself and others will change your life. Knowing that this is what Christ purchased for unbelievers will give you a greater passion to lead others into this truth--He thought we were all worth dying for.

YOU have been adopted as God's child...have access to God
through the Holy Spirit...
have been redeemed and forgiven...have not been given a spirit of fear,
but of power, love and a sound mind...are born of God and
the evil one cannot touch you...are a personal witness of Christ...
a minister of reconciliation for God...God's workmanship....


Therefore, accept each other just as Christ
has accepted you so that God will be given glory.
Romans 15:7

Letters from the Enemy

Have you had a letter from the enemy lately? I have. In fact, they're as regular as junk mail and many are as easy to toss, but once in a while you get one that has a way a grabbing your attention and you think it's actually for you.

King Hezekiah got a letter from the enemy too.* Even though it was written about three thousand years ago, it sounds a lot like the ones I get. The gist of the message is a two-pronged attack. First, will God really do what He says He'll do? (Brings to mind a conversation in a Garden...) Second, is "look at all the times I have conquered in the past". Clearly, in six thousand plus years he hasn't changed his tactics a bit--probably because they often work!

Hezekiah took his letter "to the Lord's Temple and spread it out before the Lord and...prayed." His prayer included an acknowledgment that the enemy has indeed succeeded before, a desperate plea for deliverance, and worship. And that's pretty much what we need to do with the letters the enemy sends our way.

After Hezekiah prayed, God made a promise of protection to him which concluded with these words: "The passionate commitment of the Lord of Heaven's Armies will make this happen!" How can we lose if we have the passionate commitment of the Lord of Heaven's Armies! Sure enough, not even an arrow struck the wall of Hezekiah's city. God sent an angel to destroy his enemy.

If you have any letters from the enemy lying around, I suggest you follow Hezekiah's example. Go before your Father and pray. Strengthen your faith by reminding yourself of ways God has defended you in the past. Encourage yourself with testimonies from others. And praise Him. Always praise Him. You have His passionate commitment that He will come and save you.

They will fight you, but they will fail.
For I am with you, and I will take care of you.
I, the Lord, have spoken.
Jeremiah 1:19

*2 Kings 19, 2 Chronicles 32, Isaiah 36

To Know Him

We've been having problems with our well. The pump in our well, to be exact. In any event, the result is the same: no running water for a few days. Inconvenient but not a disaster. I knew it was only a matter of time until it was fixed. I had no doubt. My kids on the other hand had a few "what ifs". What if Daddy can't fix it? What if he can't buy a new one? What if the new one doesn't work.

All of their "what ifs" had no power to shake my confidence. You see, I know my husband. I know he has the skills and resources to do the job. I wasn't concerned with how he'd do it. I wasn't concerned that he wouldn't take care of it. Not only am I aware of his skills and abilities, I know his character. I knew that because of his love for our family he would be hard at work to meet our needs. It wasn't fun waiting, but my job was patient trust.

I want to have the same kind of confidence in my Heavenly Papa. He has all the power and resources necessary to meet our every need, but we often become distressed and cry out, "What if...?!"

The Bible is full of reasons to believe. In the Old Testament we see His mighty power to save, deliver and provide. The New Testament is full of His compassion, mercy, love, and healing. Every page reveals His character. Our confidence grows as we become acquainted with His character. Inversely, it shrinks when we focus on the magnitude of the problem. A huge faith booster is telling and remembering your stories of what He has done and asking others to tell theirs.

When we keep our thoughts fixed on Him and His greatness our "what ifs" dissolve into peace. We begin to know Him. We can wait in confidence.

I don't know what you're going through today--it may be something I've never experienced, but I do know Him and I know He's worthy of your trust. He loves you beyond your wildest imaginings. What matters to you matters to Him.

Look up into the heavens.
Who created the stars?
He brings them out like an army, one after another,
calling each by its name.
Because of his great power and incomparable strength,
not a single one is missing.
O Jacob, how can you say the Lord does not see your troubles?
O Israel, how can you say God ignores your rights?
Have you never heard?
Have you never understood?
The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of all the earth.
He never grows weak or weary.
No one can measure the depths of his understanding.
He gives power to the weak and strength to the powerless.
Even youths will become weak and tired,
and young men will fall in exhaustion.
But those who trust in the Lord will find new strength.
They will soar high on wings like eagles.
They will run and not grow weary.
They will walk and not faint.
(Isaiah 40:26-31)

The Source and Supply

There once was a man whose son was tormented by evil spirits. His father was heartbroken and longed for his son to be healed. The father brought his son to the religious leaders and they debated the "whys and wherefores" of the boy's condition. He brought his son to the disciples of Jesus and they did their best without success. And then he brought him to Jesus.

"Have mercy on us and help us, if you can," the father pleaded.

"What do you mean, 'If I can?'" Jesus asked. "Anything is possible if a person believes."

The father instantly cried out, "I do believe, but help me overcome my unbelief!"

And Jesus healed the boy.

I love this story. "I do believe, but help me overcome my unbelief!"

So often we're paralyzed by an awareness that we don't believe enough, love enough, give enough.... And so we stay stuck in condemnation as though by feeling guilty enough we can in any way change the lack. This man had enough faith to come to Jesus, but also knew that there was still unbelief in his heart. He brought what he had to Jesus. It was enough.

We need to throw ourselves at the feet of Jesus and confess, "I believe, help my unbelief. I love, but I need to you to increase my love. I give myself, but I know I still have reservations--help me to give myself more fully." And it's enough. It's only by bringing what we have to Him that He can increase it. Our desire for more is irresistible to Him. What a merciful God we have!!

"I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns." (Phil. 1:6)

"Let us keep our eyes fixed on Jesus, on whom our faith depends from beginning to end." (Hebrews 12:2a)

Our faith begins and ends in Him. Don't get stuck in feelings of self-pity, inadequacy, hopelessness, or shame. Relentlessly pursue God! He multiplies everything that is placed in His hands.

For everything comes from him and exists by his power
and is intended for his glory.
All glory to him forever!
Amen.
Romans 11:36

Deep Roots, Strong Trees

"Our roots only go as deep as they have to..."

I heard myself say this to a friend as we were chatting about the challenges of not having our usual supports of Bible study groups, etc., due to the irregular routines of summertime. I couldn't stop thinking about it.

Gathering together to encourage one another (Hebrews 10:25) is something we're instructed to do. It's an essential and wonderful part of being in a spiritual family. However, it's also easy to get used to slurping up the "water" that everyone brings and we're not so readily aware of the need for our own roots to go deep, deep into relationship with God. Trees with deep roots can better withstand storms and produce more fruit regardless of poor weather conditions.

Interrupted schedules can reveal the need. Sometimes our struggles are so great that the comfort of our friends isn't enough to sustain us. The not-so-obvious blessing in this is that, in this place, there's great potential for something truly marvelous to happen. "If you look for me wholeheartedly, you will find me. I will be found by you, says the Lord. I will end your captivity and restore your fortunes." (Jeremiah 29:13-14a)

Challenging times can leave us wanting to sink into despair or self-pity at the very time that we need to rouse ourselves to wholehearted seeking.

Seek with the passion of David: I earnestly search for you! My soul thirsts for you; my whole body longs for you in this parched and weary land where there is no water. (Ps. 63:1)

Seek with the determination of Jacob: I will not let you go until you bless me! (Gen 32:26)

Seek with the desperation of Job: Though He slay me, yet will I trust Him! (Job 13:15)

Seek...find...live!

But blessed are those who trust in the Lord
and have made the Lord their hope and confidence.
They are like trees planted along a riverbank,
with roots that reach deep into the water.
Such trees are not bothered by the heat
or worried by long months of drought.
Their leaves stay green, and they never stop producing fruit.
Jeremiah 17:7-8

Declaration of...Faith

June is a crazy month for me... As a teacher and parent there's just a whole lot going on. It all screeches to a halt with a giant crescendo on the Last Day of School and I discover that I'm utterly exhausted. Flat. I long for sleep and when I'm not sleeping, all I want to do is lie around and read.

It's really important to take time to rest and relax--for our bodies, our souls, and our spirits. After a couple of days of rest, I was still feeling like I was carrying around a weight in my soul. I've learned that you can be weary in body without being weighted down in soul and spirit so I was motivated to get to the root of this. I picked up a piece of paper I have entitled "Daily Confessions of Faith". I began to speak out loud, "This is going to be a great day. God is guiding and directing my steps. His favor is surrounding me. Goodness and mercy are following me. I am excited about today. I am starting my day with faith and expectancy and I am anticipating good things..."

As soon as I began to speak, light began to flood my soul! Heaviness and weariness can creep in just because we have made agreements with the "facts" of our lives rather than God's truth. Confession of His truth breaks off the chains of heaviness! This is not the same thing as the power of positive thinking. The power of positive thinking rests in our ability to think up good thoughts, keep on thinking them, and somehow create our own reality. Success rests in our ability to do it. It's a counterfeit. The real thing is declaring what God has already said to be true. He said it, He promises it, it has already been created for us, we simply need to receive it. The power is of God rather than of us.

You can find all kinds of "confessions" on the internet. You want to be sure that you're confessing something rock-solidly based on the Word of God. I highly recommend Dr. Neil Anderson's materials. I regularly use his confessions Who I Am in Christ and 20 Cans of Success.

It's also important to "declare" your confession, to speak it out loud. Yesterday my daughter was feeling miserable. I encouraged her to go out onto the deck and shout, "I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength!" It was hard to do. At first all she could do was whisper, but when she declared it a huge smile filled her face!! The lie of discouragement was dispelled and truth brought freedom and joy!

"You will also declare a thing,
and it will be established for you;
so light will shine on your ways."
Job 22:28 NKJV

Scars

I was mowing the lawn for the first time this season when I moved a piece of plywood that was slightly stuck and, in the process, gouged my calf with a corner. It really hurt and didn't look so good for quite a few days. It's looking better today. I sarcastically observed that "it'll add to the beauty of that leg". For some reason I have a lot of scars on that one...

Like the one on my knee from 1979 that still has rocks in it. I should have obeyed my mom and not taken my brother on the back of my banana seat bike... My kids love that story. Signs that mom once blew it too--and it wasn't the end of the story!

This got me to thinking about the scars on our hearts. We seldom think of them as beautiful and sometimes there's a bit of shame attached to them, but there's tremendous beauty in the miracle of a wound that has been healed.

Sometimes we carry scars that are "almost" healed, but are still a bit red and sensitive and seem like they've been that way for a long time. It's not meant to stay that way. Pray for complete healing. Ask someone you trust to pray with you.* God will answer--He's invested everything in your healing. He's answered this prayer for me in many ways and there's no end to His creativity. Pray with expectation!

There are times when our hearts have been healed, but shame lingers. We think it's the story of The Stupid Thing I Did or The Awful Thing That Happened to Me. This is a terrible lie that can stop the flow of Life from us to others. The truth is that everyone has wounds, but we have a testimony of a glorious Savior who heals the brokenhearted and binds up our wounds.

A wound that has healed is a beautiful thing. It's a testimony, a story, that tells of a great Healer who gave everything so we could be healed. Stories of healing need to be shared...everyone around you is in need of that hope!

The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is upon me,
for the LORD has anointed me to
bring good news to the poor.
He has sent me to comfort the brokenhearted
and to proclaim that captives will be freed.
He has sent me to tell those who mourn
that the time of the LORD'S favour has come
and, with it, the day of God's anger against their enemies.
To all who mourn in Israel,
he will give a crown of beauty for ashes,
a joyous blessing instead of mourning,
festive praise instead of despair.
In their righteousness, they will be like great oaks
that the LORD has planted for his own glory.
Isaiah 61: 1-3

*You can send me a private message if you'd like me to pray--I'd love to pray for you.