Category: Inheritance and Identity in Christ

“Stand with me bro” I need you by my side.

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Because Jesus died on the cross and rose from the dead, I have brothers and sisters in Christ.  Jesus speaks of His family of faith and calls us His brothers, sisters and Bro and sis familymother in Matthew 12:48-50. ” 48 But he replied to the man who told him, “Who is my mother, and who are my brothers?”49 And stretching out his hand toward his disciples, he said, “Here are my mother and my brothers! 50 For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother.”    Jesus’ earthly family had come looking for Him and this was His reply.   Those who believe in Jesus and strive to follow God’s Word are considered family by Jesus.   What a privileged position this is!  Not only are we linked to Jesus but we share a family position with all believers who know Him as Lord and seek to follow His ways.  

This family bond is something very special.  I have sisters in Christ that I see infrequently as our paths in life have taken different directions.  It is amazing to me that when we meet it is as if we were never apart.  That instant bond is there and we see love, trust and hope in being with each other.  When a brother or sister leaves, it is always with the hope of seeing them again either here on earth or in heaven.  The constancy of the bond of fellowship is always present and binds us in love.

Here are a few scriptures about brothers and sisters in Christ and how we are to work together:  Romans 15:30 “I appeal to you, brothers, by our Lord Jesus Christ and by the love of the Spirit, to strive together with me in your prayers to God on my behalf,”  We are to pray and strive together to do God’s will.    1 Corinthians 15:58 “Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain.”  We are to stand together firmly as we work for the Lord with hope.    Philippians 4:1 “Therefore, my brothers, whom I love and long for, my joy and crown, stand firm thus in the Lord, my beloved.”  We have a shared love in Christ and a desire to stand firmly for Christ.    2 Thessalonians 3:13 “As for you, brothers, do not grow weary in doing good.”   We are to work together to do good in the name of Christ.

What a great comfort and encouragement it is that we have brothers and sisters in faith that we can stand with in our shared love for Christ and work together to accomplish His purposes.

Linda

bro and sis in ChristSuggestion:  Tell one of your brothers or sisters in Christ how you appreciate their prayers on your behalf or how you love standing and working with them or how much you love and appreciate them or how much it means to you to have someone to share in the good work of Jesus or all of the above!  A kind work of appreciation brings glory to God as He works within us.

Dearly Loved, that’s me!

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Because Jesus died on the cross and rose from the dead, I have the Father’s love.  Knowing you are loved gives power, affirmation, hope and joy.  Knowing you are love by God the Father fills us with confidence, hope, security, and comfort.  Scripture speaks frequently of God’s love for us.  Jesus was talking to the disciples about God’s love and his imminent return to the Father shortly before His death in  John 16:27-28. “For the Father You-are-dearly-loved-facehimself loves you dearly because you love me and believe that I came from God. 28 Yes, I came from the Father into the world, and now I will leave the world and return to the Father.” Jesus said I am dearly loved by God because of my love for Him.  God loves that I love Jesus! When you think about one of your  loved ones, aren’t there things you really love about them.  Maybe it is the way they smile, maybe that they always hug you so tightly or say loving things to you for no reason except that they love you.  This little portion of scripture gives us a glimpse into God’s character and love.  He loves us dearly- not a little bit of love but a special love that is close to His heart.  The motivation for this dear love is because I love His son.  Isn’t that like a good Father?  As earthly mothers and fathers, we love the kids that love our kids.  We cherish them and want our kids to associate with them.  Being a good Father, God loves and cherishes us with a special love because we love Jesus.   What a privileged and heart warming thought to ponder today!

I love JesusLinda

Suggestion:  Think about your love for Jesus.  How has He brought you to faith, and provided you with hope, joy, security and comfort.  Know that the things you love about Jesus makes God the Father love you even more.

 

I have the keys to a home in heaven. Thank you Jesus.

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Because Christ died on the cross and rose from the dead, I have a place in heaven.  I don’t spend a lot of time thinking about my eternal home in heaven because I’m usually so preoccupied with life in the here and now that it seems distant.  However, the older I get the more I have pondered what this home will be like and who will be there with me.  I realize now the urgency for telling others about Jesus and His saving power, so that they will not be left behind.

Today’s scripture comes from John 14.  It is a familiar passage about the home Jesus is preparing for us and gives us great hope.  I like the extra meaning the Amplified version John-14-2gives John 14:1-4 ““Do not let your heart be troubled (afraid, cowardly). Believe[confidently] in God and trust in Him, [have faith, hold on to it, rely on it, keep going and] believe also in Me.2 In My Father’s house are many dwelling places. If it were not so, I would have told you, because I am going there to prepare a place for you.3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back again and I will take you to Myself, so that where I am you may be also.4 And [to the place] where I am going, you know the way.”   We are not to be afraid because through faith in Jesus we know that He is preparing our eternal home and that He will come get us when the time is right.  

Another passage in Ephesians reassures us that through faith in Jesus and because of God’s great love for us, we will be seated with Christ.  It is truly by God’s grace, His unmerited favor, that He made such a place for us,  as we did nothing to earn the riches we will receive.  Ephesians 2-4 Rich In MercyEphesians 2:4-7 “ But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, 5 even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— 6 and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus,7 so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.

In our eternal home will have a place of honor that is prepared for us by Christ himself, and we will be with Him for eternity.  My finite mind can only try to imagine such provision, but I know I only need to believe in Jesus and His saving work on the cross for it to be mine.

Linda

Suggestion:  Give some thought to heaven today and make a list of at least 5 things you know about it.  Need some help- read Revelation 21 or go back and reread today’s passages.  They are filled with promises about our heavenly home.  Hint- one of my favorites is Revelation 21:4

 

Given by Christ, Righteousness. Thank you Jesus.

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christ my righteousnessBecause Christ died on the cross and rose from the dead, I have Christ’s righteousness.  Christ was a man while on earth, pure, holy, without sin, filled with integrity, virtuous in behavior, humble and the list could continue.  Most importantly He was sinless and therefore in right standing with God the Father.  God cannot look upon sin so unless we are pure and holy we cannot be in a relationship with Him.  By saying, “I have Christ’s righteousness” I am proclaiming that I am in right standing with God.  I can know and communicate with Holy God.  Romans 5:19 and 2 Corinthians 5:21 explain how this happened for us through Christ’s work on the cross. Romans 5:19 “For just as through the disobedience of the one man the many were made sinners (that was Adam), so also through the obedience of the one man (Christ) the many will be made righteous.”  2 Corinthians 5:21 “God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.”  Through faith in Christ, I can have His Righteousness and come into a relationship with Almighty God.  Without Christ, we have no way get rid of our sin. We can never do enough good works.  We can never clean ourselves up enough to come before God.  Ephesians 2:8-9 puts it this way,“For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— 9 not by works, so that no one can boast.”  What a precious gift Christ’s righteousness is to me!

How do we process this for Lent?  Recognizing that our position before God is totally dependent upon Jesus and His redeeming work on the cross and resurrection from the dead should give us pause and create in us a sense of gratitude and humility.

Prayer:  Thank you Jesus that through faith in  your work on the cross I am able to come before You in prayer, study Your word with understanding and be indwelt by your Holy Spirit.  Thank you Jesus for your sacrifice on my behalf.  Amen.

Linda

the-willing-spirit-can-do-good-deeds-by-grace-quote-1Suggestion for today: Pray David’s prayer from Psalm 51: 10,12               Create in me a pure heart, O God,
    and renew a steadfast spirit within me.                                                   Restore to me the joy of your salvation
    and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me.

Sometime today, instead of taking credit for something good you are doing or did – give the praise to God.  Have a willing spirit that desires to please Him. Acknowledge Him with your thoughts- He knows your heart and spirit.

Do you have what it takes to survive Lent?

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Because Jesus died on the cross and rose from the dead, I have a spirit of power, love and self-discipline in my life.  When you begin something new it takes time for your mind, body and spirit to accept your new commitment.  You often doubt you have the resolve to see it through.  However, God’s Word tell us that when we accept Jesus as our Savior and His Holy Spirit comes to live in our hearts and minds, we have a new type of power living within us.  2 Timothy 1:7 “For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love and self-discipline.”   

2 Timothy 1 7Today thank God for the spirit of power He has put within you, for the love you have for yourself and others and the self-discipline to see things through.  We are not to be timid and shy away from difficult commitments but bold and filled with His Holy Spirit to contend with the world and the challenges it presents to us each day.  Take heart from Revelation 21:7 “He who overcomes [the world by adhering faithfully to Christ Jesus as Lord and Savior] will inherit these things, and I will be his God and he will be My son.”

Linda

Suggestion:  work on your self-discipline today as you continue with the self-denial you chose on Ash Wednesday. Today will be easier than yesterday.  Watch your self-discipline grow daily as we journey through Lent.

Hope, now and for eternity. Thank you Jesus.

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Because Jesus died on the cross and rose from the dead, I have hope.  Lent it a time of reflection and I was thinking what life would be like if Jesus had not come.  I would be dead in my sins without hope.  I would face eternal punishment because there would be no way to approach holy God.  Jesus’ death on the cross changed all that. Praise God! Thank you Jesus!  Here are some verses to offer up in praise for the work of our Savior.hope jesus blood

Psalm 62:5 “For God alone, O my soul, wait in silence, for my hope is from him.”

Romans 5:1-2 “Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. 2 Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we  rejoice  in hope of the glory of God.”

1 Peter 1:21 “who through him are believers in God, who raised him from the dead and gave him glory, so that your faith and hope are in God.”

Jesus_Christ_Our_Reason_For_Hope_637_637Because Jesus came, died and rose again, I can have hope for a life lived by faith today and a hope of future glory.   That is a blessed hope!  Thank you Jesus.

Linda

Suggestion:  Today as you consider the hope you have in Jesus, express to someone something you are hopeful about and why.  It could be as simple as “I hope you have a good day” to “I am hopeful because of Jesus.”   Show someone you possess hope. If they ask you why you have hope then you can explain,  as today you have the answer! Jesus.

Mercy is ours. Thank you Jesus.

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Because Jesus died on the cross and rose again, I have received mercy.  What mercy have I received?  By definition, mercy is kindness or compassionate treatment; relief from suffering.  Before I knew Jesus as my Savior, I was a condemned person.  Romans 3:23 tells us that we are all sinners before a holy God.  “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,”  Romans 6:23 tells us that sin has to be atoned or paid for and Jesus paid the price for my sin and treated me mercifully.  “For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”  I did nothing to deserve His act of mercy towards me.  Romans 5:8 “but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”  

1 Peter 1:9-10 explains this state of mercy I received because of Jesus in a beautiful way. “But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. 10 Once you were not a people, but now you are God’s people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.  How glorious it is to be the recipient of God’s mercy.  He treats me with His loving kindness and rescued me from eternal condemnation.  

Prayer: Thank you Jesus for giving and treating me with your eternal mercy and loving kindness. Open my eyes today to receive your marvelous light and treat others as you have treated me.  Amen.

Linda

popefrancis1Suggestion:  Try to grab hold of God’s mercy today in a new way.  Pray for an opportunity to do a random act of kindness or mercy towards someone.  That means look for ways to act with kindness/mercy when it would be unexpected,  like going out of your way to help someone without them even asking for help.  Be open to giving out mercy in God’s name today.

What have I learned?

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Today as I sit in our smoke filled area of Northern California, I think about those that have lost so much, endured so much and have yet much more to endure.  All of us fit into these categories somewhere.  I have written this summer and early fall about: our identity in Christ and what we have as our inheritance.  These are things we can claim through Christ that can not be lost, burned or stolen- they are eternal!  This gives us hope no matter what our future looks like right now,  In Christ there is always HOPE!  As I recap today for us, I am looking forward to my next series of blogs focusing on Thankfulness.  I am constantly reminded of how much I have to be thankful for each day and that my attitude should reflect thankfulness no matter what is happening around me.  I hope you will join me for this series leading up to Advent.

my-identity-in-christ1BECAUSE my identity is in CHRIST- I AM… tenderly loved by God (Jer 31:3), forgiven (Col 1:13-14), confident that His good work  begun in me will be perfected in me (Phil 1:6), chosen by God (Col 3:12), a sweet aroma to God (2 Cor 2:15), salt and light to the world (Matt 5:13-14), God’s workmanship (Eph 2:10, a child of light (1 Thess 5:5), a friend of God (John 15:15), an ambassador for Christ (2 Cor 5:20), God’s co-worker (2 Cor 6:1 and 1 Cor 3:9), a citizen of heaven (Philippians 3:20).  What an amazing identity we have in Christ!

BECAUSE of CHRIST I can claim as my  inheritance- I have….. wisdom (Jas 1:5), peace (John 14:27 and Rom 5:1), great and precious promises from God (1 Pet 1:4), been bought with a price, belong to Him and I’m freed from sin (1 Cor 6:19-20, Gal 5:1), the ability to approach God with boldness, freedom and confidence (Eph 3:12), the mind of Christ (1 Cor 2:16), access to God and belong to His household (Eph 2:18-19), and the assurance that all things in my life God can work them together for good ( Rom 8:28).  What an inheritance!  No taxes due- it was all paid for by Christ at the cross.

in christ alone IF you want too refresh your memory of this great identity and inheritance, visit my blogs again and reread, print or share with a friend.  We are truly blessed.  I have written 20 blogs on these topics and there are many more that can be written.  Perhaps it will revisit this next summer.

Thinking on all we have in Christ has led me to my next series focusing on Thanksgiving.  Scripture is rich in encouragement and admonition for us to be thankful.  During late October and November I will be focusing on Thanksgiving and cultivating an attitude of gratitude within myself.

Thanks for following and I pray you were uplifted and encouraged by all we have in Christ.

Linda

I am assured….

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romans 8 28Romans 8:28  “And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose”.   This is one of my favorite promises.   It is just packed with Lessons and Truths that give us hope and assurance of faith.

  1.   No circumstance is beyond God’s control.  God is sovereign and He can bring good things out of bad situations.    In 2 Chronicles 20:6, King Jehoshaphat affirms God’s sovereignty:  “O Lord, God of our fathers, are you not God in heaven? You rule over all the kingdoms of the nations. In your hand are power and might, so that none is able to withstand you.”  There is nothing in heaven or earth that is outside of God’s control.
  2. God intends good for me.  God is good and intends only good things for me.  “The Lord is good to those who wait for him, to the soul who seeks him.”  Lamentations 3:25 and Psalm 34:8  “Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good!
     Blessed is the man who takes refuge in him! ”  Nahum 1:7 “The Lord is good,
    a refuge in times of trouble.  He cares for those who trust in him.”   All of these verses promise God is good and intends good towards me, the believer.  Belief in God brings showers of goodness and purpose.
  3. God has a purpose to which he has called me.    2 Timothy 1:9-11 tells us that through Jesus “He has saved us and called us to a holy life—not because of anything we have done but because of his own purpose and grace.”
  4. God’s ways are not our ways.  “For my thoughts are not your thoughts,
    neither are your ways my ways,” declares the Lord.  Isaiah 55:8   Many times I do not understand the events, the suffering, senseless violence and evil that happen in our sin filled world.  Sin taints and destroys indiscriminately.  We simply must trust in our good sovereign God to work everything to good in His time.   Here is where faith is essential- trusting God in the face of adversity, trusting God that He is good, trusting God that He loves me and has good things planned for me, trusting God to avenge wrongs and vindicate the believers.

In all of this– are you called by God- do you believe in Him and the saving work of Jesus on the cross?  If you do- then you can rest assured that no matter what, no matter how things look, God is sovereign and can work things for good and will according to His plan.  We cannot see the beginning and the end, we do not see the whole picture and how things fit together- even though God allows things to happen, He does not cause evil.  Being sovereign He can and does work within the circumstances and  bring about good.  If you are not a believer, why not?  God stands with his own.  Over and over He promises,  “Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the Lord your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you.”  Deuteronomy 31:6

all goodRomans 8:28 is a wonderful promise filled with hope and assurance.  Claim it today!!

Linda

 

I am God’s coworker.

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On this Labor Day, I am thankful for being able to work, for having a job, for the freedom to choose the type of work I love and for those that labor along side me.  In several places believers in Christ are called God’s coworkers.  What does that mean?

Paul, in 1 Corinthians 3 describes his ‘co-working’ for God.  “5 What, after all, is Apollos? And what is Paul? Only servants, through whom you came to believe—as the Lord has assigned to each his task.6 I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God has been making it grow. 7 So neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow. 8 The one who plants and the one who waters have one purpose, and they will each be rewarded according to their own labor. 9 For we are co-workers in God’s service; you are God’s field, God’s building.    Apollos was a new testament believer that Paul met and taught, then he went out and taught others about Jesus.  Paul calls both of them servants working to spread the gospel of Christ neither is greater than the other.  From the one who first tells of Jesus to the one who teaches, they both have an invaluable place in God’s work.  God alone is the one who accomplishes the growth from the seeds we plant and water.

1cor39This position of being a co-worker with God in His kingdom is a place of honor and true significance.  Our purpose is clear- tell others about Jesus and honor God in all we do.  Isn’t that how we want to be known in our place of work?  We want others to listen to what we have to say- thus we need to be able to listen.  We want others to work beside us-thus we have to be able to work with others and cooperate towards a common goal.  We want the freedom to work and achieve thus we have to be willing to allow the Holy Spirit to motivate, inspire and center us for God’s work.   Being a coworker with God is an awesome responsibility and a great privilege.

Prayer:  Thank you Lord for giving me the privilege to work along side you in ministry.  I know you could do all the work yourself, but you allow me to stand, tell and show the world who you are in my life.  Thank you for your indwelling Holy Spirit that motivates, guides and completes me  so that I can be an effective worker for you.  Amen.

working for the LordHave a blessed Labor Day!

Linda