April 19, 2024

This Week…Galatians 2:20

May 16, 2015 by

SeekingHimLogo

 I have been crucified with Christ
and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me.
The life I now live in the body,
I live by faith in the Son of God,
Who loved me and gave Himself for me.
Galatians 2:20 NIV

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This week, here on the Seeking Him devotional blog, our sisters have reminded us again and again of this truth.  Here are a few highlights from the devotionals that Ann, Ahmee, Cynda and Tina wrote earlier this week.

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In The Great Exchange, Cynda brought our attention to the truth of what Christ accomplished for us.

“I know Christ was crucified for me. But I never thought about what that really means.

  • Christ swapped places with me
  • We exchanged lives
  • He became the sinner, I became the sinless

Even as I type this…I cannot comprehend the full impact of that statement.

What does it mean to be crucified with Christ?  Galatians 5:24 NLT puts it like this:

Those who belong to Christ Jesus have nailed
the passions and desires of their sinful nature
to His cross and crucified them there.

Quite an exchange, isn’t it?  Why would Christ sacrifice Himself in exchange for me?  Romans 8:37 NLT holds the answer “No, despite all these things, overwhelming victory is ours through Christ, who loved us.”  Christ loves us and wants us to be victorious. He laid down His life in exchange for ours, so we could spend eternal life with Him.  He chose to die for me.  Now that is amazing love.”

❦

In Living A New Life, Tina shared some important points of the Apostle Paul’s (formerly Saul) conversion.

“Paul was freed from the Law.  He was freed from the rules the Pharisees had created for the Jewish people to follow, making the burden impossible for everyone to come close to God.  With Paul’s conversion and baptism, he could speak to the Jews and the Gentiles with authority and eloquence.  He learned about faith.  He learned about Jesus’ love for everyone, not just the Jewish people but also for the Gentiles.

I am glad Jesus recruited Paul for the Gentiles.  He is a great example of what Christ did for you and me.  He sacrificed for us His life to give us the gospel.”

❦

In So Wait…Who Am I Then?, Ahmee shared some thoughts concerning her purpose and place in God’s eyes.

“One of the first things I had to learn to do was die to myself.  This is something that has to be done daily.  I hesitated.  If I was to let go of who I had always been, then who would I be?  How could I be me and not be me at the same time?  To me this seemed impossible. God was going to change me into someone different, someone I didn’t know. And the last thing I wanted to do was give up my uniqueness.  It took some time, but God showed me that he did not want to eliminate me…He was proud of creating me.  What he wanted was to improve me. When you improve something, the original is there, but its been made better and that was God’s plan. The angry Ahmee would be kinder, gentler Ahmee. All the while my uniqueness is still present just more Christ-like.

I was then who the world made and influenced me to be.  I am now who my Father says I am.  Each day I am growing and changing to be more like the person God intended me to be.  All the while I am and will always be the only Ahmee He ever has made or will make.  Why not be the best version of me?”

❦

And in Dying With Christ, Ann reminds us of our new life…Resurrection life!

“As Christians we have died to the Law as a means of salvation and now live through Christ for God.  Sin no longer has control over us.

Since you died with Christ to the elemental spiritual forces of this world,
why, as though you still belonged to the world, do you submit to its rules?
Colossian 2:20

As Christ was risen from the dead we also now live with Him in Resurrection life.  Christ and His Strength lives within us becoming the Source of all life and the center of all our thoughts, our words, and our deeds.  It is through the Holy Spirit that Christ’s risen life is  continually communicated to us.

For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God.
Colossians 3:3″

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The Great Exchange

May 14, 2015 by

SeekingHimLogo

I have been crucified with Christ [in Him I have shared His crucifixion];
it is no longer I who live, but Christ (the Messiah) lives in me;
and the life I now live in the body I live by faith in
(by adherence to and reliance on and complete trust in) the Son of God,
Who loved me and gave Himself up for me.
Galatians 2:20 AMP

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I know Christ was crucified for me. But I never thought about what that really means.

  • Christ swapped places with me
  • We exchanged lives
  • He became the sinner, I became the sinless

Even as I type this…I cannot comprehend the full impact of that statement.

What does it mean to be crucified with Christ?  Galatians 5:24 NLT puts it like this:

Those who belong to Christ Jesus have nailed
the passions and desires of their sinful nature
to His cross and crucified them there.

The AMP version calls it our ‘godless human nature.’  Our sinful nature and desires have been exchanged for Christ’s holy and righteous one.  Life in the flesh is no longer life AFTER the flesh.  I Peter 4:2 AMP says we “…can no longer spend the rest of his {our} natural life living by his {our} human appetites and desires, but [he {we} lives] for what God wills.”

The NLT translates it like this…

“You won’t spend the rest of your lives chasing your own desires,
but you will be anxious to do the will of God.”

How is this possible?  Colossians 3:3 AMP states, “For [as far as this world is concerned] you have died, and your [new, real] life is hidden with Christ in God.”  Romans 6:8 NLT tells us “And since we died with Christ, we know we will also live with Him.”  A brand new life in Christ…in exchange for our old life with all its flaws and failures.  We are simply managing this new life given to us by Christ.  But how on earth can we manage this new life any better than the old one?  Faith.  It can only be done by living it by faith.  Faith intimately connects us with Christ.

Through Him also we have [our] access (entrance, introduction)
by faith into this grace (state of God’s favor)
in which we [firmly and safely] stand.
Romans 5:2 AMP

Faith is how we access God’s grace, His guidance, His directions.  In order to live by faith we must live as Jesus describes:

 …even so whoever continues to feed on Me
[whoever takes Me for his food and is nourished by Me]
shall [in his turn] live through and because of Me.
John 6:57b AMP

Quite an exchange, isn’t it?  Why would Christ sacrifice Himself in exchange for me?  Romans 8:37 NLT holds the answer “No, despite all these things, overwhelming victory is ours through Christ, who loved us.”  Christ loves us and wants us to be victorious. He laid down His life in exchange for ours, so we could spend eternal life with Him.  He chose to die for me.  Now that is amazing love.

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Lord, I am so thankful and grateful You chose to exchange Your life for mine.  I cannot fully comprehend the depths of Your love for me.  Help me live by faith so that I may manage this new life in a manner pleasing unto You.  In Your Holy name, I ask – Amen, It Is So!

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Living A New Life

May 13, 2015 by

SeekingHimLogo

I have been crucified with Christ
and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me.
The life I now live in the body,
I live by faith in the Son of God,
Who loved me and gave Himself for me.
Galatians 2:20 NIV

Paul had such passion and understanding for the Word of God.  He allowed God to use him in whatever way he was needed.  Jesus knew the character of Paul.  He knew that if he called upon Paul to serve, Paul would be ready.

Due to Paul’s early training as a Pharisee, he was well-versed in the Scriptures.  He would have been knowledgeable of the prophecies about Jesus’ coming and about the Law.

Paul would have known about Jesus’ teachings and been a witness to many of them in Jerusalem.  Because Paul would have been so immersed in the teachings of the Law, there would not had been room for the Holy Spirit.  When Paul was visited by Jesus on the road to Damascus, Paul was given a gift—he was given a second chance to win others to Jesus, the only way to God.

Paul was freed from the Law.  He was freed from the rules the Pharisees had created for the Jewish people to follow, making the burden impossible for everyone to come close to God.  With Paul’s conversion and baptism, he could speak to the Jews and the Gentiles with authority and eloquence.  He learned about faith.  He learned about Jesus’ love for everyone, not just the Jewish people but also for the Gentiles.

I am glad Jesus recruited Paul for the Gentiles.  He is a great example of what Christ did for you and me.  He sacrificed for us His life to give us the gospel.

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Father, thank You for the people You have recruited to spread the Gospel.  Thank You for sending Your Son, Jesus, to create for us a way into Your Kingdom.  We thank You for the Jewish people who have made it possible for us to know You.  Help us have the courage of Peter, Paul, and the others to share the good news of Jesus.  Let us be bold to stand for what is right.  In Jesus’ name, amen.

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So Wait…Who Am I Then?

May 12, 2015 by

SeekingHimLogo

 

 My old self has been crucified with Christ.
It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me.
So I live in this earthly body by trusting in the Son of God,
Who loved me and gave Himself for me.
Galatians 2:20 NLT

Galatians 2:20 says that our old selves have been crucified with Christ. When I first got saved all I knew was that the darkness that once consumed my mind was gone.  For the first time I had hope and the now believable notion that my life really did have a purpose.

My initial conversation with the God was a slap in the face.  I accused God of not caring anything about me and not doing anything for me. His response was, “Why should I care about what you have going on, when you don’t care about what I have going on?”  This was an eye-opener for me.  (I am not saying that God did not care what I had going on, but I see things better when I’m not focused on myself.)  The truth is God has always cared about me, and what I do, and how I am.  I am the one who cared nothing for Him and what He had going on.  He was pointing out that we had a one-sided relationship—His side.

Somewhere along the line, I began to hate God and was determined that He was against me.  I approached God with the notion that He was my enemy and not my friend.  And, yes, some part of me knew different or else I wouldn’t have bothered at all.  Months later, after laying some Scriptural foundation, He tugged at my heart again.  He wanted my life.  He wanted me to live for Him not just with Him.  He invited me to a deeper relationship to explore Him and learn His ways.

I feel He did this to prepare me to help others like I had been.  One of the first things I had to learn to do was die to myself.  This is something that has to be done daily.  I hesitated.  If I was to let go of who I had always been, then who would I be?  How could I be me and not be me at the same time?  To me this seemed impossible. God was going to change me into someone different, someone I didn’t know. And the last thing I wanted to do was give up my uniqueness.  It took some time, but God showed me that he did not want to eliminate me…He was proud of creating me.  What he wanted was to improve me. When you improve something, the original is there, but its been made better and that was God’s plan. The angry Ahmee would be kinder, gentler Ahmee. All the while my uniqueness is still present just more Christ-like.

I was then who the world made and influenced me to be.  I am now who my Father says I am.  Each day I am growing and changing to be more like the person God intended me to be.  All the while I am and will always be the only Ahmee He ever has made or will make.  Why not be the best version of me?

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DYING WITH CHRIST

May 11, 2015 by

SeekingHimLogo

I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live,
but Christ lives in me.
The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God,
Who loved me and gave Himself for me.
Galatians 2:20

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In this Scripture I hear Paul telling us that those who have faith in Christ live their lives in intimate relationship with their Lord—both in His death and Resurrection.  As Christians we have died to the Law as a means of salvation and now live through Christ for God.  Sin no longer has control over us.

Since you died with Christ to the elemental spiritual forces of this world,
why, as though you still belonged to the world, do you submit to its rules?
Colossian 2:20

As Christ was risen from the dead we also now live with Him in Resurrection life.  Christ and His Strength lives within us becoming the Source of all life and the center of all our thoughts, our words, and our deeds.  It is through the Holy Spirit that Christ’s risen life is  continually communicated to us.

For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God.
Colossians 3:3

Here is a trustworthy saying:
If we died with Him,
we will also live with Him;
2 Timothy 2:11

Our sharing in Christ’s Resurrection is appropriated through faith.  The confident belief, the love, the devotion, and the loyalty we have in the Son of God who loved us and gave Himself for us (John 3:16).

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Lord, we thank You, we bless You for Your grace and lovingkindness.  We bless You because You are a good God, who loved us unconditionally and let Christ die for us Whose death paid the highest price of our sins.  His death gave us salvation which is the biggest testimony every Christian believer has.  We thank You for this price—the greatest price ever paid—for mankind.  We honor You for everything, Lord.  Help us, Lord, to appreciate this love for us by loving You back, Lord.  For as we love You, we cannot do anything that You do not want us to do but always we strive to please You.  We pray for Your grace so that we can be in an intimate relationship with You always and obey Your commands.  In Jesus’ name, amen.

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Touch The Sky

May 11, 2015 by

psalmshymnsspiritualsongskjv

What fortune lies beyond the stars
Those dazzling heights too vast to climb
I got so high to fall so far
But I found Heaven as love swept low

My heart beating, my soul breathing
I found my life when I laid it down
Upward falling, spirit soaring
I touch the sky when my knees hit the ground

What treasure waits within Your scars
This gift of freedom gold can’t buy
I bought the world and sold my heart
You traded Heaven to have me again

Find me here at Your feet again
Everything I am, reaching out in surrender
Come sweep me up in Your love again
And my soul will dance
On the wings of forever

Hillsong United
Written by Joel Houston, Dylan Thomas, Michael Guy Chislett

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Then I fell on my knees and spread out my hands to Yahweh my God.
Ezra 9:5 HCSB

Let them take hold of My strength and make complete surrender to My protection,
that they may make peace with Me!
Yes, let them make peace with Me!
Isaiah 27:5 AMP

“God said, ‘No, it doesn’t matter who you are,’ and because of that, we don’t have to try and elevate ourselves in order to find God. We find God from a position of surrender.”
– Joel Houston
(Read more here.)

“I got so high to fall so far…
I bought the world and sold my heart.”

Ever wonder why we let it get to this point before we surrender to God’s will?  Why do we insist on trying to do it on our own and then run to God as a last resort?  Why does it take abject failure to bring us to our knees?  As Christians, we know the rewards of turning our lives over to God.  So why do we keep taking it back again?  Our attitudes change and our focus shifts from the wonders of heaven to the realities of this world.  We seek happiness and meaning through earthly desires, instead of falling at the feet of Jesus.  What we need to remember is found in Galatians 2:20 AMP:

I have been crucified with Christ [in Him I have shared His Crucifixion];
it is no longer I who live, but Christ (the Messiah) lives in me;
and the life I now live in the body I live by faith in
(by adherence to and reliance on and complete trust in) the Son of God,
Who loved me and gave Himself up for me.

Christ loved us enough to die for us so we could live by faith rather than chasing earthly desires and passions.  Galatians 5:24 NLT tells us that “Those who belong to Christ Jesus have nailed the passions and desires of their sinful nature to His Cross and crucified them there.” True meaning and happiness can only be found in our total surrender to Him.  We can find new life only when we fall at the foot of the cross in complete surrender.

“My heart beating, my soul breathing
I found my life when I laid it down
Upward falling, spirit soaring
I touch the sky when my knees hit the ground
Find me here at Your feet again
Everything I am, reaching out in surrender
Come sweep me up in Your love again
And my soul will dance
On the wings of forever”

This is my favorite part of the song.  When we hit our knees and spread our hands to Yahweh, we find peace and protection in Him. Then we can touch the sky and our souls can dance on the wings of forever.

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Crucified With Christ

May 10, 2015 by

SeekingHimLogo

My old self has been crucified with Christ.
It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me.
So I live in this earthly body by trusting in the Son of God,
Who loved me and gave Himself for me.
Galatians 2:20

When I look back on what I thought was living
I’m amazed at the price I choose to pay
And to think I ignored what really mattered
‘Cause I thought the sacrifice would be too great

But when I finally reached the point of giving in
I found the cross was calling even then
And even though it took dying to survive
I’ve never felt so much alive

For I am crucified with Christ and yet I live
Not I but Christ that lives within me
His Cross will never ask for more than I can give
For it’s not my strength but His, there’s no greater sacrifice
For I am crucified with Christ and yet I live

As I hear the Savior call for daily dying
I will bow beneath the weight of Calvary
Let my hands surrender to His piercing purpose
That holds me to the Cross yet sets me free

I will glory in the power of the Cross
The things I thought were gain I count as loss
And with His suffering I identify
And by His resurrection power, I am alive

And I will offer all I have so that His Cross is not in vain
For I found to live is Christ and to die is truly gain

Phillips, Craig, and Dean
written by Randy and Denise Phillips, Don Koch, Dave Clark

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Greater

April 30, 2015 by

psalmshymnsspiritualsongskjv

Bring your tired
Bring your shame
Bring your guilt
Bring your pain
Don’t you know that’s not your name
You will always be much more to me
Every day I wrestle with the voices
That keep telling me I’m not right
But that’s all right

‘Cause I hear a voice and He calls me redeemed
When others say I’ll never be enough
And greater is the One living inside of me
Than he who is living in the world
In the world
In the world
And greater is the One living inside of me
Than he who is living in the world

Bring your doubts
Bring your fears
Bring your hurt
Bring your tears
There’ll be no condemnation here
You are holy, righteous, and redeemed

Every time I fall
There’ll be those who will call me
A mistake
Well that’s ok

There’ll be days I lose the battle
Grace says that it doesn’t matter
‘Cause the Cross already won the war
He’s Greater
He’s Greater

I am learning to run freely
Understanding just how He sees me
And it makes me love Him more and more
He’s Greater
He’s Greater

MercyMe
written by: Bart Millard, Nathan Cochran, Barry Graul, Mike Scheuchzer, Robby Shaffer, along with David Garcia, Ben Glover

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Will you sing this truth along with me…

“…Greater is the One living inside of me than he who is living in the world!”

Declare it!  Confess it!  Proclaim it!  Believe it!  This truth needs to be deep in our hearts.  It has nothing to do with anything that you or I, my friend, can accomplish…it is ALL because of Jesus.

Little children, you are of God [you belong to Him]
and have [already] defeated and overcome them [the agents of the antichrist],
because He Who lives in you is greater (mightier) than he who is in the world.
1 John 4:4 AMP

 I have been crucified with Christ;
and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me;
and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God,
Who loved me and gave Himself up for me.
Galatians 2:20

There are times (and there will be more times) when we are tempted to deny this truth….  So you lost the battle today; not such a big deal!

“Grace says that it doesn’t matter ’cause the Cross already won the war!”

When we are willing to accept this grace we can be free.  Free to be just exactly who God (in Christ) has made us to be!

  • We are set free from bondage and slavery to sin

It was for freedom that Christ set us free;
thereforekeep standing firm
and do not be subject again to a yoke of slavery.
Galatians 5:1

  • We are free from condemnation

Therefore there is now no condemnation
for those who are in Christ Jesus.
For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus
has set you free from the law of sin and of death.
For what the Law could not do…God did: sending His own Son
in the likeness of sinful flesh and as an offering for sin….
Romans 8:1-3

  • We are alive to God and dead to sin

  Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him,
knowing that Christ, having been raised from the dead,
is never to die again; death no longer is master over Him.
For the death that He died, He died to sin once for all;
but the life that He lives, He lives to God.
Even so consider yourselves to be dead to sin,
but alive to God in Christ Jesus.
Romans 6:8-11

  • We are seated with Him now…and for eternity

And you were dead in your trespasses and sins,
in which you formerly walked according to the course of this world,
according to the prince of the power of the air,
of the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience.
Among them we too all formerly lived in the lusts of our flesh,
indulging the desires of the flesh and of the mind,
and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest.
But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us,
even when we were dead in our transgressions,
made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved),
and raised us up with Him,
and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus,
so that in the ages to come He might show
the surpassing riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.
Ephesians 2:1-7

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Heavenly Father, how good and kind You are to us!  For all You have provided for us through Your Son, our Lord, we are so thankful!  Truly we are free indeed ’cause “greater is the One Who is living in us than he who is living in the world”!   We do get distracted and tempted to forget this Truth…please help us to remember!  Thank You for Your mercy and love and grace which has made us alive in Christ!  May we keep this Truth in our hearts and on our lips so that we can share it with others!  We pray thanking You and praising You…in Jesus’ name, amen.

Filed Under: Psalms Hymns and Spiritual Songs Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Esther – Chapter 10:1-3

November 1, 2013 by

16DayCover

Please join us for our next Online Bible Study!

“16-Day Love Challenge:

Matching our Words and Actions with

1 Corinthians 13:4-8″

by Cherie Zack and Rebecca LeCompte.

This study begins November 4th.

Be sure to go to our Registration page for more details, and to sign up today!!

The Registration page can be found by clicking on this LINK.

We hope you will join us!!

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This book closes with God reminding us to remember the secret of victory….

King Ahasuerus laid tribute on the land and on the coastlands of the sea. And all the acts of his power and might, and the full account of the high honor of Mordecai, to which the king advanced him, are they not written in the book of Chronicles of the kings of Media and Persia? For Mordecai the Jew was next in rank to King Ahasuerus, and he was great among the Jews and popular with the multitude of his brethren, for he sought the welfare of his people and spoke peace to all his people.

Esther 10:1-3

This book began with the king as the important, prominent figure and it told the story of the display of his might and power.  But as we kept reading, we learned of a hidden cancer in that kingdom, eating away at, ready to destroy this power.  But the story takes a turn and the book ends with the king being prominent again…his power and might is on display…and we now realize there is power behind the throne.  That power is Mordecai and he is always subject to the will of the king, and he never forces the king to do anything against his will.

In your life, is this true for you?  Your will is supreme in the final decision of what takes place in the kingdom, but there is power behind the throne, and through the Will of the King.  The Holy Spirit works to bring power and peace to the kingdom.  Isn’t this a picture of the Spirit- filled life?  Isn’t this the open secret of every joyful Christian?  Our will is still dominant and we can still do wrong if we choose to, but we have learned a lesson.  We have learned that it is only through the yielding of our will in a continual sense of dependence on the One Who dwells within us, that there can be a manifestation of power and peace in our kingdom.  And when we learn to walk in dependence, we become under the authority of God, under His power—Who brings peace and joy and all that we long for into our own lives and those around us.

This is what makes a Christian believer able to fall time and time again, and pick ourselves up and start over again fresh and clean, unblemished.  God uses everything and makes it good, under any and all circumstances.  Romans 8:28 says, “All things work together for good to those who love God” no matter how bad or evil or difficult they appear at first.  This is why, to us who follow Jesus, our disappointments make us better not bitter.  Our heartaches are turned to joy. The hard circumstance of your life produce in you the choicest virtues, the very things you long to add to your character.  The weaker you feel, the more impact your life has on others.  You become sweeter, mellower, filled with inner beauty, driven to this by the very unpleasantness you go through.

This is the secret…this is the spirit-filled life—a human instrument counting on an indwelling of the Holy Spirit to meet every need.  All our weaknesses are made strong in Him.  And as we come to the Lord’s table, all the glory of the Spirit-filled life flows from this experience of the victory of our Lord upon the cross.  As we celebrate this awesome mystery, we see that it was in this manner that His life became our life and that our old life came to an end and our new life starts when we become Him!  We are joined to Him!  As Paul says, “We are crucified with Christ, nevertheless I live, yet not I, but Christ, lives in me; and the life I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the son of God, Who loved me and gave Himself for me” (Galatians 2:20 KJV).

Let’s Pray:

Dear God, we cannot begin to comprehend these amazing truths, but we believe them. We know that they are true. We know there is deliverance in this truth. There is power in them and glory to You. Lord, we pray that Your Spirit will enlighten our understanding so that we will not ever walk in defeat but walk in the peace and joy, knowing that in our weakness, You are strongest. When we are weary, You are a place of rest. You are our Stronghold, our Deliverer. You are everything.

Thank You for bringing us through this study and for revealing so many truths to us. May we continue to stay on top of anger and resentment and repent of it immediately. We want to live with joy, freedom, and love. You are all those. Keep us humble and remind us always where our help comes from. In Jesus’ name.

Amen.

Filed Under: Women's Ministry Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , ,

“I AM” Chapter 6 – Day 5: I AM…Able to Do Anything

August 16, 2013 by

Eph2_10

 

Hasn’t it been such a great joy and encouragement to consider just some of what I am (I AM) and who I am (I AM) IN CHRIST these past couple of weeks?  My heart has been revived and refreshed because of the TRUTH that has been presented in our I AM study.  I am so thankful for all that God revealed to Teresa as she wrote this book.  We have reflected upon the truth of who and what God has made us to be in Christ. Here in the Book of Ephesians, listen to this truth:

 

 

Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ.  For He chose us in Him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in His sight. In love He predestined us for adoption to sonship through HJesus Christ…In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace that He lavished on us…In Him we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of Him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of His will…And you also were included in Christ when you heard the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation. When you believed, you were marked in Him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance…those who are God’s possession—to the praise of His glory. — Excerpts from Ephesians 1:3-14

How about a little review?

I AM accepted
Colossians 1:12 and 13
…and giving joyful thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of his holy people in the kingdom of light.  For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves…

I AM family
Galatians 4:4-7
But when the set time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those under the law, that we might receive adoption to sonship.  Because you are his sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out, “Abba, Father.”  So you are no longer a slave, but God’s child; and since you are his child, God has made you also an heir.

I AM free to be me
2 Corinthians 5:17
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!

I AM fit for service
Ephesians 1:3-7
Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ.  For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love he predestined us for adoption to sonship through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will—to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves.  In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace.

I AM complete
Colossians 2:9 and 10
For in Him all the fullness of Deity dwells in bodily form, and in Him you have been made complete, and He is the head over all rule and authority;

I AM significant
Galatians 2:20
I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.

I AM a branch of Christ
John 15:5-8
I am the Vine; you are the branches. If you remain in Me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from Me you can do nothing.  If you do not remain in Me, you are like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned.  If you remain in Me and My words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.  This is to My Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be My disciples.

I AM God’s workmanship (His masterpiece)
Ephesians 2:10
For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.

I AM a minister
Ephesians 4:3-6
Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.  There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to one hope when you were called;  one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.

whew! …or rather… HALLELUJAH!  And who and what I AM in and through Christ leads us to—I AM able to do anything!  His grace covers me!

2 Corinthians 12:9

But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.

The Apostle Paul, sharing of us struggles to live for God’s glory, tells us what the Lord revealed to him.  This truth applies to our lives, too.  In our weakness(es) we, too, are given the sufficiency of Jesus’ power through His gracious help and provision.  Through all that I AM in Christ, I AM able!  God has provided for us in so many ways!

 

Let’s Pray:

Lord, we offer our hearts to You!  We stand in awe, so amazed and so thankful…hearts full of praise to the One Who has made us accepted, free, in Your family, fit to serve, complete, significant, a branch of the Vine, Your masterpiece, a minister of Yours, and able to do anything!  It is in Your Presence, Your indwelling of our hearts through Your Holy Spirit that we can be anything…and we are!  We are!!!  Thank You, Lord.  May You be honored and glorified as we live today in light of all that You have made us to be.  May our voices and our actions prove “I AM His!”  We praise You and we love You!

Amen.

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