You are Confident

October 12th, 2017

you-are-confident

You are confident! If you believe what the Scriptures say about you—how Christ sees you and values you—you will be confident. That confidence is what gives you the ability to excel in whatever your life calling is.

Confidence is not the same as arrogance or pride. Jesus was humble and lifted other people up, while being fully confident in who He was. He wants us to know who we are and be confident to walk in what He created us to do.

If you are with other people and you are confident, you can resist peer pressure. When you are confident in who you are, you will not allow people to treat you badly. This is because you have dignity given to you by God that cannot be taken away. You can gently point out to the person who is acting sinfully towards you, that showing honor is the way that God has commanded us to treat each other.

Confidence will make you a better wife because once you know that you have value, it shows in your eyes. You are no longer needy, and husbands love that. It frees them, because they don’t feel an anvil of trying to do what only God can do for you, which is to understand you and love you unconditionally. Husbands are attracted to their wives when they are confident because they look more beautiful. Confidence is a state of mind.

People who lack confidence are droopy and don’t get as much done. Their attitude is also one of self-pity rather than confidence in who God created us to be.

We are commanded to be confident to draw near to God because He will hear us and answer us because He is a good Father:

“Therefore let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.” Hebrews 4:16 NASB

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We have confidence in the Lord, and for this reason, we can have confidence in what He says:

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

We don’t have to be perfect to have confidence. Even when we make mistakes, we can ask for forgiveness and have a clean slate. God is at work in our lives, and He will conform us more and more into His image as we yield to Him:

For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus.” Philippians 1:6 NASB

We are all a work in progress, and we are told in Romans 8:1 that there is no condemnation for us, when we fail. God knows we are but dust, and He doesn’t expect out of us more than we can do. It’s only other people who put pressure on us to perform. Sadly a lot of that pressure comes from church-goers who expect everyone to never fail and never accidentally hurt anyone else with what they say.

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Instead of judging each other harshly, we should realize that everyone is a work in progress, and everyone who is truly saved is on a path towards greater holiness. But God does the work. We don’t have to strive and strive and strive and fall over, feeling like an utter failure.

People who are confident have strength of character. Others look to them when times are rough because they are a rock to others. We can be immovable in our confidence, because that confidence and strength comes from Christ! That is why you can be confident!

“Now as they observed the confidence of Peter and John and understood that they were uneducated and untrained men, they were amazed, and began to recognize them as having been with Jesus.” Acts 4:13 NASB

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.

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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 Citizen of Heaven

October 11th, 2017

you-are-a-citizen-of-heaven

You are a citizen of heaven! “But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ.” Philippians 3:20 ESV

Do you feel like you don’t fit in? I grew up in Guatemala, a white red-head among brown-skinned, black-haired people. I never belonged there. When I moved to the United States, I didn’t belong here either. People talked about cultural things I didn’t get. When I lived in England for 3 years, at least people could tell by my accent that I was American, and I wasn’t expected to understand everything in their culture like I was expected to in the United States.

Even if you have grown up here in the United States, you’ve probable felt like you didn’t fit in at some point in your life. Maybe in school you weren’t in the popular clique. Maybe when you were at work, your co-workers made crass, perverse jokes and expected you to laugh. Maybe you didn’t fit in some other place because you felt like you couldn’t live up so someone’s expectations.

No matter what, as a believer, you belong with Christ. You are now in the family of God, and God is your Father. You have a rich inheritance (Ephesians 1: 11-14), and we have the power through the Spirit to walk holy, separated from worldliness. This is why we will never belong in this world.

Citizens have certain rights and privileges. Depending on where you are a citizen, that affects what you are allowed to do. As citizens of heaven, we want to please our Master. We have the right to come to Him in prayer to meet our needs. We have the privilege of having the Holy Spirit live inside of us. We are expected to follow and obey the One in charge.

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Most people pursue the temporary things of this world: money, entertainment, exquisite food, bigger houses—but we pursue Christ. He provides what we need at the given time; we don’t need to pursue everything else. “But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.” Matthew 6:33 ESV

We have been transferred from the kingdom of darkness to the kingdom of light (Colossians 1:13), so our citizenship is not of this world any more but with Christ’s kingdom. We have changed passports; our earthy one is replaced with a heavenly one, giving us access to our new country when we die.

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God has provided a heavenly city for us. Hebrews 11:15-16 NASB says, “And indeed if they had been thinking of that country from which they went out, they would have had opportunity to return. But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God; for He has prepared a city for them.”

Heaven is our homeland. Jesus is preparing a place for us there: “In my Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto Myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.” John 14:2-3 KJV

You are a citizen of heaven!

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 Protected

October 10th, 2017

you-are-protected

You are protected! Did you know that God watches over you for good and not for harm? Jeremiah 29:11 says: “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”

God has protected you physically so many times; you might not even know how many times He has prevented you from getting into a car accident or out of a situation in which you would have been harmed. Just because He has allowed you to go through some suffering doesn’t mean that He is not watching out for your good.

God gives us many Scriptures about protection: “The LORD will keep you from all harm— He will watch over your life.” Psalm 121:7 NIV

But how can God be our protector if He allows suffering in our lives? It might be hard to believe that you are protected by God if you have been brutalized, raped, or harmed in any way.

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I asked the Lord to show me how He is my protector. He showed me that even though I myself have been brutalized and it didn’t seem like He protected me, He was there with me, suffering with me, and He turned those situations around, years later, into something that was of benefit to me and to others.

God turns every horror into beauty eventually. I have been counseling women for years, and the richness of what I tell them would not have been possible if I had never endured the things I’ve been through. I see healing in others due to the fact that God has healed me, and that is a testimony of the faithfulness of a good God.

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Here are more verses about God protecting us (Psalm 5:11, Psalm 20:1 , Psalm 34:19, Psalm 91). Let these verses sink in: “But the Lord is faithful, and He will strengthen you and protect you from the evil one.” 2 Thessalonians 3:3 NIV

This means that we are protected from Satan and his demons. Christ won the victory over Satan at the cross and has given all His children power over the enemy. I teach more about this in the 6th spiritual warfare video how to overcome demonic attacks and be protected from them.

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“I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand.” John 10:28 ESV

The fact that no one can snatch us out of God’s hand means that our soul is safe. If we belong to Christ and wholeheartedly pursue Him, no one can cause us to lose our hope that we will be with Christ forever when we die.

God protects people physically all the time, but that is not a guarantee that no suffering will happen to us because of the sinful choices of people in this world against us. God works even those things out for our good, and He redeems us from the pit (Psalm 103:4). You are protected!

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 Full of Hope

October 9th, 2017

you-are-full-of-hope

You are full of hope! You might not feel that way right now, but if you are a Christian, at minimum, you have the hope of heaven, to have your sorrows completely gone in the presence of Jesus. But that is not all. God promises all things to work for our good (Romans 8:28), so we have hope that at some point God will turn things around and bless us for any suffering that we’ve been through.

And these three remain: faith, hope, and love…” Why is hope listed as one of the three most important qualities that are needed in a believer’s life? I understand why faith is important; faith in God and Christ’s death on the cross is required for salvation. I also understand the importance of love; it is the greatest commandment to love God and others. But I always wondered why hope was in the middle of faith and love. What’s so vital about hope, that without it, we fail to thrive?

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First I would like to define what hope is: “a favorable and confident expectation; it has to do with the unseen and the future; the happy anticipation of good.” (Vine’s Complete Expository Dictionary)

God is the author of hope, and He is the one who gives it:

“Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.” (Romans 15:13 NASB)

God never rebuked Job for feeling despair over his unjust treatment and loss. God called him righteous. And when Elijah was in despair, God took care of him and encouraged him. He was never rebuked for feeling despair, since he had served God faithfully and just had nothing left. Both Job and Elijah had given their all. They were completely wiped out.

hope-art

The Psalms express this same despair:

“Why are you in despair, O my soul? And why have you become disturbed within me? Hope in God, for I shall again praise Him for the help of His presence.” (Psalm 42:5 NASB)

This Scripture holds the keys to overcoming despair and grabbing hold of hope:

  1. Hope in God. The Lord will bring us through the situation.
  2. Later we will praise God for the good that He did in the future. Therefore, since a good future is secure because God promises good from all that happens to us, praise will come out of our mouth after the fact. So we might as well praise Him before the fact, since we know that He will do it. The ability to do this is called faith.
  3. His presence is what will help us to overcome despair.

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God is sovereign over all things, and He will bring you out as gold on the other side of suffering. I have seen over and over again, God bringing good out of the worst situations in my life. God is faithful.

Don’t allow yourself to remain in anguish, or it will incapacitate you. The enemy wants to torment you and keep you from living life to the full and serving Him. Hand your anguish over to God, and praise Him with songs until your hope comes back. God is in control of the situation and will bring good from it. God is working even when you don’t see it.

My favorite verses of hope happen in the midst of Jeremiah’s despair in the bottom of a dark, muddy pit while starving to death:

This I recall to my mind, therefore I have hope. The Lord’s lovingkindnesses indeed never cease, for His compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is Thy faithfulness.” (Lamentations 3:21-23 NASB)

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!