Posts Tagged ‘identity’

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 Confident

Thursday, 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

beloved-she-art

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.

confident

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.

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 Beautiful

Wednesday, October 4th, 2017

you-are-beautiful

You are beautiful! Beauty is what radiates from inside of you, and because as a Christian you are a new creation in Christ, you radiate His presence from your face! The more you know who you are, the more you will radiate.

It doesn’t matter what you look like on the outside. Even if you have a terrible accident, you can still be beautiful because your eyes reflect your soul, and in the expression of your face there is beauty.

We can also take care of our bodies: eat more fruits and vegetables, drink more water, exercise, and get the right amount of sleep. When we take care of our bodies–showering and grooming ourselves–we put forward our best selves, even on the exterior. Every woman has her own unique beauty.

I-am-beautiful

God chose your face, your hair color, and your body structure before the beginning of time, and He made no mistakes. Accept your outer body, and make the best of it. Even your outer body is beautiful because you were made by God. You are a masterpiece of artistry. Every freckle is right where it’s supposed to be. Stop trying to measure up to someone else’s appearance. You are beautiful just the way you are right now.

The Song of Solomon is an interaction between a husband and his wife, but it is also symbolic of Christ and the church (Ephesians 5:32). When the man speaks to his wife, this is Christ speaking to us: “You are altogether beautiful, my love; there is no flaw in you.” (Song of Solomon 4:7 ESV) Christ did not make a mistake when He created us. Let’s stop insulting God by not accepting ourselves just the way He made us.

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Here is a poem I wrote recently as I was learning to accept that it doesn’t matter if other people insult your physical appearance. I know many Christian women whose husbands say they are fat and they are not attractive. They feel crushed inward and are sad. I want to lift them up right now. I know men with skinny wives who are continuously pointing out the flaws, and these women don’t feel wanted either. Please know that these men are wrong, that they are comparing their wives to airbrushed models that don’t eat and have gotten plastic surgery. These are fake people. You are real. You are beautiful. God created you and made no mistakes. You have no flaw!

You are Beautiful (Haiku)

Delight in God’s eyes
He thought you up before time
He says, “You are Mine.”

God bestows His child
With honor and dignity
You are beautiful

knowing-how-beautiful-you-are

The closer we draw to Christ, the more beautiful we become, because we radiate that supernatural beauty. But even in our worst moments, we are beautiful because God created us and does not make mistakes. “I praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are Your works; my soul knows it very well.” Psalm 139:14 ESV

Here is a song you can listen to, so that you can understand how beautiful you are to God. Just let it sink in:

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 Forgiven

Tuesday, October 3rd, 2017

you-are-forgiven

If you are a child of God, you are forgiven. Jesus died on the cross for your sins so that you could be set free from condemnation. He justified you before God, and all of your sins were nailed to the cross: past, present, and future.

If you accidentally sin, you can confess your sins to God and ask Him to help you overcome the sin (I John 1:9). God will set you free from each sin, either instantly or over the years as you are transformed into the image of Christ. There is no condemnation for those who are in Christ (Romans 8:1).

As soon as you find out that you’ve sinned, you can ask God’s forgiveness, and He forgives your sin as far as the east is from the west (Psalm 103:12).

If you have a vague sense of condemnation, this is not from God but from the enemy. True conviction from the Lord is specific, and when you confess it, it’s gone! You feel fresh and clean.

You can feel fresh and clean right now. There is never a reason to feel defeated. We are more than conquerors in Christ (Romans 8:37).

forgiven-by-God

If someone is trying to make you feel condemned, they are doing the work of the enemy. Don’t live under their oppression, but let them own their own sin of being condemning. Put up your shield of faith and don’t let their words of death go into you and wound you. God does not slice into us and whip us and harm us. If you are feeling beaten down, this is the enemy and not God.

joy-and-peace

Here is another blog post explaining the difference between a rebuke and an accusation, and why we should not allow ourselves to feel defeated: How Do You Overcome Accusation?

And if you need to know the difference between true guilt and false guilt, here is another helpful article: True Guilt and False Guilt

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!