Remember Whose You Are!
"But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His wonderful light. Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy (1 Peter 2:9-10)."
The day Christ removes the veil from your eyes and takes out your heart of stone, you are forever changed; a new creation, never again the same. You begin to see things in a different way and you look at people differently because you have the Spirit of the living God inside of you. His grace is so marvelous and it is for all who will receive it. None of us deserve it, yet, in His great love, He sought after us and drew us to Himself. This grace has nothing to do with us or anything that we have done, this grace is solely based on the finished work of Jesus Christ our Lord. In Christ, He has adopted us into His family and made us heirs to His kingdom. "Blessed and holy are those who share in the first resurrection. The second death has no power over them, but they will be priests of God and of Christ and will reign with Him for a thousand years (Revelation 20:6)."
"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 to be adopted as His sons 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 (Ephesians 1:5-6)."
As we go through life, it is so easy to get caught up in our circumstances and forget who we belong to. During the trials, the heartaches, and the pain, it is so important that we remember whose we are and that we are a child of the One true King.
People will mistreat you, they will say and do things to hurt you. Loved ones will die. Friends may betray you. Sickness may come upon you or you may be struggling just to pay your bills, but God has promised that He will never leave us. He will never let the waters overtake us and when we walk through the fire we will not be burned. "When you pass through the waters, I will be with you, and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned, the flames will not set you ablaze. For I am the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior; I give Egypt for your ransom, Cush and Seba in your stead. Since you are precious and honored in My sight and because I love you (Isaiah 43:2-4)."
Read that last sentence again my friend, and let it sink in to your heart....you are precious in the sight of Almighty God and He loves you! God's word is life! It penetrates down to the core of each of us. That's why it is so important that we know His word and meditate on it consistently. When the enemy attacks or when we have been wronged, we can use the weapon of God's word to stand on and not allow anything to move us.
Jesus has already won the victory, but friend, when you choose to follow Him, the battle begins. There is no grey area, you are either for Christ or against Him. Those who are for Him, will suffer persecution. "In fact, everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ will suffer persecution (2 Timothy 3:12)." Many people think that when they become a Christian, their life will be easy and they will not have any troubles, but that is not the truth. We can expect trouble, but don't lose heart, that just means you are counted worthy of the kingdom of God-what an honor! I am sure that is why James, under the power of the Holy Spirit, wrote "Consider it pure joy my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything (James 1:2-4)." Trials develop our faith and make us stronger. In the valley,we learn to lean on God like never before.
Life can be very hard at times. The world is cruel. People you love turn their backs on you. Friends forsake you. As for me, God has brought me to the place where I can say that I am thankful for the valleys because in them, I learned to trust Him more. I learned that He is my Rock. I learned that He is the One constant I can always count on. I learned that He will never fail me. He has made me content in all circumstances. Whether I am on the mountaintop or in the deepest valley, I will praise Him. My soul is at rest. Whatever happens in this life, I know beyond any doubt that God is for me. I am His and He is mine.
So what about you? Do you know without a doubt you are His? If you died today, do you know that you would spend eternity with Jesus? We do not know when we will take our last breath and one day you and I will face death. Are you ready? If you don't know the Lord Jesus, if you don't belong to Him, then you will spend eternity forever separated from Him in hell. My friend, now is the time. Don't put it off any longer. Jesus is standing at the door of your heart; He is waiting for you to come to Him. He died so you could live. "Jesus said to her, I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me will live even though he dies, and whoever lives and believes in Me will never die, do you believe this (John 11:25-26)."
The day Christ removes the veil from your eyes and takes out your heart of stone, you are forever changed; a new creation, never again the same. You begin to see things in a different way and you look at people differently because you have the Spirit of the living God inside of you. His grace is so marvelous and it is for all who will receive it. None of us deserve it, yet, in His great love, He sought after us and drew us to Himself. This grace has nothing to do with us or anything that we have done, this grace is solely based on the finished work of Jesus Christ our Lord. In Christ, He has adopted us into His family and made us heirs to His kingdom. "Blessed and holy are those who share in the first resurrection. The second death has no power over them, but they will be priests of God and of Christ and will reign with Him for a thousand years (Revelation 20:6)."
"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 to be adopted as His sons 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 (Ephesians 1:5-6)."
As we go through life, it is so easy to get caught up in our circumstances and forget who we belong to. During the trials, the heartaches, and the pain, it is so important that we remember whose we are and that we are a child of the One true King.
People will mistreat you, they will say and do things to hurt you. Loved ones will die. Friends may betray you. Sickness may come upon you or you may be struggling just to pay your bills, but God has promised that He will never leave us. He will never let the waters overtake us and when we walk through the fire we will not be burned. "When you pass through the waters, I will be with you, and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned, the flames will not set you ablaze. For I am the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior; I give Egypt for your ransom, Cush and Seba in your stead. Since you are precious and honored in My sight and because I love you (Isaiah 43:2-4)."
Read that last sentence again my friend, and let it sink in to your heart....you are precious in the sight of Almighty God and He loves you! God's word is life! It penetrates down to the core of each of us. That's why it is so important that we know His word and meditate on it consistently. When the enemy attacks or when we have been wronged, we can use the weapon of God's word to stand on and not allow anything to move us.
Jesus has already won the victory, but friend, when you choose to follow Him, the battle begins. There is no grey area, you are either for Christ or against Him. Those who are for Him, will suffer persecution. "In fact, everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ will suffer persecution (2 Timothy 3:12)." Many people think that when they become a Christian, their life will be easy and they will not have any troubles, but that is not the truth. We can expect trouble, but don't lose heart, that just means you are counted worthy of the kingdom of God-what an honor! I am sure that is why James, under the power of the Holy Spirit, wrote "Consider it pure joy my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything (James 1:2-4)." Trials develop our faith and make us stronger. In the valley,we learn to lean on God like never before.
Life can be very hard at times. The world is cruel. People you love turn their backs on you. Friends forsake you. As for me, God has brought me to the place where I can say that I am thankful for the valleys because in them, I learned to trust Him more. I learned that He is my Rock. I learned that He is the One constant I can always count on. I learned that He will never fail me. He has made me content in all circumstances. Whether I am on the mountaintop or in the deepest valley, I will praise Him. My soul is at rest. Whatever happens in this life, I know beyond any doubt that God is for me. I am His and He is mine.
So what about you? Do you know without a doubt you are His? If you died today, do you know that you would spend eternity with Jesus? We do not know when we will take our last breath and one day you and I will face death. Are you ready? If you don't know the Lord Jesus, if you don't belong to Him, then you will spend eternity forever separated from Him in hell. My friend, now is the time. Don't put it off any longer. Jesus is standing at the door of your heart; He is waiting for you to come to Him. He died so you could live. "Jesus said to her, I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me will live even though he dies, and whoever lives and believes in Me will never die, do you believe this (John 11:25-26)."
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