Good Morning Blood-Bought, Totally Forgiven, Seen-As-Righteous, Heaven-Bound, Very Loved Child of God! That is your true identity in Christ! Believe it! Receive it! PTL! You are those and many more in Christ. If you don't know these things for sure, you can and you can learn to operate from this true identity. You are God's workmanship and masterpiece. His Word tells you so (Eph. 2:10). And according to this Scripture, when you receive Christ as your Lord and Savior, you step into your new nature and true identity that you were created to be from before you were born and now enabled and empowered to do the things you were created for. God is so good and loving and He even sends a helper, The Holy Spirit to seal the deal and assure you that you are His and that Helper helps you do all you were created to do as you grow into your fuller potential in Christ. What a blessing! What love God has lavished on us and made available to all who will come! Rejoice! Be who you were created to be, made new in Christ and fulfill your created purposes. What an awesome God we know and love! As Solomon says in Ecclesiastes, "Love God and enjoy life."
Now we do know all this, but sometimes life has a way of kicking us in the gut. It can be hard to remember or believe at times that God really loves you, is with you, and these things are true. Don't be fooled by Satan or your own foolish thinking! Jesus warned us to expect hardships, trials, temptations and even hate because we love Him. People often say that the Bible says, "God won't give you more than you can endure." However, they take that out of context. That passage is talking about temptations and that God always provides a way out of sin. God does test us or allow circumstances to take us way past what we think we can endure so we learn to rely on Him. He is always with us, knows us, loves us eternally and wants us to rely on Him as we learn to stand firm in faith and carry on no matter what we face in life. Jesus faced all we will ever face and more and He leads us to overcome as we persevere and grow in faith.
Our salutation above is from TWFYT (below). They are in the midst of several days of teaching about the armor of God. Stand behind that shield of faith! Put on your helmet of salvation and tighten that chin strap and wield the sword of the Spirit, God's Word against our enemy. Check our ODB (below) and their reminder to not loose heart. Life may be debilitating, but God is always with us and some day we will be fully healed in His presence. Persevere in faith. Stand firm in Christ. Keep praying and releasing His power on earth. And read about, as a reminder, of God's loving faithfulness and help for us in the UR (below).
Jesus has experienced all we will and more and promises to be with us always and sent us a Helper to lead us through and even intercede for us when we don't know what to pray. He has given us His Word to memorize and use against Satan and spiritual attacks and shown us how to put on His armor and stand firm in faith. PTL, right? Yet sometimes we still get bogged down in our own pity-parties. Jesus reminds us to hold loosely to our agendas and desires and expectations. If you are reading the Gospel of John with us, we are in John 12. Jesus reminds us in John 12:25, "Those who love their life in this world will lose it. Those who care nothing about their lives in this world will keep it for eternity." Jesus was troubled by His soon coming crucifixion. But He chose to endure it for each of us, His beloved children. He reminds us that sometimes we have to die to our own wants and desires to go and live and love well. He commands us to love like He loved us. That's agape, dying to self love, for the sake of others or to advance God's kingdom, or to grow into our fuller potential and greater purposes we were created for.
Because of Christ and His agape love, we can endure, grow and become the people we were created to be. He promises to be with us always and always be at work working all things together. This world and our life on it are just a breath. We have a whole promised eternity ahead where everything will be made right and our purposes will continue when we step into our best new nature and live fully. Our faith WILL become sight! Amen! Remember who and Whose you are! You are a "Blood-Bought, Totally Forgiven, Seen-As-Righteous, Heaven-Bound, Very Loved Child of God!" Write that down. Memorize this truth and stand on that fact always! You are loved for eternity! Amen!
May we keep standing firm in Christ as we learn to pray, go, serve, live and love like Him no matter what the day brings! For we do know Who brings the day! And He has great plans for you, His beloved!
Check out this link from Harvest Prayer for learning to pray to set people from from whatever has them bound: https://www.onecry.com/blog/uncategorized/prayer-that-sets-people-free?rq=prayer and this link to Kim's Blog for learning how to pray out loud. Spoken and pronounced out loud prayers carry great power! https://www.harvestprayer.com/prayer-faq/how-can-i-learn-to-pray-out-loud/
The Word for You Today:
Our Daily Bread:
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I don’t remember a time when my mom Dorothy was in good health. For many years as a brittle diabetic, her blood sugar was wildly erratic. Complications developed and her damaged kidneys necessitated permanent dialysis. Neuropathy and broken bones resulted in the use of a wheelchair. Her eyesight began to regress toward blindness.
But as her body failed her, Mom’s prayer life grew more vigorous. She spent hours praying for others to know and experience the love of God. Precious words of Scripture grew sweeter to her. Before her eyesight faded, she wrote a letter to her sister Marjorie including words from 2 Corinthians 4: “We do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day” (v. 16).
The apostle Paul knew how easy it is to “lose heart.” He describes his life as one of danger, pain, and deprivation (2 Corinthians 11:23–29). Yet he viewed those “troubles” as temporary. And he encouraged us to think not only about what we see but also about what we can’t see—that which is eternal (4:17–18).
Despite what’s happening to us, our loving Father is continuing our inner renewal every day. His presence with us is sure. Through the gift of prayer, He’s only a breath away. And His promises to strengthen us and give us hope and joy remain true.
By Cindy Hess Kasper
REFLECT & PRAY
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What’s causing you to be discouraged or “lose heart”? Which Scriptures are especially encouraging to you?
Precious Father, thank You for Your faithful love for me and the assurance of Your presence.
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SCRIPTURE INSIGHT
Paul begins 2 Corinthians with heartfelt words of comfort (1:3–7) and returns to that theme in 4:16–18. In tandem with this comfort, however, he relates the difficulties he and his coworkers have endured: “We were under great pressure, far beyond our ability to endure, so that we despaired of life itself” (1:8). In chapter 4, he says, “We are hard pressed on every side” (v. 8), “persecuted” and “struck down” (v. 9). We “carry around in our body the death of Jesus” (v. 10). But Paul is quick to note that we’re “not abandoned” (v. 9) and adds, “we know that the one who raised the Lord Jesus from the dead will also raise us with Jesus and present us with you to himself” (v. 14). That’s why he can bracket this chapter with the theme of hopeful perseverance: “We do not lose heart” (4:1, 16).
Tim Gustafson |
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The Upper Room: Like A Mother and Father
From my birth I have leaned upon you, my protector since my mother’s womb. My praise is continually of you. - Psalm 71:6 (NRSVUE)
Our family is large. I am the youngest of six siblings — three girls and three boys. I lost both my mother and my father when I was very young, and my elder brothers and sisters raised me. Following my mother’s death from cancer, I felt utterly alone. I often cried, thinking, Why should I live? Jesus take me. I have no one to love me the way she did. But I have taken comfort in Psalm 23. My mother often recited these verses when I held her hand and went on walks with her or when I accompanied her to the hospital.
Now I am a grown woman with my own family, a career, and an independent life. Psalm 23, the passage my mother taught me when I was young, still comforts me; it gives me hope when I face sickness, sadness, or other challenges. As I recite that psalm from memory, joy and peace prevail in me. I have learned to look to God when I need my mother’s love and also when I need my father’s love. I know that God loves me and cares for me. God can comfort me like a mother and like a father.
TODAY'S PRAYER
Loving God, thank you for comforting your children. Thank you for your continuous guidance and favor. Amen.
LISTEN ONLINE
