Identity Crisis

I have come to believe that knowing our true identity in Christ is essential for living a victorious Christian life. This compilation of identity statements is life-changing. Read them each day--and believe it!

I am Accepted . . .
I am God's child. Jn. 1:12
I am Christ's friend. Jn. 15:15
I have been justified Rom 5:1
I am united with the Lord. 1 Cor 6:17
I am bought with a price; I belong to God 1 Cor. 6:19-20
I am a member of Christ's Body. 1 Cor. 12:27
I am a saint. Eph. 1:1
I have been adopted as God's child. Eph 1:5
I have access to God through the Holy Spirit. Eph 2:18
I have been redeemed and forgiven. Col 1:14
I am complete in Christ. Col 2:10

I am Secure . . .
I am free forever from condemnation. Rom 8:1-2
I am assured all works together for good. Rom 8:28
I am free from any charge against me. Rom 8:31-34
I cannot be separated from the love of God. Rom 8:35-39
I am established, anointed, sealed by God. 2 Cor 1:21-22
I am hidden with Christ in God. Col 3:3
I am confident that the good work God has begun in me will be perfected. Phil 1:6
I am a citizen of heaven. Phil 3:20
I have not been given a spirit of fear, but of power, love, and a sound mind. 2 Tim 1:7
I can find grace and mercy in time of need. Heb 4:16
I am born of God; the evil one cannot touch me. 1 Jn 5:18

I am Significant . . .
I am the salt and light of the earth. Matt 5:13-14
I am a branch of the true vine, a channel of His life. Jn 15:1,5
I have been chosen and appointed to bear fruit. Jn 15:16
I am a personal witness of Christ's. Acts 1:8
I am God's temple. 1 Cor. 3:16
I am a minister of reconciliation for God. 2 Cor 5:17-21
I am God's co-worker. 2 Cor 6:1
I am seated with Christ in the heavenly realm. Eph 2:6
I am God's workmanship. Eph 2:10
I may approach God with freedom and confidence. Eph 3:12
I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. Phil 4:13

I GOT IT!

I have had a breakthrough this week in my understanding of my position in Christ. We've been attending a small group going through Neil Anderson's Freedom in Christ material. What finally broke through to my heart was doing this exercise:

Insert your name in the blanks--and believe it!

Blessed be the God and Father of _______ Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed ______ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, just as He chose ____ in Him before the foundation of the world, that _____ should be holy and blameless before Him. In love He predestined _____ to adoption as a son/daughter through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the kind intention of His will, to the praise of the glory of His grace, which He freely bestowed on _____ in the Beloved. In Him _________ has redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of trespasses, according to the riches of His grace, which He lavished upon _______. In all wisdom and insight He made known to ______ to the mystery of His will, according to His kind intention which He purposed in Him. In Him also _______ has obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to His purpose Who works all things after the counsel of His will, to the end that _____ should be to the praise of His glory. In Him _____ also after listening to the message of Truth, the gospel of _______ salvation, having also believed, _____ was sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit of promise, who is given as a pledge of _______'s inheritance. And ______ was dead in trespasses and sins, in which ______ 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 all _____ too, formerly lived in the lust of _____'s flesh, indulging the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and was by nature a child of wrath, even as the rest. But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved _____, even when _____ was dead in _____'s transgressions, made _____ alive together with Christ and raised _____ up with Him, and seated _____ with HIm in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, in order that in the ages to come He might show the surpassing riches of His grace in kindness toward_____ in Christ Jesus. So then ______ is no longer a stranger and alien, but ______ is a fellow citizen with the saints and is of God's household. . . for He delivered _____ from the domain of darkness and transferred _____ to the kingdom of His beloved Son, in Whom ______ has redemption, the forgiveness of sins . . . See how great a love the Father has bestowed upon ____ that _____ should be called a child of God, and such _____ am! For this reason the world does not know ______, because it did not know Him. Now ______ is a child of God and it has not appeared as yet what ____ shall be. ____ knows that when He appears, _____ shall be like HIm, because _____ shall see HIm as He is. And _____, who has this hope fixed on Him, purify ______, just as He is pure."
(Excerpts from Ephesians 1 & 2, Col. 1, and 1 John 3)

Thank you, Jesus! I am sealed with Him! I may sin, but I am not sin. And what's more, since I am a Child of God and Princess of the King, I will not be led around on a leash by that tiny, snivelling, disgusting, weak Satan.

SuperMom

I had heard rave reviews about the SuperMom vitamin for some time before I decided to give it a try. I immediately noticed that I had more energy and no longer felt compelled to take a nap in the afternoon, but just got used to the feeling and took it for granted. You don't really appreciate something until you lose it.

I saw that I was coming near the end of the bottle, didn't have time to order more before vacation, so stopped taking them to save them for my higher-energy needs on vacation. It took me a few days to realize why I was sooo tired everyday! I realized there was no way I could do vacation without these vitamins. I frantically got on the phone and tried to find a local retailer to no avail, and neither could I get the company to overnight a supply, SO I ordered them and had them mailed to our hotel in Virginia. That's how desperately I need these vitamins!

I'm sure the vitamins contribute generously to the health of my body in other ways that I am completely unaware of. And I imagine a parallel could be drawn to other areas in my life: eating healthy, keeping right relationships, spending time in the Word and prayer. The results are not always immediately obvious (no Moses glow here), but the behind-the-scenes work is happening and contributing to my character and the person/friend/mother/wife I am.

Goals

Goals: What you and God can accomplish together.
Desires: What you would like to do or be, but can be blocked by others.

A bad goal: Creating a peaceful and harmonious home.
A good goal: Being the best Mom I can be.

If we perceive our goal as impossible, our emotional response will be depression.
If we perceive our goal as uncertain, our emotional response will be anxiety.
If we perceive our goal as blocked, our emotional response will be anger.

What Do You Need God to Be For You Today?

Strong One (Elohim) Romans 9:5, 1 Tim. 6:15, Isaiah 60:16

Friend

Redeemer Do you need forgiveness? Romans 11:26 Genesis 2:4 Job 19:25

Wonderful Counselor Do you need guidance? Isa. 42:16-17, James 1:5, 1 Peter 5:4, Isa. 9:6, Romans 9:5 John 14:6

Wisdom 1 Cor. 1:24

Provider Do you have a need? James 1:17, Ps. 34:10, Genesis 22:13-14

Healer Exod. 15:26, Jer. 17:14.

Comforter John 14:26

Hope Titus 2:13

Love 1 John 4:8

Mercy Jeremiah 3:12

Strength Genesis 1:1, Psalm 19:1 Genesis 16:13

Power 1 Cor. 1:24

Shield Genesis 15:1

Peace Judges 6:24 Ephesians 2:14

My Utmost for His Highest

"Your Father knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye ask Him." Then why ask? The idea of prayer is not in order to get answers from God; prayer is perfect and complete oneness with God. If we pray because we want answers, we will get huffed with God. The answers come every time, but not always in the way we expect, and our spiritual huff shows a refusal to identify ourselves with Our Lord in prayer. We are not here to prove God answers prayer; we are here to be living monuments of God's grace.

This is a quote from yesterday's entry in My Utmost for His Highest by Oswald Chambers. You can subscribe to receive each day's devotional e-mailed to you here.

God's Promises

My dear friend Vicki shared this collection of God's promises with me today. God's Word is alive and powerful. I hope these touch your heart as they did mine.

1Peter 5:7:
⁷ Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about you.

Psalm 138:3:

³ As soon as I pray, you answer me;
you encourage me by giving me strength.

Isaiah 40:29-31:

²⁹ He gives power to the weak
and strength to the powerless.
³⁰ Even youths will become weak and tired,
and young men will fall in exhaustion.
³¹ But those who trust in the Lord will find new strength.
They will soar high on wings like eagles.
They will run and not grow weary.
They will walk and not faint.

Isaiah 43:2:

² When you go through deep waters,
I will be with you.
When you go through rivers of difficulty,
you will not drown.
When you walk through the fire of oppression,
you will not be burned up;
the flames will not consume you.

Romans 8:18:

¹⁸ Yet what we suffer now is nothing compared to the glory he will reveal to us later.

Romans 8:24:
²⁴ We were given this hope when we were saved. (If we already have something, we don’t need to hope^[a] for it.

Romans 8:28:
²⁸ And we know that God causes everything to work together^[a] for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them.

John 14:18:
¹⁸ No, I will not abandon you as orphans—I will come to you.

Psalm 147:3:

³ He heals the brokenhearted
and bandages their wounds.

Matthew 11:28:

²⁸ Then Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.

1 Peter 2:20:
²⁰ Of course, you get no credit for being patient if you are beaten for doing wrong. But if you suffer for doing good and endure it patiently, God is pleased with you.

Psalm 46

¹ God is our refuge and strength,
always ready to help in times of trouble.

Psalm 50:15:

¹⁵ Then call on me when you are in trouble,
and I will rescue you,
and you will give me glory.”

Psalm 91:15:

¹⁵ When they call on me, I will answer;
I will be with them in trouble.
I will rescue and honor them.

Psalm 138:7:

⁷ Though I am surrounded by troubles,
you will protect me from the anger of my enemies.
You reach out your hand,
and the power of your right hand saves me.

Psalm 121 :

¹ I look up to the mountains—
does my help come from there?
² My help comes from the Lord,
who made heaven and earth!

³ He will not let you stumble;
the one who watches over you will not slumber.
⁴ Indeed, he who watches over Israel
never slumbers or sleeps.

⁵ The Lord himself watches over you!
The Lord stands beside you as your protective shade.
⁶ The sun will not harm you by day,
nor the moon at night.

⁷ The Lord keeps you from all harm
and watches over your life.
⁸ The Lord keeps watch over you as you come and go,
both now and forever.

John 14:27:

²⁷ “I am leaving you with a gift—peace of mind and heart. And the peace I give is a gift the world cannot give. So don’t be troubled or afraid.

Nahum 1:7:

⁷ The Lord is good,
a strong refuge when trouble comes.
He is close to those who trust in him.

Numbers 23:19:

¹⁹ God is not a man, so he does not lie.
He is not human, so he does not change his mind.
Has he ever spoken and failed to act?
Has he ever promised and not carried it through?

1 Kings 8:56:

⁵⁶ “Praise the Lord who has given rest to his people Israel, just as he promised. Not one word has failed of all the wonderful promises he gave through his servant Moses.

Psalm 9:10:

¹⁰ Those who know your name trust in you,
for you, O Lord, do not abandon those who search for you.

Psalm 89:34:

³⁴ No, I will not break my covenant;
I will not take back a single word I said.

Hebrews 6:12:

¹² Then you will not become spiritually dull and indifferent. Instead, you will follow the example of those who are going to inherit God’s promises because of their faith and endurance.

James 1:12:

¹² God blesses those who patiently endure testing and temptation. Afterward they will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him.

John 10:10:
¹⁰ The thief’s purpose is to steal and kill and destroy. My purpose is to give them a rich and satisfying life.

Psalm 29:11:

¹¹ The Lord gives his people strength.
The Lord blesses them with peace.

Isaiah 26:3:

³ You will keep in perfect peace
all who trust in you,
all whose thoughts are fixed on you!

John 14:27:

²⁷ “I am leaving you with a gift—peace of mind and heart. And the peace I give is a gift the world cannot give. So don’t be troubled or afraid.

Romans 5

¹ Therefore, since we have been made right in God’s sight by faith, we have peace with God because of what Jesus Christ our Lord has done for us.

Psalm 37:3:

³ Trust in the Lord and do good.
Then you will live safely in the land and prosper.

Joel 2:26:

²⁶ Once again you will have all the food you want,
and you will praise the Lord your God,
who does these miracles for you.
Never again will my people be disgraced.

Such Things As God Has Promised

Prayer, John Bunyan once said, "is a sincere, sensible, affectionate pouring out of the soul to God, through Christ in the strength and assistance of the Spirit, for such things as God has promised." Prayer, then, is more than our yearning for some personal benefit. It is our thoughtful and heartfelt response to a God who has already extended his hand of kindness to us.
--Bruce Shelley

Psalms 84:5-8

Read verse 5-8 in full, then below I've copied it again and added my reflections to it. I hope it is a blessing to you.

5 Blessed are those whose strength is in you,
who have set their hearts on pilgrimage.

6 As they pass through the Valley of Baca,
they make it a place of springs;
the autumn rains also cover it with pools. ^[b]

7 They go from strength to strength,
till each appears before God in Zion.

8 Hear my prayer, O LORD God Almighty;
listen to me, O God of Jacob.
_______________________________________________

5 Blessed are those whose strength is in you,
who have set their hearts on pilgrimage.

Each year the Israelites took three pilgrimages to Jerusalem to celebrate their festivals. The psalmist is evidently in a place where he can no longer go on pilgrimage, and is mourning that fact; even being jealous of the birds who are able to build their nests in the temple (see previous verses 1-4). But the image here is still beautiful--that we can set our hearts on pilgrimage. The journey with Christ is definitely a pilgrimage; it has no end until we meet him face-to-face. It reminds me that this is not our final home, but we are pilgrims, yearning for our heavenly home.

6 As they pass through the Valley of Baca,
they make it a place of springs;
the autumn rains also cover it with pools.

Baca is not known as a literal place, but rather translates "weeping." I think can all relate to the valley of weeping; it is universal to all human experience. "Springs" translates "blessing." As a believer, we can pass through the valleys of weeping in our life with joyful expectation of the refreshment we will experience in Christ.

7 They go from strength to strength,
till each appears before God in Zion.

And here we come to the phrase I've meditated on this week. "From strength to strength." This indicates to me that we are given the strength when we need it. We move from strength to strength. How often have you looked at someone's struggle and thought, "there is no way I could handle that." Well, you're right. However, God gives us the strength we need for what we are in the midst of at that moment; not before, and not after. There are different strengths, and we receive each one when it is needed.

8 Hear my prayer, O LORD God Almighty;
listen to me, O God of Jacob.

How lovely it is to know that God hears our prayers and listens to us! If we only knew how willingly and eagerly he listens to us, we would certainly be humbled and never experience the fear and panic we so often do!

Consequences

Not only do actions have consequences, but so do words. I hate reproof, but I hate even more knowing that I've hurt a friend with my tongue. I am sorry, Friend. This evening I am meditating on the many Scripture verses that speak about the importance of our mouth. Here are just a few:

Proverbs 21:23
He who guards his mouth and his tongue keeps himself from calamity.

Psalm 19:14
May the words of my mouth
and the meditation of my heart
be pleasing to you,
O Lord, my rock and my redeemer.

Matthew 12:36, 37
But I tell you that men will have to give account on the day of judgment for every careless word they have spoken. For by your words you will be acquitted, and by your words you will be condemned.

Proverbs 29:20
For by your words you will be acquitted, and by your words you will be condemned.

Proverbs 10:19
When words are many, sin is not absent,
but he who holds his tongue is wise.

Psalm 15:1-3
LORD, who may dwell in your sanctuary?
Who may live on your holy hill?

He whose walk is blameless
and who does what is righteous,
who speaks the truth from his heart
and has no slander on his tongue,
who does his neighbor no wrong
and casts no slur on his fellowman

Proverbs 13:3
He who guards his lips guards his life,
but he who speaks rashly will come to ruin.

Psalm 130

A song of ascents.

1 Out of the depths I cry to you, LORD;

2 Lord, hear my voice.
Let your ears be attentive
to my cry for mercy.

3 If you, LORD, kept a record of sins,
Lord, who could stand?

4 But with you there is forgiveness,
so that we can, with reverence, serve you.

5 I wait for the LORD, my whole being waits,
and in his word I put my hope.

6 I wait for the Lord
more than watchmen wait for the morning,
more than watchmen wait for the morning.

7 Israel, put your hope in the LORD,
for with the LORD is unfailing love
and with him is full redemption.

8 He himself will redeem Israel
from all their sins.

Grant me, O Lord, to know that which is worth knowing, to love that which is worth loving, to praise that which pleases Thee most, to esteem that which to Thee seems precious, to abhor that which in Thy sight is unclean.

-Thomas 'a Kempis

Happy St. Patrick's Day

Patrick (Patricius) was 16 years old in 405 when Irish invaders pillaged his British village and captured him, taking him to Ireland where he was made a slave by a cruel chieftain Milchu. Forced to tend sheep in Ireland, he was given ample amounts of time to pray to a God he had taken for granted in the ease of his youth. He turned to Him for salvation. He was told in a dream how to escape, and did so after six years of captivity.

What is incredible about Patrick is that he eventually returned to Ireland as a missionary, with Milchu supposedly one of his first converts. He took many of the celtic pagan rituals and symbols and converted them to Christian ones, such as the bonfires and celtic crosses.
Why a shamrock? Patrick ingeniously used the three-leaf clover as a way to demonstrate the trinity: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

Wake Up Call

I arise today
Through God's strength to direct me,
God's might to uphold me,
God's wisdom to guide me,
God's eye to look before,
God's ear to hear me,
God's word to speak to me,
God's hand to guard me,
God's way to lie before me,
God's shield to protect me,
God's hosts to save me from snares of devils.

From temptation of vices,
From everyone who shall wish me ill,
Afar and anear,
Alone and in a multitude.

—Attributed to St. Patrick, from "The Deer's Cry" (St. Patrick's Breastplate)

Read Patrick's only authentic literary remains The "Confessio" of St. Patrick here.

Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus

I love this version by the Newsboys. One of my favorite worship songs.

Scripture Memory Box

This is a picture of our Scripture Memory Box. I made it according to the instructions at Simply Charlotte Mason.


The dividers are: Daily, Even, Odd, Monday-Friday, 1-30. The verse in Daily is the verse we're actively learning. Once we've mastered a verse, I move it to Even or Odd, then as we add more verses mastered those get moved back to Monday-Friday and then back to 1-30. So that each day we review four verses: Daily, Odd or Even depending on the date, Monday-Friday depending on the day of the week, and 1-30 depending on the date. Since we've only got the dates filled in 1-9, I'll review "5" when we're on the 15th of the month, and so on. If you need further explanation, there are step-by-step instructions here.


Here are the verses we've memorized:
Psalms 139
Our School Motto*
Romans 10:9
2 Corinthians 9:7
Philippians 4:4-8
1 Timothy 6:6-8
1 Thessalonians 5:16-18
Hebrews 12:11
1 John 4:11-12
Ephesians 4:29
Micah 6:8
Matthew 22:37-40
Books of the New Testament
Proverbs 29:11
Galatians 6:10
2 Timothy 3:16-17
And we're just beginning Psalm 19:7-14


*Our School Motto is borrowed from Charlotte Masons' school:

I Am, I Can, I Ought, I Will


I Am a child of God; a gift to my parents and my country; a person of great value because God made me.

I Can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. God made me able to do everything required of me.

I Ought to do my duty to obey God; to submit to those in authority over me; to be of service to others.

I Will resolve to keep a watch over my thoughts and choose what's right even if it's not what I want.

My Own Concordance

Or, Depression, Part 3.

One of the best ways I have found to counteract the negative thought processes of depression is by using the truth of scripture. Because Scripture is the living Word of God, it has the power to change. One of the things I do is construct my own concordance.

I bought a small 7"x9" three-ring binder and refill pages at Staples. I did not put alphabet tabs in mine, but I do keep the subjects alphabetized, using a heading that makes sense to me. For instance, my first page heading is "Alcohol," and subsequent pages are labeled "Depression," "Faith," "Grace," "Hardships," "Healing," etc. As I come upon a scripture that strikes me in a particular way, I add it. I put the reference and a brief description or partial quote. Because it's a three-ring binder, I can just slip a page in anywhere it alphabetically fits.

This could also be used to keep sermon notes, but I've decided to keep mine on my laptop so I can easier search and find what I'm looking for.

Today, I read Psalm 19 while using Praying the Bible for Your Children. I took some time to meditate on these words concerning the Word of God and its effect in my life:

7 The law of the LORD is perfect,
reviving the soul.
The statutes of the LORD are trustworthy,
making wise the simple.
8 The precepts of the LORD are right,
giving joy to the heart.
The commands of the LORD are radiant,
giving light to the eyes.
9 The fear of the LORD is pure,
enduring forever.
The ordinances of the LORD are sure
and altogether righteous.
10 They are more precious than gold,
than much pure gold;
they are sweeter than honey,
than honey from the comb.
11 By them is your servant warned;
in keeping them there is great reward.

And verse 14 is what I added to my Concordance under the headings of "Depression," "Words," "TV & Time":

May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing
in your sight, O LORD, my Rock and my Redeemer.

One of the greatest battles a depressed person faces is the one that goes on in their mind. If left unchecked, the negative thoughts can bring a person spiralling downwards quickly. It takes a lot of effort to combat these thoughts, and it is exhausting. However, remember 2 Corinthians 12:8-10: "My grace is sufficient for you, my power is made perfect in weakness." When I'm weak and tired from the fight, I quote this to myself and to God in prayer, admitting my weakness.

Another verse on my "Depression" page that deals with controlling our thought-life is 2 Corinthians 10:5:

We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.

These are by no means quick-fixes, but rather tools for the battle. I would encourage everyone to begin such a concordance, particularly those who are dealing with depression.

Prayer Time Resources

The boys and I have a devotional/prayer time each morning. I thought I'd share a few things we've found beneficial.

We have kept a prayer journal for several years. It is a wonderful record of God's answers to prayers (the yes's as well as the no's).

We subscribe to the Voice of the Martyr's newsletters Kids of Courage. You simply have to sign up on their website to receive this free resource. We pay $15 a term to get a "Bold Believers in . . . " book. This typically focuses on one country or people group. We use it throughout our 12-week term to focus our prayers and learn a little bit about the country. This term we've learned about how the Christian Chinese are being persecuted even worse due to the impending Olympics in Beijing. China is expelling suspected missionaries and welding Christians inside their homes under house arrest! They want to make sure no Christian influence enters with the Olympics! That will cause us to see the olympics in a new light this year, and help us remember to pray for our persecuted brothers and sisters in China.

The other resource we enjoy is Samaritan's Purse PrayerPoint. They send these out every two months, and there is a prayer focus each week. You can read them online here or receive one in the mail for any size donation (we get them in the mail for our participation with their Shoebox Ministry each Christmas). This organization is amazing in its scope of reach and relief. Noah has been moved to give his tithes to Samaritan's Purse.

For my personal devotions I enjoy using Praying the Bible for Your Children by Heather and David Kopp. This book constructs focused prayers using Bible verses. I have used it over and over. The same authors have written another book titled Praying the Bible with Your Family that is similar in nature with appropriate prayers to be read-aloud.

I'll follow-up with Devotional and Bible study resources in a separate post. Stay tuned!