He’s Talking to Me

Today we’re going to continue with the our teaching on In Christ and In Him.

As we read through Paul’s writings, let’s stop each time we come across the phrases in Him or in Christ and say “he’s talking to me”. We will see what God has to say about us, who we really are. It’s our identity in Christ.

We’re not just an old sinner saved by grace; we were an old sinner and it was definitely the grace of God that brought us salvation but our new you is free from guilt – no longer a sinner but a saint.  Do you sin? Yes, but that’s not who we are. As we begin to look at the new creature God has created and chosen us to be, we will become less aware of sin and more confident of the righteousness that we  have in Christ Jesus.

“So now anyone who is in Christ Jesus is not judged guilty. 2 That is because in Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit that brings life made you free. It made you free from the law that brings sin and death. 3 The law was without power because it was made weak by our sinful selves. But God did what the law could not do: He sent his own Son to earth with the same human life that everyone else uses for sin. God sent him to be an offering to pay for sin. So God used a human life to destroy sin. 4 He did this so that we could be right just as the law said we must be. Now we don’t live following our sinful selves. We live following the Spirit.” Romans 8:1-4 ERV

This group of verses that I am going to use this morning have both “in Him” and “in Christ” in the text. I use these verses a lot but they are filled with such great meaning that they should be foundational truths in each of our lives.

“From this time on we don’t think of anyone as the world thinks of people. It is true that in the past we thought of Christ as the world thinks. But we don’t think that way now. 17 When anyone is in Christ, it is a whole new world. The old things are gone; suddenly, everything is new! 18 All this is from God. Through Christ, God made peace between himself and us. And God gave us the work of bringing people into peace with him. 19 I mean that God was in Christ, making peace between the world and himself. In Christ, God did not hold people guilty for their sins. And he gave us this message of peace to tell people. 20 So we have been sent to speak for Christ. It is like God is calling to people through us. We speak for Christ when we beg you to be at peace with God. 21 Christ had no sin, but God made him become sin so that in Christ we could be right with God.”  II Corinthians 5:16-21 ERV

Verse 16 is very telling. Paul says we are not to think of people as the world sees them. He compares this to the way he looked at Christ. Originally Paul set out to destroy the Christians. He thought the message of Christ, being the Son of God, was heresy and he would arrest the Christians and have them imprisoned and killed.  But once he met Christ on the road to Damascus, his life was completely changed!  He knows what he’s talking about when he goes on in verse 17 and says that “IN CHRIST” it’s a whole new world – things are completely changed.

These verses say that God the Father was “in Christ”.  God the Father placed Himself, all His character, all His power, all His love “in Christ” to bring peace to us.  It goes on to say that God isn’t holding us guilty for our sin.  We have been freed from sin and have been given the mandate to share the peace and freedom we have with the world.

The war is over – the war of Satan and sin to keep us separated from God; the guilt and condemnation that once kept man from having peace with God has been atoned for in Christ.  This was the work Jesus was sent to do and His last words on the cross were “It is finished”!  His purpose on earth was complete; the sinless, spotless Son of God died to give us new life!!  I hope you’re shouting by now because this is GOOD NEWS!

And finally the last verse in this passage sums it all up.  ” 21 Christ had no sin, but God made him become sin so that in Christ we could be right with God”.  

The great exchange – our sin for His righteousness.  When God looks at us He doesn’t see our sin, that has been covered over by the blood of Jesus and what He sees is that we are righteous, acceptable and dearly loved.

This is God’s message to us!

The Trial & Verdict

Yesterday I took some time to rest in the sun. It’s not something I do very often but when I do I find that I feel totally relax and refreshed in about thirty minutes. Too keep out the distractions I generally listen to Country Gospel music on Pandora. There’s just something about the old hymns of the faith that encourage my heart.

Well, yesterday I was not disappointed. One of the first songs that came on was a childhood favorite.

“Just As I Am”

Just as I am, without one plea,
But that Thy blood was shed for me,
And that Thou bid’st me come to Thee,
O Lamb of God, I come! I come!

Just as I am, though tossed about
With many a conflict, many a doubt;
Fightings and fears within without,
O Lamb of God, I come, I come!

Just as I am, and waiting not
to rid my soul of one dark blot,
to thee whose blood can cleanse each spot,
O Lamb of God, I come, I come.

Just as I am, poor, wretched, blind;
Sight, riches, healing of the mind;
Yea, all I need, in Thee to find,
O Lamb of God, I come, I come!

Just as I am, Thou wilt receive,
Wilt welcome, pardon, cleanse, relieve;
Because Thy promise I believe,
O Lamb of God, I come, I come!

This song was written in 1835. I hope you don’t have trouble with the old English because the words are powerful. Here is a person on trial – they come without a plea, guilty or not guilty. Life has been unkind and there is absolutely no reason that the judge, our heavenly Father, should be merciful but He is!

“There is a lot of difference between Adam’s sin and God’s gift. That one sin led to punishment. But God’s gift made it possible for us to be acceptable to him, even though we have sinned many times. 17 Death ruled like a king because Adam had sinned. But that cannot compare with what Jesus Christ has done. God has been so kind to us, and he has accepted us because of Jesus. And so we will live and rule like kings. 18 Everyone was going to be punished because Adam sinned. But because of the good thing that Christ has done, God accepts us and gives us the gift of life.” Romans 5:16-18 CEV

Our defendant is poor, blind and emotionally distressed. Their life needs cleansing; so many charges have been leveed against them. They come seeking healing and help. Standing before the judge’s bench, waiting for the gavel to drop and sentence to be issued, they come. We come!

The Judge is ready to pronounce His verdict. He looks at the defendant, “what do you have to say for yourself?” – “Judge, I am without excuse. I deserve the harshest penalty. I am a sinner but I come today and ask for mercy. I come to the throne of grace.”

The Judge glances down at the papers before Him. He shuffles them, searching the pages. He looks up with a loving smile and says “I find no charges here, they are gone. They’ve been removed. My Son paid the price.”

“You were dead, because you were sinful and were not God’s people. But God let Christ make you alive, when he forgave all our sins.14 God wiped out the charges that were against us for disobeying the Law of Moses. He took them away and nailed them to the cross. 15 There Christ defeated all powers and forces. He let the whole world see them being led away as prisoners when he celebrated his victory.” Colossians 2:13-15 CEV

This is what the song writer knew when he wrote the last verse of this song. We have been received by the Father – we are welcome, pardoned, cleansed, and relieved of sin. We are made right in His sight.

And the final verdict is given as the Judge drops the gavel; “All charges have been dropped, forgiveness is yours and new life has been given.

Like the defendant and the song writer, to receive forgiveness and new life in Christ we say, “Oh, Lamb of God I come”!

Step by Step

The other morning Dave and I were out on our walk and another couple we see quite frequently were also walking. We stopped long enough to say our “good mornings” and she asked if we keep track of how far we have walked. I told her I knew each days’ walking but I wasn’t sure about so far this year.

This morning I decided to find out. I went to the fit bit app and checked it out. I was surprised by what I found; so far this year we have walked 236 miles. Now, if you’re a runner or a workout enthusiast this is far from extraordinary but to this 67 year old great grandmother it is a goodly distance.

But how did it happen? I never could have accomplished this in a week or even a month but over time it adds up. One step at a time; step by step.

And that’s how it is with our Christian walk. It’s step by step. We don’t start out spending hours each day reading the Bible or praying. We don’t conquer fear in one single situation or learn to control our temper with one confrontation. No, it’s step by step.

“Let the wonderful kindness and the understanding that come from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ help you to keep on growing. Praise Jesus now and forever! Amen.” II Peter 3:18 CEV

We grow in our understanding of God’s grace and love on a daily basis. When we take time to think about just those two amazing characteristics of our heavenly Father it’s mind boggling. Questions arise: How could He love and forgive me the way He does? Does He never get tired of me and the amount of times I fail? Will I ever exhaust His grace?

Our heavenly Father is the Father of all fathers. Does an earthly parent get tired of helping their child learn to walk? Do they ever just throw up their hands and say “forget it, they’ll never learn”? No! They are there to help, to steady, to encourage until walking is mastered and then it’s on to the next skill that needs to be learned.

“And now, just as you accepted Christ Jesus as your Lord, you must continue to follow him. Let your roots grow down into him, and let your lives be built on him. Then your faith will grow strong in the truth you were taught, and you will overflow with thankfulness.” Colossians 2:6-7 NLT

Follow Him! Step by Step – walk with Jesus through the pages of the Bible. Watch Jesus relate to a dishonest tax collector, a prostitute, a man eaten up with leprosy and the easily distracted disciples. It’s here we gain understanding of the love that Jesus freely gives to all of us and it’s here we grow in grace, receiving blessings from the Lord that we don’t deserve and can’t earn.

“Then Christ will make his home in your hearts as you trust in him. Your roots will grow down into God’s love and keep you strong. 18 And may you have the power to understand, as all God’s people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love is. 19 May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully. Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God.” Ephesians 3:17-19 NLT

Yes, our Christian walk is a growing process. We grow in our understanding of God’s love, His grace and so our faith grows too. Day by day and step by step.

Enjoy the journey!

Whatcha Thinkin’

How many times have we asked someone, “whatcha thinkin” or how many times has someone asked us that question?

Each day we are bombarded with so much information and it’s all competing for a place in our minds. We are the ones who decide what downloads we accept and we are the ones who decide what data to delete.

The Apostle Paul had a horrible past. He wasn’t much different than Hitler. Both men spent a great deal of time destroying the Jews and feeling they were justified in doing so. Paul was a part of the lynch mob that killed Stephen, the first Christian martyr. After that he did everything he could to track down the Christians, have them arrested and killed. Hitler rounded up the Jews and tried to annihilate them. The difference between the two men – repentance!

Paul’s message of God’s unconditional love and his understanding of grace was born out of his past. He could preach the amazing grace of God and absolute forgiveness because he had experienced it. He wouldn’t allow himself to be sidelined with thoughts of his unworthiness.

Our minds may be telling us, you’re unworthy – God can’t or won’t love you; He won’t forgive you; He won’t use you! You’re a disgrace – if people knew who you were or what you did, they wouldn’t want anything to do with you. Paul had those thoughts and this is how he handled them.

“All the other apostles are greater than I am. I say this because I persecuted the church of God. That is why I am not even good enough to be called an apostle. 10 But, because of God’s grace, that is what I am. And his grace that he gave me was not wasted. I worked harder than all the other apostles. (But I was not really the one working. It was God’s grace that was with me.)” I Corinthians 15:9-10 ERV

Paul knew how it felt to deal with feelings of unworthiness but instead of wallowing in that he filled his mind with an overwhelming dose of God’s grace and stepped into the acceptance of God’s unconditional love.

“But Christ died for us while we were still sinners, and by this God showed how much he loves us.” Romans 5:8 ERV (written by Paul)

Worry is also a tactic the mind uses to sideline us. With everything that’s happening around us it’s easy to worry. How do we not worry?

“Then, because you belong to Christ Jesus, God will bless you with peace that no one can completely understand. And this peace will control the way you think and feel. Finally, my friends, keep your minds on whatever is true, pure, right, holy, friendly, and proper. Don’t ever stop thinking about what is truly worthwhile and worthy of praise. You know the teachings I gave you, and you know what you heard me say and saw me do. So follow my example. And God, who gives peace, will be with you.” Philippians 4:7-9 CEV

Worry can be replaced with peace when we keep our thoughts focused on things that are good and pure. We need to remind ourselves that we have a loving, heavenly Father who protects us.

We can let our thoughts imprison us with bars of worry and unworthiness or we can stay focused on God’s love and have grace and peace unlock the prison door and set us free.

Guard your thinkin’!

Inhale Peace!

You may remember hearing me say that every morning when I talk with the Lord I thank Him for His love and mercy, goodness and grace. Focusing on these four characteristics of our loving, heavenly Father sets the tone for my whole day.

Subconsciously, after I thank Him I’ve noticed that I inhale a deep cleansing breath and as I exhale I am blanketed in peace.

I love that the Bible tells us God’s mercy is new every morning. Obviously, we need this on a daily basis. In myself, by myself, I fail to measure up on a daily basis. BUT God provides me with new mercy every morning. I start my day knowing that I have been accepted by Him. God’s mercy, not getting the punishment I deserve, frees me. I receive mercy not because of what I’ve done but in spite of it.

Inhale…peace.

Then there’s the grace of God, receiving from Him what I don’t deserve, which compels me to live a better life. God doesn’t love me because of the life I live, He loves me in spite of it. Because of that, I want my life to please my Father. I want to live a life that reflects the unconditional love that Jesus provided for me with His death.

When I see how great the mercy and grace of God are I find that I can live at peace. My soul can rest knowing that the Father’s promises provide for me in every situation. I can be free from worry, anxiety and thoughts of condemnation. I am accepted by my Father. I am loved!

I breathe in and am filled with His peace.

Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. 3 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. In Christ, God has given us every spiritual blessing in heaven. 4 In Christ, he chose us before the world was made. He chose us in love to be his holy people—people who could stand before him without any fault. 5 And before the world was made, God decided to make us his own children through Jesus Christ. This was what God wanted, and it pleased him to do it. 6 And this brings praise to God because of his wonderful grace. God gave that grace to us freely. He gave us that grace in Christ, the one he loves. 7 In Christ we are made free by his blood sacrifice. We have forgiveness of sins because of God’s rich grace.” Ephesians 1:2-7 ERV (emphasis mine)

Let me ask you this. How are you caring for your children during this time of crisis? Are you trying to alleviate their fears, helping them with things they need, looking out for their safety, giving them reassurance that we will all get through this? Our heavenly Father is wanting to do the same for us. It’s who He is and what He does!

May you realize that you have been given mercy, grace and peace! You are accepted by the Father. You are loved!

Breathe in. Inhale His Peace.

Life’s Programming Updates

Have you ever felt that your “programming” was going through an update? Things are changing and you have to wait for them to be completed.

Yesterday was that kind of day. My friend, Tom, who set up my blog website worked with me on some behind-the-scenes changes that I felt needed to be made. We worked to have my morning blog post automatically to the Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn sites at the same time the emails are generated and sent to your email addresses.

This might sound like a simple step but it was not without its challenges. I am so thankful for Tom’s knowledge and patience. We ran into a few roadblocks. Tom was able to track them down and successfully maneuver past them. We did a test post but this morning will be a full scale effort.

To make this change I had to set up a Facebook page, different from my personal News Feed page. I will be sending each of you who are my “friends” on Facebook an invitation to like and follow Kristi’s Morning Devotional. If you do you will be able to read the blog each morning as usual.

Why this change? I really don’t like change but Dave and I are going to be spending more time traveling this year and sometimes we are in areas that don’t have very good wifi. If I can write my blogs ahead of time and schedule the publication for a few days later it will prevent interruption of posting to social media. I want to make every effort to avoid any days of not posting.

The next few days may have some hiccups but we’ll work them through. Please be patient.

Isn’t that the way it is in life? We know that we are being changed on the inside; things are going on behind-the-scenes but those we love and work with aren’t always aware of the updates.

When the Lord begins to show us things about ourselves, things that need to be deleted, updated and reprogrammed, we begin to change. Sometimes the change is external but most often it is a change of attitude, action, purpose and functionality. The New Testament instructs us to put off the old man and take on the new. Our new life is in Christ and He has a way of changing us for the better.

“Each of you is now a new person. You are becoming more and more like your Creator, and you will understand him better…Yet Christ is all that matters, and he lives in all of us. 12 God loves you and has chosen you as his own special people. So be gentle, kind, humble, meek, and patient. 13 Put up with each other, and forgive anyone who does you wrong, just as Christ has forgiven you.” Colossians 3:10-13 CEV

Let’s be patient with one another – we are all going through changes. Updating is in Progress!

But God

We had a wonderful time yesterday while on our family camping weekend. We visited a local attraction known as the Rooster Cogburn Ostrich Ranch. The animals were amazing and we had a great time. (I’ll tell you more about this in another blog.) While feeding the animals I was particularly focused on some of the birds that we hand fed.

A few days back I reminded you that God’s love for us is so much greater than His love for the birds, and since it is, we can trust Him in all things. He is rich in mercy and love. Anytime things seemed stacked against us, remember this, BUT GOD! God is in control and He loves us so deeply. How can we not come out a winner when we know that no matter what happens BUT GOD?

“But God is rich in mercy, and he loved us very much. 5 We were spiritually dead because of all we had done against him. But he gave us new life together with Christ. (You have been saved by God’s grace.) 6 Yes, it is because we are a part of Christ Jesus that God raised us from death and seated us together with him in the heavenly places. 7 God did this so that his kindness to us who belong to Christ Jesus would clearly show for all time to come the amazing richness of his grace. 8 I mean that you have been saved by grace because you believed. You did not save yourselves; it was a gift from God.” Ephesians 2:4-8

There isn’t a problem too big or a reward so great that they aren’t solved or enriched by BUT GOD. The enemy of every Christian is satan and he sends many challenges and problems to discourage and destroy BUT GOD… Then we also have rewards and opportunities that look too good to pass up BUT GOD will show us if they are traps to get us off course or if they are really opportunities He is sending to bless us.

The old saying no ifs, ands or buts about it, was used to drive home a point that something was solid or unchangeable. The Lord is our miracle worker and nothing is impossible with Him.

“So what should we say about this? If God is for us, no one can stand against us. And God is with us. 32 He even let his own Son suffer for us. God gave his Son for all of us. So now with Jesus, God will surely give us all things.” Romans 8:31-32

As you go about your day, when things come up and they will, remember BUT GOD and know that He is for you so anyone or anything that is against you has to face no one else BUT GOD!

O What A Beautiful Morning

The title words are from one of the main songs in the musical Oklahoma. O, what a beautiful morning, O, what a beautiful day. I’ve got a beautiful feeling everything’s going my way…

What decision have you made about today? Where I am, it’s still dark. The sun has yet to come up. There is the glow of the moon but with my natural eye I can’t tell what kind of day it will be.

However, in my heart I know that today will be a good great day. Yes, a great day! My heart is filled with song for no other reason than I know that Jesus loves me and He is planning my day and ordering my steps.

The lyrics of another song were the first words I heard flowing from my heart when I woke.

“Give Me Jesus”

In the morning, when I rise
In the morning, when I rise
In the morning, when I rise

Give me Jesus.
Give me Jesus,
Give me Jesus.
You can have all this world,
Just give me Jesus.

When I am alone,
When I am alone,
When I am alone,
Give me Jesus.

Give me Jesus.
Give me Jesus,
Give me Jesus.
You can have all this world,
Just give me Jesus.

We make the determination of what we focus on – we can imagine the beauty before it’s ever seen with the natural eye and we can set our hearts on heavenly things that we’ll not see until we depart this earth.

“Since you have been raised to new life with Christ, set your sights on the realities of heaven, where Christ sits in the place of honor at God’s right hand. Think about the things of heaven, not the things of earth. For you died to this life, and your real life is hidden with Christ in God.” Colossians 3:1-3 NLT

Oh, what a beautiful morning – Lord, there’s nothing I desire more, just Jesus!

God Overlooks Our Reputation

How do you see yourself today? Are you someone who has struggled most of your life with relationships and careers? Do others look down on you because of your education or lack thereof? Maybe you’ve done some stupid stuff and it has caused people not to trust you or you’ve wounded and broken relationships.

Many years ago, there were some shepherds out on a hillside watching their sheep. Shepherds had a poor reputation in their society. They were considered the lowest of the blue collar workers, rogues, and liars, but God… God saw them as men who would be faithful to spread the message that His Son had been born!

“In the same region, shepherds were staying out in the fields and keeping watch at night over their flock. 9 Then an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. 10 But the angel said to them, “Don’t be afraid, for look, I proclaim to you good news of great joy that will be for all the people: 11 today a Savior, who is Messiah the Lord, was born for you in the city of David. 12 This will be the sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped snugly in cloth and lying in a manger.” 13 Suddenly there was a multitude of the heavenly host with the angel, praising God and saying: 14 Glory to God in the highest heaven, and peace on earth to people He favors! 15 When the angels had left them and returned to heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let’s go straight to Bethlehem and see what has happened, which the Lord has made known to us.” 16 They hurried off and found both Mary and Joseph, and the baby who was lying in the feeding trough. 17 After seeing [them], they reported the message they were told about this child, 18 and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. 19 But Mary was treasuring up all these things in her heart and meditating on them. 20 The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had seen and heard, just as they had been told.” Luke 2:8-20

God was willing to use the shepherds and He’s willing to use us too. He sees the best in each of us and gives us opportunities to use what He’s placed in us to touch others. God, the Father, has a message and a plan for each life. Let’s follow the example of the shepherds and go tell somebody what God has done. It’s a wonderful message about a wonderful life.

Thank you Father for your love!

Going Once, Going Twice, Sold

Dave and I are off on a fun adventure today. Going to do something we both really enjoy. We’re going to an auction! I can tell you we are both excited. We haven’t been to an auction since we moved back to Arizona. We used to go to farm, ranch and estate auctions frequently. Sometimes we go a couple times a month.

What’s so great about an auction? Finding a treasure!

And when we go it’s generally a full day’s event. We stay to the very end; some folks only come for one or two items and others just grow weary from standing there all day but we’ve found, that by staying until the end, we can always find one or two more treasures at a really great price.

Yesterday we went for the preview. We had an opportunity to look things over; pick them up and look for flaws. We tested electrical items and look closely at glassware for chips, nicks and utensil scratches.

Do you realize that we too have been to an auction? Each of us has been on the auction block and we were sold to the highest bidder. The bidders came and evaluated our worth, and they paid the price. Some of the bidders who registered for bidding rights were wealth, fame, success, family, education, career and Jesus. They all looked us over and waited to put in a bid, hoping they would be the high bidder.

When the auctioneer had us lift our hands to show that we were the next one up for bid, they watched with anticipation. Each one increasing the bid a bit more, each one hoping to hear “final warning, last bid, sold”. But only one could walk away with the prize, only one had unlimited resources, only one was willing to pay all to take us home.

That one…Jesus!

“Don’t you realize that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who lives in you and was given to you by God? You do not belong to yourself, 20 for God bought you with a high price. So you must honor God with your body.” I Corinthians 6:19-21 NLT

“Lord, you have come to my defense;  you have redeemed my life.” Lamentations 3:58 NLT

There is a term in the auction world, “buy order”. It means no matter the cost, win the bid. That’s what Jesus did with us; He issued a buy order. The price of our purchase was great; it cost Him his life.

“When we were utterly helpless, Christ came at just the right time and died for us sinners. Now, most people would not be willing to die for an upright person, though someone might perhaps be willing to die for a person who is especially good. But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners. And since we have been made right in God’s sight by the blood of Christ, he will certainly save us from God’s condemnation. 10 For since our friendship with God was restored by the death of his Son while we were still his enemies, we will certainly be saved through the life of his Son.” Romans 5:6-10 NLT

Today we will go to the auction and come home with a few treasures. We will be purchasing inanimate objects that can be picked up and carried home. They have no choice in the process.

What Jesus did in purchasing us is beyond compare. He gave His life for all. He is not willing that anyone would be left out. But we have a free will; we choose if we will accept His offer.

“He came into the very world he created, but the world didn’t recognize him. 11 He came to his own people, and even they rejected him. 12 But to all who believed him and accepted him, he gave the right to become children of God. 13 They are reborn—not with a physical birth resulting from human passion or plan, but a birth that comes from God. 14 So the Word became human and made his home among us. He was full of unfailing love and faithfulness. And we have seen his glory, the glory of the Father’s one and only Son.” John 1:10-14 NLT

Many years ago I chose to give Him my life. Each day I choose to live for the One who purchased my freedom. I hope you have done or will do the same!

Going once, going twice, sold to the Man who hung on the cross!