PreciousJewels | Kristi's Morning Devotional

Have you ever noticed the way the advertisers work to create low self-esteem at the beginning of each year? They add on to the notation that many have already adopted – I’m not good enough, I weigh too much, I need to join a gym…eat better, join a weight loss program…need a new hair style or different clothes.

It’s out there to convince us that we need to make a change and then we will be happier, more beautiful, healthier, more successful.

Our real value isn’t always recognized. It doesn’t come from how we look, what we eat, what we drive or any of those other things. Our acceptance, our status, comes from who we are in Christ. We have been given the ultimate make-over.

“Anyone who belongs to Christ is a new person. The past is forgotten, and everything is new.” II Corinthians 5:17 CEV

The most rewarding thing to me about our “belonging” to Christ is that it doesn’t depend upon our social status, our belonging to a certain club or church, our financial standing isn’t taken into consideration nor is our beauty. It all depends on Christ and not on us. What brings us in to right standing with the Father is our acceptance of the sacrifice of the Son.

“My children, I am writing this so that you won’t sin. But if you do sin, Jesus Christ always does the right thing, and he will speak to the Father for us. ²Christ is the sacrifice that takes away our sins and the sins of all the world’s people.” I John 2:1-2 CEV

All the world’s people…everyone, yes, everyone! No one is left outside of God’s love and His provision for new life. Our part is to accept that free gift; the Lord won’t force us to take it, but He wants everyone to benefit from it. When we accept what Christ has done for us there is no one or no thing that can separate us from God’s love.

“If God says his chosen ones are acceptable to him, can anyone bring charges against them? ³⁴Or can anyone condemn them? No indeed! Christ died and was raised to life, and now he is at God’s right side, speaking to him for us. ³⁵Can anything separate us from the love of Christ? Can trouble, suffering, and hard times, or hunger and nakedness, or danger and death?…

³⁷In everything we have won more than a victory because of Christ who loves us. ³⁸I am sure that nothing can separate us from God’s love—…Nothing in all creation can separate us from God’s love for us in Christ Jesus our Lord!” Romans 8:33-39 CEV

Nothing, absolutely nothing can separate us from God’s love! The sentiment of the world may be that we aren’t acceptable or that we have no value but that’s not how God sees us. To Him, we are precious – priceless.

“And they shall be Mine, says the Lord of hosts, in that day when I publicly recognize and openly declare them to be My jewels (My special possession, My peculiar treasure). And I will spare them, as a man spares his own son who serves him.” Malachi 3:17 AMPC

So, as you come into this New Year focus on what is truly life affirming, life changing. Spend time with the Father and let Him confirm your true value.

This morning I will be starting a new teaching, one that will take several weeks. Over the New Year weekend I was praying about what I should be sharing and I felt strongly impressed to share excerpts from my book “Like A Diamond”.

These are teachings that gave me knowledge and strength for daily life many years ago. They are the foundations that are keep my feet firmly planted on the Solid Rock during life’s most tumultous and trying times.

“My people are being destroyed because they don’t know me. Since you priests refuse to know me, I refuse to recognize you as my priests.” Hosea 4:6a NLT

The Jewish people had forgotten God’s word; they no longer remembered God’s promises and were following false teaching. Their enemies had captured them and there was chaos and devastation in their land. God said it was because the priests had not been teaching them His word and they had no knowledge of His promises.

“I was saved when I was a small child and for many years my Christian experience was limited. I grew up with the concept that we just struggle by the best we can while we are on earth. Then one day we will go to heaven when we die and it will be worth all the pain and heartache we went through here.

However, all that started to change in the late 70’s and early 80’s. I began to hear teaching on victorious Christian living. This was all new to me and to be honest, my first thought was this seems too good to be true.

Yet, it was true! The word Gospel means exactly that – good news. Reading my Bible became a delight. Each page was filled with promises and stories of God meeting the people He created and filling their lives with blessings.

The Holy Spirit began to open my understanding to the miraculous transformation that the Lord would like to make in each of our lives. It is a refining process, a development – it takes a Master touch to reveal our true potential.

Our lives, when we come to Christ, can be compared to a diamond in the rough. When the diamond hunter first finds “diamond rough” it is unattractive. It is often encased by common mineral deposits.

It is the work of a Master Diamond Cutter that gives the stone its brilliance. They assess the stone to determine the size and weight of the finished product. Will they choose to cut one large diamond or perhaps two smaller ones will be more valuable? Will it be a round or a square brilliant cut?

Once the sawing or cutting of the diamond rough is complete the bruting process begins. Bruting is the art of cutting a diamond round. From here the diamond is polished, enhancing its many facets, weight, and clarity. A final inspection involves a thorough cleaning.

Our lives as Christians have greater value than that of the world’s largest diamond. God, the Father, is our Master Diamond Cutter. He sees us when we are encased in dirt. He chooses us to be His own. Through His Word what is detrimental to our beauty is cut away. We are then polished and refined so that our true beauty shines brilliantly.

Our Christian lives, like a diamond, are multi-faceted. In each chapter of this book we will look at some facets of our new life in Christ. For some this will be new information like it was for me all those years ago. For others it will be a refresher, an opportunity for another polishing. God’s word always brings a change, a glorious change.

As the facets of our life in Christ begin to be revealed we will shine “Like A Diamond”.”

I hope you will join me over the next weeks as we mine the truths of God’s Word and It reveals the value that God places on us, His children.

Tag: PreciousJewels

True Value

Like A Diamond