''Father of Lights"Jesus Culture (Chicago 2011)

Who I am in Christ

When I was going through depression, a friend gave me the book Victory over the Darkness by Neil T. Anderson.  It was completely life changing and I definitely recommend reading it, but what I want to share with you is a list of verses from this book that is so powerful if you meditate on it and let it seep into you and transform you.  Most of the verses I have heard since I was in Sunday School as a child (so they may be familiar to you too) but there is something about having them all on one list and really focusing on them daily that is so different from just reading each verse one at a time.

Who am I?

• I am the salt of the earth (Matt. 5:13)
• I am the light of the world (Matt.5:14)
• I am a child of God (John 1:2)
• I am part of the true vine, a channel of Christ's life (John 15:1,5) 
• I am Christ's friend (John 15:15)
• I am chosen and appointed by Christ to bear His fruit (John 15:16)
• I am a slave of righteousness (Rom 6:18)
• I am enslaved to God (Rom 6:22)
• I am a son of God; God is spiritually my Father (Rom 8: 14,15; Gal 3:26,4:6)
• I am joint heir with Christ, sharing His inheritance with Him (Rom 8:17)
• I am a temple-a dwelling place-of God.  His Spirit and His life dwell in me (1Cor 12:27; Eph 5:30)
• I am a new creation (2 Cor 5:17)
• I am reconciled to God and am a minister of reconciliation (2 Cor 5:18,19)
• I am a son of God and one in Christ (Gal 4:6,7)
• I am an heir of God since I am a son of God (Gal 4: 6,7)
• I am a saint (1 Cor 1:2; Eph 1:1; Phil 1:1; Col 1:1)
• I am God's workmanship-His handiwork-born anew in Christ to do His work (Eph 2:10)
• I am a fellow citizen with the rest of God's family (Eph 2:19)
• I am a prisoner of Christ (Eph 3:1, 4:1)
• I am righteous and holy (Eph 4:24)
• I am a citizen of heaven, seated in heaven right now (Eph 2:6; Phil 3:20)
• I am hidden with Christ in God (Col 3:3)
• I am an expression of the life of Christ because He is my life (Col 3:4)
• I am chosen of God, holy and dearly loved (Col 3:12; 1 Thess 1:4)
• I am a son of light and not of darkness (1 Thess 5:5)
• I am a holy partaker of a heavenly calling (Heb 3:1)
• I am a partaker of Christ; I share in His life (Heb 3:14)
• I am one of God's living stones, being built up in Christ as a spiritual house (1 Pet 2:5)
• I am a member of a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God's own possession (1Pet 2:9,10)
• I am an alien and stranger to this world in which I temporarily live (1 Pet 2:11)
• I am an enemy of the devil (1Pet 5:18)
• I am a child of God and I will resemble Christ when He returns (1John 3:1,2)
• I am born of God, and the evil one-the devil-cannot touch me (1John 5:18)
• I am not the great "I am", but by the grace of God, I am what I am (1Cor 15:10)

That last one is my favorite and it always makes me smile.  "I am what I am."  I love it.  There are a few that stand out as favorites for me and I thought about typing them in italics so that they would stand out, but I decided to let you choose which ones are your favorites and really speak to you in your situation.  If you really read these verses and meditate on them daily (and I don't mean that you have to read each verse every day, you could pick certain ones or just one each day and focus on it) You will not help but be changed.  Just allow the truth to lift you up and give you the strength that you need.  God Bless! I love you!

Pain

I place my pain 

                         on a platter,

And ice it like a cake.

They eat it up and love it so 

Cuz they don't know its fake.  

Smiles have been my 

                                   drug of choice 

They've always worked so well,

To hide the struggle deep 

Within this eternal

Silent hell.

I stand up to face 

                             myself

In a mirror made of glass.

When I see my own reflection,

"Who is that," is what

I ask.

On the floor lies

                          pictures 

Of broken promises

And broken dreams.

It took too long to realize

That life's not what it seems.

I've wandered so long

                                     inside

This carnival mirrored maze,

And trying to escape 

Only put me in a daze.  

I called for 

                  help

And You heard me,

Then offered me Your

Hand

I am on my 

                   way 

And it may take a while

So stay by me, 

My Friend. 

                      

                      

                      

Sweet Morning

This morning I woke up at six so I could spend time with the Lord.  So I sat on my couch with my laptop which has the Beth Moore study that I am doing and next to that is my bag which contains my Bible, journals, and the book to go along with the study.  I had all of that ready to go, but instead of jumping into the Bible study I had a longing to sit and enjoy just being in the presence of God in the early quiet hours of the morning.  Well, Callie Bug has not yet discovered how wonderful sleep can be and she was wide awake with me this morning.

All morning long, every time I put her down she cried.  She wanted to be attached to me.  One year old babies have a tendency to be completely self absorbed and are so unaware of the big world that is beyond what they can see.  No matter how self absorbed any baby is, that precious child still has a longing to be with her mother or father and this morning and Callie is perfectly happy just sitting on my lap.  She is not playing with any toys.  She is not asleep.  She is just sitting on my lap soaking up the close bond that she and I share.

I think when Jesus taught about child-like faith, this is one aspect of what he was talking about.  We should long for time with God just as a baby longs to just be near to her mother and hold her close.  He wants a relationship with us more than anything else.  Bible studies are wonderful and I really can hardly wait to find out what wisdom Beth Moore will share when I watch the DVD that is waiting in my computer's disc drive.  But if I put all of my attention on that study and neglect the relationship with my Papa then what good is a Bible study?  If I feed my baby, change her diaper, bathe her and take care of all of her basic needs then I am an OK parent.  But if I neglect spending time with her, holding her, cuddling, singing, playing peek-a-boo, then I am missing out on such a special aspect of our relationship.

With God it is the same.  There is so much more to God than all of the "hard work" of studying His word,  attending church, and bible studies (not really hard but just to make a point). These things are necessary to grow as a believer in Christ, but a relationship is what God desires.  Our Papa longs for those sweet moments when we raise our arms up and ask Him to pull us up on his lap and enjoy just being near Him.  Those are the moments that heal our wounds.  More than any Bible study can. Don't get me wrong, studying God's word definitely can heal wounds and I have verses that I cling to that bring new life to me.  But nothing can replace time with the Father.  Just being in his presence gives me so much hope and joy and a renewed energy.  That is when He picks up the pieces of my broken heart and carefully mends them back together.