How Do You See Yourself?
My friend, when you begin to see yourself the way God sees you, everything changes! Enjoy this 25 minute video teaching about what God thinks about you!! Sandra McCollom
How Do You See Yourself?
My friend, when you begin to see yourself the way God sees you, everything changes! Enjoy this 25 minute video teaching about what God thinks about you!! Sandra McCollom
I Am Becoming Who I Am
As a Christian I am a new creation in Christ (2 Cor. 5:17). The old Michael was crucified with Christ and I have been born from above, born again into God’s family. I am a son of God, as righteous as Jesus because of what Jesus did on behalf of humanity. It’s nothing of my own doing; just simple faith in the work that Jesus did for me. I don’t claim to understand how God does it but I know that It’s true.
However, I don’t always live, act or feel like a son of God. I don’t always behave and live out of my identity as a child of God. When I was a teenager I believed that God was mad at me every time I sinned. If he wasn’t mad, then he was surely disappointed because I had failed to live up to his standards, or what I had been taught about his supposed standards.
During that time in my life, I got “saved” every Sunday because I couldn’t seem to get my act together. I so wanted to please God but felt I always came up short. I just knew that he was incredibly disappointed that I couldn’t get it together. I made so many promises to God that I would do better, not mess up as much and get it right.
I carried these thoughts and feelings into my adulthood.
When I would mess up, I would always beat myself up for three or four days, promising God I would do better, and that I would try harder not to mess up again. I was always on the performance treadmill.
When I became a parent at the age of 28 a change began to take place in me. Becoming a parent taught me about the fathering heart of God more than anything else. The love and care I had for my child was deep and moving. The things I felt for her were without words. I would give my life for this beautiful creature. Nothing she did, or didn’t do, would change how I felt about her. She is now 23 and married and I still feel the same way.
As much as I love all five of my children, my love for them doesn’t even compare to God’s love for us.
Most of us have been taught that God punishes us when we sin. I used to believe that the bad things that happened to me were coming from God’s punishment of me. I just couldn’t believe that God was ever proud of me because all I could ever see were the wrong things I was doing. For a long time, I believed he loved me (he had to love me because God is love) but I sure didn’t believe that he liked me.
But here is a question that I finally had to answer: If God is punishing me for my sins, then why did Jesus have to take my place?
The problem was that I didn’t have the right identity. I still saw myself as a sinner that had been saved by grace, but I was simply on parole. I didn’t see myself as being totally set free from my sins. Grace was not the emphasis, and neither was the word saved. It was the word sinner.
I. Was. A. Sinner.
I was taught that God hates sinners therefore God hated me because I couldn’t quit sinning. That was my thought process.
Boy was I ever wrong! I didn’t have a sin problem (Jesus took care of sin). I had an identity problem.
You see, my identity is that of a son. I now carried God’s name. Because of what Jesus did I, too, was now a son of God. No longer a sinner, but now a son. I am not a sinner saved by grace. I am a son of God that is dearly loved by God.
That means that every time I mess up, God says to me, “Son, that’s not who you are.” I always felt like a failure and saw myself as such, but God saw me as a son. He always speaks to what he sees in us. He always speaks to the Israel inside of us, and not the Jacob. He will deal with the Jacob, but speaks to the Israel within.
If our children talked to us like we talk to God, we would be beside ourselves. We would never let our children tell us how unworthy of our love they are, how much of a rotten person they are, how bad of a sinner they are. No! We would set them straight. Yet, Christians talk about themselves like this all the time.
If any of my kids ever came to me and talked like that I would speak to their true identity. They are mine. They are a gift from God. They are a Wilson and Wilson’s don’t talk like that. That’s not who you are. I would then tell her who they are. I would speak to their potential. I would speak to their giftings. I would speak about my great love for them. I would help them to see their true identity.
No matter what they do, or don’t do, they are and always will be my child. My love isn’t based upon their actions. If it is then it’s not love. Conditional love is an oxymoron.
I would help them to see that they are becoming who they really are.
That’s precisely what God, our Heavenly Father, does. He speaks into our truest identity, and that identity comes from him. So, when I listen to what he is saying to me, and I believe it, I then start to become what I am.
I am a son of God! And when I don’t act like it, he gently reminds me of who I am.
I am becoming what I am!
The post I Am Becoming Who I Am appeared first on Michael Wilson.
863. The Light of the World Is Jesus (Not Us)
Nowhere in New Testament letters written to the churches are we identified as the light of the world. Whatever light comes from us is because we are in Him as children of the light—and He in us. This takes the pressure off us because we have no need to wonder or fear if “our” light will go dim. The light in us is not tied to works and performance which can be up and down or inconsistent. It’s the light of Christ that abides in us and it’s eternal. He is the light that shines from us.
846. 17th Anniversary Program – Part 1
833. Things Seldom Heard in Church: Rahab “The Believer”
Something that easily gets lost in between this gentile woman’s occupation and her willingness to help Israeli spies … is that she was a believer in the one true God before she ever did anything to help the Israelites. She wasn’t one who was under the law. There was nothing that she (or anybody) could “do” to be accepted by God—she was justified in the same way as all people are … whether Jew or Gentile. She believed in God by faith because of what she heard that He had done.
825. Listener: “Why Don’t They Teach Us Right?” A Conversation About Church Inc.
This week we have a spontaneous heart to heart about church denominations and the wide variety of different perspectives and teaching available. How did we get to this place where elements of both law and grace seem to be the norm?
This is a bit of a foundational introduction into upcoming podcasts where we’ll talk about some things that are seldom heard or taught in most churches—but should be.
Who’s Your Daddy?
When our first child was born, there were some complications and she had to spend a few days in a special care ward.
She was kept in an incubator and the only way I could touch her was by putting my hands through holes in the side of the incubator wall. She was only a few hours old when I came to her, stroked her, and asked her a question.
“Who’s your daddy?”
I didn’t expect her to answer, so I answered for her.
“I’m your daddy, and I love you.”
It thrilled me to tell her this again and again.
“Who’s your daddy? I am. It’s me. I’m that guy. I’m your father, you’re my baby, and I love you.”
The communication was all one-way but that was fine with me. I couldn’t shut up. I had just become a father and my heart was fit to burst.
This little girl belonged to me and I belonged to her.
There were many things I wanted to tell her, but the first and most important thing she needed to hear was that I was her daddy and I loved her.
The most important question
The most important question you will ever ask is, “Who is my father?” Your answer to this question will influence every other question of life.
Who am I? Where did I come from? Why am I here?
Get the father question wrong and you will miss it on every other issue. Your identity will be muddled, and you will have no lasting security.
In your legitimate desire to define yourself, you may settle for inferior choices such as career or ministry. “I am a doctor.” “I am a pastor.”
But the truth is you are much more than what you do. You are your father’s child.
But who is your father?
Jesus answers the most important question: “Who’s your Father? God is your Father!”
Our Father in heaven … (Matt. 6:9)
What is God’s name?
The saints of the Old Testament had many names for God, but Jesus gave us the best name of all:
Abba, Father. (Mark 14:36)
Abba is not the name of a distant and mysterious God. Abba is a word of familial intimacy, not unlike Papa (which is how the Message Bible translates it). Abba is your heavenly Father who cares for you and longs for you to know him.
Why did Jesus come?
Jesus came to reveal God the Father to you. He came so that you might know who you truly are. He came that you might experience the abundant life of living as the apple of your Father’s eye.
Your heavenly Father is for you. He has tilted the universe in your favor.
With a Father like this, how can you fail?
Jesus said, “Father, glorify your name!” (John 12:28). What is the name of God that Jesus wants to glorify? He just told us. It’s Father. He has other names, but this is the name he wants us to use when we talk to him.
Near the end of his life, Jesus prayed,
Righteous Father, though the world does not know you, I know you, and they know that you have sent me. I have made you known to them, and will continue to make you known … (John 17:25–26)
Jesus is in the business of making the Father known. Yet many don’t know God as their Father. Like the saints of old, they see him as Lord but not Abba.
It’s as if Jesus never came.
What is God like?
A.W. Tozer once said:
What comes into our minds when we think about God is the most important thing about us.
Your picture of God is the single greatest influence on your life. Define God and you define yourself.
For instance, if you imagine God as a terrifying punisher, you’ll be fearful and guilt-ridden. If you see him as a semi-deaf sky-Santa, you’ll be a superstitious worrier. And if you believe God to be distant or dead, chances are you’ll act as a little god of your own little world.
Your view of God matters, but what is God the Father like?
He is exactly like the Son. Or the Son is exactly like the Father (Heb. 1:3). God is like Jesus. Not roughly so, but exactly so.
Jesus said, “Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father” (John 14:9). If you ran into God the Father at a party you might mistake him for Jesus or vice versa. That’s how similar they are.
This similarity makes it easy for us to dismiss the silly caricatures of manmade religion. Since Jesus is not a semi-deaf sky-Santa, then neither is God. And since Jesus is not a terrifying punisher, neither is God. Your heavenly Father is exactly like Jesus.
A Father like the Son
God the Father and God the Son don’t have separate agendas. God is not in heaven recording your sins while Jesus is forgiving them. Nor is he giving you sicknesses so Jesus can heal you.
The Father and the Son are exactly alike, they’re on the same page, and they have the same heart.
Jesus said, “I and the Father are one” (John 10:30).
The bad news of the orphaned life says, “You are on your own and nobody cares.” But the good news Jesus proclaimed says, “You are not alone and your heavenly Father cares about even the smallest details of your life” (see Matt. 6:31–32).
Perhaps you are asking questions like these: Who am I? Why am I here? Is God angry with me? Good fathers love it when their children ask questions, but you will never get good answers unless you see God as your good Father.
Who am I? You are your Father’s dearly-loved child.
Why am I here? Because your Father loved you into existence. You are his dream come true.
Is God mad at me? Nope. He rejoices over you with singing.
Can he forgive me for the things I’ve done? He already did.
Does he love me for who I am? He thinks you’re great! You’re a one-of-a-kind special and he delights in you.
Will he disown me if I sin? Never. Would you disown your own children?
What does he expect from me? He expects you to settle in his love and flourish in his grace.
Whether you are in the pigpen of dead works or the special care ward for broken people, you need to know that your heavenly Father loves you like crazy. He reaches down with love in his eyes and healing in his hands to ask you one question:
Who’s your Daddy? I’m your Daddy, you’re my child, and I love you.
This is the good news an orphaned world most needs to hear.
—
Extracted from Paul’s book Who’s Your Daddy which you can get for free by signing up as a subscriber.
Escape to Reality is funded by the generous support of our readers:
818. Religious Bondage: Working to Become Who God Has Already Made You to Be
Telling believers they need to change will not be nearly as effective as helping them to understand they have already been changed. Trying to become somebody that you think you are not will become a frustrating, lifelong endeavor which never seems to find the end of the rainbow. On the other hand, once we grow in the understanding of our identity, we can begin to live from who God says we already are as believers “in Christ.”
In this race, we get to start at the finish line, which is a place of rest. Under the Old Covenant, the Jewish people were working at pursuing what they could never attain. Unfortunately, many believers who abide in a new and better covenant are chasing after what has already been given to them.
God Loves Human!
Many of the struggles that we have in life originate in our inaccurate and sometimes erroneous beliefs we have regarding the nature and character of God.
There is also an equally inaccurate, belief regarding the true identity and value of man.
In the book of Psalms David writes:
“When I view and consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers, the moon and the stars, which You have ordained and established, What is man that You are mindful of him, and the son of [earthborn] man that You care for him?”
Religion and Legalism
When people are deeply involved in a legalistic, performance-based religion, they invariably end up with little or no sense of identity or self-worth.
Performance-based religion destroys man’s identity, dignity and worth!
We will not be able to experience God in a meaningful way if we aren’t taught a proper biblical sense of identity, based on the truth of the Gospel.
Other Worldly!!
Many believe that being a model Christian or a truly “spiritual believer” is about becoming something other than a human being. We’ve been taught that human beings are evil, weak or deeply unspiritual.
In many ways, spirituality is believed to be about denying, disowning and escaping our humanity through religious legalism and moral discipline. Christians have been encouraged to disown and reject their humanness, and to do everything in their power to reject their human emotions, passions and instincts.
I like what C.S. Lewis said,
“We do not become more spiritual by becoming less human!”
Merited Value
In legalistic, performance-based religion, our worth is earned by rule keeping, good works, moral disciplines and “so called” holy living. And according to this kind of religion, holiness means to deny almost everything to do with being human—staying away from everything that could be fun and having as little as possible to do with people in the world around us!
In this kind of religion, God seems disconnected and contrary to our human desires and dreams. As a result, we struggle to make the connection between who God is and who we are as human beings!
In the minds of so many believers, being human and enjoying life cannot possibly go hand in hand with being spiritual and having a relationship with a holy God!
For many, it is unthinkable that a Holy God would have any connection to our deepest human passions and dreams of enjoying everyday life!
What we don’t realize is that our passion for living and enjoying life is only fully realized when we see the intimate connection we as humans have with a holy God, sharing in His (Zoë) life. It’s in our union with God that the joy of living and the significance of being human is fulfilled!
Unfortunately because of our religiosity and legalism, we’ve become confused and disconnected from knowing and relating to God based upon our human identities. Therefore, we go through life trying to be or become something we’re not.
If we correctly interpret Scripture, especially the New Testament, we find that God’s whole purpose for creating us is to be HUMAN. In the eyes and the economy of God, the very fact that we are HUMAN defines our true identity and worth to God!
“Who, although being essentially one with God and in the form of God [possessing the fullness of the attributes which make God God], did not think this equality with God was a thing to be eagerly grasped or retained, But stripped Himself [of all privileges and rightful dignity], so as to assume the guise of a servant (slave), in that He became like men and was born a human being.” —Philippians
The Gospel of Jesus Christ is an emphatic declaration that GOD NOT ONLY LIKES “HUMAN,” HE LOVES “HUMAN” SO MUCH THAT HE ACTUALLY BECAME ONE!!
The post God Loves Human! appeared first on Arthur Meintjes.
806. The 800 Club: Looking Back – Sanctification – It Is Finished
God makes it clear there is no boasting when it comes to our sanctification because it’s something Jesus already took care of for us, leaving no doubt that we’ve already been declared holy and set apart. Israel wasn’t able to achieve this by works and commandments … and we can’t either. We can rest from that effort and believe Jesus did enough to complete the job. Being sanctified isn’t something we’re trying to become, it’s who we are and part of our new identity in Him.
800. The 800 Club: Looking Back – Believers Identified as Righteous
Most church buildings are filled with believers who have assumed they are “sinners saved by grace,” when no such phrase is written within the pages. It’s a fake I.D.! We have inherited certain attributes from God as new creations in Christ and one of those is that we are now identified as righteous—the righteousness of God in Him.
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