"Who I am in Christ?" part 2

Continuing where I left off last time:
"But whoever is the united with the Lord is one with him in spirit." 1 Corinthians 6:17 (NIV).
"Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies." 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 (NIV).
 "Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it." 1 Corinthians 12:27 (NIV).
"For through him we both have access to the Father by one Spirit." Ephesians 2:18 (NIV).
".....in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins." Colossians 1:14
".....and in Christ you have been brought to fullness. He is the head over every power and authority." Colossians 2:10 (NIV).
Once we accept Christ as our Lord and Savior, we are giving our bodies to Christ. This means that Christ will be in total control of our bodies. When Jesus died for our sins, He paid the ultimate price for our  freedom and in return we should respect our body that Jesus paid so much for.

Who I am in Christ? (part 1)

We are going to take a look at how believers are referred to in the New Testament. Each of these names should give comfort to those who are saved. Some of the names are God's child, friend, saint, and united with the Lord.

Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God-  John 1:12 (NIV). This passage refers to the believers as children of God. This is our spiritual life is considered a new life from God. All of our sins were rearranged and God changed us from the inside out. This means that we have new attitudes, desires, and motives.

Jesus said, "I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his masters' business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you." John 15:15 (NIV). How awesome is that to know that Jesus refers to us as a friend? Because Jesus is Lord and Master of the World, we should be called servants to the Lord, but Jesus confided in us God's plans for sending a savior to die for our sins. Only friends will confide in others this way.

Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.... Romans 5:1 (NIV). Peace with God means that we have been reconciled with God. The sin that was prohibiting us from having a relationship with God is gone. The only reason we can have this peace with God is because Jesus paid the price for our sins.

We are so thankful to serve a loving God. Thank you for giving your son, Jesus, to die on the cross for my sins. Amen.

Freedom

What is freedom? According to dictionary.com, freedom is the state of being free or at liberty rather than in confinement or under physical restraint. This is a very accurate account of how some of us feel on a daily basis. While this doesn't apply to everyone, most of us can associate with the feeling of being enslaved to our sin. We can also have fear, guilt or have an addiction that is tearing our worlds apart. I am one that has had to overcome some of these feelings. In order to accomplish this, I had to realize that Jesus Christ was the freedom that would fill the void where the sin was.
In John 8:32 (NIV) Jesus says "Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free." A few verses later in verse 36 Jesus says "So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed."
This tells me that we are free to make the choice to put our trust and our life in Jesus, as He is the truth, and this truth will set us free. This is the ultimate in freedom. I cannot tell you how much better I feel knowing that my sins are forgiven because of me realizing that I can't go through the events in this world alone. I must remember that I am never alone, because Jesus is always with me day in and day out! All I have to do is talk with Jesus in order to be reminded of this.
"Live as free people, but do not use your freedom as a cover-up for evil; live as God's slaves." 1 Peter 2:16 (NIV).
"It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery." Galatians 5:1 (NIV).
"Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom." 2 Corinthians 3:17 (NIV).

The Whole Armor of God

"Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God." Ephesians 6:14-17 (NIV).
What does the armor of God mean to us in our everyday life? In order to better understand, we need to look at each piece of armor and tell how the piece of armor can protect us daily.
Belt of truth - Satan will try anything he can to get the believers to fall for his lies of deception. With the belt of truth, we are able to put God's truth into the mix and fight of the lies from Satan.
Body armor of righteousness - Satan tries to attack our hearts and the body armor is to protect our hearts from being penetrated from the self-worth, trust, and emotions that tear us apart. The armor allows us to see that God loves us enough to send His only son to die for us.
Shoes of readiness to spread the Good News - The shoes are the source of Christians sharing the Word with those people who have been deprived of His mercy and grace. It is our responsibility as Christians, to spread the Good News and what Jesus is doing in our lives.
Shield of faith - Satan will do anything to stand in the way of believers relying solely on God. The way Satan does this is through insults, setbacks, and temptations. The shield of faith is used to shield us from the fiery arrows.
Helmet of salvation - Satan wants for us to doubt what God and Jesus can do in our lives. This helmet protects us from the doubt that Satan tempts up with.
Sword is the Word of God - It is amazing that the sword is the only weapon that is listed in the Armor of God. God wants us to rely on His Word when we are being tempted by Satan. All we need is the Word of God to stand up to evil doers.

I hope this helps establish the importance of knowing what the Bible says we as Christians should do and how we are to handle certain circumstances.
"And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep praying for all the Lord's people." Ephesians 6:18 (NIV).

Rocky shares about Forgiveness - a Response to Jesus! #Miracle 8 7 11

Rocky shares about Forgiveness - a Response to Jesus! #Miracle 8 7 11

Who is The Enemy?

When times get rough, it's easy to loose focus on the real issues at hand and turn your focus on fighting the enemy. Who is the enemy? How does the enemy get to us? The enemy is not the loved ones that you are trying to reach out to. The enemy will show themselves when we are the most receptive to the trouble in our lives. The Bible tells us who the true enemy is. 1 Corinthians 15:26 (NIV) "The last true enemy to be destroyed is death." We know from other scriptures that death has been defeated once and forever. Jesus died on the cross so we could have eternal life. Eternal life cannot be taken away from those who have asked for God to forgive them of their sins. With this being said, it doesn't mean that believers will not fall into the traps of the deceiver, and begin to second guess who the enemy is. First thing to remember when you feel yourself tempted with this type of doubt is to step back away from the situation. Think about everything that was being said. Go to the Bible to try to find out what God wants you to do in the situation.
"My dear brothers and sisters, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, because human anger does not produce the righteousness that God desires." James 1:19-20 (NIV). This is how the enemy gets to us. Human nature is to defend ourselves against anyone that we feel is in our way. This includes our loved ones. If we were to listen more and react less, then I imagine that there would be less battles being fought with the wrong enemies.Death is the enemy! "After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever. Therefore encourage one another with these words." 1 Thessalonians 4:17-18 (NIV).

Forgiveness

My initial blog tonight was going to be about the deceiver. I had everything ready, research done and as I was signing onto the computer decided to read what the topic for tomorrow's devotional was. Forgiveness was the title. I felt compelled to write about forgiveness, because over the past two weeks some miraculous things have been happening, and it deals with forgiveness. This all came about from a quote that I read on July 31, 2011. "Only the truly forgiven are truly forgiving." C.S.Lewis. All I could say after I read this was WOW!. Remember that I just gave my life to Christ on July 5, 2011; so this really hit at me hard. I knew that deep down inside I had some hidden torment from a certain individual that hurt me. I had resentment for what happened to me and resentment for the person. I knew that Jesus wanted me to forgive this person. I know that what this person did was wrong and it was not my place to condemn.
But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere. James 3:17 (NIV)
Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, "Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother or sister who sins against me?Up to seven times?" Jesus answered, "I tell you, not seven times, but seventy time seven." Matthew 18:21-22 (NIV).
Rabbis taught that a person could be forgiven 3 time, so Peter asked Jesus. Jesus was trying to explain to Peter that it is pointless to keep track of how many times you forgive someone.
The person who I chose to forgive did not ask me to forgive them, I have not talked to this person in a very long time. I can say that since I have chosen to forgive this person, I can feel the a difference this had made in my life. Forgiveness is a difficult step to take and for some it takes some time to heal the wombs that caused the pain. In my case the these wombs festered until it caused other troubles and for that I am truly sorry for. I do see now that God knew that in order for me to be truly forgiven, I had to go through this difficult time and forgive the person that hurt me.
Blessed is the one whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered. Psalm 32:1 (NIV).

Conflicts Bring Doubt In Our Lives

Christian life doesn't mean that we will not have conflicts in our life. This conflict can occur in relationships, work, and friends. Conflict can be between parents and children. We are reminded of this from the book of Matthew 8:25 (NIV) The disciples went and woke him up, saying "Lord, save us we're going to drown!" This verse shows that even though the disciples have seen Jesus perform many miracles, they were still afraid that Jesus would let them drown. If you read farther in verse 26 And Jesus replied, "You of little faith, why are you so afraid?" Then He got up and rebuked the winds and the waves, and it was completely calm. The disciples knew in fact the miracles that Jesus could perform and because of the conflict of doubt in their hearts the disciples began to doubt Jesus. It is extremely important when we have conflict in our lives, we always keep our focus on Jesus. Jesus can calm the storms of life as well as the storms within our troubled hearts.

If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. Romans 12:18 (NIV).

This doesn't tell us to avoid conflict, but learn to resolve the conflict appropriately as to not cause harm to others through our words or actions. It is important to always keep the peace.

God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea. Psalm 46:1-2 (NIV).

Humility

This is not what I actually wanted to write about today, but given the circumstances that transpired earlier, I felt it necessary. "When pride comes, then comes disgrace, but with humility comes wisdom." Proverbs 11:2 (NIV). I really wish that I could take back the things that were said earlier but I can't. The situation today could have been avoided if I were more like Christ. No one said that being a Christian and living the Christian life would be easy. No one said that every situation will turn out the way we desire. After talking with Paul, I realized that I should have followed the advice given in James. "My dear brothers and sisters, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, because human anger does not produce the righteousness that God desires." James 1:19-20 (NIV). I pray that God gives me the ability to slow down and consider the appropriate response from now on. Sometimes in order to show others this type of compassion through our humility or pride, we are able to be a better witness to those around us. More convicting verses based on humility are: "Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves," Philippians 2:3 (NIV); "I served the Lord with great Humility and with tears and in the midst of severe testing by the plots of my Jewish opponents." Acts 20:19 (NIV). We need to choose our battles wisely and realize that the people we love are not the enemy. Satan is the great deceiver and he is the only enemy that we have in this world. Satan is the cause of all our grief and problems we face. Repentance is the way to eternal glory in heaven. ".....Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near."  Matthew 3:2 (NIV). Ask me how to repent, and I will tell you!

Let Me Back-up

Before I continue, I feel that it is important for me to let everyone know that I have always known that something was missing in my life and could never put my finger on what that something was. After attending Trinity Baptist Church for several weeks, it became clear what that something was. I knew then that I was missing Jesus in my life. I made an appointment for a pastor (Brother Steve James) to talk with me in our home. That night I prayed for God to forgive me of my sins, and accepted Jesus as my personal Lord and Savior (August 29, 2000). I knew that this is what my life needed and still felt that I didn't have to let go of everything. I still felt as though I could fix it myself. It wasn't until July 5, 2011 that I knew without a doubt that I was saved. It was at that moment when I fully gave everything over to God and ask Him what to do in every aspect of my life. Some of what God ask for us to do takes a lot of courage and this courage that we show in obedience is building our faith that God is in control, not us. A scripture that is comforting to me when talking about trusting God is ".....let us draw near o God with a sincere heart and with the full assurance that faith brings, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful." Hebrews 10:22-23 (NIV) This verse tells us that when we put all our trust in God, we will grow in our relationship with Him.

Hopelessness

Everyone has had the feeling of hopelessness at some point in their life. Each situation is different, but the way to get past the turmoil and hurt is the same. For me, the hopelessness was hidden from everyone.I felt that if I ignored the problems and the hurts in my life they would go away. What ended up happening is I pushed the ones trying to help me away. Finally realizing this I turned to a friend (Paul Pettefer) who made me realize that I am focusing on the wrong person. I needed to put my trust and hope in Jesus Christ in order to have true peace in my life. Paul gave me a Bible verse that really made sense to me. "Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus," Romans 8:1 (NIV). This verse finally convicted me that I have never truly given my whole life to Christ. I have attended Trinity Baptist Church in Lake Charles for about 12 years and have always felt that I was a Christian. On July 5th, 2011, I prayed and asked Jesus to come into my life as my personal Lord and Savior. I feel that I am continuing to grow and feel like God wants me to help people overcome the hopelessness. "God cannot give us happiness and peace apart from Himself, because it is not there. There is no such thing." C. S. Lewis