Who I Am in Christ

By Maegen Neely

Who I am in Christ is a six-month journey to further grasp what God’s Word has to say about identity in Him. Every day is filled with Scripture, encouragement, and opportunity to pray and grow closer to the LORD. Join with me each day in encountering God’s truth and finding freedom and empowerment to believe and walk out who He has declared you to be.

• Language: English
• Publisher: WestBow Press
• Release date: Nov 14, 2019
• ISBN: 9781973678199

Maegen Neely

Maegen Neely is a wife and a mother of four children. She has been following Jesus for twenty years and has personally struggled throughout that time with understanding and believing her identity, who she is. The LORD has largely taken her through this journey of writing a devotional on what God’s Word says about this topic for her own benefit as much as anyone else’s.

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Copyright © 2019 Maegen Neely.

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ISBN: 978-1-9736-7818-2 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-9736-7820-5 (hc)

ISBN: 978-1-9736-7819-9 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2019916969

WestBow Press rev. date: 10/29/2019

Contents

Introduction

Day 1: I Am More Than a Conqueror!

Day 2: I Am Highly Esteemed

Day 3: I Am No Longer a Slave to Sin

Day 4: I Am a Child of God

Day 5: I am Born of the Imperishable Seed

Day 6: I am Loved by God

Day 7: I Am Forgiven

Day 8: I Am Justified Before God!

Day 9: I Am Chosen!

Day 10: I Am Free!

Day 11: I Am Corrected

Day 12: I Am Strong in God’s Standard

Day 13: I Am Personally Restored

Day 14: Abounding in Grace

Day 15: I Am Never Forsaken

Day 16: I Am Purged with Hyssop

Day 17: I Believe You!

Day 18: I Am Satisfied

Day 19: I Am Rebuilt as I was at First

Day 20: I Am Precious in God’s Eyes, Honored, and Loved!

Day 21: I Am Humbly Surrendered

Day 22: I Am Treasured

Day 23: I Am Compensated in Christ

Day 24: I Am Turning Around

Day 25: I Am Christ’s Joy…His Prize

Day 26: I Have No Lack

Day 27: I Am Celebrated as a Son When I Return to the Father

Day 28: I Am Shielded

Day 29: I Hate Evil

Day 30: I Have God’s Attention

Day 31: I Am Taking heart

Day 32: I Hate My Own Sin

Day 33: God is For Me

Day 34: I Am Walking on Water

Day 35: I Am Serving the LORD

Day 36: I Am Being Brought to Completion

Day 37: I Am the Righteousness of God

Day 38: I Am a New Creation!

Day 39: I Am Strong in the LORD!

Day 40: I Am the Temple of the Holy Spirit

Day 41: I Am Redeemed!

Day 42: I Am Reconciled to God

Day 43: I Am Complete!

Day 44: I Am a Saint!

Day 45: I Am the Head!

Day 46: I Am Rescued!

Day 47: I Am Accepted!

Day 48: I Am a Citizen of Heaven

Day 49: I Am Bold as a Lion

Day 50: I Am Remembered!

Day 51: I Am Brave!

Day 52: I Am Secure!

Day 53: I Am the Light of the World

Day 54: I Am Set Apart!

Day 55: I Am Christ’s Friend

Day 56: I Am Blessed

Day 57: I Am a Champion

Day 58: I Am a Child of the Day

Day 59: I Am Fierce

Day 60: I Am Grafted into God’s Family

Day 61: I Am Alive in Christ

Day 62: I Am an Heir of God and Co-heir with Christ

Day 63: I Am a Member of the Body of Christ

Day 64: I Am a Warrior

Day 65: I Am Cared for by God

Day 66: I Am Called

Day 67: I Am Known

Day 68: I Am United with God

Day 69: I Am Covered!

Day 70: I Am Fearless

Day 71: I Am God’s Workmanship

Day 72: I Have the Mind of Christ

Day 73: I Am the Aroma of Christ

Day 74: I Am Far from Oppression

Day 75: I Am Not Enough Unless He Comes

Day 76: I Am Full!

Day 77: I Am Understood

Day 78: I Am Christ’s Ambassador

Day 79: I Overflow with Hope

Day 80: I Am Necessary

Day 81: I Am Born of God!

Day 82: I Am Empowered!

Day 83: I Am a Doer of the Word

Day 84: I Am Renewed

Day 85: I Am Full of Joy

Day 86: I Am a Partaker of the Divine Nature

Day 87: I Am the Bride of Christ

Day 88: I Am Anointed

Day 89: I Am God’s House

Day 90: I Will Do Even Greater Works Than Jesus

Day 91: I Am Qualified

Day 92: I Am a Builder

Day 93: I Am in Christ’s Hand

Day 94: I Am Healed

Day 95: I Am Seen

Day 96: I Am Holy

Day 97: I Am Confident

Day 98: I Am Connected

Day 99: I Overcome!

Day 100: I Will Not Shrink Back

Day 101: I Am Beyond Compare

Day 102: I Am In Christ

Day 103: I Am Refreshed

Day 104: I Am Not Forsaken

Day 105: I Am Transformed with Ever-Increasing Glory

Day 106: Jesus is Not Ashamed of Me!

Day 107: I Broadcast God’s Praises

Day 108: I Am the Salt of the Earth

Day 109: I Look Up!

Day 110: I Am Free from Accusation

Day 111: I Am Sure

Day 112: I Am Real

Day 113: I Am Equipped

Day 114: I Have Peace

Day 115: I Am Not a Victim

Day 116: I Am Found

Day 117: I Am an Answer

Day 118: I Need the Rain!

Day 119: I Am Tested

Day 120: I Am Sealed

Day 121: I Am a Tree

Day 122: I Am Provided for

Day 123: I Am Sung Over

Day 124: I Am Not a Spectator

Day 125: I Am Nothing Without Love

Day 126: I Am Shown Mercy

Day 127: I Am Hosting a Dove

Day 128: I Am Transformed

Day 129: I Am Not a Judge

Day 130: I Am Thirsty!

Scripture quotations taken from The Holy Bible, New International Version® NIV® Copyright © 1973 1978 1984 2011 by Biblica, Inc. TM. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

"Scripture taken from the NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE®, Copyright © 1960,1962,1963,1968,1971,1972,1973,1975,1977,1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. www.Lockman.org"

Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2007 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture taken from the Amplified Bible, Copyright © 1954, 1958, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1987 by The Lockman Foundation. Used with permission.

Scripture quotations are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Introduction

Dear reader,

I am so excited that you have decided to embark on this journey with me in discovering more fully what the Bible says concerning your identity in Christ. This devotion is intended to be a tool in your arsenal. Each day begins with Scriptures related to that day’s truth of who we are in Him, followed by an explanation of this truth, and ending with a portion of prayer. Please don’t let any of these be an exhaustive list of study or time of prayer or reading of Scripture. Delve as deep into these truths, into God’s Word, and into prayer as you want to go. There are 130 days in this devotion. It is set up for you to read one devotion a day, Monday-Friday, for six months. That way if you ever fall behind, there is built-in time to catch up.

This topic is incredibly personal to me. I’ve been following Jesus for a long time but have wrestled with my identity in Christ. After several conversations with other fellow-believers, I’ve realized that others wrestle with who they are in Him too. For me, I need to remind myself daily, be grounded daily, so this devotion was written largely from that place. I pray it helps and encourages you as much as the process of writing it has helped and encouraged me. Be blessed in the LORD.

In Christ,

Maegen Neely

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Day 1: I Am More Than a Conqueror!

Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. Who then is the one who condemns? No one. Christ Jesus who died—more than that, who was raised to life—is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. (Romans 8:33-35, 37 NIV)

You are more than a conqueror through Christ who loves you! I believe there is significance in how the Scriptures word this phrase. You are not just a victor, an overcomer, a winner; you are more than that. Your capacity as a conqueror in Christ is greater than the parameters that word could possibly contain; thus, Paul uses the phrasing more than to describe your stance of victory. Oh friend, that is truly awesome! You see, you and I are not fighting for victory. The enemy of your soul and you are not on equal playing fields despite his tactics of intimidation. You already have the victory; you are already an overcomer in Christ. You are fighting from a stance of victory. It is part of your identity in Him. Look at the scripture above. It asks who could possibly bring any charge against those whom God has chosen because it is God who justifies. Who brings charges against you? Satan does! Yet even in this Satan is fighting a losing battle for it is God who has justified you. The Scriptures then ask who then could condemn someone whom God has justified? No one! Not even Satan! Christ died for you, rose to life for you, and is at the right hand of God right now interceding for you! So who could separate you from the love of Christ? Could hardship or trouble or persecution or danger ever hinder Christ’s love for you? No! Even in all these things you are still more than a conqueror!

When David was king of Israel he surrounded himself with some pretty amazing warriors. These men were fearless in battle, they had a reputation for victory, and the Word of God says that just one of these men could take on insurmountable odds-such as Abishai who slaughtered three hundred enemies at one time. That’s incredible! Second Samuel 23 lists these men and some of their feats of victory, calling them David’s mighty men. These men had such a reputation of victory for David that the armies of Israel exacted fear throughout enemy nations. The Philistines, the Ammonites, the Moabites, and the Amalekites were all squelched by David and his men. The King didn’t just know who they were, they weren’t just known around the Israelite camp, but the enemy also knew who they were. Can I tell you, child of God, that your enemy knows who you are? Satan is fully aware that you are more than a conqueror through Christ. You have a reputation of valor and victory because of Jesus. Even if your life is currently filled with hardship, trouble, persecution, or danger, Satan’s lies cannot prevail over the truth of who you are in Christ, and according to the irrefutable Word of God, you are not just a conqueror, you are more than a conqueror! Jesus has made you so victorious that human vocabulary can’t even express how victorious you are. It’s time to rise up out of a stance of fear, of shame, of complacency into a stance of victory. It is who you are!

Father,

Thank You for Jesus. Thank You that He died for me, that He rose for me, and that He is seated at Your right-hand interceding for me. The odds are in my favor because Jesus has already made me victorious. Would You help me to remember who I am in Christ and to approach my day, my schedule, my life, and even my setbacks from the stance of being more than a conqueror in Christ. You are an awesome God and today I choose to praise You. Let it be so in Jesus’s name, amen!

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Day 2: I Am Highly Esteemed

He said, ‘Daniel, you who are highly esteemed, consider carefully the words I am about to speak to you, and stand up, for I have now been sent to you.’ And when he said this to me, I stood up trembling. Then he continued, ‘Do not be afraid, Daniel. Since the first day that you set your mind to gain understanding and to humble yourself before God, your words were heard, and I have come in response to them. (Daniel 10:11-12 NIV)

In the third year of Cyrus the king of Persia, on the twenty-fourth day of the first month, Daniel is standing on the Tigris River. He looks up and sees a vision of a magnificent angel who speaks to him these incredible words. The angel addresses Daniel as being one who is highly esteemed, highly respected, valued, regarded, and admired. What an honor to be spoken to in such a manner by a heavenly messenger from God. This angel instructs Daniel not to be afraid and then tells him that his words, his prayers were heard from the very first day that Daniel humbled himself before God.

If you read the book of Daniel and study his life, you’ll realize that Daniel experienced some incredible favor from God. But before we discredit ourselves from such favor because we are not Daniel, can I submit to you that Daniel was so highly regarded by the LORD because he chose to humble himself before God. Reread the angel’s words above if you need to. Being so exalted by God is not just something that was available to Daniel but is promised to us as well. First Peter 5:6 admonishes us to humble ourselves under the mighty hand of God so that He will lift us up in honor. According to the Bible, humility brings honor in God’s eyes. If you want God to favor you, if you want Him to exalt you, to esteem you, I challenge you to keep your heart in a position of humility before the LORD. And if you are already a child of God, then you are already highly esteemed because it requires humility to repent before the LORD and it requires humility to continuously submit to the Lordship of Jesus Christ in your life. How cool would it be to actually speak with an angel of God, but because of Jesus, we have access to communicate with Someone much greater than an angel, the Holy Spirit of the Living God! The humility it takes to call upon the name of Jesus and continuously live under His Lordship, qualifies you as being highly esteemed with God. He hears you when you pray and more than that, He responds! As a child of God, His Spirit is always with you; speaking to you. May you have ears to hear what the Spirit is saying. And just as the angel addressed Daniel, the Spirit of God through His Word also calls you highly esteemed!

Father,

I readily admit that You are God and I am not. You are greater, wiser, and higher than I could ever imagine or possibly attain to. Therefore, I choose to humble myself before You. Holy Spirit help me to continuously choose a position of humility before God. May my heart remain humble in Your eyes LORD because being esteemed by You is of far greater importance than being esteemed by man. I thank You for favoring me, for hearing me when I pray, and for responding to my prayers. I want to commune with You so I invite You to speak to me through Your Word and to give me ears to hear what Your Spirit is saying today in Jesus’s name, amen!

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Day 3: I Am No Longer a Slave to Sin

For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body ruled by sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin—because anyone who has died has been set free from sin. In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus. Therefore, do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its evil desires. Do not offer any part of yourself to sin as an instrument of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer every part of yourself to him as an instrument of righteousness. For sin shall no longer be your master, because you are not under the law, but under grace. (Romans 6:6-7,11-14 NIV)

Sin can initially be very appealing and often justified at the expense of having fun and doing what one wants to do. From this perspective, God and the Bible seem very rigid and stoic. However, the goal of sin is always mastery. You may start out thinking that you are just doing what you desire to do, but eventually you realize that your desires are dictating what you do. Paul describes it this way in his letter to the church in Rome, I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do. (Romans 7:15 NIV). Paul goes on to say that he had the desire to do what was good, but he couldn’t carry it out. This sounds like someone who is fighting a losing battle with their own willpower. Willpower is never enough to conquer sin. If it were, there would have been no need for Jesus, but the Bible says that our old self was crucified with Him so that the body ruled by sin might be done away with. As such, we should no longer be slaves to sin.

Can I tell you that if you have made Jesus your LORD and Savior then you are no longer a slave to sin! Sin is no longer your master; Jesus is! That means whenever Satan tempts you with lust, with fear, with guilt, with shame, with anger, or with any of the old vices that used to rule over you, you do not have to give into those temptations. Why? Because lust is no longer your master, fear is no longer your master, shame is no longer your master, anger is no longer your master. Sin is no longer your master! Slaves do not have the authority to say no to their masters, but Jesus has broken sin’s authority over you. In Christ, you now have the authority to say no to sin! That old self that used to be ruled by all these things, according to the Word of God, was hung on the cross with Jesus. They are dead and gone, and anyone who is dead has been set free from sin. That is the power of grace! The grace of Jesus Christ is not a ticket to do whatever you want to do and still be forgiven. No! It is freedom from the mastery of sin.

Paul says, We were therefore buried with him (Jesus) through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life. (Romans 6:4 NIV). This is a truth Satan very much does not want you to understand. If you have surrendered to Christ and His Lordship in your life, then spiritually, your old self died with Christ. Can a dead person sin? Why would Satan waste his time tempting a dead person? That would be completely ridiculous! As the Bible admonishes, consider yourself and make the enemy consider you dead to sin because in Christ, you absolutely are! And just as the glory of the Father rose Jesus from the grave, so too His glory raises you to live a new life in Him. That is powerful! Can I challenge you that whenever you feel tempted, remind yourself and remind the enemy that you are no longer a slave to sin! You are dead to sin! Yes, God can and will forgive you if you fall and then confess your sin to Him, but as a child of God, you do not have to continue to live under the mastery of the enemy when Christ has identified you as no longer being a slave to sin. A child of God who continuously lives under the bondage of sin is absolutely experiencing a crisis of their identity. It’s imperative that you know who you are and, according to the Bible, you are no longer a slave to sin!

Father,

I thank You for Jesus and all that His death and resurrection accomplish for me. I thank You that because of Jesus I am no longer a slave to sin. I thank You that sin no longer has any mastery in my life because I have chosen Jesus as my LORD and Master instead. Holy Spirit, would You help me to continue to choose Jesus, to continue to submit to His Lordship in my life, and to be an instrument of righteousness rather than one of wickedness. Give me discernment; give me courage and boldness today. May I be fully dead to sin, but fully alive to Christ. And I praise You and thank You that the power of grace is always greater than the power of sin in Jesus’s name, amen.

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Day 4: I Am a Child of God

For those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God. The Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship. And by him we cry, ‘Abba, Father.’ The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children. Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory. (Romans 8:14-17 NIV)

A few verses prior to these that are written up above explain how those who belong to Christ have the Spirit of God living in them. When you make Jesus your LORD and Savior, the Spirit of God comes to live in you. God sets His seal of ownership upon you, which is His Spirit, as a deposit guaranteeing your inheritance as a son/daughter. His Spirit declares you as belonging to God. You no longer belong to darkness; you no longer belong to sin; you no longer belong to even yourself. You belong to the LORD, your God! However, the Spirit you received does not make you a slave again so that you must fear. Sin enslaves, darkness enslaves; even our own fleshly desires often enslave us and, in the end, bring death. But the Spirit of God you have received makes you a child of God, freeing you forever from the enslavement of sin, which brings death, and making you instead God’s child, which gives you eternal life. The Spirit of God living in you legally brings about your adoption into God’s family. The infinite, incomprehensible God is now your Father and as a sign that you truly do belong to Him, He gives you His precious Spirit to bear witness with your own spirit that you are a child of God.

In Matthew 3 we read the account of Jesus’ baptism in the Jordan River. As soon as Jesus was baptized, John the Baptist saw heaven open and the Spirit of God descended like a dove upon Jesus. Then John hears a voice from heaven declare, This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased. (Matthew 3:17 NIV). God set His seal of ownership upon Jesus and declared Him to be His Son. In similar fashion, when you surrender to Jesus and His Lordship in your life, God gives you His Spirit, His seal of ownership upon you. By His Spirit, He declares you to be His son/daughter whom He loves and with whom He is well pleased. Oh friend, let that sink in for a minute. You are God’s child. He loves you and is well pleased that you are His son/daughter. Don’t let the enemy distort your view of God’s heart towards you. You are a son; a daughter of God.

Now as a child of God you have become an heir of God and a co-heir with Christ. Satan hates this! Your being God’s child ultimately displays the enemy’s defeat. Satan would rather label you or have you label yourself almost anything other than a child of God. But as God’s child, you share in the glory of Jesus! By God’s Spirit, His magnificence, His brilliance, His splendor resides in you. That is incredible! Just as Paul says to the Corinthian church, But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. (2 Cor. 4:7 NIV). Your identity as a child of God testifies to the whole world the power of God. Only God could make a slave a son. Only God could make the old new and the dead live. Only God’s power could accomplish such a radical spiritual transformation. May the Spirit that has made you a son/daughter of God cause you to cry out to Him, Abba, Father. You are not a slave. You are a son! May you truly know Him intimately as your Father.

Father,

I thank You for Your Spirit that has made me a child of God. Thank You for declaring me as belonging to You and for adopting me into Your family. Thank You for translating me from a slave to a son. Help me Holy Spirit to remember my identity as a child of God. As Your child, may I be led by the Spirit rather than the flesh. May the glory of Jesus shine bright in my life and may I know You intimately and personally as my Father in Jesus’s name, amen.

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Day 5: I am Born of the Imperishable Seed

For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God. For, ‘All men are like grass, and all their glory is like the flowers of the field; the grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of the LORD stands forever.’ (1Peter 1:23-25 NIV)

You are a part of God’s lineage since the Word He has planted in you has saved you. Who has saved you? Jesus! The Bible says, The Word (Jesus) became flesh and made his dwelling among us… (John 1:14a NIV). You have been redeemed by the precious blood of Christ and now His blood identifies you as God’s child, His offspring, or His seed. Therefore, you are not just born of the perishable seed of your earthly father Adam; you have been reborn by the imperishable seed of Jesus. Consider this for a moment. The seed of man is subject to death. Romans 5 explains how sin entered the world through one man, Adam, and how death was passed upon all men through his seed. In our flesh, we are also born of this perishable seed, for we have all sinned and fall short of the glory of God, (Romans 3:23 NIV). According to the aforementioned Scripture, all men are like grass, and their glory is like the flowers. Grass withers and flowers fall. So, man’s life withers and all of his glory eventually falls as a result of sin since the penalty of sin is death (Romans 6:23 NIV). But Jesus, the Word made flesh, changes everything!

Paul says, Concerning his Son Jesus Christ our LORD, which was made of the seed of David according to the flesh; and declared to be the Son of God with power, according to the spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead. (Romans 1:3-4). Jesus is the greatest miracle of all time because, like us, He was born of the perishable seed of David (you can find the genealogy of Jesus in Matthew 1), but, unlike us, the spirit of holiness declares Him as the Son of God. By His resurrection from the dead, He is now the Imperishable Seed, the Word made flesh that will endure forever. Satan may discredit you because of your earthly lineage, he may taunt you because of your pedigree and your background; but he absolutely cannot tarnish, dishonor, or destroy the imperishable seed you have been born of in Jesus. For since death came through a man (Adam), the resurrection of the dead comes also through a man (Jesus). For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive. (1 Corinthians 15:21-22 NIV). Jesus being born of the seed of Adam and being born as the Son of God by the spirit of holiness qualifies Him to exact the penalty for sin which is death. Yet His resurrection from the dead displays His power over sin and death, making Him absolutely imperishable; the Word made flesh, the seed that will never die. Jesus is everlasting; He is immortal and eternal and those who are born again in Him will also live forever. Satan cannot annihilate the seed that Jesus has made imperishable!

Father,

I thank You again for Jesus. I thank You that because of Him, I am born again of an imperishable seed, a beginning that will last forever. Holy Spirit, would You help me to remember that regardless to what the circumstances of my life might currently look like, I will always have a future and a hope because of Jesus. May the knowledge of living eternally with You give me proper perspective for this day. I thank You that the troubles I have faced in life will one day seem light and momentary in comparison to the glory that outweighs them all and will last for all eternity. Overwhelm my heart with hope this day in Jesus’s name, amen.

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Day 6: I am Loved by God

For one will scarcely die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die—But God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Romans 5:7-8 ESV

For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 8:38-39 NIV

God’s love is woven throughout the entire fabric of the Bible. From the initial fall of man in the Garden of Eden, we see God’s plan to reconcile all of humanity unto Himself through Jesus. For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in him should not perish, but have eternal life. (John 3:16 NIV). Jesus obliterates all questions, all doubt, all skepticism about God’s love. Does God love you? Absolutely, yes! How can you know? He gave you Jesus!

It is rare to find someone willing to die for a righteous person, to step in and suffer in the place of one who is unjustly suffering at no fault of their own. Perhaps someone might possibly dare to die for the sake of a good person, but God shows His love for us in that while we were still sinners; while we were still selfish, still reliant upon ourselves, still very much a willing friend of the world and an enemy of God, Christ died for us. …don’t you know that friendship with the world means enmity against God? Therefore, anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God. (James 4:4 NIV). There is no greater love than the love of Christ simply because He chose to lay down His life for the sake of God’s enemies in order to make them friends. In Christ, you are no longer an enemy of God. God’s anger is no longer upon you. Jesus has made you a friend of God and nothing can now separate you from God’s love!

The sin that used to separate you from God was done away with through Jesus (Romans 5:9)! No power, no height, no depth, no ruler, nothing that could happen today, nothing that could happen in the future, not even death itself; absolutely nothing in all of creation can separate you from God’s love in Christ! That is awesome! You are not just a recipient of the love of God; in Christ, being the object of God’s love is now part of your identity. Everyone is considered loved by God since He gave Jesus in response to His love for the whole world; His love for everybody, but those who are in Christ are now identified by that love. Look how Paul addresses the Christians living in Rome, To all those loved by God … (Romans 1:7 NIV). Being loved by God is now who you are! The enemy of your soul has always tried to thwart God’s plan of salvation through Jesus because Jesus is the ultimate proof of God’s love for you. Why does Satan tempt you, why does he constantly remind you of your faults, your failures; why does he continuously look for accusations to bring against you? Because he wants you to die for your sins. He wants you to bear the wrath of God yourself. He wants you to be God’s enemy just like he is. He wants you to forget Jesus. But He couldn’t stop Jesus from living. He couldn’t stop Jesus from dying and he couldn’t stop Jesus from being resurrected from the dead though he certainly tried to. He couldn’t stop God’s love for you because he couldn’t stop Jesus. So, if you feel unloved, remember Jesus. If the enemy tries to convince you that you are unwanted, that God couldn’t possibly love you, remind him of Jesus. If you are living in sin and are currently considered an enemy of God, run to Jesus! Jesus is the way, the truth, the life. In Christ, you are no longer separated from God’s love. The LORD is not slow to love and abounding in anger. On the contrary, Psalm 103:8 describes God as being compassionate and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in love. Your need to be loved by God will never exceed the supply of love that He has for you. You are not just loved; you are loved extravagantly, exceedingly. In Christ, there is no limit to God’s love for you. That is worth celebrating!

Father,

I thank You for loving me enough to give me Jesus. I thank You that Your wrath against me has been fully met in Jesus so that I am no longer separated from You. Holy Spirit, would You help me to grasp how deep and wide and high is Christ’s love for me and to know this love that surpasses all understanding? I want to approach this day, my challenges, and my life from the vantage of knowing fully how abundantly I am loved by You. Open my eyes to Jesus Who is and will always be the proof of Your love. May I never forget, and may I never let the enemy forget Jesus! It’s in His name, Jesus, that I pray, amen.

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Day 7: I Am Forgiven

In him (Christ) we have the redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace Ephesians 1:7 NIV

In the case of a will, it is necessary to prove the death of the one who made it, because a will is in force only when somebody has died; it never takes effect while the one who made it is living. This is why even the first covenant was not put into effect without blood. When Moses had proclaimed every command of the law to all the people, he took the blood of calves, together with water, scarlet wool and branches of hyssop, and sprinkled the scroll and all the people. He said, ‘This is the blood of the covenant, which God has commanded you to keep.’ In the same way, he sprinkled with the blood both the tabernacle and everything used in its ceremonies. In fact, the law requires that nearly everything be cleansed with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness….The blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a heifer sprinkled on those who are ceremonially unclean sanctify them so that they are outwardly clean. How much more, then, will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself unblemished to God, cleanse our consciences from acts that lead to death, so that we may serve the living God! For this reason, Christ is the mediator of a new covenant, that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance—now that he has died as a ransom to set them free from the sins committed under the first covenant. Hebrews 9:16-22, 13-15 NIV

In reading the Old Testament practices of purification for sin under the Law with all the shedding of blood, we are sometimes tempted to think that this whole thing seems a little barbaric. But there is incredible significance in the blood. God in His righteousness, in His holiness, in His grace gave the Law, the Ten Commandments, to Moses and the people. Sin already being present in the world was absolutely complicating life and creating a great chasm between God and His people. Because of sin, people were justifying their lying, stealing, their killing of each other, their adultery, their sin and separating themselves from a Holy God in the process. Paul explains to the Galatian church, Why, then, was the law given at all? It was added because of transgressions (sin) until the Seed (Jesus) to whom the promise referred had come. (Galatians 3:19 NIV). Though we tend to view the Law and the Commandments as rigid and harsh, God in His grace and love gave His standard of living to the people to keep them in right relationship with Him until Jesus. And He gives them a process of purification for sin that required the shedding of blood.

We have already established that the wages of sin, the penalty of sin is death. Despite our underestimation of the severity of sin, the God of the Bible, a truly Holy God, cannot tolerate it. Why? Because He is life and sin’s goal is death. Don’t miss this friend. It is not God’s desire to kill people in their sin. As surely as I live, declares the Sovereign LORD, I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but rather that they turn from their ways and live. (Ezekiel 33:11 NIV). The LORD is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance. (2 Peter 3:9 NIV). Satan wants you to think that God hates you, that God is too stern and uncompromising to follow. However, God did not bring sin into the world; Satan did! The goal of the enemy, the goal of sin is death, your death; but God’s goal for you is life!

Hebrews 9 explains in detail the process of purification through the shedding of blood. When the people failed to keep the Law given to them, the price, the sentence was death. Yet so that they wouldn’t die for their sin, God required them to shed the blood of bulls and goats and lambs annually on the Day of Atonement as a sacrifice for their sin so that sin could be atoned for (Leviticus 16 NIV). Why the blood? Because as according to the Law, the life of every creature is in its blood. (Leviticus 17:14 NIV). Sin demands your life; it requires blood and without this shedding of blood there was no forgiveness. Yet once a year this blood of goats and bulls and lambs was shed so the people could be cleansed and purified. The Day of Atonement was a yearly reminder of sin that was a copy and shadow of what was to come through Jesus.

Why was Jesus’s blood shed on the cross? Because without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness! His blood has redeemed you. His blood has cleansed you. His blood has purified you. His blood has brought about the forgiveness of all your sins! There is power in the blood! In the Old Testament God required goats and bulls and lambs that were without defect, without any fault; only their blood was acceptable. And Jesus being without any sin became the perfect Lamb of God, an acceptable sacrifice for sin whose blood, being more potent than any blood offered previously, provided once for all the cleansing for sin. Jesus died so that you could live! There remains no more sacrifice for sins because the blood of Jesus was enough! His blood is enough to cleanse you! It is enough to save