I want to share with you all some verses that have helped me to understand my identity in Christ. We will go through scripture and break down what God has been teaching me about Himself and how I should relate to HIm. We are going to read the scripture, dissect it, and apply it to our lives. It is one thing to read Scripture and understand it but a totally different thing to live it. What I have learned over the course of my growth in Christ is that you must apply your faith. My goal this week is to help you learn and appreciate your identity in Christ, apply God’s truth about how He sees you to your daily life, and the importance of sharing that with others.

Let’s just jump right in. We are going to read Romans 8:16-17. It says, For His Spirit joins with our spirit to affirm that we are God’s children. And since we are his children, we are his heirs. In fact, together with Christ we are heirs of God’s glory. But if we are to share his glory we must also share his suffering. What does this mean?!

First off if you are a believer, meaning that you have accepted Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, then you have received God’s Spirit when he adopted you as his own child. With adoption into to the family of God you have received all legal rights and privileges that were given to God’s natural child, Jesus. This practice extends in to the intimate family today. We see this when parents adopt a child, that child gains a mother and/or a father that loves him or her unconditionally along with the privileges and responsibilities that come with being a child. Same applies to all who become children of God through Jesus. We have the privilege of addressing God as our father receiving all the blessings of being His child and the responsibility of being obedient to the authority of our father.    

Second, Jesus is heir to all of God’s promises, and those who belong to Jesus, we share with Him in that inheritance. However, just as it was for Jesus, our path to glory is also marked by suffering. This suffering is when we experience the difficulties that come from striving to live righteously in a world dominated by sin. Yet, just as a parent has expectation and rewards for his or her child, God has expectations and rewards for us. As children of God we are holy, set apart, meaning we should live differently from those in the world. Our lives should reflect that we are children of the one true King. Living in opposition to the ways of the world is often difficult but doing so produces gracious reward in different forms of delivery. Take heart God has fully equipped each of us to live holy as his children. 

Does this mean we please God with our behavior and then he rewards us like we see in parenting today? No! We can not earn the love or favor of God through works or actions. Our believe in Jesus Christ is all that we are required to do. Yet, many of us strive to please God or avoid disappointing Him. This is a skewed view of the father. Yes, there are expectations for our behavior as believer or children of God but those expectations are to be a reflection of our hearts. Or in other words an inward change lived out. For example I serve God and want to honor God with my choices not because I am obligated to but because I want my life to glorify God. I strive to live according to his truth and direction so that others may see my transformation and be inspired to grow and change. The things in my life that did not glorify God were also harmful to me and those that I love. Be obedient to his wisdom and directions leads to life, while being disobedient leads to death.

Finally, remember to learn and focus on the character of God. We often characterize God with human characteristics that are polar opposite of God. If we had a father who abandoned us we tend to think God will leave us in time of difficulty. If we had a mother who betrayed us we can think that God is a liar. So on and So on. But God is not the mistakes of the people who hurt us. He is our father, who loves us unconditionally and who only wants good things for us, even when we have to go through difficult things to get to the good.  

Meditate on: Romans 8:16-17 today.

Apply: Read 2 Peter 1:3-4

Identify the enemies thoughts and your own negative thoughts that you hear and say about yourself.

Humbly admit those thoughts first to God and then to the person or persons in your life who are actively seeking growth in the faith. These people can help you see the gifts and talents that God has blessed you with the you may not see. 

Prayer: God please replace lies with your truth about who I am in Christ. In Jesus name, amen.