New Life

 

Who are you? Really? That was the title of one of the seminars during the week. Do you ever wonder who you are? “The problem begins when we try to be someone other than our real selves to become what other people want or need us to be! In that process, we often lose touch with who we really are.” Each and every one of us has some kind of guilt or shame from past mistakes. No one is perfect. Our guilt can be either true moral guilt which is conviction about the things we do that are not line with God, or there is unbiblical shame which is condemnation about who we are. Do you have it in your life? I know that I did. In our women’s retreat we did an example of how shame can affect our lives. Melissa went up front held out her arms to the side. When Lisa tried to push her arms down she was strong and could hold up her arms. But then Lisa had her say, “I am ugly, I have no worth or value” 10X’s over. Melissa only said it a few times before you could see the physical affects of the words. She almost broke out into tears as the words came out over and over again. When she was done, Lisa pushed her arms down and they fell easily to her side. These words are whispered to us daily by the enemy. It puts a cloud and fog of shame around us. We want to hide or put on a show that says ‘I hope you don’t really see who I am.’ The truth is the moment we recognize that our sin separates us from a holy and righteous God, admit and confess that sin, the blood of Jesus Christ, who lived a perfect life, died for our sins and rose victorious from the dead, covers us and makes us clean! Ask for forgiveness, he will forgive you. Then we are made new! We get to throw away our old wretched identity and live with Christ’s identity! What does that mean?

Who I am in Christ:

I AM ACCEPTED…
John 1:12 I am God’s child.
John 15:15 As a disciple, I am a friend of Jesus Christ.
Romans 5:1 I have been justified.
1 Corinthians 6:17 I am united with the Lord, and I am one with Him in Spirit.
1 Corinthians 6:19-20 I have been bought with a price and I belong to God.
1 Corinthians 12:27 I am a member of Christ’s body.
Ephesians 1:3-8 I have been chosen by God and adopted as His child.
Colossians 1:13-14 I have been redeemed and forgiven of all my sins.
Colossians 2:9-10 I am complete in Christ.
Hebrews 4:14-16 I have direct access to the throne of grace through Jesus Christ.

I AM SECURE…
Romans 8:1-2 I am free from condemnation.
Romans 8:28 I am assured that God works for my good in all circumstances.
Romans 8:31-39 I am free from any condemnation brought against me and I cannot be separated from the love of God.
2 Corinthians 1:21-22 I have been established, anointed and sealed by God.
Colossians 3:1-4 I am hidden with Christ in God.
Philippians 1:6 I am confident that God will complete the good work He started in me.
Philippians 3:20 I am a citizen of heaven.
2 Timothy 1:7 I have not been given a spirit of fear but of power, love and a sound mind.
1 John 5:18 I am born of God and the evil one cannot touch me.

I AM SIGNIFICANT…
John 15:5 I am a branch of Jesus Christ, the true vine, and a channel of His life.
John 15:16 I have been chosen and appointed to bear fruit.
1 Corinthians 3:16 I am God’s temple.
2 Corinthians 5:17-21 I am a minister of reconciliation for God.
Ephesians 2:6 I am seated with Jesus Christ in the heavenly realm.
Ephesians 2:10 I am God’s workmanship.
Ephesians 3:12 I may approach God with freedom and confidence.
Philippians 4:13 I can do all things through Christ, who strengthens me.

“The more you reaffirm who you are in Christ, the more your behavior will begin to reflect your true identity!” Put your name into the scripture, better yet, have someone else read your name into scripture and then read their name into it! We didn’t leave Melissa weak and defeated (from the example above). She went on to say, “I am beautiful, I have worth and value!” 10X’s over and each time she was bolder, stood up straighter and basically shouted by the end. She held out her arms and when Lisa tried to push them down she was strong!