Have you ever bought into the lies of the deceiver, Satan, and thought that you weren't good enough? Have you ever wondered if what you did and or said had value? Have you walked down the dark mental thought path and wondered if you have value? I have, and I've come out the other side in hope through God's truth. Today I'm here to say that you do have value and you are loved, but there's more, so keep reading.
Writing these questions and revealing my thoughts for you to read fills my heart with such sadness because I know I'm not alone in having these false thoughts. I want to share with you the hopeful truth of who you are through Jesus Christ, the truth to which I know and cling when an identity crisis occurs. I started this blog because of my children. I want them to know the legacy they have from their Heavenly Father, through their Savior, Jesus Christ, guided by their counselor, the Holy Spirit. I want to remind you or tell you if you don't know, as a believer in Jesus Christ you are a child of God and share with you what that means. If you're not a believer, yet, I want to share with you the hope you can have. Who Jesus says you and I are is the final word. He is the word of God made flesh (see John chapter 1) and he tells us who we are. Our doubts about self-worth are mind-trash that separate us receiving the love of Jesus Christ. Through faith in Jesus' death and resurrection we are children of God, redeemed by the blood of Jesus Christ. If you don't believe in Jesus as Lord and Savior, he still loves you, but can't be in relationship with you due to the barrier of sin. Jesus Christ, God the Son, showed his love for us was so much, though, that he took on our sin at the cross so that we could be restored to him. If you're not a believer, while God's love for you is real, his promises don't apply, yet, because your relationship with God hasn't been restored. Read Faith 101: Is My Name Child of God? first and then come back to this post. The Holy Spirit whispers to the hearts of the lost and speaks to those who have been found through faith in Jesus. Jesus calls to us. Through His Word, the Bible, Jesus says, "I say you have value. Here's who I say you are through faith in me..." IN JESUS I AM: UNIQUELY CREATED (Psalm 139: 13-15 NIV) For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place, when I was woven together in the depths of the earth. UNCONDITIONALLY LOVED (Romans 8:38-39 NIV) For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. NEVER ALONE (Matthew 28:20 NIV) Jesus said, “…And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” FORGIVEN (I Corinthians 15:2-3 NIV) By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you. Otherwise, you have believed in vain. For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures REDEEMED (Ephesians 1: 7-10 ESV) In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace, which he lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight making known to us the mystery of his will according to his purpose, which he set forth in Christ READY AND ARMED WITH TRUTH (Ephesians 6:10-18 NIV) Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. 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. And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people. To God be the glory, Sarah Will you join me in prayer? LORD Jesus, help me to believe your truth because I have value, I am special, and I am loved by You, You died to take away my sin and rose from the dead giving me new life. Give me the strength and tools to fight the evil one and stand firmly in your promises and Word. YOU ALONE ARE GOD and who I am in You is the final word. In Jesus’ name, Amen. Reflection: Do you believe that through faith in Jesus the above scripture verses are about you? If so, how does that change your today, tomorrow, and your life? If not, what lies are you allowing to dwell as truth in your life? Do you embrace your name, Child of God, and the identity that comes with it? Faith-In-Action: Choose one identity trait of a child of God. Read the verses every day for 3 days and pray that the Lord would help you see yourself through His eyes.
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Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. Romans 12:12 NIV The beginning of a new year, is the time for resolutions. I'd decided to make my "resolution" a little differently so as not to immediately abandon it. My real resolution, was to be intentional, especially in my relationship with the Lord and how I lived out my faith in Him.
One of the most important parts of our faith walk is our prayer life. So in an effort to be intentional about my relationship with Jesus that's where I started. Like any relationship, the frequency, depth, and attention devoted to our conversations with God directly affects our relationship with Him. The more frequently we pray then the deeper and more personal our prayers become and with it our attention to both our requests and His answers increase. The small step I took to improve my prayer life was starting a prayer journal. I knew that with persistence my prayer life would improve as will my attention to His presence. In the past I got overwhelmed at the need for prayer in every aspect of life (self, friends, community, world...), tapered off, stopped prayer journaling, and stopped intentionally praying ... This time was different. I wanted my prayer time to be special, a time set apart. Prayer Partner, I don't want to discourage you from praying before bed or doing prayer bursts throughout your day. The Bible tells us to pray without ceasing (1 Thessalonians 5:17) but we are also instructed to sit with and spend time with the Lord (Matthew 6:6). I started small: I used the PRAY acronym from KSBJ, a Christian radio station here in Houston, TX. P-praise, R-repent, A-ask, Y-yield. I bought a planner with room for daily scheduling, limited of course, but I write out P R A Y vertically and fill it out for the day in the morning. I write out my praises, my repentance, my needs and wants (ask), and a yield statement. Example: Today's Date P: (Today's praises) R: (Ways I know I've sinned and repent for. If you don't want a hard copy here, just spend some time in self-examination and repentant prayer.) A: (Wants and needs) Y: (Yield Statement--e.g. Lord I yield to your will and goodness. In Jesus' name, amen.) As I write it out I pray over each item. I'm not sure you'd find anything inspired in my prayer for today, but I started my day with Christ and focused, a least for 10 minutes, on just the Lord. How is your prayer life, Child of God? Are you intentionally praying? While I edit this post I realize I don't do this daily any more, a reminder to start again... or to do something more simple on the days I don't take as much time in intentional prayer. Even if we fail to pray deeply every day, if we make prayer a routine part of our life I wonder how much more we'll recognize the Lord's hand in everything. During our prayer time we can remember how desperately we need Christ's forgiveness, how thankful we are for all the big and little things in our lives, and how ultimately everything is in the Lord's hands. Let me know how your life changes and I'll keep you updated on my journey. * Report 1 year later: Though I like the ideas I wrote, I don't always hold to them, the PRAY model, anyway. I keep it posted in case it helps you start a new discipline of prayer. Now, after using the PRAY model for months I keep a prayer journal by turning a daily planner to write down the prayer requests of that & the previous day. It's not a structured prayer, just a list of people & requests to pray over. I tend to put names & the subject matter, if it's really sensitive sometimes just the prayer, no names. God knows who it is. I write this to encourage you to just pray! It'll become a habit and you'll see the Lord answer in remarkable ways. To God be the glory, Sarah Will you join me in prayer? Dear Lord, you know me completely. I want to know you. Give me endurance to be faithful in my prayer life. Let our time together fill the gaps in my heart and overflow to my interactions with others so that praying becomes as natural as breathing. In Jesus' name I pray, amen. Reflection: If you keep a prayer journal: How has keeping a prayer journal affected my faith walk with the Lord? If you don't keep a prayer journal: Could the practice of writing out my prayers help me focus my prayers and help see God's hand in my life? Faith-In-Action: Carve out at least 10 minutes in your day for 3 days to practice the P-R-A-Y (or some other) type of prayer journaling. How does it affect your faith walk? If you have a prayer journal also go back and look at former prayers and think about how the Lord answered your requests. Copyright Jan 2016, Be Blessed Prayer. All rights reserved. |
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