How does God See Me?

John 1:12

I am a child of God

1 Peter 2:9

I am a part of a royal lineage

Romans 8:35-39

I am loved by God and nothing can separate me from His love

I am a conqueror

Ephesians 1:4

I am chosen by God

Colossians 2:13-14

I am forgiven and my sin/debt has been paid in full

Philippians 4:13

I am strengthened for all tasks to which God calls me

John 14:16

I have the Holy Spirit in me

Romans 5:1

I have peace with God through Jesus

Hebrew 13:5

I am never alone; God will not leave me

Romans 5:1

I am justified

Romans 8:1

I am free from condemnation

2 Corinthians 1:21-22

I am established, anointed, sealed by God

Philippians 1:6

I am confident that God will complete a good work in me

John 4:24

I am a truth worshiper

2 Corinthians 5:17

I am a new creation!

Mark 16:17-18

I have the ability to perform miracles

Ephesians 3:12

I have the ability to approach God with freedom and confidence

Ephesians 1:11-12

I am blessed, chosen, adopted, accepted, redeemed, and forgiven

Colossians 1:13

I am delivered from dark powers

Hebrews 13:6

I am safe

1 Peter 5:10

I am strong

Song of Solomon 4:10

I am beautiful

1 Peter 2:24

I am healed

What other identity promises can we claim?

“I believe in Christ, like I believe in the sun- Not because I can see it, but by it I can see everything else.” -CS Lewis

As a little exercise, look up these verses and take some quiet time to pray and ask God what He wants to reveal to you about yourself. Write down 10 or so things that He loves about you. Then do the same with the ways He would use to describe you. You will be surprised at what He tells you compared to how you actually feel.

This week, I sent a video out to the members of my business (I own a fitness club) and told them they just had to watch it. While I'm normally against any sort of forward or stupid youtube video, I felt pretty overwhelmed with the emotion of this one. So while this has nothing to do with our identity in Christ, it makes a very valid point about perspective and how often, the way we see ourselves is not our true identity:

Dove Real Beauty Sketches

more on this later...

Humility Begets Wisdom

Wisdom.

As I've been reading in Proverbs, it is more and more apparent to me that there is true value in seeking wisdom. Not that I don't value wisdom, I have a very high standard for truth and wisdom, but I've been realizing that there are areas where I am lacking and there is no excuse.  

Proverbs 1:32-33 "For the waywardness of the simple will kill them, and the complacency of fools will destroy them; but whoever listens to me will live in safety and be at ease, without fear of harm.”

The police don't buy it when you say you didn't see the speed limit posted anywhere...why should we expect it that, when we come face-to-face with the Creator, He would say, "it's ok, you didn't know" and there not be any consequences? He's attempting to grab hold of our hearts in this life, so that we can be prepared for eternity with Him. 

1 Peter 3:15 Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. 

Maybe I'm not as prepared as I think I am. Maybe I lack the confidence to share the wisdom that I have. Either way, I'm hungry for more of it. We can’t do, create, or mimic wisdom, but we can create a conducive environment for wisdom to mature.

So that begs the question, why should I fast? (thanks for letting me steal this Heidi)
-Because Jesus fasted
-God calls us
-Training to be Christ-like involves fasting 
-To unleash AWESOME blessings from God, to break wickedness, lift heavy burdens, for loved ones to be saved, to break strong holds (Isaiah 58:6 Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen: to loose the chains of injustice and untie the cords of the yoke, to set the oppressed free and break every yoke?)

It's not about me and what I can accomplish; it's about God and what HE can accomplish through me. 

Psalm 107:9 God satisfies the thirsty and the hungry he fills with good things. 

So this is it. With one year of experiences behind me, there are no closed doors, only new beginnings.