. . . .And I will give him a white stone, and on the stone a new name written which no one knows except him who receives it.
— Revelation 2:17b (NKJ)
God says you have been given a new name. Everyone who accepts Jesus as their Lord and Savior gets a new name! According to 2 Corinthians 5:17 you are a new person and you have a new name.
You have been separated from the world unto Christ. This is sanctification. You put off and put on – separate yourself from and unto.
When you confess your sins and grovel as we talked about previously, you are separating yourself from and unto. However, in your mind, groveling separates you from God and makes you feel unworthy. It separates you unto sin and failure. God is not making you feel this way, you are.
As we talked about, acknowledging and taking ownership of your wrongdoing is healthy for any relationship. If you don’t take responsibility for what you have chosen to do and you don’t take responsibility for the consequences, you will never be able to move forward. You will be stuck in the vicious cycle, always looking at your surroundings to find someone or something to blame.
Take responsibility for the sin, but then move from the sin into who you are in Christ. Glory in the cross of Christ, in His death, burial and resurrection. Glory in what He has done. Glory in who He has made you. Glory in being a new creation. Glory in the truth that you are forgiven. Say the same thing as . . . Confess as God confesses over you.
Now put on Christ. Take time to imagine yourself in the failed situation, except now you are responding as you see Jesus doing in the Gospels. Perhaps in that moment, you were rude and mouthed off at somebody. Acknowledge it, put off that person and put on Christ.
See yourself responding as Christ would, in kindness and gentleness, maybe saying nothing, deflecting the harsh words coming at you. Let them roll off you and see yourself filled with genuine compassion for that person. You have put on the new you. Your words are filled with grace, salt, encouragement and edification as Jesus. That is who you are! That is how God sees you.
You have a new name and you are a new person. Put on the new you and send the old you away.
“Christ in me is the game changer”
See Yourself From God’s View