But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no plans to satisfy the fleshly desires.
— Romans 13:14 (HCS)
It does not take faith to confess or say the same thing as the devil. It requires no effort and absolutely no faith to say that I am a lousy person; I am a failure; I am a disappointment to God; I am a weak person, unable to resist sin. That is agreement with the enemy of my soul. It is easy, peasy to agree with the enemy.
People, the enemy and our own voice remind us, in many ways, that we are “not” – not good enough, not smart enough, not holy enough, not perfect enough, not righteous enough and the list goes on and on. After a while, we adopt these thoughts which turn into beliefs and become our identity.
These words are not from our Father, Abba.
It is necessary to acknowledge sin or failure for our own accountability, but then we must come in agreement with God by looking at who we now are – a new creation. We are forgiven and free of sin, with a clean slate, standing in complete uprightness, holiness and righteousness. This is walking in faith. It is simple, but it takes effort because the five senses fight us. Saying what God says about us even when we don’t see it in our life takes faith.
The Bible says to put on Christ. This is not a one time thing. It is continuous. I am to see myself behaving and acting in godliness and righteousness, just as Jesus did when he was here on earth.
Being as Jesus was on earth seems unattainable when trying to do it in our own strength because it is. We have to understand that once we receive Christ, we are who He says we are – a new creation. He has taken our old life and given us a new life.
Jesus traded places with me so I am to put off the old way, and put on Christ. Okay, so what happens when I sin? What do I do next?
I remind myself of my new identity! I am now righteous, not by what I do, but because of what Jesus did for me. Faith is taking hold of something and bringing it close. It is, intentionally, taking hold of my new identity, not by feeling, but by faith.
Take hold of how God sees you and bring that close. This is living by faith!
“Christ in me is the game changer”
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