Q: "Drop" the boxing gloves and quit fighting "Yourself" with "your" words. Today lets say, "I DROP UM"!!!!!!!!!
A: My prayer is that we not use this as an exercise in positive thinking, but an opportunity for understanding how God sees us because of our faith in Christ. It is the focus on ourselves which is what leads to us putting on the "boxing gloves" and fighting ourselves with our "words." If we want to drop anything, let us drop living our lives in an effort to receive from God that which we already have inherited through faith in Christ. Drop asking God to forgive you. You are forgiven (Eph 1:7). Drop seeking to be blessed. You are blessed (Eph 1:3). Drop living in fear. You are loved (1 Jn 3:1). Drop trying to be more Christlike. You are complete in Him (Col 2:9-10). Drop condemning yourself. You are holy and blameless (Col. 1:22). Drop worrying about tomorrow. You have everything you need for life and godliness (2 Ptr 1:3). Drop living under the law. You have been freed from the law (Rom 7:4). Drop fighting ourselves because Christ fought for us and won. In Him, we can become who we are.
Q: How do you know you are walking in "faith"?
A: Faith is our response to the truth God has revealed to us. Hebrews 4:10 says, "for anyone who enters God's rest also rests from his own work, just as God did from his." Christians should live in accordance with what they have received from God, not that which they hope to obtain from Him. God has "blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ (Eph 1:3)" and "given us everything we need for life and godliness (2 Ptr 1:3)." He did this so we would rest from trying to obtain or maintain our right standing before Him by what we are doing. Hebrews 4:11 says we are "following their (Jews) example of disobedience" by not resting. If you are living your life hoping to get more blessings from God or that He will be more pleased with you by what you are doing, you are not living by faith. You are living by works and being disobedient. "The righteous will live by faith (Rom 1:17)." We live by faith in what Jesus has done for us and wants to do through us.
Q: The bible says death and life is in the power of the tongue..Why is it so important to watch what you "say"about yourself?
A: Our words are a reflection of what we believe in our hearts. For example, how many Christians say that you can be "out of fellowship" with God, "lose your salvation" or something similar based on your actions? This comes from what they believe in their heart. The Bible says "For as he thinks within himself, so he is (Prv 23:7)." And we know that "the things that proceed out of the mouth come from the heart, and those defile the man (Mat 15:18)." We don't speak things into reality by what we say. Rather what we say comes from our heart and is a reflection of our reality. Words don't have power. We give words power by the meaning we attribute to them. Christians must look at themselves from God's perspective to get a proper understanding of their identity. From God's viewpoint "you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ (1 Cor 6:11)." If you think on these things then what you say about yourself will line up with what God says about you.
Q: How do you know when God is "speaking" to you?
A: Hebrews 1:1-2 says, "In the past God spoke to our forefathers through the prophets at many times and in various ways, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son." Jesus said, "My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me (John 10:27)." And we know that "The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God's children (Romans 8:16)." We are the sheep Jesus spoke of who hear His voice. We hear His voice because we have the Holy Spirit of God, the very life of God, indwelling us. It is the Spirit of God that leads us and guides us from within. It teaches us "to say "No" to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age...(Titus 2:12)." We know God is speaking to us because His Spirit is leading us from sin, to a deeper understanding of who we are in Christ and by revealing things to us we never would have come up with on our own.
Q: If we are created in Gods own "image" why does the world see "US"?
A: Adam was created in God's image (Gen 1:27), spiritually alive with the life of God breathed into Him. But mankind is born in Adam, "in his own likeness, in his own image (Gen 5:3), spiritually dead to God in sin. This is the "bad news" of the Gospel, that we are separated from God when we come into the world. The Good News of the Gospel is that God, in Christ, forgave the sin that caused His life to leave Adam, through the Cross. Now God, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, can offer His life as a free gift to all who receive Him by faith. And that life is an eternal life because there is no sin that can cause it to leave because of the eternal consequences of the Cross. "God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in spirit and in truth (Jn 4:24)." Man looks on the outside. They will only see us, the temple of God. But, as we allow the love of God to shine through us "all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another (Jn 13:35)."
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