21 Days to Discover who you are in Jesus Day 2: I am Righteous

21 Days to Discover who
you are in Jesus

Day 2

I Am Righteous

I am overwhelmed with joy in the Lord my God!

For he has dressed me with the clothing of salvation

and draped me in a robe of righteousness.

I am like a bridegroom in his wedding suit

or a bride with her jewels.

Isaiah 61:10 nlt

When you put your faith in Jesus and accepted His invitation to belong to His royal family, He dressed you in a robe of righteousness. He changed your identity from a sinner into a righteous princess in the kingdom of God. He proved His love by laying His life down for you. When He looks at you, He sees you as justified, innocent, and perfect; and His opinion of you will never change. You have been declared righteous by the blood of Jesus.

But God shows and clearly proves His [own] love for us by the fact that while we were still sinners, Christ…died for us. Therefore, we are now justified (acquitted, made righteous, and brought into right relationship with God) by Christ’s blood…                                   Romans 5:8,9 Amplifed 

What does it mean to be “declared righteous by His blood”? Righteous means to be obedient to all God’s commands;to be justified, good, innocent, and perfect in God’s sight.

In Deuteronomy 6:25 nlt, God reveals how a person could be declared righteous through the law: “For we will be counted as righteous when we obey all the commands the Lord our God has given us.”

Only one man met these conditions of righteousness. His name is Jesus. The Father declared Him righteous because He obeyed every law of God perfectly. He had on a beautiful robe of righteousness. He was justified, good, innocent, and perfect in the Father’s sight.

Yet, all of us were sinners. We’ve all disobeyed God’s commands. No matter how hard we try to be good, we’ve all failed. The Bible says our righteousness is like filthy rags. We were dressed in dirty, sin-stained clothes. Yet Jesus loves us so much that He was willing to take the punishment for our sins. When we put our trust in Him, all our sins were wiped away with His blood. He took off our filthy, sin-stained clothes and dressed us with His righteousness. It was His love gift to us. No matter how hard we tried to be righteous by obeying God’s commands, we could never be good enough in our own ability. So, Jesus did it for us.

None of us deserve to be called righteous, that’s why it’s called a “gift of grace.” It’s the greatest Christmas gift ever. When Jesus offered it to us and we opened it, inside was a beautiful robe of righteousness. He looked at us with love in His eyes and said, ”Let Me dress you with who I am.” Now the Father sees us as righteous, good, innocent, and justified because we are in Jesus. Hebrews 10:14 says that Jesus made us perfect forever. The Bible also says:

Christ did no wrong thing. But for our sake God put the blame for our wrong ways on Christ. So now God sees us as good, because we are in Christ.

                    2 Corinthians 5:21 Worldwide English

Your heavenly Father wants you to exchange trying for trusting. I used to try so hard to be good. I wanted to be like Jesus, but because I failed at times, I believed that I wasn’t good enough. The devil planted these lies in my mind:

“You’re not like Jesus.”

“You need to try harder to be good.”

“You’ll never be good enough.”

When I learned that I am righteous in Jesus, my heart was set free from believing the lies of the enemy. I didn’t have to try anymore in my own strength to be good enough. I was already righteous in Christ. When I began to believe who I am in Jesus, He empowered me to act more and more like Him.

You don’t have to try anymore in your own strength to be good enough. You can believe the truth that your heavenly Father sees you as good because you are in Christ. Jesus clothed you with His righteousness. It was His wedding gift to you. Now you can agree with what Jesus says about you and realize you are just like Him.

So believe who you truly are. Speak the truth out loud:

·        Jesus clothed me with His righteousness. I am just like Him.

·       I am good in my Father’s eyes because of Jesus.

·       Jesus made me perfect forever.

Prayer

Thank you, Jesus, for your love gift to me. I see myself clothed in the robe of righteousness that you purchased for me. You paid a great price so I don’t have to look at myself as a sinner anymore. Help me to remember who I am in You. You made me good and perfect in my Father’s eyes. I am just like You. Your love for me is amazing!



21 days to discover who you
 are in Jesus



Day 1

I Am Royalty

For He foreordained us (destined us, planned in love for us) to be adopted (revealed) as His own children through Jesus Christ.          Ephesians 1:5 amp

God loves you so much that He planned to adopt you as His very own child through your faith in Jesus. He chose you because He wanted you to be a part of His royal family. What makes a person royalty? A person is royalty because he or she is a child of a king. Your heavenly Father is the King of kings. When He adopted you as His child, you became a daughter in His kingdom.

But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a dedicated nation, [God’s] own purchased, special people, that you may set forth the wonderful deeds and display the virtues and perfections of Him Who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light.

                                      1 Peter 2:9 amp

When you became a part of God’s royal family, your identity was changed. You went from being a pauper to becoming a princess in the kingdom of God. The King of kings came to live within you, and you became a new person on the inside. You were chosen to display the glory of the One who lives within you. He called you out of the kingdom of darkness and brought you into the kingdom of light.

The kingdom of darkness is the kingdom of Satan. His kingdom is filled with lies. He hates you because you’re a child of God. He knows that you’re royalty, that you’re God’s special daughter.

If you ever really believe the truth about yourself, the glory that lives within you will shine out for the world to see. You’ll live victoriously in this world. The devil is afraid of that, so he uses the only weapon he has to keep you feeling defeated—deception. He doesn’t want you to know who you are, so he tries to deceive you with his lies. You can always know if you’re listening to his lies by how they make your heart feel. The symptoms of believing lies are negative emotions. Discouragement, depression, worry, and fear are all the fruit of believing the devil’s lies.  

Have you ever heard the devil speak these lies to your heart?

“You’re nobody special.”

“You’re not important.”

“You’re not good enough.”

Jesus came to rescue you from every lie of the enemy. He came to set you free.

Always thanking the Father…. For he has rescued us from the kingdom of darkness and transferred us into the Kingdom of his dear Son, who purchased our freedom and forgave our sins.        

                                  Colossians 1:12-14 nlt

Everyone used to live in the kingdom of darkness where their sins separated them from God. The Bible says all were sinners and were not a part of God’s family. (Eph. 2:11-13.) But Jesus loves you so much that He came as your King and died for your sins. He rose again to rescue you from the kingdom of darkness. When you put your trust in Him, all your sins are forgiven and your identity changes. You’re a royal daughter in the kingdom of God.

But just like in the Garden of Eden, your heavenly Father lets you choose who you’re going to believe: the lies of the devil or the truth of who you are in Jesus. When you believe Jesus, the fruit of your life is joy, peace, confidence and security. 

When I learned what Jesus had done for me and that I am royalty in God’s kingdom, I began to look at myself differently. It didn’t matter anymore what the world thought or said about me; the only thing that mattered is what Jesus said because He is the Truth. I began to define myself by who I am in Him. I realized that I am chosen, special, forgiven, and perfect in my Father’s eyes because of Jesus. I didn’t have to believe the lies of the devil anymore. I could believe Jesus and display His glory in the world.

The same is true of you. You’re a royal child of God. You don’t have to believe the devil’s lies anymore. You don’t have to define yourself by what the world says or thinks about you. The truth is you are chosen, special, forgiven, and perfect in the Father’s eyes because of Jesus. He wants you to see yourself that way too. He’s called you to display His glory to the world by believing who you are in Him.

So the next time the enemy attempts to deceive you with his lies, remember who you are in Jesus, and speak the truth out loud:

·       I’m a chosen child of the King of kings.

·       My sins are forgiven. I’m perfect in my Father’s eyes.

·       I’m my Father’s purchased, special child. I am royalty because of Jesus.

Prayer

Heavenly Father, I know You love me because You sent Jesus to rescue me from the kingdom of darkness and bring me into Your kingdom. Help me to see myself the way You do. The only thing that matters is what You think and say about me. I choose to believe who I am in Jesus. I am chosen, special, and forgiven. I’m royalty because of Jesus

Living as a son or a slave? Living Loved week 4 day 3

 As I was reading today's lesson I was reminded once again that pride, anger, jealousy, judemental thoughts towards others, and self-righteousness are all symptoms of living as a slave instead of a son.

In the story of the prodigal son, the older son was jealous and angry when he saw his father bless his younger brother. He was so focused on "his good works" and "his brother's sins," that he was unable to enjoy the benefits of being a son. He slaved for years trying to be "good enough" to earn his Father's approval and blessing when he already had it all along.

Can you relate to how the elder son felt? Have you ever felt jealous when someone else got blessed, or angry because you felt God was blessing someone who was less deserving than you?  I love how the Father corrects these negative feelings in his eldest son's heart. He doesn't reprimand him for his anger, jealousy, judgement, or self-righteousness. In response to his anger, His Father simply reminds him of who he is. He says, "My son, you are always with me, and everything I have is yours. So you can be happy for your younger brother and come celebrate his return with us."

He was inviting His son to live in His love by realizing that everything He had was already his to enjoy simply because he was his son.

Galatians 4:4-7 says, "But when the right time came, God sent His Son, born of a woman, subject to the law. God sent Him to buy freedom for us who were slaves of the law, so that he could adopt us as His very own children. And because you have become his children, God has sent the Spirit of His Son in your hearts, and you can call God you dear Father. Now you are no longer a slave but God's own child. And since you are his child everything He has belongs to you.  NLT

Heavenly Father, thank you for reminding me that I am your beloved child and everything You have belongs to me. I no longer have to live as a slave trying to earn your approval and blessing. I can live in Your love and enjoy the benefits of simply being your child because of Jesus!