Daily Archives: February 25, 2012

Confessions of a Christian Wife, Proven Path Ministries, Thirty-three Day Challenge

Significant In Christ

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Sadly, most believers do not understand who they really are, who God made them to be, the authority He intended them to possess, or how Christ can meet their innermost desires for acceptance, security, and significance.
~ Shannon Ethridge

The last couple of days we have been studying up on how we are accepted in Christ and how we are secure in Christ and today we will be looking at how we are significant in Christ.

First of all…what is significance?

The word significant means to have meaning, to be important, to have influence or effect. There is a song that I absolutely love and one of the lyrics is “When I don’t measure up to much in this life, I’m a treasure in the eyes of Christ…”  

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Day Twelve

Today I want you to take this list and print is off and keep it with you so that you might be reminded that you are important, your life has meaning, you can be used by God to have an influence and an effect on those who God allows to cross your path…

Don’t spend another day, another moment, listening to the lies like,

“Well what does it matter anyway?”

“No one would miss me anyway?”

“My life is useless”

“I don’t matter to anyone”

“I am not making a difference to anyone”

“What’s the point, it’s not like anyone will notice?”

“Nobody care’s anyway?”

These are lies! 
Big fat lies.
Whispered to you by the father of lies.

 He was a murderer from the beginning,

and does not stand in the truth because there is no truth in him.

Whenever he speaks a lie,

he speaks from his own nature,

for he is a liar and the father of lies.

John 8:44

Now the verse following this verse is very powerful. Jesus is speaking to the “church folk” when He shares this verse. He’s speaking to the one’s that have not only been reading His Word, the Scriptures, but also teaching them, and holding others to them… yet He lets them know here… that they do not believe what they teach or what they read and study. They do not believe Him.

But because I speak the truth,

you do not believe Me.

John 8:45

Below is a list of truth from the lips of Christ, the Word of God made flesh, the Scriptures.

Here it is in black and white, recorded in writing, and passed on for thousands of years, the question precious one, is who are you going to believe?

The father of lies or the Lover of your soul?

Watch yourself, because your life is going to reflect who you believe.

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I AM SIGNIFICANT IN CHRIST

I am the salt and light of the earth
You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt has become tasteless, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled under foot by men.You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden
Matthew 5:13-14

I am a branch of the true vine, a channel of his life
I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing.
John 15:5

I have been chosen and appointed to bear fruit
You did not choose Me but I chose you, and appointed you that you would go and bear fruit, and that your fruit would remain, so that whatever you ask of the Father in My name He may give to you
John 15:16

I am a personal witness of Christ
but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth
Acts 1:8

I am God’s temple
Do you not know that you are a temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?
1 Corinthians 3:16

I am a minister of reconciliation
Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were making an appeal through us; we beg you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.
2 Corinthians 5:20

I am God’s coworker
And working together with Him, we also urge you not to receive the grace of God in vain—
2 Corinthians 6:1

I am seated with Christ in the heavenly realms
and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus,
Ephesians 2:6

I am God’s workmanship
For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.
Ephesians 2:10

I may approach God with freedom and confidence
in whom we have boldness and confident access through faith in Him
Ephesians 3:12

I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength
I can do all things through Him who strengthens me.
Philippians 4:13

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If you are a new creation in Christ… then you are accepted, you are secure, and you are significant. You are forgiven. You are not defined by your past, you are not trapped by your present, and you need have no reason to have fear concerning your future… You are safe in His very capable hands. Just trust His truth. Just believe Him. You are His treasure.

Names of God Series, Proven Path Ministries

Names of God: Jehovah-tsidkenu

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I love this name of God.
This name of God is one that brings me peace and hope and relief…
The name we will be looking at today is Jehovah-tsidkenu.

We discover the meaning of Jehovah-tsidkenu in the book of Jeremiah. Now when the prophet Jeremiah was having the words of God written in a scroll it was dark in the days of Israel. It was a time when the people had forgot God. Oh they still did their sacrifices and they had their feasts… and they had them right along with their Baal services and Asherah festivals…

They had convinced themselves that as long as they kept the rituals and traditions they were fine. They did not listen to the prophets of God. They ignored Isaiah and they ignored Jeremiah. Instead they chose to listen to the prophets that told them what they wanted to hear.

Now judgment was coming.
However, even in this coming judgment God gave the remnant hope.

Behold, the days are coming,” declares the LORD,
“When I will raise up for David a righteous Branch;
And He will reign as king and act wisely
And do justice and righteousness in the land.
“In His days Judah will be saved,
And Israel will dwell securely;
And this is His name by which He will be called,
‘The LORD our righteousness.’
Jeremiah 23:5-6
 
You see, many in Israel had decided that they were good enough because of their works, their deeds. They thought that keeping the law would be enough to satisfy God. They thought their tradition keeping would be enough.
 
Then the Lord said,
   “Because this people draw near with their words
And honor Me with their lip service,
But they remove their hearts far from Me,
And their reverence for Me consists of tradition learned by rote
Isaiah 29:13
 
It wasn’t.
It wasn’t because the system was never put in place to simply be a routine tradition. The whole point of the law was to draw the people’s hearts to their God and to make them aware of their need for Him as they became aware of their sinful state… but the people began to think that these traditions made them holy instead of their God. They had forgotten that we can never do enough good stuff to make us good enough to stand in the presence of God.
 
For all of us have become like one who is unclean,
And all our righteous deeds are like a filthy garment;
Isaiah 64:6
 
All our righteous deeds are like a filthy garment…  all of them. And that filthy garment is actually the term used for a females used menstrual cloth… yeh… that’s as good as your best deeds get… so good luck getting to heaven on that.
 
But now apart from the Law
the righteousness of God has been manifested,
being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets, 
even the righteousness of God
through faith in Jesus Christ for all those who believe;
for there is no distinction; 
for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 
being justified as a gift by His grace
through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus; 
whom God displayed publicly
as a propitiation in His blood through faith.
This was to demonstrate His righteousness,
Romans 3:21-25
 
Praise God! I don’t about you but I am ever so grateful that my salvation is not dependant upon my own righteousness nor my ability to perfectly keep the Law… I would never make it.
 
Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ,
as though God were making an appeal through us;
we beg you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. 
He made Him who knew no sin
to be sin on our behalf,
so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.
2 Corinthians 5:20-21
 
Christ came and He traded His righteousness for my sin. I give Him my sin and He gives me His righteousness. It makes absolutely no sense to me why He would do this… I mean really… that is soooo not an even trade! But He knew there was no other way… and He simply loves us that much.
 
Now when I stand before God on my day of judgment because of the cross, because of the work of my Jesus, I will be able to cry as David cried…
 
Judge me, O LORD my God, according to Your righteousness,
And do not let them rejoice over me.
Psalm 35:34
 
Even in my salvation as I live and breathe in this world… as I try to live a life worthy of my calling and worthy of His death… I fail so often. In these failures and stumbles I am able to go to my God and ask His forgiveness and I appeal not to any righteousness of my own, but to the righteousness of my Christ, my righteous Branch, my Jehovah-tsidkenu.  
 
 
Devotional Studies Through the Bible, Proven Path Ministries

Getting The World Out

 

The whole congregation of the sons of Israel

grumbled against Moses and Aaron

 in the wilderness.

Exodus 16:2

 

I wish I could say that the sons of Israel learned their lesson about grumbling at the waters of Marah, but I cannot. The grumbling at the waters of Marah was just the beginning. The children of Israel are a month and a half into their journey from Egypt. They are now in the wilderness of Sin somewhere between the oasis of Elim and Sinai and what we discover is that the name of this wilderness is very fitting. 

The children of Israel have only less than two months ago experienced the mighty arm of God in Egypt. They have just watched God make bitter waters sweet. The children of Israel have had the Lord their Healer lead them to an oasis called Elim, where there were springs and date trees galore. The Lord has delivered them and provided for them over and over and now that it is time for them to set out on their journey again we also find them grumbling again. 

 

The sons of Israel said to them,

‘Would that we had died by the LORD’s hand in the land of Egypt,

when we sat by the pots of meat,

when we ate bread to the full;

for you have brought us out into this wilderness

to kill this whole assembly with hunger.’

Exodus 16:3   

 

When the people grumbled at Marah about the bitter waters the Lord made them sweet. He then immediately declared to them that He was the Lord their Healer and if they obeyed Him then they would not experience the diseases that were put upon the Egyptians.  

God not only shares a little more information about Himself to these people, and to us, but He also is reminding them that the way of life in Egypt was not according to God. Have you ever heard the saying, you can take the girl out of the country, but you can’t take the country out of the girl? Well, God was trying to show this mixed multitude that just being out of Egypt was not enough, He is going to have to get Egypt out of them. 

The people grumbled for water at Marah and now in the wilderness of Sin they grumble for food. They do not give God praise and thanks for the water at Marah and then now seek Him for food, they choose rather to complain.  

My friend, this is nothing more than this group of people thinking that they can emotionally manipulate Moses and God to get what they want. They are testing God, just as every child tests his parents.  

God showed mercy on the children of Israel at Marah and He made the bitter waters sweet. However, we must remember that mercy softens some but it hardens others. Let us pay close attention as we go through this wilderness journey with the children of Israel.  

The Word of God warns us in 1 Corinthians 10:6, “Now these things happened as examples for us, so that we would not crave evil things as they also craved.” God’s mercy on Pharaoh in Egypt during the plagues only hardened Pharaoh more and now we see the same pattern beginning here in the wilderness with the children of Israel.  

God gave them mercy at Marah and made the bitter waters sweet, so that they would have sweet water to drink. Yet this multitude does not give God praise. They do not give Him thanks. They come now expecting that they will grumble to Moses even more and receive what their flesh craves.  

Did you notice how distorted the view of the past is to this multitude? This group looks back on their life in Egypt and they are completely ignoring the cruel bondage that caused them to call out to God for deliverance. They look back and all they are recalling at this moment is pots of meat and eating bread to the full.  

Oh precious one, see how the enemy of our souls can mess with our minds?

Have you been there?

I know that I have.  

As a believer, a redeemed child of God, I have spent time in my own wilderness. I have grown weary and frustrated in that wilderness and my mind has went back to the past when I would dance the night away while intoxicated by alcohol and all the cares of the world would seem to be a million miles away. My mind would take me there because my flesh cried out for what it lusted after and the enemy was whispering lies in my ear. “See how carefree you were then? See how much fun you always had? Go on, don’t you wish you had that at least one more time?”  

How thankful I am for the indwelling of the Holy Spirit and the Word of God. Romans 8:5-6 declares, “For those who are according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who are according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit. For the mind set on the flesh is death, but the mind set on the Spirit is life and peace.”  

When the Spirit of God who is in you, if you do indeed belong to Christ (Romans 8:9), divides through the lies of the enemy and the lust of your flesh with the truth of the Word of God, then you are to take every thought captive to the obedience of Christ (2 Corinthians 10:5).  

When you know the truth, it is that truth that sets you free (John 8:32). It is being intoxicated with the Spirit of God that brings you peace- mind, body, and soul. Oh precious one, your body can be free, but if your mind is still enslaved then you have gained nothing. You must be “…transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.” (Romans 12:2) 

Oh Father,

Forgive me for the times I have attempted to emotionally manipulate You to get my way. Thank You for opening my eyes to the truth, for I did not even realize what I was doing. Thank You for being patient with me. As You carry me through wilderness journeys, to remove the world from me, may I not forget to give You thanks and praise. For I know that You are working in me and through me to bring about Your perfect result and complete me in You (James 1:2-4). 

My Jesus, it is in Your name I pray,

Amen