Children of God

 

One of my favorite writers/pastors is Paul David Tripp.  I love what he says in his book, New Morning Mercies: "It's important to acknowledge that God has not just forgiven you (and that is a wonderful thing), but He has also given you a brand-new identity.  If you're God's child, you are now a son or a daughter of the King of kings and the Lord of lords."  

John says in his gospel, John 1:12-13, "Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become CHILDREN OF GOD - children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband's will, but born of God."  John also goes on to say in his letter, 1 John 3:1, "See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called CHILDREN OF GOD!  And that is what we are!"  As Christ followers, we need to who we are in Christ Jesus.  Yes, we are forgiven of sin and free from the penalty and the bondage of sin.  However, we are more than forgiven; we are CHILDREN OF GOD!  When we repent of our sin and believe in Jesus as Lord and Savior, we are changed from the inside out.  We are given new life.  We are moved from death to life by Almighty God.  God first loved us!  God so loved us!  Through God's amazing grace found in Christ Jesus, you and I can be CHILDREN OF GOD.

We need to remember this truth each and every day: we are CHILDREN OF GOD, and that is what we are!  Satan is our enemy, and he wants to steal, kill, and destroy us.  He will use anything and everything he can to distract us from the truth of God's Word.  Satan does not want us to know God; Satan does not want us to trust God; Satan does not want us to walk in confidence and hope.  One way, I believe, Satan attacks us is with identity.  If we are not careful, we will use people, places, jobs, and more as our identity.  One thing I have learned in this life is that all of these things will somehow and in some way let us down.  No one is perfect.  No place is perfect.  No job is perfect.  Only God is perfect.  And as Christ followers, God is our Father.  Our Father's love is perfect.  His perfect love casts out all fear.  We need to remind ourselves of these valuable truths each and every day, so that we can walk in confidence and hope!  We don't have to walk in fear or doubt or confusion or dread; we are CHILDREN OF GOD!  We can walk in the confidence that God is our Father who loves us.  We can walk in the hope of Christ Jesus's perfect life, sacrificial death, and glorious resurrection.  Let's keep reminding each other today and every day as we move forward: we are CHILDREN OF GOD, and that is what we are!!!  That is our identity now and forever!!!

Your Testimony Matters!

Your testimony matters!  Don't let the enemy or anyone ever tell you that your testimony does not matter or is not important or is not valued.  The Bible tells us that our testimonies do matter, our testimonies are important, and our testimonies are valued!  

I love Psalm 66, especially the passage found in verses 16-20.  Psalm 66:16-20 says, "Come and hear, all you who fear God; let me tell you what he has done for me.  I cried out to him with my mouth; his praise was on my tongue.  If I had cherished sin in my heart, the Lord would not have listened; but God has surely listened and has heard my prayer.  Praise be to God, who has not rejected my prayer or withheld his love from me!"  I love the Psalmists words: "Let me tell you what he has done for me."  In the book of Genesis, we see that the testimony matters; it is important and has value.  In Genesis 45, after learning that their brother was still alive and that God's sovereignty was on full display, the sons of Jacob returned from Egypt to their father.  When they told him that Joseph was still alive and that he was ruler of all of Egypt, Jacob was stunned and did not believe them.  His sons continue to tell him the truth; they shared their testimony of how good God was to them.  Genesis 45:27-28 says, "But when they told him everything Joseph had said to them, and when he saw the carts Joseph had sent to carry him back, the spirit of their father Jacob revived.  And Israel said, 'I am convinced!  My son Joseph is still alive.  I will go and see him before I die.'"  He experienced revival from the hand of God through the testimony of his sons.

In John 4, Jesus has a life-changing conversation with the woman at the well.  The disciples were surprised and confused as to why Jesus was talking to her.  Jesus knew what He was doing.  John 4:28-29 says, "Then, leaving her water jar, the woman went back to the town and said to the people, 'Come, see a man who told me everything I ever did.  Could this be the Messiah?'  They came out of the town and made their way toward him.  And John 4:39 tells us this important truth about the woman's testimony: "Many of the Samaritans from that town believe in him because of the woman's testimony, 'He told me everything I ever did.'"  In Luke 8, Jesus restores a demon-possessed man.  Luke 8:38-39 says, "The man from whom the demons had gone out begged to go with him, but Jesus sent him away, saying, 'Return home and tell how much God has done for you.'  So the man went away and told all over town how much Jesus had done for him.

Your testimony matters!  Your testimony is important and has value!  If this were not so, why would Jesus show us this and tell us this in Scripture?  The words that Jesus used with the demon-possessed man, I believe, are the words Jesus is telling us today: "Return home and tell how much God has done for you."  Our testimonies may be different, but our testimonies should always have the same goal: telling others about the goodness of God.  As we see in Psalm 66:16, there really is an easy way to get started.  Just say these words and see what God will do: "Let me tell you what he has done for me!"