Zach Young Child of the King www.purleygatesretreat.org As we begin this quick journey together, I just want to start with a prayer over you today. Jesus, I ask that those who have chosen to read today would find you. I ask that your Holy Spirit would rain down on them, and fill them with truth and love today. Jesus, I thank you for loving us and seeing great value in us. God you are awesome! We love you! In Jesus’ name, Amen. Ah… much better. Isn’t it so nice to know that you are so greatly loved by the King of the universe? It’s amazing that He looks down on us with nothing but love and desire to be in relationship with us. That’s just awesome.
Now if you are like me, it can become easy to forget that sometimes. It seems crazy that it would even be possible, but it’s all due to one little trap – one little lie that many Christians fall into. When the enemy sends doubts about who we are – when he tells us that we are nothing but a sinner – we actually listen, and we let that thought take root. No more of that. Today, I want to remind you of your identity. You have to know who you are in Christ in order to live like Christ. Take hold of that today. The story that instantly comes to mind is from Luke 15 about the prodigal son. Come on, you know the story. The boy takes his inheritance early, spends it and lives wildly, ends up broken and lost, and comes back to the father. At least that is what we have thought the story is about. I realized that we often put all the emphasis on the son in that story, and we totally miss that Jesus was teaching us about the Father. When we change our focus to what Jesus was emphasizing, we see the true character of our God. We find that the Father doesn’t force love, He doesn’t force relationship. We find that the Father never once gives up. He is always looking, waiting, and hoping for the return of a child. When that child does return, we see that the Father greets him with nothing but love. Not an ounce of “How dare you” or “You better get right before you come into my house.” Nope. Just love. Why? A Father never stops loving a child – He never forgets us. The son never once stopped being a son. Through everything that happened, the Father always valued His child. That’s who you are, that’s who I am, and that’s who we all are. You see we fall into the lie that when we go off to live wildly we have become nothing but a sinner. Wrong. We are still a child. Jesus didn’t die because we are sinners. Yes, He died because we had sinned, but He still understood our identity. He knew that we are His children. He died so that we may be restored and have relationship with Him. He saw nothing but great value in us. You don’t pay for something that has no value, and Jesus paid the highest price. No matter what, you are still a son, you are still a daughter. You are always greatly loved. From yesterday to today to tomorrow, that identity never changes. It’s just up to you to live freely in that relationship or keep holding on to the wild living. I pray that this was a good reminder for you today, and it encourages you to grow in relationship with the Father. You are welcome any time in His house. Enjoy your identity. Enjoy your freedom. Praise the Lord for always looking at us with His great love. Have an awesome week! Jesus loves you! http://biblehub.com/niv/luke/15.htm
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
About Us:At Purley Gates, our passion is to share the love of Jesus with ALL people. Archives
November 2017
Categories |