Are You Convinced

 

When you believe and envision the promise God has for you, you are confident and convinced that God will provide it. But confident hope is not born of what you have been promised. It is born of the relationship you have with God who promises it. To believe your promise and envision it, you must have confidence that all is well in your relationship with God. When you are convinced of who you are in Christ, then you are confident in your relationship with God. And being convinced of who you are in Christ assures you of a life of peace and joy no matter what you experience in this natural world. 

 

When you trust God completely, you know the status of your relationship with Him. You don’t have to prove yourself to God. Jesus has done it for you. You quit striving to feel at peace. Jesus has given you peace with God. When you know who you are in Christ, joy and peace rise from within you. You know they are yours. You are convinced that when God sees you, He sees His Son in you. And when you are convinced of the security of your relationship with God, you believe His promises are true. Confident hope overflows in your life. You believe the truth the Holy Spirit reveals to you. You trust Him. You are convinced.

 

You experience perfect peace when you trust in God (Isaiah 26:3)—when your thoughts dwell on Him. Fix your thoughts on what is true. Think about things that are right, pure, lovely, and admirable. Fix your mind on God’s truth—His right, pure, lovely, and perfect work in your life. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise (Philippians 4:8). Fix your thoughts on all the excellent truths that are yours in Christ. 

 

You are blessed, chosen, forgiven, blameless, redeemed, and secure in your relationship with God (Ephesians 1:3-7, 13-14). Take by faith the identity Christ has purchased for you. Be renewed by its truth in the spirit of your mind. Keep putting into practice all you have learned and received from God (Ephesians 4:23-24). Then the peace of God will rise from within you (Philippians 4:9). 

 

The enemy tries to convince you that you are not right and secure in your relationship with God—your loving, forgiving, healing, and redeeming Father. But where the enemy attempts to kill, steal, and destroy, Christ has already given you abundant life (John 10:10). That abundant life comes out of knowing the person Christ has made you. It comes from knowing your identity is defined by His truth.

 

Be fully convinced. Know who you are in Christ. Believe in God's truth no matter what your circumstance or your need or what anyone else says or believes. Choose to believe His truth over anything that contradicts it. Have confident hope and be fully convinced that what God has promised you He will provide. Know and walk in God’s love for you. Embrace Him as your loving, forgiving, healing, and redeeming Father. Rest in His grace. God gives life to the dead and calls those things which do not exist as though they are (Romans 4:17). 

 

“I pray that God, the source of hope, will fill you completely with joy and peace because you trust in him. Then you will overflow with confident hope through the power of the Holy Spirit” (Romans 15:13, NLT).

 

 

© 2022 Lynn Lacher

www.lynnlacher.com/2022/11/are-you-convinced.html

 

 

 

 

 

Your Revelation of Grace

 

 

In Ephesians 1:15-20, Paul prays for believers in Ephesus to have a spiritual revelation of their position in Christ. The prayer is for us, too. It is a powerful prayer because Paul prays from the knowledge and belief of who he is in Jesus Christ. Paul knows that believers have no power without the spiritual wisdom God has given them. He doesn't plead with God to provide the Ephesians with spiritual insight. He prays for the Ephesians to open their spiritual eyes to what they have received in Christ.

 

“Ever since I first heard of your strong faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for God’s people everywhere, I have not stopped thanking God for you. I pray for you constantly, asking God, the glorious Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, to give you spiritual wisdom and insight so that you might grow in your knowledge of God. I pray that your hearts will be flooded with light so that you can understand the confident hope he has given to those he called—his holy people who are his rich and glorious inheritance” (Ephesians 1:15-18, NLT).

 

Paul does not stop praising God for faithful believers and their love for each other. He prays that God would give them wisdom and revelation in their knowledge of Him. Paul wants them to understand what they have received—what is theirs in coming to know Christ. He knows that without these believers growing in the understanding of their new identity, they have no power to stand against the enemy's lies and have confidence in God’s calling. 

 

Have we grown in knowledge of what we have received in Christ?  Do we know what belongs to us? Do we often plead with God to give us what we have already received because we don’t have the wisdom to know that it is already ours?  

 

Look at 1 Peter 2:24. “Who Himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, having died to sins, might live for righteousness—by whose stripes you were healed” (KJV).

 

This verse clearly states what Christ has purchased for us. Because He died for our sins over two-thousand years ago, as a believer we are now dead to sin so we can live a righteous life. By the wounds He took for us, He also healed us. We don’t just enter into a position of Grace that only forgives us of our sins. We enter into the finished work of Christ—a position of Grace that gives us everything Christ’s payment for our sin accomplishes. The root of sickness is sin. Christ has overcome sin and sickness. The wounds He took over two-thousand years ago have healed us. 

 

When we spiritually understand this Truth, our perspective changes. The way we pray for healing changes. When we believe Jesus took our infirmities into His own body on the cross, we don't plead with God to heal us. Jesus already carried in His body the pain of our sin and sickness and paid for our redemption with His finished work of Grace. We pray, praising Him for His finished work. We praise Him, believing in our heart that we shall experience in our body the Truth of His Word, “By His stripes, you were healed.”

 

“I also pray that you will understand the incredible greatness of God’s power for us who believe him. This is the same mighty power that raised Christ from the dead and seated him in the place of honor at God’s right hand in the heavenly realms” (Ephesians 1:19-20, NKJV).

 

Paul prays for us to understand the power we have when we believe what God says. It is the same power that raised Jesus from the dead. Do we understand that His Resurrection power lives in us?  We don’t plead with God from weakness. When we have the spiritual wisdom of who we are in Jesus Christ, we pray from His position of strength. We know that in our weakness, He is strong. And that His strength and power are ours. We pray, believing we have already received what we ask (Mark 11:24, 1 John 5:14-15).

 

Do you believe in what you have received? You have received Jesus and His finished work of Grace. Learn who you are in God’s Word. His Word is Truth, and it is life (John 6:63). Allow the Holy Spirit to teach you what you have received in Christ. Ask Him for wisdom. He gives it generously (James 1:5). 

 

"For the hearts of this people have grown dull.

Their ears are hard of hearing,

And their eyes they have closed,

Lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears,

Lest they should understand with their hearts and turn,

So that I should heal them. 

But blessed are your eyes for they see, and your ears for they hear” (Matthew 13:15-16, NKJV)

 

—Holy Spirit, create the hunger to seek the Truth of your Grace in us. When we seek your Truth, we shall find it. When we choose to understand your Word, we renew our minds with your Truth. When we believe your Truth, we receive the promises your love purchased for us. When we believe what is ours and the new life you have given us, we live in the fullness of your Grace. Blessed are our eyes because they shall finally see and our ears because they shall finally hear what you desire for us to see and hear and understand with our hearts. Praise you, sweet Lord, for your revelation of Grace.

 

© 2022 Lynn Lacher

www.lynnlacher.com/2022/11/your-revelation-of-grace.html

 

 

 

 

 

 

His Plans Your Plans

 

 

 

All the ways of a man are pure in his own eyes,

But the Lord weighs the spirits.

Commit your works to the Lord,

And your thoughts will be established.

—Proverbs 16:2-3

 

 

“O Lord, I know that the way of man is not in himself,” Jeremiah 10:23 says. “It is not in man who walks to direct his own steps.”

 

We are not competent to direct our own lives. The Lord created us so that we would need Him to guide us in the best direction. He gave us the freedom to choose the way to go in life (Deuteronomy 30:19). However, left to our own reasoning, we will think everything is all alright. We will think nothing is wrong with our sin. But when what is wrong is uncovered by the truth of God’s Word, our foolishness becomes obvious. It is crucial that we constantly renew our minds with the truth of God’s Word for our thoughts and our plans to be established (Romans 12:2).

 

Proverbs 16:3 speaks of our thoughts being “established.” Proverbs 16:1 speaks of our hearts being “prepared.” We prepare our hearts to receive God’s truth when we are renewed in our thoughts by the Word. We conform to His Word when His truth is established in our hearts (Romans 12:2). 

 

Strong’s Concordance says that “works” in Hebrew means “an action [good or bad]; generally, a transaction; abstractly, activity; by implication, a product [specifically, a poem] or [generally] property.” 

 

When we turn our “works” over to the Lord, then our thoughts—our plans—will be established. 

 

“All the ways of a man are pure in his own eyes, but the Lord weighs the spirits” (Proverbs 16:2).

 

Only the Lord can correctly evaluate and direct our lives. We can’t correctly direct and evaluate ourselves. This is why we must have God’s input. This is why we need the Word of God to teach us the way to go. 

 

Solomon’s wisdom reveals what will happen when you subject your “works”—all of your actions, plans, and activities to the evaulation of the Lord. The Holy Spirit will weed out all that is incorrect—all that is wrong. And what is left will be established. 

His plans will be your plans, and they will succeed.

 

 

© 2022 Lynn Lacher

www.lynnlacher.com/2022/11/his-plans-your-plans.html

 

 

In All Things

 

Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.

—Ephesians 5:20 (KJV)

 

 

It is impossible to really praise the Lord without being thankful for all that He has done and trusting Him for all He is going to do. If we remove thankfulness from our lives—if we dwell on our problems instead of focusing on God, it is very easy to start glorifying our problems instead of praising God. This scripture is not encouraging me to give thanks to God for all the bad things that happen in my life. It encourages me to praise God no matter what my circumstances.

 

Ephesians 5:20 is a verse that has been used to teach that everything that happens in our lives comes from God. We live in a fallen world where the enemy comes against God’s children. God is love. He is the author of all that is love—of all that is good in my life. Satan is the author of everything that is evil. Satan comes against us trying to steal, kill, and destroy our faith. Jesus came to give us abundant life (John 10:10). If I praise God for the evil in my life, I give praise to the enemy for the destruction he brings. Yes, we can learn from the evil that comes against us (Romans 8:28), but learning from something bad in our lives does not mean that God is the author of it. 

 

In everything give thanks, for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.

—1 Thessalonians 5:18

 

In 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18, Paul addressed the specifics of the Thessalonians’ faith and the actions that were to be the result of it—such as rejoicing always, praying without ceasing, and giving thanks in all circumstances. In Ephesians 5:20, Paul was not using the phrase “giving thanks for” literally. He expected the Ephesians to have an understanding that they were not to praise God for evil in their lives. 

 

Paul’s whole letter to the Ephesians was to encourage them to know and engage what they had received in Christ. In his teaching, Paul expected them to have a rudimentary understanding of their faith. He expected that they would know it was wrong to praise God for the evil the enemy causes. Another phrase Paul used in Ephesians 5:20, which showed that he expected them to have a rudimentary understanding, was instructing them to give thanks “unto God and the Father.” Paul expected them to know that his use of the phrase “unto God and the Father” did not mean that there were two separate entities they were to thank. He expected them to believe He was speaking of giving thanks no matter what their circumstances to the one God, their Father.

 

Often, we say words that if analyzed too literally, give the wrong impression. At some point in our lives, we have probably used the phrase, “everybody is doing it.” Do we really mean that every person in the world is doing what we spoke about? Of course not. And anyone who would try to base an argument on that reasoning would be considered foolish. 

 

Paul certainly never expected Christians to believe that things like murder and a mass of other evil things were all blessings from God. He certainly does not expect us to praise God for evil. He saw no need to make his statement in this verse any clearer. 

 

It is so important to study all the Scripture so that we know what God expects—to know and experience His will for our lives. In all things—no matter what you face—no matter what evil the enemy throws at you, trust the Lord, your God, your Father. Praise Him for the truth that the Word reveals—not for the lies of the enemy attempting to destroy your faith.

 

Give praise to God for the good. Give praise to God in the bad but don’t give him credit for it. Give credit where it is due. 

www.lynnlacher.com/2022/11/in-all-things.html

Abound in Hope

 

 

“Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit” (Romans 15:13, NKJV).

 

 

Hope is having a positive mind. It is envisioning in your mind what God has promised you. It is engaging your five senses and capturing your thoughts to believe what you hope for (2 Corinthians 10:5). 

 

God is the God of vision. He wants you to envision what is yours in Christ. He wants to fill you with joy, peace, and faith that produces a vision of your promise in your mind. This verse says that it takes the power of the Holy Spirit to accomplish this. You cannot do this on your own human effort (John 6:63). Those who have little hope limit the Holy Spirit’s ability to renew them in the spirit of their mind with the promises of God (Ephesians 3:23). 

 

Romans 15:13 speaks specifically of acting out of your faith. Faith is a noun. Believe is a verb. Believing is faith in action. When you envision and believe in God’s promise, your faith is alive. Your faith is operating the way God designed it. Remember James clearly said that faith without works is dead (James 2:20). This verse reveals for your faith to be put into practice, joy and peace need to be present in your life. A person without joy and peace can have faith, but if they don’t believe, that faith is dormant and has no life.

 

Faith is the substance of the things hoped for (Hebrews 11:1). Romans 15:13 says you are to abound in hope. Hope is a distinct trait of those who truly believe. Hope can be applied to specific situations in our lives. If you truly believe in God’s promise, hope and joy and peace will be present in your life. 

 

Faith is your evidence of God’s promise (Hebrews 11:1). You can trust the faith Christ has given you. You can live by it (Galatians 2:20). 

 

What has God promised you? What do you hope for? If it is for your health, God promises you will prosper in health just as your soul prospers and is renewed by the Word (3 John 2, Romans 12:2). When your mind is continually renewed by the Word, your mind dwells on God’s positive. You have hope. And when you plant His Word by faith in your heart, you believe. When you believe in God’s promise of health, you have joy and peace concerning your future.

 

“I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me” (Galatians 2:20, KJV).

 

Have hope. Put your faith into action. Envision the promise God has given you. His Word is truth, and it is life. Live by the faith Christ has given you, my friend. Live by faith. Believe. The promises of God in Jesus are yes and amen (2 Corinthians 1:20).

 

© 2022 Lynn Lacher

www.lynnlacher.com/2022/11/abound-in-hope.html

 

Christ's Victory is Your Victory

 

 

What you have received from God in Christ overcomes what you receive from life. Greater is Christ living in you than anything.

 

What has life thrown at you? Perhaps, you’re struggling to regain your health. Maybe, circumstances have overwhelmed you. Wherever you are right now—whatever circumstances you face, you are never alone. God is with you. And He never leaves you or forsakes you (Hebrews 13:5). He is the constant in your life when nothing or no one else is. God loves you, and Jesus has overcome the issues of your life. 

 

"For whatever is born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith. Who is he who overcomes the world, but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God" (1 John 5:4-5, NKJV).

 

Any person who believes Jesus is the Son of God is born of God (1 John 5:1), and those who are born of God have the faith of Christ that overcomes (Galatians 2:20, 1 John 5:4). Those who believe Jesus is the Son of God have overcoming victory in their lives. But not all those who believe in Jesus walk in the victory He died to give them. That’s not because they don’t have it, but because they haven’t acknowledged what they have received (Philemon 1:6) and accessed by faith the victory that is theirs.

 

You believed in Christ by faith (Romans 10:10), and you take God’s truth as your own by faith. You access what God says is true by faith, and you act on it. The believer who lives in peace above the circumstances of His life takes ownership of Christ’s victory and walks in it. He believes Christ has already won his battle and has already overcome his circumstances. He lives with an attitude of overcoming victory. He praises God for what He believes is already His in Christ.

 

You are born of God in Christ. By faith, you believed in Christ and were born again. You are God’s own child. Your battle—your sin—your illness—your circumstances were defeated by Jesus in His finished work of grace. He is your victory, and you take by faith His victory as your own. 

 

Keep casting all your cares upon Him (1 Peter 5:7). Don’t hold onto the fearful baggage of your circumstances or loss or pain or illness. Don’t let whatever you face in this world define who you are. The victory of Christ defines who you are. His power is yours. Trust in God’s truth over your feelings, your circumstances, and anything the enemy throws at you. 

 

Nothing—NOTHING—can separate you from the love God has for you in Christ (Romans 8:39). Believe in your heart what the Word says is true. The Word that God speaks to you is life and truth. Your fears profit you nothing (John 6:63). Don’t trust your human understanding. It can’t discern God’s truth (Proverbs 3:5). 

 

Only your spiritual mind—the mind of Christ that is yours—can discern God’s truth (1 Corinthians 2:14,16). Be renewed in your spiritual mind by His truth (Ephesians 4:23). Trust God with all your heart. In everything acknowledge His truth in your life (Proverbs 3:5-6). Put on the new nature that is yours in Christ (Ephesians 4:24)—the one that has defeated your fear. Take captive every lie of the enemy. Allow the Holy Spirit to claim your thoughts (2 Corinthians 10:5). 

 

Christ’s overcoming victory is your overcoming victory. You are an overcomer in Christ. This is who you are. When you know who you are in Christ, you don’t see defeat as an option. You see victory where the world sees defeat. You have His faith and His power to receive every spiritual blessing He died to give you (Ephesians 1:3).  

Walk by faith and not by sight (2 Corinthians 5:7).

 

© 2022 Lynn Lacher

www.lynnlacher.com/2022/11/christs-victory-is-your-victory.html

 

 

Freely Give

 

Have you ever done something you wish you’d never done? If we’re all honest, we can say that we have. We can’t blame our actions on anyone else—no matter if we feel somebody pressured us into it. How we act or react to a circumstance or someone else is always a choice we make. “We are each responsible for our own conduct,” Paul wrote (Galatians 6:5, NLT). 

 

We need to take responsibility for what we believe, what we say, how we act, and how we react. We’re responsible if we cause a bad circumstance, and we are responsible for how we respond to any circumstance. We are responsible for our actions and reactions. 

 

What we believe is who we are. Believing the Word is essential to living responsibly and denying human feelings. When we believe in who we are in Christ, we are secure in our relationship with Him no matter what occurs or what someone says. It is our choice what we believe. We either believe the truth of God’s Word or we don’t. We either allow the Word to renew our minds or we don’t (Romans 12:2). We either live by the faith that is ours in Christ or we don’t (Galatians 2:20). We either speak His Word—His life—to our circumstances or we don’t. We experience the results of what believe and what we speak (Proverbs 23:7, 18:20). 

 

Spiritual maturity comes when we grow in the knowledge of our identity in Christ. It creates the desire to act responsibly, but we make the choice. If we react badly to the ugly actions of others, then we alone make that choice. Either the grace of Christ within us is greater than someone’s actions or it is not. When we become like the person who has offended and caused pain, then we offend and cause pain in return. What someone has done may need to be addressed. How it is addressed makes all the difference in whether what we say will be considered or not. If we respond out of our feelings of hurt, then we hurt in return. If we respond out of our identity in Christ, then we respond with His concern for the other person’s welfare. We forgive as we have been forgiven. 

 

Spiritual maturity teaches that the next time we are faced with difficult circumstances we have created, we will take responsibility for them. And when faced with circumstances, not of our own making, we will choose to act and react with the grace of Christ. We have the fruit of the Holy Spirit in our lives, and His power to live it. Only God changes hearts. We choose to let Him continually change our hearts. He deals with the hearts of others. Against the fruit of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control, evil has no power (Galatians 5:22-23). Christ has overcome. Let Him overcome in us.

 

When we desire more than anything else to know the complete difference Christ has made in our lives—when we yearn to understand this new person His grace has created, we choose to surrender to His truth. We hunger to know His Word and who He says we are. We thirst to live His life instead of our old one. We receive the knowledge and wisdom the Holy Spirit imparts to a surrendered heart (Ephesians 1:17-18). And with His truth and grace, we choose to take responsibility for our lives. The life we live we live by faith in Him (Galatians 2:20).

 

Choose for your thoughts and your attitude to be continually changed by the revelation power of the Word. Discover the freedom that comes with knowing who you are in Christ. You can be honest and speak the truth in love (Ephesians 4:15). There are no masks you have to wear (2 Corinthians 3:18). Where the Holy Spirit is, you have the freedom to not be controlled by hate or anger or bitterness or pain (2 Corinthians 3:17). You have the freedom and the faith to believe God’s truth, and you have His power to act upon it.

 

When you believe Christ paid it all and no one owes you anything, you are free to love as Christ has loved you. You forgive because He forgave you. Freely you have received. Freely give (Matthew 10:8).

 

© 2022 Lynn Lacher

www.lynnlacher.com/2022/11/freely-give.html

 

 

 

No Condemnation in Jesus

 

 

And by this we know that we are of the truth, and shall assure our hearts before Him. For if our heart condemns us, God is greater than our heart, and knows all things. Beloved, if our heart does not condemn us, we have confidence toward God. 

—1 John 3:19-21 

 

Many Christians struggle with feelings of condemnation. Condemnation is not conviction. There is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus (Romans 8:1). Conviction by the Holy Spirit trains us in the righteousness that Christ has given us (John 16:8).  It builds our faith with God’s grace and truth and gives us confidence in Him. Condemnation brings feelings of shame and doubt and fear and rejection. It is a tool of the enemy to destroy any confidence we have that God loves us. 

 

When our hearts condemn us—when our flesh reminds us of the old person we once were before Jesus brought us new life, we need to know and believe that our new life in Christ is greater than what we feel. When we keep choosing to believe God’s truth over the lies of the enemy, we build confidence in God’s love for us. And we don’t feel condemned when we have confidence in His love. When we continually reassure our hearts of God’s love, we can walk by faith in the confidence that is ours in Christ.

 

"There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who[a] do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit" (Romans 8:1).

Those who walk in the spirit instead of in the flesh have confidence in who they are in Christ. They don’t live by what they feel. They live what they believe. The way to overcome feelings of condemnation is to encourage your heart with God’s truth and deny your feelings. But if you don’t renew your mind with God’s truth (Romans 12:2), your heart will condemn you, and at times you may even doubt your right standing—your salvation—with God. 

 

And what does God’s truth say about your right standing with God—the salvation that Christ has given you?

 

“In Him you also trusted, after you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation; in whom also, having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise” (Ephesians 1:13).

 

Your right standing with God—your salvation is sealed by the Holy Spirit of promise. It is His guarantee. This is not what your flesh says is true. This is what is true in your born-again spirit. This is why it is so imperative for the Word to renew your mind with God’s truth—so you believe the truth of the new person Christ has made you instead of the lies of the enemy that bring condemnation.

 

When we plant the incorruptible seed of God’s truth in our hearts (1Peter 1:23)—when we encourage our faith with His Word, we come to know and believe who we are in Christ. We know that even though the flesh tries to condemn us we can trust in the finished work of Christ for our salvation. 

 

Do you see why the renewing of your mind with the Word of God is crucial to believe God—and to walk by faith and not by sight (1 Corinthians 5:7)?  For God’s truth to be real in your life, you choose to deny the feelings that bring shame and doubt and fear and rejection. You choose not to be offended. You choose faith over fear. To walk according to the His Spirit and not by what you feel, you have to know God’s Word and believe it in your heart. 

 

Knowing and believing the truth of who you are in Christ gives you confidence in your relationship with God. God has judged you righteous because of Jesus. When you exercise the truth of that relationship, you walk by faith and not by what you feel. According to the degree you believe in what Christ says is true for you, you receive (Matthew 9:29).

 

 

© 2022 Lynn Lacher

www.lynnlacher.com/2022/11/no-condemnation-in-jesus.html

 

 

 

 

 

Stand in His Grace

 

By Silvanus, our faithful brother as I consider him, I have written to you briefly, exhorting and testifying that this is the true grace of God in which you stand.

—1 Peter 5:12 (NKJV)

 

The true Gospel of Grace does not demand our right standing with God. If it did, the work of redemption would place the work of holiness upon us. The Gospel of Grace is a gift given to those who believe by faith in the finished work of Jesus. It is nothing we do. It is all He did. Right standing with God only comes through faith in what Jesus did for us. We are encouraged in this verse that it is the true Grace of God in which we stand. 

 

“Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God, through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom also we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.” (Romans 5:1-2). 

 

Being justified—having right standing with God—is peace. We can only stand in the true Grace of God—in His peace—when we believe that Jesus gave us His righteousness and right standing with God. We can only live His righteousness when we believe we have received His righteousness (2 Corinthians 5:21). When we truly believe we have peace with God, then we have peace. We choose to stand strong in that peace. We use the authority Christ has given us to fight our battles because we know He has already won. And having done all, we stand (Ephesians 6:13).

 

Right standing with God—peace with God—only comes through faith in what Christ did for us. True Grace teaches us to deny ungodliness and to live soberly and righteously (Titus 2:12). True Grace also teaches us that it is only by His righteousness we live and have our being (Acts 17:28). When we believe we are the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus (2 Corinthians 5:21), we live out of that truth. Serving God is then not something we do to try to prove to Him we deserve His grace. 

 

Grace is unmerited favor. We can’t earn it. When we believe Christ’s righteousness is ours, we know who we are in His Grace. We rest in the peace of knowing Jesus has won our righteousness. When we know who we are in Christ’s finished work of Grace, we know the work is done. And when we believe He provided a perfectly complete payment for our salvation, we rest in His Grace. We don’t have to force ourselves to serve God. Serving Him is born out of our relationship with Him in Christ. Knowing Him and serving Him is our identity. We love because He first loved us.

 

Faith comes out of knowing who we are in Christ. It comes from knowing we have peace with God. We have peace with God and are His. And having peace with God is the only way we can walk in faith. Otherwise, we are going to try to do something to get God to do something for us. Trying to prove ourselves to God through the work we do is self-righteous. But when we believe the work of Jesus is finished, the veil is gone. We don’t have to prove ourselves. God accepts us. He loves us. We are His. When we know Christ has made us righteous, we can come boldly into God’s presence. We can freely come to Him. There is nothing more for us to do but believe in Christ’s perfect love for us. 

 

The Law gives power to sin. The Grace of Jesus gives power to Jesus. The Law isn’t victorious. Jesus is victorious (1 Corinthians 15:56-57). Many Christians live in bondage believing they must do something to earn and keep God’s love. They read the Word that says they are free in Christ but they live in bondage to the very thing from which Christ came to deliver them. Knowing and believing who they are in Christ—believing their right standing with God—convinces them they are free. 

 

You have access by faith into God’s Grace! Digest the Word. Allow the Holy Spirit to reveal your identity in Christ. Know who you are in His finished work of Grace, and rejoice in the hope of the glory of God (Romans 5:2). Rest in the peace of knowing your right relationship with God, your Father. 

 

Where you have peace, you have faith. Exercise your faith and rest in His peace. Having done all, you stand by faith in what God says is true. 

 

© 2022 Lynn Lacher

www.lynnlacher.com/2022/11/stand-in-his-grace.html

 

 

His Victory in You

 

 

For whatever is born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith. Who is he who overcomes the world, but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?

—1 John 5:4-5

 

Whatever is born of God overcomes any issue or problem, and anything in this world. You believe Jesus is the Son of God. You are born of God. You are a new person in Christ (2 Corinthians 5:17). Christ has overcome the world. Christ, the hope of glory, is in you (Colossians 1:27). Jesus Christ is your victory (1 Corinthians 15:57). His life in you is lived by the faith He has given you (Galatians 2:20, KJV). Believe it, and live it. Walk by His faith and not by your sight (2 Corinthians 5:7).

 

“I do not cease to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers: that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him, the eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, and what is the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe, according to the working of His mighty power which He worked in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, far above all principality and power and might and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in that which is to come. And He put all things under His feet, and gave Him to be head over all things to the church, which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all” (Ephesians 1:16-23, NKJV).

 

The fullness of Christ fills you! Grasp what Christ has given you! He has not left you powerless! You have His power in you. If you don’t exercise the power He has given you, you won’t walk in His victory. You won’t experience the promises that are yours in Christ. You will remain controlled by circumstances and emotions and the opinions of others instead of the truth of God’s Word.

 

Don’t allow the things of this life or this world or anyone else to dictate what you believe. The Holy Spirit wants to give you His wisdom and revelation knowledge so you will know the hope of your calling, the riches of what you have received in Christ, and the greatness of His power when you believe Him.

 

Your faith in Jesus Christ is your victory, overcoming everything in this world. You have overcome in Him. Why would you settle for anything less?

 

 

© 2022 Lynn Lacher

www.lynnlacher.com/2022/11/his-victory-in-you.html