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Wednesday, August 31, 2022

He is For You



 

 

What shall we then say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? 

—Romans 8:31

 

God is for you. Nothing that comes against you can stand against the power of God. 

 

No weapon formed against you shall prosper,
And every tongue which rises against you in judgment
You shall condemn.

This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord,
And your righteousness is from Him.

—Isaiah 54:17

 

When you allow a lie to define who you are, you give that lie power in your life. You treat it as truth. Whether that lie is from the enemy or from another person or from your own conscience, you have God’s power to condemn every lie which rises against you. This is your heritage in Christ. Your righteousness is from Him. Christ defines who you are—not any lie.

 

Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.

—Ephesians 6:10-13

 

My friend in Christ, exercise the power you have in the Lord. Stand strong in the authority you have in Christ. Use the whole armor that He has given you to stand against the lies and wiles of the enemy. Put on the whole armor of God, and condemn all that comes against you. Withstand unwaveringly in the righteousness that is yours. Christ’s authority is your heritage. 

 

Death and life are in the power of the tongue,  and those who love it will eat its fruit.

—Provers 18:21

 

What you speak is either life or death, and you will experience the result of what you declare. Lies are the judgments the enemy uses to defeat you. Speak death to the lies he brings. Condemn them. Don’t believe them. Choose to believe the truth of the righteousness Christ has given you. God’s truth gives you power. Christ has given you abundant life. Speak life to what is yours in Christ and death to the lies which come against God’s truth (John 10:10).

 

It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing. The words that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life.

—John 6:63

 

Your words gain you nothing. Your words have no power. It is God’s Word you speak that exercises the authority you have been given. His words are spirit, and they are life. His Word is your truth. It is your power. Plant it in your heart. Renew your mind with it. Speak His Word and His life into every circumstance—every decision—everything that rises to condemn you. 

 

You are victorious because Christ was victorious for you. His work is done, and your new life in Him is the result. And no weapon has the power to take away the new life you have inherited in Christ.

 

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, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, to the praise of His glory.

—Ephesians 1:13-14

 

Your guaranteed new life is what Christ has purchased for you. When you believed the truth of your salvation in Christ, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise. Trust Him. Take every thought captive that comes against God’s truth. You are His, and you have His power to condemn any lie and speak His truth into your life. 

 

What shall you say? He is for you. Who has any power against you?

 

 

© 2022 Lynn Lacher

www.lynnlacher.com/2022/08/he-is-for-you.html

 

Tuesday, August 30, 2022

Two Kinds of Work



  

There are two ways we work for God. One is born of faith in Christ, and the other is born of the need for recognition and acceptance. One way is with the guidance and strength of the Holy Spirit, and the other is with our own strength. The first way surrenders to the righteousness of Christ that is ours. The second way works to prove its own righteousness. The first way is life. The second way is death.

 

“There is a way that seems right to a man,” Solomon said, “but its end is the way of death” (Proverbs 14:12).  

 

What appears right to our natural minds, is what we think is right. And what we think is carnal. And to be carnally-minded is death (Romans 8:6).

 

 “I am the way, the truth, and the life,” Jesus said. “No one comes to the Father except through Me” (John 14:6).

 

We don’t work our way to God on our own merit. We come to God on Christ’s merit. He is the way, the truth, and the life. The only way to experience God’s acceptance and approval is by understanding spiritually who we are in Christ. And to be spiritually-minded is life and peace (Romans 8:6).

 

Yet, don’t we sometimes work for God hoping that He will accept us—hoping for Him to forgive or heal or bless us—not understanding that if we would labor out of the right-standing we already have in Christ, we would experience His life and peace? If we would labor with His power working in us and not our own, wouldn’t we live the truth of the new person He has made us?

 

“To this end I also labor,” Paul wrote, “striving according to His working which works in me mightily” (Colossians 1:29).

 

Paul only strived with God’s guidance and power. He shared the Gospel out of His right-standing in Christ. He knew He had nothing to prove to God. Christ had already proved him righteous.

 

Christ, the hope of glory, has come to live within us (Colossians 1:27). We are new persons in Christ (2 Corinthians 5:17). We have God’s power but we have to surrender our minds—our natural thoughts—our ways—our ideas—our circumstances—our issues—our opinions—everything to the righteousness that is yours in Christ. 

 

“But when the kindness and the love of God our Savior toward man appeared, not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit, whom He poured out on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Savior” (Titus 3:4-6).

 

It is Christ’s righteousness that saved us and His righteousness that works in us—not our own. The Holy Spirit draws and empowers us to work for Christ. We surrender to the righteousness that is ours in Him. We surrender to live the righteousness He has given us. Any work born of the need for acceptance and approval has no power. We are called to work for Christ, but works born of our need instead of faith in Christ have no life (James 2:17). The problem arises in the motivation for our work. Is our work born of the incorruptible seed of the Word that has taken root in our heart or born of our own corruptible need to prove ourselves? 

 

Never work to prove yourself worthy to God. When you know your worth in Christ, you have no need to prove yourself by the work you do for Him. Work out and conform to your salvation by being renewed by God’s truth (Romans 12:1-2). Allow the incorruptible seed of God’s truth to take root and grow in your heart (1 Peter 1:23). Then you can labor out of the righteousness Christ has earned for you. Working without faith is death. Working out of the faith that is yours in Christ is life (James 2:20-22).

 

“Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us” (Ephesians 3:20).

 

It is God’s power that energizes us (Colossians 1:29).  It is His work in and through us that brings life to our “yes.” 


“May the God of peace who brought up our Lord Jesus from the dead, that great Shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant, make you complete in every good work to do His will, working in you what is well pleasing in His sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen” (Hebrews 13:20-21). 

 

 

© 2022 Lynn Lacher

www.lynnlacher.com/2022/08/two-kinds-of-work.html

 

Monday, August 29, 2022

Whole in Christ


 

The Good News of Christ is a gospel of healing for the whole person.

 

Isaiah 53:5 prophesies the healing that will come in Christ. I Peter 2:24 declares the healing that is finished in Christ. Some believe that Isaiah 53:5 and 1 Peter 2:24 speak only of spiritual healing. But the healing that was accomplished in the gift of Christ’s life for us was complete. It lacks nothing. His healing is for the whole person.

 

When we were born again—thoroughly and completely forgiven by the grace of Jesus—we were spiritually healed and made new (2 Corinthians 5:17). Our spirit was reborn by the Holy Spirit (John 3:6). The phrase “by His stripes, we were healed” (1 Peter 2:24, NKJV) speaks of the result of the spiritual healing we have received in our born-again spirit. When Christ destroyed sin, He destroyed the root of all sickness. We were made whole in Him—healed spiritually, mentally, and physically by His blood. 

 

Just because you may not wholly
experience this, does not mean it is not the truth of His grace. “You are complete in Him, who is the head of all principality and power” (Colossians 2:10, NKJC).

 

We are created in three parts—spirit, soul (mind), and body (1 Thessalonians 5:23). Where are we complete in Him? Which part of us was made new?

 

“Flesh gives birth to flesh, and spirit gives birth to spirit” (John 3:6, PHILLIPS). 

 

Our spirit is born of His spirit. Christ, who was sinless, took our sin so that we might receive the righteousness of God (2 Corinthians 5:21). Our spirit has been reborn—made new, righteous, and complete by the Holy Spirit. For these truths to make a difference, we have to understand and believe them in our hearts. We must be renewed in our minds to know the new person we are in Christ. We must put on our new identity—the new man—which God has created within our spirit in true righteousness and holiness (Ephesians 4:23-24).

 

If we are going to understand the healing power of New Covenant grace, it is imperative that we understand that it is only within our spirit that we are completely reborn as a new creation in Christ. Our minds and bodies are not perfectly reborn. In our mind and body, we still deal with temptation and destructive emotions, and pain. We don’t feel new in Christ when we look at ourselves, and it is hard to believe we have been made new in Him. We know our failures. But when we look into the truth of God’s Word, we see the forgiven, healed, delivered, new person that Christ has made us. 

 

Rather than explain away God’s love and desire for us to be healed, we need to press on to believe the truth of God’s Word. “By His stripes, you were healed.”

 

“But he who is joined to the Lord is one spirit with Him” (1 Corinthians 6:17, NKJV). We are joined to the Lord in spirit. 

 

“For in Him (Christ) dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily; and you are complete in Him, who is the head of all principality and power” (Colossians 2:9-10, NKJV). 

 

All the fullness of the Godhead is complete within our born-again spirit. We must be renewed in our minds by the Word to understand and conform to the new person Christ has made us (Romans 12:2). The Holy Spirit convinces us to believe who we are in Christ. When we believe, our lives—in every way—are changed by God’s truth.

 

Christ, the healer, lives in you. You are saved from sin’s power and the destruction it has wrought in your life. You are forgiven, healed, delivered, and filled with the fullness of God. 

 

Just as you stir up faith to walk in the holiness that is yours in Christ, you stir up faith to walk in the healing that is yours.

 

When Jesus touched the eyes of the two blind men seeking healing, He said to them, “According to your faith let it be to you” (Matthew 9:29).

 

Lord, teach us who we are in you. Teach us to walk by faith and not by sight—to let go and believe.

 

© 2023 Lynn Lacher

www.lynnlacher.com/2022/08/whole-in-Christ.html

Friday, August 26, 2022

Guilt-Free


 

Do you know that, as a believer in Christ, “you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light?” (1 Peter 2:9, NKJV)

 

If you believe you are special to God and chosen by Him to receive the grace of His Son’s righteousness, then you know that “there is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus. And because you belong to him, the power of the life-giving Spirit has freed you from the power of sin that leads to death” (Romans 8:1-2, NLT).

 

You are a believer in Christ. Has the Holy Spirit transformed your understanding of your relationship with God to the place where you believe you are totally forgiven and you can live without plagues of guilt? You can’t pay a debt you don’t owe. When you know you owe nothing, then you know you are guilt-free. You are in right-standing with God. When you believe that Christ has completely paid your debt, then you live in the freedom of His grace.

 

When you first received Christ, you received His finished work of grace in your born-again spirit. In your spirit, you became His new creation—debt-free of your sin and forgiven by His grace. In your reborn spirit, you received the righteousness of Christ, and in your spirit lives the fullness of God. But in your mind, you are all too aware of the failures of your flesh. You know you aren’t perfect. You know you make mistakes. But having a repentant heart is not having crippling feelings of guilt and shame. Having a repentant heart is a decision you make to turn from the sin that drew you away from God’s presence. It is unnecessary and spiritually unhealthy for you to live in condemnation when Christ doesn’t condemn you. He has given you His righteousness. What is necessary and spiritually healthy is for you to be renewed in your mind to understand the righteousness Christ has given you and who you are as a result of it.

 

When you learn to know the new person Christ has made you, you live in the freedom of your new life. Knowing who you are in Christ changes your perspective from perpetually experiencing guilt over your failures to knowing “in your heart—in your belly—in your gut” that you are free of condemnation. You know Jesus paid it all! You believe you are the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus. You believe you had no righteousness of your own, but because of His love and mercy, Jesus gave you His. You don’t need to prove you have His forgiveness! There is no penance you have to perform. There is no perfection you have to maintain. You owe nothing because of His grace. There is no greater love than His—that He would give His life for you. No other love could fulfill God’s law, setting you free from the demand of its requirements. That law was never able to save you from your sin. Only Jesus could meet those requirements so you could be free.

 

“The law of Moses was unable to save us because of the weakness of our sinful nature,” Paul writes. “So God did what the law could not do. He sent his own Son in a body like the bodies we sinners have. And in that body, God declared an end to sin's control over us by giving his Son as a sacrifice for our sins. He did this so that the just requirement of the law would be fully satisfied for us, who no longer follow our sinful nature but instead follow the Spirit” (Romans 8:3-4, NLT).

 

Jesus did what the law could never accomplish! Through His sacrifice for us on Calvary, Jesus rendered a complete, thorough, and finished work of grace—declaring with His life that sin no longer has control. He fully satisfied the requirements of the law because we were unable to meet them. Where we once were weak, He gives us the power to live the righteousness He has given us. 

 

Jesus has given you abundant life! The power of darkness is utterly defeated! The prerequisites of the law are completely satisfied. When you allow the Holy Spirit to guide you into the truth of God’s Word so you will understand what it means to be debt-free, the knowledge of His Truth sets you free.

 

This is Truth! God loves you! You don't have to live in fear of not being good enough. You are forgiven! There is no debt you have to pay. Jesus paid it all! There is no guilt or shame or condemnation you need to wear. When you believe in your heart that you owe nothing for your sins, you know you are forgiven. You are free indeed! You are His chosen child. You carry the royalty of your Father. He has called you out of darkness into the freedom of His marvelous light. And out of your life flows rivers of living water, Christ in you, the hope of glory.


 

(Scriptures: 1 Peter 2:9; Romans 8:1-4, 12:2-3; 2 Corinthians 5: 17, 21; Ephesians 1:4-5, 13-14, 22-23; John 8:32, 10:10, 8:36, 7:38; Colossians 1:27)

 

 

© 2022 Lynn Lacher

www.lynnlacher.com/2022/08/guilt-free.html

 

 

 

Thursday, August 25, 2022

God's Power in You



 

And He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” 

—2 Corinthians 12:9 (NKJV) 

 

 

God is not dependent upon my ability. When I believe in His unlimited power in my life more than what I perceive as my weakness, I receive the confidence that His Grace overcomes all obstacles.

 

When Jesus chose Peter, He knew Peter's potential. Jesus recognized someone, who after denial and failure, would rise to walk in His authority and strength. In choosing Peter, Jesus revealed that His power never limits those who feel undeserving because of their failures. What I might perceive as my weakness, God doesn’t even see. He sees the righteousness of His Son in me—not the pathetic sinner that I was. Jesus has changed everything in me by offering His blameless life on the Cross as payment for my sins. The power of His Resurrection is mine. There are no limits in Christ. Forgiven means I am forgiven. Healed means I am healed. Delivered means I am delivered. I have God’s power to live the promises He knows are real in me.

 

When I believe who I am in Jesus, I need never cry for help from weakness or desperation. I believe He has made me worthy. I have His new Resurrected life, and the power of that new life is in me. I pray, knowing that only in Jesus is my strength. It does not matter if I feel weak. He has made me strong. When I believe His grace is sufficient for anything in my life, I have no fear. Even though I, like Peter, may fail, God’s Truth still prevails. It does not rest upon my ability. It always rests upon who He is. When Jesus told Peter to “feed His sheep,” He meant for His strength to overcome Peter's weakness. Jesus wanted Peter not to focus on his failure but on Him.

 

Do you believe that where you feel weak He is strong? If you do, that belief impacts every area of your life. You have love because He is love. You have peace because He is peace. You don't struggle with who He is. You believe that what you feel never limits His power. You know He is God, and that He is in you and you are in Him.

 

“Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us” (Ephesians 3:20, NKJV).

 

God is able to do more than you could ever ask or think, but you are His vessel. He does it through His power working in you. You overcome because He overcame. You defeat the enemy because He defeated the enemy. His victory is a finished work that is revealed in you. 

 

God is not limited in your life when you know He has given you His authority and His power. In your weakness, HE is strong. You have no strength within yourself, but His Grace completes you and flows through you. You speak with His authority and strength in you. And that strength comes through His power working in your yielded life because you believe nothing is impossible with God.

 

© 2022 Lynn Lacher

www.lynnlacher.com/2022/08/gods-power-in-you.html

 

 

Wednesday, August 24, 2022

You Are of Infinite Value to God



 

 

You will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on You, because he trusts in You.

—Isaiah 26:3 NKJV

 

 Nothing is constant in life. You may feel peace when life is good and experience fear when life is uncertain and hard. You don’t have to live by what you feel. Fear doesn’t have to control you. Christ’s peace has overcome fear’s power to control you (John 16:33). He has overcome your roller-coaster ride of feelings. His peace is yours (John 14:27). For you to experience His peace, you have to believe in His infinite love for you and that you are of infinite value to Him.

 

The only constant that will keep you in perfect peace is believing how much God loves you and what His love has given you. God hasn’t given you a spirit of fear but of power and love and a sound mind (2 Timothy 1:7). You have His Word that speaks life (Psalm 119:50). You have the capacity to believe He takes care of you. You have the mind of Christ that lives by faith and not by feelings (1 Corinthians 2:16). But if you don’t believe the truths the Word reveals, you will not experience His peace. When you are at peace in your relationship with God, you believe in the infinite value He has placed on your life. When life is difficult, you have no reason to doubt Him. You can believe that every spiritual blessing is already yours in Christ (Ephesians 1:3). 

 

Never trust your feelings. They will betray you. They always change. Trust God and the truth of His Word (John 17:17). His Word never changes (Hebrews 13:8). His Word is spirit and life (John 6:63). God asks you to look beyond what you feel—what your natural mind says is true—and believe what He says is true. 

 

You receive faith by hearing the Word of God (Romans 10:17). You act upon your faith when you are renewed in the spirit of your mind (Ephesians 4:23-24). Faith requires you to trust in the truth of God's Word beyond what you experience or feel. When you allow the Word to teach you what is true instead of allowing your feelings to tell you what is true, you are renewed by God’s truth. The Word transforms the way you think (Romans 12:2), and you begin to trust God’s Word rather than how you feel.  When you continually focus your mind on the truth of what God says instead of what you feel, you experience the power of His faith over your feelings. Your feelings will eventually be controlled by His truth. 

 

“Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things. The things which you learned and received and heard and saw in me, these do, and the God of peace will be with you (Philippians 4:8-9, NKJV). 

 

“For to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace” (Romans 8:6, NKJV). 

 

God guards your mind and keeps you in perfect peace when your thoughts are on Him instead of what is happening or what might happen in your life. Don’t dwell on personal problems you have or might have. Your mind will run havoc with feelings of fear. Be spiritually minded—see the things that He promises as yours. Think on the blessings of God to experience life and peace.

 

You are of infinite value to God. He became as you so He could give you His life. He loves you without cost. You can trust Him.

 

© 2022 Lynn Lacher

www.lynnlacher.com/2022/08/you-are-of-infinite-value-to-god.html

 

Tuesday, August 23, 2022

A 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 the 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 already received.

 

“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 tortured body the pain of our sin and sickness and healed us. We pray, praising Him for His finished work of grace. We praise Him, believing in our heart that one day 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 God. 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 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 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)

 

Lord, soften our hearts to the Truth you wish to reveal to us. When we seek your Truth, we shall find it. When we choose to understand, we renew our minds with your Truth. When we believe your Truth in our hearts, we receive all the benefits your grace affords. When we believe what is ours and the new life you have given us, we live in the fullness of your love. And then blessed are our eyes because they see and our ears because they hear. 

 

You have a revelation of grace for us that sets us free to believe. Give us a hunger to know all that is ours.

 

© 2022 Lynn Lacher

www.lynnlacher.com/2022/08/a-revelation-of-grace.html

 

 

Monday, August 22, 2022

A Person of Faith



 

Ten years ago I began writing devotionals and posting them on my website. Today I looked back on the first devotional I wrote in August of 2012.  I wrote in that devotional that as I seek to know God more, I will know I am loved. For years I have sought to experience how much God loves me. I have judged His love for me by the discipline I have received. And now ten years later, God has lovingly brought me to the place where I know—I believe—His love for me has no bounds. His loving discipline is a means to His end—to know Him as He knows me. But His love has never been about discipline. It has never been about my working to earn His approval. He proved His love on the Cross. His love is only about His finished work of Grace in my life. The Holy Spirit has convinced me of who I am in Christ. I believe whatever God promises He is willing and able to perform. I choose to be a person of faith—to walk by faith and not by sight. His love has always been about KNOWING I am loved by God. When I know and believe that truth, then the righteousness Christ has given me convinces me of who I really am—a new person in Him.

 

 

Written in August of 2012:

 

Only those in close touch with the Holy Spirit, inspired by Him, infected by His love, filled with His strength, are resilient enough to be receptive to His "training in righteousness" ... to His loving discipline. He disciplines those He loves. If I am unloved, I am undisciplined. He disciplines me in many ways... through His Word, through others, and through so many means. If my spirit is open to His Spirit, I will hear and know that His has my best interest in His hands. As I seek to be more like Him, the discipline and instruction will mean so much more. I will not only be told I am loved. I will KNOW I am loved.

 

 

Written in August of 2022:

 

People who know who they are in Christ are people of faith. They don’t ever forget the miracle of the Grace of Jesus that has set them free. Their identity is not based on the opinions of others or on circumstances that are forever changing. Their identity is based on the redeeming and unchanging work of Christ.

 

People of faith know how God sees them—holy and set apart—blameless and pure—redeemed and forgiven—covered by His Grace—overwhelmingly blessed—chosen by Him—called to be His children—lavished by His precious Grace—sealed by the Holy Spirit of promise—unconditionally loved and accepted. They know that the Grace of Jesus has given them a wonderful inheritance of every spiritual blessing. They are confident that their lives will work out according to God’s plan and purpose (Jeremiah 29:11-13, Ephesians 1:1-14). They know that these truths are who they are in Christ and that His identity is theirs.

 

People who know who they are in Christ are not just satisfied with the status quo. They are hungry to understand all Jesus has given His life for them to have. They know that what God has for them is as great as what they envision. They choose to believe and walk by faith as if that vision is already revealed in their lives.

 

People who know who they are in Christ praise God for His love for them. They know He never leaves or forsakes them (Hebrews 13:15). They don’t live by their emotions. They praise Him for what they can’t see but they know is real. The peace of God holds them steady through the ups and downs of life (Philippians 4:6-7). Confidence in the faithfulness of God gives them the power to stand strong no matter what happens. Their love of God abounds because they believe God loved them before they ever chose to receive His love (1 John 4:19). They receive God’s unconditional love without any hesitation, and they freely give as they have received (Matthew 10:8).

 

People who know who they are in Christ know that God wants to reveal himself to them—that He has given them the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him (Ephesians 1:17). They believe that the Holy Spirit guides them into all truth. They know the Holy Spirit doesn’t speak on His own authority. Whatever He hears, He speaks (John 16:13).

 

Faith calls for our response (James 2:26). Our response of faith to what Christ has done for us pleases Him. And God rewards those who diligently seek to know who they are in Him (Hebrews 11:6) People who know their identity in Christ know how important it is for them to live by faith.

 

When you are a person of faith, you know and believe God’s love for you is unconditionally yours for eternity. You know that you don’t have to earn what Christ has already earned you. You believe everything the Word says you are. Knowing who you are in Christ—believing the position He has given you, sets you free to believe anything is possible. 

 

When you appreciate what Jesus has given you, it keeps on appreciating and flourishing in your life. You know the value of what He has done for you. 


When you start understanding who you are in Christ, then you start to understand the Resurrection power of the new life Christ has given you. What Christ accomplished on the Cross is already yours. You see that His finished work is done. You know that all has been won. And you walk not as the world defines you, but you walk by faith in who He says you are.

 

Thank you, Holy Spirit, for always teaching me who I am in Christ. I KNOW I am loved. My friend, know and believe who you are in Christ. You will have no doubt of His love for you.

 

 

© 2022 Lynn Lacher

www.lynnlacher.com/2022/08/a-person-of-faith.html

 

 

 

 

 

 

Friday, August 19, 2022

Believe His Passion


 

God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. We love because He first loved us.

—Romans 5:8, 1 John 4:19 (NKJV)

 

 

We are God’s passion. Jesus gave His life for us. There is nothing more He could have given. His passionate love delivered us from sin, and sickness, and conveyed to us the gift of His righteousness. He held nothing back from us. His fervent grace was costly. It cost Him everything. Even though His grace cost us nothing, when we accept His salvation, it commands us to love as He first loved us. But we cannot love as He first loved us until we allow the Holy Spirit to convince us of its truth.

 

Have I allowed His grace to change my perspective from the old person I once was? Have I allowed my failures, problems, and even memory of sins that were crucified with Christ to hold me back? When I believe in my heart that His passionate grace crucified the old person I was—and I am now reborn as a new person, I am overwhelmed with His love. The old me is gone. I am free to love as He first loved me. There is nothing I want to deny Him. His passionate love flows without hesitation. 

 

In 1 Kings 19:21, Elisha, having been chosen by Elijah, walks away from all he has been. He destroys what is left in his life that might draw him back from his call. He accepts the cloak and purpose of His Master without hesitation. Jesus calls me to let go of the bondage of the past that has defined me. He calls me to let go of what has kept me from understanding the new person He has made me and to believe by faith in the miracle of His new life in me. 

 

With my surrender, I am ready to receive the revelation of who He is in my life. The Word teaches me my new identity. My mind is renewed by its Truth (Romans 12:2). I am chosen, redeemed, forgiven, healed, blameless, favored, accepted, and sealed by the Holy Spirit (Ephesians 1:3-13). I am the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus (2 Corinthians 5:21). I choose to believe all that He reveals. I put on my new identity (Ephesians 4:23-24) and take ownership of its truth. His passionate grace fuels my heart. 

 

On the Cross, Jesus declared that I was His ultimate passion. When I believe who He is in me, I declare He is mine. I walk away from all I have believed myself to be. I accept the truths of the new person Jesus says I am.

 

Do you know and believe what His passion has given you? Abandon who you have believed yourself to be. Be renewed by the Word until you believe it in your heart. Just as Elisha accepted Elijah’s cloak, accept Christ’s identity as your own. Hold nothing back. Don’t believe what the enemy or anyone else says. Only believe what Christ says. Believe who He says you are.

 

Surrendering is only costly when you do not believe in the cost of what Christ has given you. When you believe the full value of His love for you—that His finished work on the Cross paid the full debt of your sin, you know you are new and complete in His grace. You hold nothing back. With your surrender comes the greatest fulfillment—the belief that you and the Father are one in spirit (1 Corinthians 6:17). What is His, is also yours. It is a joy that is unspeakable and full of glory!

 

While you were yet a sinner, Christ gave His life for you. You are now new in His love because He held nothing back. You hold nothing back when you spiritually grasp the depth of His passion for you. Your whole perspective changes. You believe His love for you. The truth of your new identity is the foundation of your life. You believe God loved you before you ever loved Him. You are free in His grace because He took your punishment. His love in you flows unreservedly.  It cannot be contained. You love as He first loved you.

 

 

© 2022 Lynn Lacher

www.lynnlacher.com/2022/08/believe-his-passion.html

 

 

 

Thursday, August 18, 2022

God's Power Working in You

 

 

During the last few devotionals, we have looked at how to stand believing for God’s promises by putting on each piece of God’s armor. The armor is necessary to win against the deceiver. Knowing what the armor is and activating it in our lives, guards the abundant life we have in Christ (John 10:10)..

 

It is God’s righteousness that empowers us to arm ourselves. But God doesn’t dress us. We allow His power to dress us for victory. Do you want abundant life? You have to stand and fight the good fight of faith.

 

To fight the good fight of faith, you have to deliberately choose to activate the armor of God. The Word of God is your Truth to stand praying and believing for God’s promises. The righteousness that Christ has given you guards your heart against the enemy’s lies and gives you the authority to crush his tactics. When you allow the gospel of peace to claim your mind and heart, faith rises from within to shield you against the fiery darts of the wicked one. The helmet of salvation guards your mind against the lies of the enemy. The sword of the Spirit—the spoken Word of God—is your weapon to declare Truth and defeat the enemy who comes to steal, kill, and destroy the abundant life Jesus has for you (Ephesians 6:10-18).

 

Notice that the first piece of armor is the Truth of the Word and the last piece is the spoken Word of God. The Word is absolute Truth, and when it is spoken, it has the power to crush strongholds and bring forth life. All the other pieces of armor help you to stand strong and speak the Truth of God’s Word with His authority. And when you put on all the armor and speak the Word of God, you defeat the enemy.

 

You fight against the enemy—not people (Ephesians 6:12). He comes against your faith and brings the battle to your mind. You will face discouragement very quickly if you aren’t equipped to fight your battle. When you start to believe God for something, that is when your battle begins. You don’t just stand against the enemy one time. You stand against him again and again and again. Standing builds your faith to receive the promises of God. When you set your mind on the things of the Spirit, you have life and peace (Romans 8:5-6).

 

God’s Word overcomes everything. No weapon shall prevail against it. You shall condemn anything that comes against His Truth in your life. This is your heritage—your inheritance in Christ Jesus. You are the righteousness of God in Him (Isaiah 54:17, 2 Corinthians 5:21).

 

When you look at yourself through your own eyes, it is hard to see Christ’s righteousness. You only see the imperfection of your humanness. But when you keep looking into your heart with the Truth of the righteousness He has given you, things change. His breastplate of righteousness guards you. Stay focused on who Christ has made you, and rebuke the lies of the enemy. 

 

You fight the good fight of faith when you forgive as Christ has forgiven you. When you are living in God’s peace, you are standing on His Truth that you are at peace with Him and with yourself and with others. You believe your worthiness in Christ and that you are forgiven, and you forgive others as Christ has forgiven you.

 

For the shield of faith to be effective, you must be convinced that the faith Christ has given you will quench the fiery darts aimed at your mind and heart by the wicked one. Each one of us has a measure of faith (Romans 12:3). Faith in Christ will make you an overcomer (1 John 5:4). Hang on to your faith. When you are in a battle, your faith is what is tested. The enemy tries to make you give up on your faith and what you believe. He wants you to say “believing and praying for my promise doesn’t work for me.” But faith does work for you!

 

When you fight the good fight of faith, you put the Truth of your salvation on like a helmet to protect your thoughts. God’s Truth then continually renews your mind (Romans 12:2). When your mind is renewed by Truth instead of the enemy’s lies, the incorruptible seed of the Word that is planted in your heart grows and produces unshakeable faith that your battle is won and your promise is yours.

 

When you are in a battle, your emotions get out of control, and your understanding is compromised. You have to consciously put on the Truth of your salvation. When you have the Truth of His righteousness convincing you, you experience His peace and His wisdom. Intentionally, review over again and again in your mind who you are in Christ.

 

The last piece of armor declares the power of God's Word and engages all the other pieces of armor. It is the sword of the Spirit—the spoken Word of God. You battle successfully in warfare by agreeing with God’s Truth and speaking it instead of speaking any lie of the enemy.

 

You have the power and authority given to you by Christ to defeat the enemy. But God doesn’t speak His Truth in you. You exercise and employ the sword of the Spirit. You put on the Word of God and speak it. 

 

And you pray! “Pray in the Spirit at all times and on every occasion. Stay alert and be persistent in your prayers for all believers everywhere” (Ephesians 6:18, NLT).  


Prayer is your personal intimacy with God to receive an understanding of His Truth and guidance in your life. Your prayers not only impact your spiritual life. They impact the lives of others. Be persistent in prayer, believing for others.

 

Put on the full armor of God. Live in an attitude of prayer at all times, and pray in the Holy Spirit. Fight the good fight of faith. 

 

“Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us” (Ephesians 3:20)!

 

© 2022 Lynn Lacher

www.lynnlacher.com/2022/08/gods-power-working-in-you.html

 

 

Christ My Hope of Glory

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