A New Creation

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.

—2 Corinthians 5:17 (NKJV)

 

 

You are a new creation in Christ! Now that you are a new creation in Him, it is time to believe old things have passed away. All things in your life are new. Your body didn’t change when you believed in Christ. Your mind was the same when you were born again. So what changed and became new? 

 

You consist of three parts—spirit, soul (mind), and body (1Thessalonians 5:23). Your spirit is where you became new—where you were born again. 

 

“That which is born of the flesh is flesh,” Jesus said, “and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit” (John 3:5-6, NKJV).

 

You were completely changed and filled with the fullness of God in your born-again spirit when you were saved. Your old identity—your sinful nature—passed away when Jesus Christ saved you. You became totally new in Him. But you can look at yourself—in your flesh, and see nothing has changed. You still have thoughts and temptations as you had before becoming a new creation. However, you have the fullness of God and His righteousness and power living within your born-again spirit (Ephesians 1:18-20). The new creation you are in your born-again spirit can transform your mind and body (Romans 12:2). Your mind (soul) is where you receive the fullness of understanding of God’s Truth, and your flesh (body) is where you live what you believe.

 

When you start to believe what you received when you were born-again, you can turn from sinful thoughts and stand against evil. When you believe in your mind (soul) the fullness of God you have received in your spirit, you know the old has passed away. You know you are a new creation in Christ. You believe that you are no longer defined by your past or the old person you once were. When something rises to tempt or shame you, you can say, “No! That is not me. The real me is in Christ. He lives in me, and that is who I am!”

 

 Knowing your identity in Christ comes from having a personal revelation from God’s Word. The Holy Spirit guides you into all Truth (John 16:13). You can listen forever to others declaring His Truth, but until His Word transforms your mind and you believe it in your heart, you will not experience the newness of life you received in your born-again spirit. You will forever struggle to try to obtain the freedom you have already received in Christ. 

 

You must take ownership of God’s Truth and allow the Holy Spirit access to your mind. Only the Holy Spirit can reveal to you what Christ has given you in your born-again spirit. He wants to renew your mind and convince you of who you are as His new creation. 

 

Are you ready to live the freedom you have in Christ? Allow the Holy Spirit to convince you! Be renewed in your mind by the Truth He reveals. Put on your new nature and determine to believe His Truth (Ephesians 4:23-24). You will begin to see yourself as God sees you—as the new creation He has made you. 

 

© 2021 Lynn Lacher

www.lynnlacher.com/2021/07/a-new-creation.html

 

 

Perfect Love

Such love has no fear, because perfect love expels all fear. If we are afraid, it is for fear of punishment, and this shows that we have not fully experienced his perfect love.

—1 John 4:18 NLT

 

 

The perfect love of Jesus banishes all fear. This verse clearly says that if you are afraid, you have fear of punishment. Those who are inundated with fear aren't at peace in their relationship with God and can't experience His love. They believe they can never be good enough for God—that He just waits to punish them for every mistake they make or thought that springs into their mind. 

 

And you know what? You can never be good enough. But you don’t have to be. Jesus was good enough for you. He became the perfect sacrifice and paid the debt for your sins—past, present, and future—once and for all time. Only when you grasp what you have received in Christ are you freed from the torment of sin and the emotional agony it stirs. His love for you is perfect and not based on your performance—what you do right or what you do wrong. You have freedom from all fear. But understanding and living this freedom is something else. The Lord wishes to perfect your understanding of His love—to get you to the point where His perfect unconditional love defines your spirit, soul, and body.

 

You received the perfect love of Jesus the moment you were born again. You received forgiveness. You received healing. You received His promises. You received His peace. For you to grasp these truths, you have to allow the Holy Spirit to change your perception of who you are and how God sees you. God doesn’t see the failures that plague you with guilt. God sees you pure and forgiven through the eyes of grace. 

 

Until you believe the unconditional forgiveness in His love, you will fight fears which accompany feelings of punishment—of not being good enough. You must allow God to change what you can’t. You face your fears with the knowledge that Christ has already conquered the enemy—that your fears are defeated. When you know you are loved by God, you believe that God is not waiting to beat you up because of sin or failure. He is waiting to love you with His perfect love. You keep choosing to believe, and He brings Resurrection power to fulfill it.

 

“It is God who arms me with strength,” David wrote, “and makes my way perfect” (Psalm 18:32, NKJV). Only the perfect love of Jesus convinces you that God is a good God!  Only His love gives you strength and makes your way perfect. With His perfect love transforming your understanding of who you are in Christ, you grow to believe that He chose you to be His. You didn’t have to earn His love. It was freely given. And it is perfect within you.

 

When you persevere to know who you are in Christ, you will receive understanding. Perseverance will finish its work and convince you that you are completely loved and accepted by God. When you believe that you lack nothing in Him, you will experience the peace of His perfect love within your heart. His perfect love does cast out ALL fear.

 

©2021 Lynn Lacher

www.lynnlacher.com/2021/07/perfect-love.html

 

Above All You Ask or Think

 

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)

 

 

Many read Ephesians 3:20 and leave off the phrase “according to the power that works in us.” But it is this phrase that reveals the truth of this verse. God is able to do exceedingly and abundantly above all we ask or think, ACCORDING to His power working in us. 

 

A synonym for “according” is “allowing.”  His power works within us to the amount that we allow—to the extent that we act upon what we believe by faith. What God promises is exceedingly and abundantly more than we ask or even think. But are we willing to allow God’s power to work in us—transforming how we think and what we believe? God has already fulfilled His promises in the gift of His Son. Our part is to believe what we have received in Christ, take His “exceedingly and abundantly more that we ask or think” at full value, and appropriate what He promises by faith.

 

Faith is the evidence of things not yet seen (Hebrews 11:1). It takes no faith to believe what your eyes see. It takes faith to believe in God’s Truth. That is why we are told to walk by faith and not by sight (2 Corinthians 5:7). Faith comes by hearing the Word (Romans 10:17). The Word is Truth (John 17:17). The Truth that you HEAR and you KNOW in your heart will set you free (John 8:32). God’s Truth doesn’t benefit your life if you don’t believe it by faith.

 

If we are going to see the supernatural power of God, we have to connect what we believe and how we think to God’s Word. Then we will see God actually making a difference in our lives and the lives of others. It is easy to identify with what you see. To walk by faith and not by sight, you have to intentionally choose to have faith in God’s Truth over what you see.

 

Do you believe that God is able to do exceedingly and abundantly above all you ask or think? He will—according to His power that you allow working in you. It is the same life-giving power that rose Jesus from the dead. Trust what the Holy Spirit reveals in His Word. Believe His promises. Stand on them. Step out in faith. And experience miracles above all you ask or think.

 

 

©2021 Lynn Lacher

www.lynnlacher.com/07/above-all-you-ask-or-think.html

 

 

Humbled by His Goodness

 

“God opposes the proud,” James wrote, “but gives grace to the humble” (James 4:6, NLT). 

 

Our lives in this world are performance-based. We want to be rewarded based on how we do. Pride keeps us competing to get ahead and be the best. God's Kingdom is the opposite. His grace is unearned and not based on us at all. The least is the greatest. We don’t have to perform well to win God’s love, acceptance, and favor. We received all that when we believed by faith in Jesus.

 

Am I a person who believes that living holy will give me a better standing with God? I don't need to prove myself to God. He accepts me based on His merit and not mine. Our righteousness is a gift from Jesus. We have none of our own. The only sin that Jesus rebuked on earth was that of self-righteousness. He never rebuked sinners—only the Scribes and Pharisees. The problem was not that the Pharisees were doing bad things. They were doing good things but for the wrong reason. They were trusting in their own goodness.

 

Do I expect God to answer my prayers based on how good I have served Him? No one is good. All of us have fallen short of the glory of God. But if I ask God for something because of what I have done, I ask Him to reward my religious performance. And that is an insult to Him. Doing things to earn God’s grace is promoting myself and trying to relate to God based on what I have done instead of what Jesus has done for me. When I do this, I operate in pride. Pride will never raise anyone up. The only way up in God’s kingdom is down.

 

Living a holy life is not the same as living a grace-filled life. Holiness does not render grace. Only Jesus gives grace. Humility is our response to the grace of the Cross. It is not demeaning ourselves. Humility is laying self down and recognizing the omnipotent power of God. Humbling yourself is not a one-time thing. You have to deal with “self” for the rest of your life. Everything good you have in your life comes from God. If self is on your throne, your goodness becomes your own.

 

“There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death" (Proverbs 14:12, NKJV). Pride is the result of doing what you think is right. Humility is trusting God and recognizing that He is the source of all good things in your life. Pride leads to death. Humility before God gives life.

 

“I know, Lord, that our lives are not our own,” Jeremiah prayed. “We are not able to plan our own course" (Jeremiah 10:23, NLT). Man is not able to direct his steps. But self-made men do things their way. Belief in what you can do instead of faith in God's ability leads to pride. God is not the author of pride. He is the one whose glory raises the humblest heart.

 

Are you trying to win God's love and acceptance based on your performance in serving Him? You don't have to prove yourself to God. He already approved of you on the Cross. When you humble yourself before God, His grace abounds in your life.

 

Experiencing God’s unconditional grace and inherent goodness humbles your heart. You know you are unable to direct your own life. And you believe that God’s plan is better for you than anything you could have dreamed.

 

But the humble will inherit the land and will delight themselves in abundant prosperity.

—Psalm 37:11 (NASB)

 

© 2021 Lynn Lacher

www.lynnlacher.com/2021/07/humbled-by-his-goodness.html

 

You Are as You Think

As a man thinks in his heart, so is he.

—Proverbs 23:7

 

 

The way you think determines who you believe you are. If you want to believe who you are in Christ, you must allow the Word to positively change the way you think and see yourself. You choose to have a positive attitude about who God says about you. God is not going to make you have good thoughts miraculously. You choose to think on “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” (Philippians 4:8a, NKJV). 

 

“If there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things.” (Philippians 4:8b, NKJV). If you think a positive attitude will happen quickly, you will be disappointed. You must meditate long and hard to change your thought process permanently. This happens through the revelation power of the Word of God. The Word that God speaks is Spirit and life. And it is the Holy Spirit who gives life to the Word (John 6:63).

 

Meditating on the Word of God and allowing the Holy Spirit to change the way you process its Truth is the answer for changing your attitude. Over time, the renewing of your mind by the Word will change your attitude (Romans 12:2). You will live from what you believe instead of what you feel. You will allow the Truth of God’s Word to reveal to you who you are instead of what the world or anyone else tells you.

 

“Death and life are in the power of the tongue” (Proverbs 18:21, NKJV). You have the power to speak either death or life. “Out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks” (Matthew 12:34, NKJV). And you will speak what you believe in your heart—either what is negative and destructive or what is positive and life-changing.

 

Do you want to believe in the goodness of God’s love for you? Do you wish to believe by faith in His promise that you haven’t yet seen or experienced?  His Truth first transforms your mind and then becomes the abundance of your heart. According to the way you think in your heart, you speak what you believe. When you speak what God says out of the abundance of your heart, you speak the power of His life into whatever your need. You believe no matter what the world says or anyone else says. You believe God is forever faithful to keep His promise and that His inherent goodness is always manifested in your life.

 

How do you think in your heart? 

 

 

© 2021 Lynn Lacher

www.lynnlacher.com/2021/07/you-are-as-you-think.html

 

My Fullness of Joy

 

You will show me the path of life;

In Your presence is fullness of joy;

At Your right hand are pleasures forevermore.

—Psalm 16:11 (NKJV)

 

 

Jesus, you have plans for me—plans that give hope! No matter what happens, I rest in the peace of your unfailing love. You have shown me the path of life and lavished me with your abundant grace. I trust in your unconditional love that settles and guards my heart. I trust your goodness. I trust your Word. You are my loving Abba Father, my Redeemer—my Healer—my Protector—and my Deliverer. I believe and declare I am free!

 

Fear, you have been crucified with Christ! Doubt, you have no place in my mind! It is not I who live but Christ who lives in me! And I live my life by faith in the Son of God, who gave His life for me. Each moment, Jesus, is your breath filling me with hope and promise and purpose. Each day is your assurance that greater is your power within me than any evil which tries to come against me.  

 

Lord, your right hand is a place of honor. And there is where you invite me to rest in you. I rest in who I am in you. Your acceptance and mercy encompass me. You pour into my life your riches in glory. And you pour and pour. And I receive and receive. I am whole. I lack nothing. I have everything. What you have given me is a wonderful inheritance!

 

I am no longer my own. You indwell me. You call me redeemed and new. You call me righteous. You call me chosen. You call me your child. I am free to walk by faith and not by sight. I am free to trust the authority you died to give me. I am free to love as I have been loved by you. No longer do I question your love for me! I receive what you gave your life for me to own! You are my fullness of joy—my strength and power and pleasure forevermore!

 

© 2021 Lynn Lacher

www.lynnlacher.com/2021/06/my-fullness-of-joy.html

 

His Fullness in You

 

Beware lest anyone cheat you through philosophy and empty deceit, according to the tradition of men, according to the basic principles of the world, and not according to Christ. For in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily; and you are complete in Him, who is the head of all principality and power.

—Colossians 2:8-10 (NKJV)

 

We received the fullness of God when we were born again by faith in the finished work of Jesus. We are complete in Him. That means we lack nothing of God’s power and all of His resources. He, who is over every power and principality, lives within us. 

 

“I also pray,” Paul writes, “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 realm” (Ephesians 1:19-20, NLT).

 

Paul writes to encourage us to believe the truth of what God has already given us—His incredible power that raised Christ from the dead. The fullness of God—His power—is real within us. We can draw from what we have received in Christ. We can stand against any power or principality that comes against us with the authority in Christ that is ours.

 

Paul prays “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” (Ephesians 1:17-18, NKJV).

 

Allow the Holy Spirit to enlighten your understanding so you may know the fullness of the glorious riches Christ has purchased for your life. He imparts wisdom and reveals to you who you are in Christ. Don’t allow any teaching of man to cheat you or rob you of the knowledge of what you have received in Christ (Colossians 2:8). Don’t be rendered powerless by the traditions of men. 

 

Seek who you are in God’s Word. Allow the Holy Spirit to teach you and renew your mind. Believe the truths He reveals about your identity in verses like Ephesians 1:1-14. Make these truths your own. You live who you believe you are. If you believe who the world or who religion says you are, you live out of a lie. If you believe who Jesus says you are, you live out of God’s truth. You live the power Christ has given you. 

 

I pray that God “would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might through His Spirit in the inner man, that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height— to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God” (Ephesians 3:16-19, NLT).

 

God’s power that raised Christ from the dead—all the riches of God’s glory—His fullness, are yours. God dwells in you. You have the power to comprehend the love of Christ which surpasses anything you have ever known.

 

Reach beyond what man says. Allow the Holy Spirit to convince you that the fullness of God is within you. Believe, and know God’s power rising from the ashes of who you once were.

 

 

© 2021 Lynn Lacher

www.lynnlacher.com/2021/06/his-fullness-in-you.html 

 

 

He Earned It

Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.

—Romans 5:1 (NKJV)

 

Being justified by faith—believing Jesus earned our right-standing with God—is the only way we can have peace with God. It is also the only way we can have the confidence to enter into His presence. If we come to God based on our performance, we will have little confidence to come to Him. When we judge our relationship with God based on how well we follow the rules and serve Him, then we make our performance more important than His Grace in our lives. 

 

Some believers think that God is going to move in their lives in proportion to how good they are. When they were saved, they trusted God alone for their salvation. Then later they began trusting in their own personal holiness. If they prayed enough—fasted enough—studied the Word enough—tithed enough, surely God would give them a good grade and answer their prayers. 

 

God doesn’t respond to us because of what we have done. He responds because of what Jesus has done. It is impossible for anyone to live up to God’s perfect standard. Only the Grace of Christ brings peace and joy and God’s blessings. And these are based on Christ’s righteousness and not on how holy we are. The Law no longer judges our performance. The Grace of Jesus has judged our hearts righteous so we can have peace with God. This is why we are no longer under the Law but now under Grace (Romans 6:14).

 

If you strive to please God by what you do and how good you do it, you will never experience the peace with God that Jesus has given you. You will work yourself into failure and despair. To experience His peace and joy and His blessings, believe who Jesus says you are and the freedom He has earned on your behalf.  

 

There is nothing more for you to earn. Jesus earned it all.

 

 

© 2021 Lynn Lacher

www.lynnlacher.com/2021/06/he-earned-it.html

 

 

Something New

 

For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope.

—Jeremiah 29:11 (NLT)

 

Life’s circumstances constantly change. One moment life may be going great, and the next moment something painful occurs. Instead of trusting in God who never changes, we often trust in our changing circumstances. We forget that God is the same “yesterday, today, and forever” (Hebrews 13:8). 

 

God is good. His thoughts toward you are of peace and never of evil. God inspires hope and promises His best. Trust Him when the seasons of your life change. Know His Word, and believe His promises in whatever circumstance life places you. When you trust His Truth instead of being consumed with things that constantly change, life does not throw you. He will keep you in perfect peace when your thoughts are fixed on Him (Isaiah 26:3). 

 

The Holy Spirit teaches you. Let Him guide you into all of God’s Truth (John 16:13). The Resurrection power of God is within you (Ephesians 1:17-19). Believe it. Exercise His power and consistency and balance in each moment—difficult or good. His healing and peace and joy are yours to experience. His provision is constant and unending. Living by faith in God’s grace makes you aware of the abundant life you have received.

 

“‘I am about to do something new,” the Lord proclaims. “See, I have already begun! Do you not see it? I will make a pathway through the wilderness. I will create rivers in the dry wasteland. Yes, I will make rivers in the dry wasteland so my chosen people can be refreshed” (Isaiah 43:19, 20b-21a, NLT). 

 

You are God’s chosen child. He is a fountain springing from within you and refreshing your hope. His promises are yours. His resources are yours. He makes pathways through the driest wasteland. His living water continually flows rejuvenating your life. Praise Him no matter what you see or hear around you. Believe in His revelation Truth for your life. Speak life to your promises. The peace of God rises from within. And you know the something new God has promised is yours.

 

“Therefore I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them” (Mark 11:24, NKJV).

 

 

© 2021 Lynn Lacher

www.lynnlacher.com/2021/06/something-new.html

 

 

Do You Believe It

 

For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

—Romans 8:38-39 (NKJV)

 

Do you believe it? Are you convinced that nothing that comes against you—no death or life situation—no power of darkness—nothing in all creation can separate you from the love of God you have received in Jesus? Nothing can separate you from the power of God's love. When you believe this Truth, you are convinced of God's love. You live the confidence that His love gives you. You persevere and believe in what you are promised.

 

“Endurance develops strength of character, and character strengthens our confident hope of salvation” (Romans 5:4, NIV). 

 

Persevere for the promises of God. Develop a strong character that exhibits confident hope. Faith is your response to the finished work of the Cross. You choose to believe that Jesus is more than enough. If God gave His Son, won't He give you all things (Romans 8:32)? Confident hope takes root in your heart and blossoms as God's Truth transforms your spiritual understanding.

 

“So do not throw away this confident trust in the Lord. Remember the great reward it brings you! Patient endurance is what you need now so that you will continue to do God’s will. Then you will receive all that he has promised” (Hebrews 10:35-36, NLT). 

 

Hold on to God’s Truth, and claim the promises of your new life in Christ. He is the Lord who completely restores—your Healer of sin and sickness and fear and grief and every pain of life. God’s will for you is living life in the fullness of His grace. Persevere and believe by faith. You receive from the bounty of His overwhelming love for you.

 

“For all the promises of God in Him are Yes, and in Him Amen, to the glory of God through us” (2 Corinthians 1:20, NKJV).

 

© 2021 Lynn Lacher

www.lynnlacher.com/2021/06/do-you-believe-it.html