Who Are You?
“I’m not good enough.”
“I’m not smart enough.”
“I’m not strong enough.”
“I’m not enough.”
Every day, we are bombarded with lies that try to convince us that we don’t have what it takes to follow Jesus.
Every time we mess up, our insecurities reach out and tell us that we’ll always be weak—we’ll never experience the freedom Jesus says we can have. But Scripture reminds us that it’s Jesus’ divine power that gives us everything we need to live a godly life. With His strength, when we fall down—we can still get back up.
It’s in our weakness that God’s power is made perfect within us (2 Corinthians 12:9). By the power of Christ, nothing can keep its grip on us. Not fear, worry, doubt, defeat, discouragement, loneliness, hardship, or pain.
Through Jesus, we have everything we need to combat anything that attempts to seize our rightful identity.
God’s Word is living, active, and sharper than any two-edged sword. It discerns the thoughts and intentions of our hearts. It was breathed out by God. It corrects, teaches, and encourages us. God’s Word lights up our paths.
God’s Word is filled with reminders of our true identity. It can remind you that…
You are enough because you are a child of God. (John 1:12, 1 John 3:1)
You can rejoice in suffering because Christ suffered for you. (1 Peter 4:12-19, James 1:2-4)
You are greatly loved, and you can love others like you have been loved. (John 15:9-14)
Nothing can separate you from God’s love. (Romans 8:37-39)
When you understand who you are, that is when you will truly be able to do all things through Christ’s strength.
So let’s start applying the life-giving truth we find in the Bible so that we move from victimhood to victory. Embrace who you are in Christ.
And the next time a daunting situation comes up or a threatening thought comes to mind, remember that you can overcome it by Jesus’ divine power working in and through you. You don’t have to go through life on your own—and you weren’t meant to.
Day 24 of the reading of the gospel of Luke
Merry Christmas Eve
Luke 24
“Now upon the first day of the week, very early in the morning, they came unto the sepulchre, bringing the spices which they had prepared, and certain others with them. And they found the stone rolled away from the sepulchre. And they entered in, and found not the body of the Lord Jesus. And it came to pass, as they were much perplexed thereabout, behold, two men stood by them in shining garments: and as they were afraid, and bowed down their faces to the earth, they said unto them, Why seek ye the living among the dead? He is not here, but is risen: remember how he spake unto you when he was yet in Galilee, saying, The Son of man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and the third day rise again. And they remembered his words, and returned from the sepulchre, and told all these things unto the eleven, and to all the rest. It was Mary Magdalene, and Joanna, and Mary the mother of James, ...
The Fulfillment of Promises Made Long Ago
“Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; He is the Messiah, the Lord.”
To modern ears, this verse is a familiar, warm, and comforting centerpiece of the Christmas story. But to those who first heard these words from the angel on the night Jesus was born, every word was electric, buzzing with fulfilled expectations.
A Savior.
Born in Bethlehem, the town of David.
The Messiah.
The Lord.
For centuries, Israel had lived with a promise. The prophet Isaiah had declared, “To us a child is born, to us a son is given… and He will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace” (Isaiah 9:6). Jeremiah had spoken of a righteous branch from David’s line, a King who would reign wisely and bring justice (Jeremiah 23:5). Micah, too, had foretold that the Messiah would be born in Bethlehem, David’s town (Micah 5:2).
So when the angel announced this birth to shepherds under the night sky, it wasn’t just...