Who I Am in Christ:

God’s reminding me today of who I am in Christ and I wanted to share it with you!

Isaiah 61:10

 I will greatly rejoice in the Lord,

My soul shall be joyful in My God;

For He has clothed me with the robe of righteousness,

As a bridegroom decks himself with ornaments

And as a bride adorns herself with jewels.

 I am His child.  And as such, I am robed and clothed in His righteousness. 

I have no need for my own righteousness because I have the righteousness of the One True God of the Universe and the Father of this child!  I have no need to prove my worth or acceptance (Eph. 1:6).  I simply receive His righteousness by grace through faith (Eph. 2:8-9) and in full belief on the free gift He offers through His Son, Jesus’ blood, shed for my sin at the cross.  Those who hope and trust in God are blessed (Psalm 34:8) and secured in His righteousness and justice.  Jesus is an assured fortress of joy and peace even in the midst of the doubt, worry, trouble and trials we encounter on earth.

Strip off Old Nature and Replace with New Life!

I receive this robe of righteousness by grace through faith in His Spirit. This is a spiritual garment that God clothes the believer with upon faith in His Son.  God, Who is so willing to help us see things as He does, explains what this robe would be like in earthly terms, so we can grasp the concept in our limited humanness.  He explains, the robe would look like a robe the bride and/or groom would wear as they goes to commit their love to each other at the altar for the covenant of Matrimony.  This is a visual, so that spiritually we can picture  ourselves with this rob on. His gift to us.  A special robe for a holy, spiritual, covenant making day!  God essentially strips off the old sinful nature and replaces it with the new royal robes of righteousness.

       Colossians 2:11-23

When you came to Christ, you were ‘circumcised,’ but not by a physical procedure. Christ performed a spiritual circumcision – the cutting away of your sinful nature.  For you were buried with Christ when you were baptized.  And with him you were raised to new life because you trusted the mighty power of God, who raised Christ from the dead.

You were dead because of your sins and because your sinful nature was not yet cut away. then God made you alive with Christ, for he forgave all our sins.  He canceled the record of the charges against us and took it away by nailing it to the cross.  in this way, he disarmed the spiritual rulers and authorities.  he shamed them publicly by his victory over them on the cross.

So don’t let anyone condemn you for what you eat or drink, or for not celebrating  certain holy days or new moon ceremonies or Sabbaths.  For these rules are only shadows of the reality yet to come.  And Christ himself is that reality  Don’t let anyone condemn you by insisting on pious self-denial or the worship of angels, saying they have had visions about these things.  Their sinful minds have made them proud,  and they are not connected to Christ, the head of the body.  For he holds the whole body together with its joints and ligaments, and it grows as God nourishes it.  

You have died with Christ, and he has set you free from the spiritual powers of this world.  So why do you keep on following the rules of the world, such as, ‘Don’t handle!  Don’t taste? Don’t touch!’  Such rules are mere human teachings about things that deteriorate as we use them.  these rules may seem wise because they require strong devotion, pious self-denial and severe bodily discipline.  but they provide no help in conquering a person’s evil desires.

GRACE

God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit are bigger, greater, and more powerful than the human mind can imagine or know.  We get glimpses of His glory, His extravagant love and are often so captivated we lose all time and space in a moment of wonder.  This then gives way to worship because there is no other way to express what the human heart feels and experiences for their Triune God. This is the humble adoration, gratefulness and thankfulness of a heart that has been given and received forgiveness.  This is GRACE.  Given and received for the forgiveness of our sin, while we know we deserve reprimand and punishment.  We accept a beautiful robe, a gift of righteousness in the wake of forgiveness!  We are suddenly aware of the punishment Jesus took for us at the cost of His own life so that we might live an abundant life without worry of condemnation (Romans 8:1).

Has anyone saved your life with His own, as Jesus?

Have you accepted Jesus gift to cut away your sinful nature and give you new redeemed life?  This causes a grateful, thankful, indebted heart to revel in rejoicing over the One Who Truly Has Done It All!

EXTRAVAGANT LOVE HEALS AND RESTORES!

Upon receiving this gift of forgiveness and remission of sin, the earthly child of the Living God is humbled, amazed and full of thankfulness.  Often in the same moment the believer, might try imagining donning this beautiful robe.  Forgiven and gifted with a robe of righteousness.  It is the extravagant love of the Lord that overwhelms and overfills our cups with joy.   God’s compassion to forgive our sin while at the same time He extends His outstretched arm of mercy (Psalm 136:2; Jeremiah 32:17) and understanding to cover, heal, restore and bring new life!

Isaiah 57:18 

I have seen his ways, and will heal him;

I will also lead him,

And restore comforts to him

     And to his mourners.

 We are God’s vineyard!

He has planted and cared for our vineyard to  make sure we had all that was needed and required to grow up strong and healthy in His good way.  He is the One whom we give glory, honor and praise for Jesus and all the blessings, promises and good He has provided for us to succeed and grow in.

Isaiah 27:2-8 

‘In that day, sing about the fruitful vineyard.  I, the Lord, will watch over it watering it carefully. Day and night I will watch so no one can harm it.  My anger will be gone.  If I find briers and thorns growing, I will attack them;  I will burn them up—unless they turn to me for help.  Let them make peace with me; let them make peace with me.’  The time is coming when Jacob’s descendants will take root.  Israel will bud and blossom and fill the whole earth with fruit!

 The Lord is the One who does all His good works in us.

 As we look to Him for our help, He is the One who attacks the thorns and briers in our pathway that cause us to stumble and hurt.  He is our Master Gardener, Our Redeemer, Our Restorer, Our Refuge, Our Strength, Our Joy even in the midst of our sin and dangers on the earth.  He is our great Warrior ready to do battle on our behalf (Isaiah 54:5).  To rid the land of His and our enemies while we do our best to line up with Him and His Ways and His Plans for His glory in us.

Isaiah 26:12-13

Lord, You will establish peace for us,

For You have also done all our works in us.

O Lord our God, masters besides You

Have had dominion over us; 

But by You only we make mention of Your name.       

They are dead, they will not live;

They are deceased, they will not rise. 

Therefore You have punished and destroyed them,

And made all their memory to perish.

WHAT IF…..?

We do not know when this day in Isaiah 27:2 is, but what if…. that fruitful vineyard’s bud was ready to burst forth this Spring, 2017.  What if…we were caught up in righteousness and praise springing before all nations?  

 Isaiah 61:11 

For as the earth brings forth its bud,

As the garden causes the things that are sown in it to spring forth,

So the Lord God will cause righteousness and praise

 to spring forth before all nations.

PEACE!

Make peace with Him and allow Him to establish peace for you! Receive His free gift of grace and the robe of righteousness.  Receive the extravagant love of Jesus.   So when the bud and blossom burst forth and fill the whole earth with fruit, you will be at peace to praise and rejoice in sheer joy!