IDENTITY IN CHRIST: BEING DEFINED BY WHO GOD SAYS WE ARE

God spoke to me about this topic when I was walking home from work. I was walking past a lot of cars, stagnant on traffic. Then I thought about how great the drivers felt in their cars; of course not because they were enjoying the traffic but because they had cars, especially those with prestigious ones.

Then God directed me to the topic on identity; what defines you and I or the things people say or the things people are defined by.

Various people are defined or define themselves with various things. Some people are defined by the cars they drive; the likes of Porsche, Lamboghini, Chrysler, you name them (guys help me here!!! I'm not a car fanatic!) Others define themselves by dressing (ladies some of us are victims of this!!); Others by the jobs they do or the businesses they run- I'm a CEO, MD, owner of a chain of businesses, and so on-; others by the money they flash around, the malls they have built, the list is endless.

Well, I'm here to talk about a different kind of Identity...(wait for it...DRUMROLLS...)   IDENTITY IN CHRIST-THE TRUE IDENTITY!!!! BEING DEFINED BY WHO GOD SAYS WE ARE!!!
So, WHO DOES GOD SAY WE ARE? HOW DOES HE DEFINE US? WHO DOES HE CALL US?

First off, one thing I believe we all know is that we, as humans, are made in the image of God, as in
 Genesis 1:27 "So God created man in His own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them."
So, we are God's own image therefore, we ought to reflect God's image in all we think about, say and do (just a reminder!)

Secondly, God calls us His children.
John 1:12: "But to all who received him, who believed in his name, he gave power to become children of God;"

Also, Jesus calls us His friends!!!! This means that we are not far from Jesus and God;God has humbled Himself and has come down to the level of human beings and He, in all His glory and splendour, calls us His friends!!!!! We really don't deserve this title, but God chose to giver this title to us! How marvellous!
John 15:15: "No longer do I call you servants, for the servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you." 

Furthermore, we are the righteousness of God. We are no longer defined by sin, even though we were born into a sinful world/in sin (Psalms 51:5)
2 Corinthians 5:21: "For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God."

In addition, our bodies are the Temples of the Holy Spirit! Do you know what this means???? Our bodies literally HOUSE the Holy Spirit!!!! How cool is that????!!!!! However, remember, that we should keep our bodies pure and clean, with the help of God because the Holy Spirit can only be hosed by a purified and clean body, a body that is being used to glorify God!
1 Corinthians 6:19: "Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, which you have from God?"

Jesus further calls us His chosen ones. Out of His mercy, God chose us!!!! We are very privileged, as believers, to have been chosen by God, out of His mercy and grace, not out of merit or because we deserve to be chosen, or because we are special!!!! Not because of what we have done but because of God's mercy and grace upon us!
John 15:16: "You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you..."

Also, God calls us new creatures in Him!
2 Corinthians 5:17: "Therefore, if any one is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has passed away, behold, the new has come."
However, for one to be a new creation, as the Bible says, we have to be in Christ!!!! Being in Christ is a condition! Being a new creation means that God has rid us of our past life before we accepted Him as Lord over our lives, and has given us a new Identity and Image in Him.

One would ask, Why the Identity in Christ the true Identity and why is our Identity in Him important?
The truth and reality of life is that identity in worldly thing is temporary; it ends with the ending of these worldly things. For example, if today Bill Gates lost all his money in unclear circumstances, being one of the richest men in the world, he would lose his identity in the worldly eye! (Apart from the fact that he is the founder and owner of Microsoft!) But Identity in Christ? It sticks with you forever, it's permanent, it's for life, it does not change with life's circumstances or life's events; it remains the same!!!!(Unless of course, one allows him/herself to forget who God says she/he is, due to the effects of life's blows and storms) Our identity in Christ is constant and never-changing as the existence and mercy, love and grace of God and His Word!

So, in conclusion, tell and constantly remind yourself of the following: You are blessed, you are the first and not the last, you are the head and not the tail, you are loved and highly favoured, you are highly treasured and valued by the Most High, you are above and not beneath, you are not a mistake but a blessing, you are planned for, your name is engraved in the palm of the hand of the Most High, you are God's child (yeah, you can call Him DADDY!), you are God's chosen one, He knows your name, He has good plans for your life (Jeremiah 29:11), you are the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus, nothing can separate you from Him, NOTHING! (Romans 8:38-39), No weapon formed against you shall prosper!  All this through Christ Jesus, our Lord and Saviour, who loved and gave His life for us! 

AMEN!!!!

GOD'S LOVE

Being Valentine's Day, the main focus is on love, and not just any love, erose love (love between a couple). I decided to do this post today because on Valentine's Day we forget the most important/most remarkable/unfathomable love...(Drum rolls)... GOD'S LOVE!!!!!

I don't know if anyone of you readers has ever taken time to think and reflect on the love of the Most High!!!!! It is unfathomable i.e incapable of being fully explored or understood or impossible to measure the extent of. It is unexplainable, incredible, inexhaustible, constant, available, UNCONDITIONAL!!!!! Did I forget SACRIFICIAL! There are endless words to explain God's love, also known as AGAPE LOVE! 

To the sacrificial nature of God's love; the most obvious sign of God's sacrificial love,
 John 3:16: For God so loved the world that He gave His only son so that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life! 
God gave Himself, Holy and Mighty and Powerful as He is; He decided to give Himself, in form of flesh, Jesus, for us, undeserving and mere humans!!! Jesus, His Son, pure, holy and blameless, sinless, faced and underwent the punishment we humans deserved to face; the pain, the torment, the torture, the lashes, the whips, the crucifixion, the excruciating pain; all that and more of what Jesus went through, we were supposed to go through but God decided that Jesus should take it on our behalf! This kind of love cannot be found anywhere at all!!!! I'm sure even spouses cannot offer this kind of love at all!!! (YES!!! YOU CAN TAKE THIS STATEMENT TO THE BANK!!!!!!) So grab it!

God's love is also constant an available, that is, it remains the same;its does not change at all!!!! This is one of the many wonderful and beautiful things about God; He loves us the same always. Nothing we do can cause Him to stop loving us or to love us less because He chose to love us not because of anything we did. We did nothing to warrant or be worthy of His love. If it was about what we've done, God wouldn't have loved us because before salvation, we were sinners hence, we did not deserve His love. God does not love us more when we obey Him and less when we sin. His love for us is steadfast, as His Word in
Lamentations 3:22 says: The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases, his mercies never come to an end;
Even if we immerse ourselves in total sin, He still loves us!!!! He loves murderers, devil worshippers, atheists,the list is endless, but you get my point; He loves them still!!!!

In conclusion, God's love is the best, the ULTIMATE/GREATEST LOVE EVER!!! Never to be found anywhere!!!! Therefore, accept God's love; grab it and run with it!!! His love will never bring you pain or regret, as earthly,especially erose and filial(love of family and friends)!!!! It bears the qualities highlighted in
1 Corinthians 13:4-8: Love is patient and kind; love is not jealous or boastful; it is not arrogant or rude. Love does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrong, but rejoices in the right. Love bears all things, endures all things. Love never ends; as for prophecies, they will pass away; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will pass away.

Let God be your ULTIMATE VALENTINE, your NO. 1 VALENTINE, ALWAYS, whether you have a spouse or not!!!!! His love will always be available for you!!!!

JESUS AT THE CENTRE OF IT ALL!!!

Before I go any further,I must mention that this is my FIRST BLOG POST EVER and my FIRST TIME TO BLOG🙌, and I want to really thank God for enabling me to finally start this blog and for the writing skills that He has granted me to be able to do this!!!!!! PRAISE BE HIS NAME!!!!!

I love this song...Jesus at the centre of it all... Many times we don't understand or reflect on the meaning of this song; more specifically, the meaning of making Jesus the centre of our lives and everything revolving around them. So I'll go right at what this really means...

I'm sure that once or currently in your life (whoever's reading this), there are things in your life or about you that you've never really left to God. We usually go like "God take this... Leave that, I can handle it!!!!!"...and so on. 

I'll give an example; So many people, INCLUDING CHRISTIANS, don't believe that God should be involved in their relationships; we think that God has nothing to do with them.

Another example is studies (for those studying) and work (for those working). Most of the time we think God has nothing to do with our studies and work; we think it's all about the effort we put in. Actually, we need God to bless the work of our hands in terms of work and studies.

Putting God and Jesus at the centre of everything
means SURRENDERING EVERYTHING TO GOD, LITERALLY...HANDING OVER THE STEERING WHEEL OF YOUR LIFE AND TAKING THE BACK SEAT!!!!!!

And by everything I mean EVERYTHING!!!!!! It also includes talking to God and praying to Him about anything and everything; even about that book you're searching for and can't find!!!!!!! That matatu or bus that you're waiting for, which doesn't seem to be anywhere in sight!!!!!! EVERYTHING!!!!!

I once pointed out to someone that we should talk to God and consult Him about anything and everything, including the hairstyle to put...(Ladies in the house!!!!!!!!). She wondered if I really knew what I was saying... I looked at her like, "I mean exactly that!!!!!

I urge you all reading this to endeavor and make a deliberate decision to make Jesus the centre and to involve Him in everything in your life; that project at work, those studies, your friends, your family, your finances and so on; so that in everything, He will be manifested and reflected in your life, He will sort things out for you, He will direct and make everything in your life in line with His good, perfect and pleasing Will (Romans 12:2); and make and so that in everything you may represent Him; He who lives in you.