Peoples are dead because of me

Truth really does set you free, just in the tellin’ of it. Secrets of wrong doing have dark powers. The weight of those secrets are heavy links in a chain. The thoughts of guilt alone are weighing you down physically, emotionally and spiritually. You are suffocating from the guilt and shame, digging yourself an early grave. It can feel like the weight of those chain links are rooted in your very soul. That’s because they are. You are becoming the walking dead.

When we do wrong, most of us feel remorse, guilt and shame. We drown ourselves in the guilt of it and are afraid that others can see it in us. That is why we isolate and separate from those we love. We become lonely and depressed because of the great weight, the unbearable burden that we carry. The more that we do wrong, the more links there are in that chain to weigh us down.

There is freedom in truth. A great healing can begin when we shed our shackles and free ourselves from shame. Once spoken, the terrible weight of guilt and shame is lifted. Confession truly is good for the soul. As you release the confession, your soul becomes free. Satan no longer has a foothold in your life; he can no longer manipulate and isolate you by using your sin.

James 5:16: “Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working.”

There is, however, a great responsibility with truth telling. You have to get it right in the tellin' of it, sure, but you also have to do what's right from that point forward. (…assuming that you didn't already change your ways.) There is a true blessing in being set free and sinning no more.

But wait a minute;there is another facet of being set free that people miss. Truth carries the power of freedom. If you are drowning and you are set free, you have a moral obligation to free the others, too. You should have the desire, born of being set free, to free others. It is an innate part of the process. Just tellin' it once, freed you. But tellin’ it multiple times saves countless others as well. People really do learn from other’s mistakes and stories.  

Galatians 5:1: “It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.”

Peoples are dead because of me. They are the walking dead because I did not share my story when I had the chance and the opportunity died. I may be the one person who could have set them free from their torment. I failed; I'm sure, many times in my life.

People are dying to be freed from the pain and torment of their past. They need to know that the truth can set them free. But how can they know the truth unless someone who experienced it enlightens them?

You see, your words become your story; your story becomes a testimony, your testimony carries the power to free others... But only in the tellin' of it. The more you tell it, the more power it has. Telling it only once is like lighting a match to build a fire but never fanning the flames. It dies again and you grow cold. But telling others, sharing the truth, is like fanning those flames and keeping the embers hot.

The truth shall set you free. Your salvation comes with a price tag. Your testimony is your payment. Your testimony will free others. The bible is clear how to gain freedom and free your soul.

1)      Realize: Romans 3:10-23

2)      Forgiveness: Romans 10:13

3)      Believe: John 3:16, 14:6, 1:12

4)      Confess: Romans 10:9

John 14:6: “Jesus said to him, “I am the Way, and the Truth, and the Life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”

John 8:36: “So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.”

 Listen, nothing that you can do will separate you from the love of God. You have a free gift here!  Free redemption at your disposal any time that you choose to redeem it! This offer does not expire!

Let me repost this as a visual reminder why we do what we do:

Sam Shoemaker: I Stand Near the door"

"I stay near the door
I neither go too far in, nor stay too far out,
The door is the most important door in the world
It is the door through which people walk when they find God.
There's no use my going way inside, and staying there,
When so many are still outside and they, as much as I,
Crave to know where the door is.
And all that so many ever find
Is only the wall where a door ought to be.
They creep along the wall like blind people,
With outstretched, groping hands,
Feeling for a door, knowing there must be a door,
Yet they never find it...
So I stay near the door.

The most tremendous thing in the world
Is for people to find that door the door to God.
The most important thing anyone can do
Is to take hold of one of those blind, groping hands,
And to put it on the latch the latch that only clicks
And opens to the person's own touch.
People die outside that door, as starving beggars die
On cold nights in cruel cities in the dead of winter
Die for want of what is within their grasp.
They live, on the other side of it live because they have found it.
Nothing else matters compared to helping them find it,
And open it, and walk in, and find Him...
So I stay near the door."

Wow....I need to stand closer to that door!

The Mirror

How we live affects our children and our children’s children for decades to come. My granddaughter Angel used to love my stories. One in particular was about the little army men in her teeth that would battle the bad guys and win if she brushed her teeth. So, in that vein, figuratively speaking, our decisions, morals, values or lack of them are embedded in the DNA of our families and carried on through generations like a defective gene or a super gene. I am not trying to make my family sound like monsters, by any means, we are just human. But, in reality, we have had our share of generational curses.  Our history is dotted with such abuses as to make anyone feel shame and ‘less than’; drugs, alcohol, adultery, lust, sexual immorality, neglect, verbal abuse, absent parenting, incest, rape and probably things I haven’t named or just don’t know. Those are just the most obvious, not reflecting the sinful words and thought life we all suffer: pride, vanity, wrath, jealousy, envy, and covetousness to name a few. Some may be offended by my candidness, but it is important that you understand that I, sadly enough, speak from experience. You are the one that I want to reach.

2 Cor 5-10: “I will boast about such a man, but I will not boast about myself, except in my weaknesses.  Even if I wanted to boast, I would not be a fool, because I would be speaking the truth. But I refrain, so no one will credit me with more than he sees in me or hears from me,  or even with these surpassingly great revelations.

So to keep me from becoming conceited, I was given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me.  Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me.  But He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is perfected in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly in my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest on me. That is why, for the sake of Christ, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.”

My life has been crippled by the sins of the father, so to speak. For years I have battled in my head and flesh to defeat the evil one who delights in our failures. I could not find it in a bottle. I could not find it in a pill. I could not find it by my own flesh because my flesh is sinful by nature. I did not fight hard enough or know enough to be the kind of person, Christian or parent that God intended me to be. My insecurities and brokenness were lavished upon those who knew me and were sadly witnessed and duplicated my children. I see it, today, reflected in my grandchildren as well.

Num 14:18: ‘The Lord is slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love, forgiving iniquity and transgression, but he will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children, to the third and the fourth generation.’

Deut 24:16: “Fathers shall not be put to death because of their children, nor shall children be put to death because of their fathers. Each one shall be put to death for his own sin.”

The passages seem to contradict one another but I don’t believe they do. What it is saying, to me, is that because the father/mother sins, his family learns it from him… generation to generation, essentially teaching them the same sins. Those who follow suit and sin will be put to death. However, you are not to be put to death for your father’s sins. You will die because you follow their example and refuse to repent in your own sin.

But think of it, how can children learn words of affirmation and love if all they hear is swearing and screaming? How can they Learn positive parenting skills if all they ever saw was verbal abuse or neglect or disparaging remarks? How can they feel loved and worthy if they were victimized and treated as less than? How can they have clean wholesome fun if all they saw in their lives was partying, inappropriate sexual innuendo, swearing and trying to be ‘cool.’ How can they learn proper nutrition if they had little to no food or had to fend for themselves? Or how can they learn control when they say gluttony? How can they know self control if they only saw overindulgence? How can they learn to persevere and be responsible if they saw their parents complain and/or quit one job after the other? How can they expect to be accountable for their actions if their parents lied for them, covered it up or bailed them out for everything they did? You get it, right?

Children can go either way. They can follow what was modeled or they can refuse to be like their parents and go to the opposite end of the spectrum. I mean, not every child will be a carbon copy of us. But there are so many factors that have to balance the scales in a positive direction to teach them what parents have failed to teach. There is hope.

Those of you who read my posts know that in 2012, my daughter went to Adult & Teen Challenge. She was 33. It changed her life. With His guidance, grace and love, she was able to overcome her demons. Her obedience, back then, continues to change lives in our generational circles today. It didn’t happen overnight. She had to work at it for over a year to change from who she had become to who God meant her to be. My husband and I saw her transformation, and the transformation of most of the women in the program, and it changed us. Our other children (8 total) saw the change in Brandy or in us and it changed them… Long story short, we all affect the lives of our family for generations to come based on our desire for transformation or, unfortunately, for selfish pursuits.

1 Cor 1:26: “Brothers, consider the time of your calling: Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were powerful; not many were of noble birth. 27But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. 28He chose the lowly and despised things of the world, and the things that are not, to nullify the things that are, 29so that no one may boast in His presence.”

Generational curses are lifted because someone witnesses transformation. They see the miracles that God can do in the ‘least of these.’ That person who used to be filled with darkness and poison becomes filled with peace and joy. They speak differently. They love differently. They behave differently. They remove the scales of sin to reveal a beautiful butterfly that God meant them to be. Over time, people are seeing this in disbelief. Then, when it sticks, they say, “I want that peace and joy in my life!” So they pursue Him to get it. Then someone else sees the transformation that they made and it affects them… and so on and so forth. It truly is a ripple effect of love and grace.

Looking back, I envision our history as circles of darkness transitioning into light. The first circle represents the sin and darkness, the brokenness and despair, the lost and hopelessness of our early years. As we find salvation, forgiveness and peace in our lives and the lives of those who are able to see the transition, our generational curses slowly change from darkness to light over many years.

Let me just say that there is such a freedom and peace in knowing that you are forgiven, that you are loved, that you are not who you thought you were, that God has a plan for your lives that doesn’t include sin and damnation. When someone holds up the mirror of what God meant you to be and tells you that you are not the person that the world has told you that you are… it is freeing. You can have that.

Eph 2: 1-10: “As for you, you were dead in your trespasses and sins, in which you used to walk when you conformed to the ways of this world and of the ruler of the power of the air, the spirit who is now at work in the sons of disobedience.  At one time we all lived among them, fulfilling the cravings of our flesh and indulging its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature children of wrath.

But because of His great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ, even when we were dead in our trespasses. It is by grace you have been saved! And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with Him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, in order that in the coming ages He might display the surpassing riches of His grace, demonstrated by His kindness to us in Christ Jesus.

For it is by grace you have been saved through faith, and this not from yourselves; it is the gift of God, not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance as our way of life.”

SURRENDER!!

Matthew 16:25: “For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will find it.”

No greater truth than this is more evident, when we have lost another soul who did not surrender it all.

We have had another death in the family and it breaks my heart. We mourn when we lose one of our own… especially when it is so unnecessary. One of the hardest parts of the ministry (Adult & Teen Challenge USA) is when students leave before completing. That sounds foreign to many of you who don’t understand the inner workings of such a program, I know. I used to be you. Questions and statements like:

 “Well, if they think they are ready, why stop them from living their lives?”

“How can you assign a time to it? It is just a program.”

“Not everyone needs the entire program. Everyone is at their own level.”

“Our family needs the income he/she brings in.”

“Our kids need their mommy/daddy/boyfriend/girlfriend.”

“I miss my husband/wife and want him/her back home.”

“I don’t like that it is a Christian program, we are fill in the blank-Mormon, seventh day evangelist, Jehovah Witness, pick your faith”

While some of those statements do have an element of truth to them, there is a reason why it is a 13 month minimum program. There is a reason our students decide to stay for years, instead of just one. There is a clear method to what appears like madness to outsiders. And if you were to educate yourselves, like I have by being around it, you would totally understand.

You see, it took a lifetime of broken souls, bad habits, wrong thinking, accepted values, poor life skills, bad communication skills and the like, for them to become who they are today. Many suffered from defective parenting, abuse, neglect and even, more commonly, evil interactions with people who stole their innocence, typically followed by family who refused to believe them and condemned them for lying when it was truth. Large percentages are literally orphans who somehow, no matter how hard parents may have tried, felt loved or like they belonged because of the stigma attached.

Some just turn to drugs or alcohol to fit in and party with everyone else. Call it ‘normal experimentation’ or trying to find themselves or perhaps even deeper, a desperate need to belong because of a lack of self-esteem that they would never admit to anyone else. But in the end, they can only find their courage and happiness at the bottom of a bottle or the end of a needle.

Come on now, people. That takes some true defective thinking over a long period of time. A life time of bad programming will not be undone by the flip of a switch. So you may see why a 30 day program that has once a week sessions and gives you more medication doesn’t begin to scratch the surface of why we do what we do and how to fix it. Memorizing steps to freedom doesn’t set you free or teach you how to fight against the darkness and addiction of this world. And, I am not going to stand in front of a bunch of strangers and share my inner most damage so I can work through my real issues. I doubt that many others will either. I need one on one heart to hearts, getting right with God and a total understanding of who I am, who I am supposed to be, what I can do and how to live my life to make that happen.

We hear all of the struggles from the students when someone at home pressures them to leave. They literally cry about it. They already struggle with leaving their kids behind. They are torn about not fulfilling some duty that someone holds over them. Real life issues like feeding their kids, helping take care of them and holding down a job plague their ability to focus on themselves. They are broken about things they have done, and now, they are tormented by what they are not yet capable of doing for you.

You must understand they are not capable of doing any of those things successfully and safely. They are broken addicts that were simply a warm body to fill that void in your life.

Our desire is to help them be the person that God meant them to be so that they are truly healthy and safe to do all of the things they weren’t meant to do in life; for themselves, for you, for their families, for their church, for their jobs. We want to help them become productive members of the community in your life.

Sadly, the families or friend’s own desire ultimately pressures the student to leave early. I have seen women cry because husbands guilt them to come home and take care of the kids and be a wife. I have seen men cry because parents disown them because the program isn’t their parents ‘religion’ and they have to leave so their mom will still love them. I have even had women take their husbands out of the program because they want to get high with them. And wives have taken their husbands out because they don’t trust them in the program; they have no control over them there.

As a result, some students who went home fall right back into addiction and died of an overdose. I know those who chose to take their own lives because they couldn’t cope. I know those who lost their life in a most violent manner because they went back into the mean streets of drug addiction. I have witnessed first-hand those that left midway into the program and came back lethargic and zombie like. Unable to think, talk or react in the way that they used to; unable to program because their mental capacity was shot out.

I have success stories, so many more success stories of those who returned. Some who left and returned several times: One woman left the program three times before her husband finally figured it out and let her complete without guilting her. She survived. Now she ministers in a church back home and dedicates her life to serving God with her husband and children. One man left of his own accord 7 times before completing and becoming a live in staff person who ministers to others now. And still others who, though they leave, we planted a seed and they come back ‘home’ to finish the work that God started in their lives.

You see, when you spend your life seeing yourself as a loser or ‘less than’ and are finally shown who you were meant to be, it is a hard image to forget. God has a plan and purpose for all of our lives but many of us ignore it or life beats that idea right out of our heads. We simply allow God to work through this program to show them who they were meant to be and teach them how to live a better life.

The key is surrender. The student needs to completely surrender to God and allow Him to transform their lives. The family/friends need to surrender to the inevitability of either the student surrenders to addiction or to transformation. One leads to death, the other to life eternal. It really is that simple.

I want to applaud all of you who fully support the students in their quest to live a better life and break free from defective thinking. I want to ask for favor in the lives of those who refuse to enable the student in their addiction and insist that they stay in the program; who love and support them emotionally while they are in the midst of the battle. Those of you who fight along side them, encouraging them and understanding how not to add to their already guild-ridden hearts. Who do their best not to tempt them to leave, to use, to carry guilt or shame any more. The best thing that you can do is allow them to get through the program and do what God has called them to do.

I feel as if we need an even larger program that can take in whole families and re-educate them in how to live within the new constructs of a Christian life to support and promote a healthy life for the whole family. Mind you, we do, in a way, offer this as well. I have known husbands and wives with children who go into program at the same time. The husband goes to his men’s program while the wife and kids go to the women and children’s program together. This is the very best scenario because it teaches all of them a new way of life.

But, perhaps we need to provide classes and education to those at home while teaching their loved ones how to survive the temptations of this dark world. One of the biggest problems that the students face upon completion is going back to the same unchanged environment that enabled their addiction in the first place.

[https://teenchallengemb.org/our-centers/pajaro-mens-center/]

Transitions

                                             

Everyone has a story. Everyone has a past. Everyone has a struggle. Everyone has a faulty thought life or we would all be Jesus. It is impossible to be perfect. 

Romans: 3:10: “As it is written: None is righteous, no, not one.”

I am no different. I am going to be 60 next year. I lived about 70-80% of my life thinking that I was a Christian solely because I believed in Him. Much of that time, I gave Him no thought at all. How I lived, thought and talked was definitely not producing the fruit of a Christian. 

My transition to Christ really started in about 2004. Many would say that it doesn’t start until you are baptized or it doesn’t start until you truly change your life. I don’t agree. I feel that it begins when you surrender to Him and begin to crave His word. When you are convicted of sinful things in your life and are praying for His help to change your way of life to His desire for your life.

You see, He was pursuing me since I was about five years old staring up at the stars and talking to Him. He didn't stop. Even in my sin, years later, He would guide me, convict me, warn me, save me and bless me. I could give a hundred examples of times when I wasn’t in line with His word but He stepped in as my defender and protector and it transformed my life once again.

I didn’t sin for the selfish reason of knowing that I was forgiven so that I could sin. I wasn’t arrogant and selfish about it. I was in the process of change. I was struggling against my flesh. I was literally in a spiritual battle and a physical war for my soul.

Once I accepted Him as my savior, I was filled with the Spirit and compelled to change my ways… but it wasn’t an overnight process. For me, it wasn’t an instantaneous, immediate transformation. It was a war. It took time. I lost some skirmishes but stayed to win the war. I didn’t give up hope or faith the first time I fell. I read the bible enough to know of His promises and I believed that He called me long ago. That gave me the strength to get back up and fight.

Phil 4:13: “I can do all things through Him that strengthens me.”

Unlike some of the miracles that you hear about, it doesn’t always happen in an instant and you are free. Just work at a Teen Challenge to see that this isn’t the case for many. I had some pretty heavy demons running my life for a long time.

In only one respect, that I can recall, He struck the sin from my life immediately and permanently. I had cried with shame and regret to the point where He had mercy on me. Immediately, I was freed from bondage and it felt as if it had never happened. So it can and does happen.

I had some horrible thought processes, some bad habits, some faulty self-destructive behaviors and a horrible self image. During my transition, I was pleading, even angry with Him to save me from myself. I couldn’t see the light at the end of the tunnel and it made me angry. How am I supposed to get from the person that I was to the person that He says I am?? To me, it just wasn’t possible. And I was right. But all things are possible with Christ who strengthened me.

1 Cor 10:13: “No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.”

I prayed and read and pleaded with God to give me the ability to be faithful and true. The first time that I actually said no to my flesh, through His power, not mine, I felt such a surge of gratitude!! I cried. I knew that once I said no, the next time would be easier and the next time, and the next hurdle. He was with me and gave me the strength that I needed to fight.

Now, as I look back, those fleshly desires and things that distracted me are so far away that it seems almost as if it wasn’t me at all. My words to you are this: trust Him. Have faith in His love for you and His strength being with you, to get you through. Some things may be instantaneously. Some may take more work. And our thought life must always be policed because we are human and we could easily fall prey to darkness through our thoughts.

Remember this… it is not just your fleshly desires that we fight against. It is for our souls. To whom shall we belong? It is literally light over dark, good over evil, life over death.

Ephesians 6:12: “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.”

The Morning After

Dedicated to all of the victims of abuse, addiction and brokenness:

You wake up dazed, confused and in a very dark place. All that you recall is that you were in a storm that has lasted for what felt like years... could have been years. You are black and blue and broken inside as well. You have been battered and beaten so badly by the debris of this world that you have not only lost your way but you have forgotten who you were.

Every mirror in the place is shattered and fractured beyond comprehension, leaving you doubtful as to who you were, who you are and who you could be. You have but a fragmented view of who you are but it is horribly flawed. Your current view is based on the tiny broken pieces that are muddied and dirty and warped from the storm.

Your heart is filled with a hopelessness that all of us feel after years of torment, loneliness, feeling abandoned, betrayed and unloved. You ask yourself, how do I put myself back together? Where do I start? What do I believe? Where do I go? How do I move on?

First of all, you pray. You ask for His eyes to see and ears to hear, and the discernment and wisdom to choose. You ask for healing and strength to get through each day with a renewed spirit. You ask that He bring people alongside you that will remind you of who you were meant to be, the goodness God gave you and the qualities that you have that will help you through this. You cast aside anyone who the evil one has clearly put in your path to take you out, hold you down and speaks death into your life.

Like any catastrophe, you will pick up a lot of trash before you find something worth salvaging. All the good that you had, all the beauty that you were, is buried beneath the debris of the storm. Before you can get to who you are, you must dig through who you are not. You have the God given power to determine what is worth hanging on to. You must choose what is good and helpful versus what is damaging and must be discarded.

You must also learn to cast aside all doubt and darkness and replace it with God’s word about who He says that you are. When thoughts reflect on the negative, the past, the darkness… immediately rebuke the thoughts and repeat passages that tell you who you really are in Christ.

Because your sense of self is so damaged and you are not thinking clearly, your habit of thinking is based on darkness and despair. You must reprogram your thinking. For every thought, ask yourself this question: Is this something that will add quality to my life or weigh me down? Imagine that you are choosing each item as a gift to your child or a loved one. Would you offer this as a gift to someone you love or would you destroy it and replace it with something beautiful and fitting of a loved one? You matter as much as anyone to God.

This is what you must do after a storm. One shattered piece at a time, one lie at a time, roll it over in your mind and determine its origin. Did it come from someone reliable or someone who had an ulterior motive or someone who was broken themselves? Don’t hold onto the broken pieces of someone else, you have a mess of your own to get through.

Does it build up or tear down? Well, that is easy, if you are trying to rebuild your life and identity after a storm, why would you keep something that tears down what you build?

One more thing, and this is crucial... Don't let anyone criticize you, or anyone else for that matter, for staying so long, for struggling with your past decisions, for making all of the mistakes before you finally turned from your darkness. They must love and support you in the moment and build you up... they shouldn't focus on the darkness. If there are people who are incapable of being encouraging and uplifting, do not subject yourself to them during this process. They will keep pulling you back into the darkness that you are trying to break free from.

Remember something very important to your survival. The devil is here to rob, kill and destroy.

John 10:10: “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.”

The evil one’s plan is to break you down one moment at a time using your most vulnerable secrets and desires. You are in a spiritual battle for your life. God’s has already given you the keys to His kingdom, He is already victorious, but your faith has wavered, by all that you have witnessed and been subjected to in life. Know the truth, see the battle around you, recognize your enemies and arm yourself with the truth.

Matthew 6: 12-18: “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. ¹³ Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. ¹⁴ Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, ¹⁵ and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. ¹⁶ In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. ¹⁷ Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.

¹⁸ And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people.”

This list is meant to show you who God says that you are. Post five around the house, on your bathroom mirror, on your fridge, on your doors, etc so that each time you see them, you read them to yourself. This fills your mind with truth and drowns out the lies of the evil one. Change your behavior and decisions to fit the truth of who God says you are.

Who God says I am

(https://kenboa.org/spiritual-formation/who-does-god-say-i-am/)

I am a child of God. “But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name.” (John 1:12)

I am a branch of the true vine, and a conduit of Christ’s life. “I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. . . . I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing.” (John 15:1, 5)

I am a friend of Jesus. “No longer do I call you slaves, for the slave does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all things that I have heard from My Father I have made known to you.” (John 15:15)

I have been justified and redeemed. “. . . being justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus.” (Romans 3:24)

My old self was crucified with Christ, and I am no longer a slave to sin. “. . . knowing this, that our old self was crucified with Him, in order that our body of sin might be done away with, so that we would no longer be slaves to sin.” (Romans 6:6)

I will not be condemned by God. “Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” (Romans 8:1)

I have been set free from the law of sin and death. “For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death.” (Romans 8:2)

As a child of God, I am a fellow heir with Christ. “. . . and if children, heirs also, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him so that we may also be glorified with Him.” (Romans 8:17)

I have been accepted by Christ. “Therefore, accept one another, just as Christ also accepted us to the glory of God.” (Romans 15:7)

I have been called to be a saint. “To the church of God which is at Corinth, to those who have been sanctified in Christ Jesus, saints by calling, with all who in every place call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, their Lord and ours.” (1 Corinthians 1:2; cf. Ephesians 1:1; Philippians 1:1; Colossians 1:2)

In Christ Jesus, I have wisdom, righteousness, sanctification, and redemption. “But by His doing you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification, and redemption.” (1 Corinthians 1:30)

My body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who dwells in me. “Do you not know that you are a temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you? . . . Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own?” (1 Corinthians 3:16; 6:19)

I am joined to the Lord and am one spirit with Him. “But the one who joins himself to the Lord is one spirit with Him.” (1 Corinthians 6:17)

God leads me in the triumph and knowledge of Christ. “But thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumph in Christ, and manifests through us the sweet aroma of the knowledge of Him in every place.” (2 Corinthians 2:14)

The hardening of my mind has been removed in Christ. “But their minds were hardened; for until this very day at the reading of the old covenant the same veil remains unlifted, because it is removed in Christ.” (2 Corinthians 3:14)

I am a new creature in Christ. “Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come.” (2 Corinthians 5:17)

I have become the righteousness of God in Christ. “He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.” (2 Corinthians 5:21)

I have been made one with all who are in Christ Jesus. “There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free man, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus.” (Galatians 3:28)

I am no longer a slave, but a child and an heir. “Therefore you are no longer a slave, but a son; and if a son, then an heir through God.” (Galatians 4:7)

I have been set free in Christ. “It was for freedom that Christ set us free; therefore keep standing firm and do not be subject again to a yoke of slavery.” (Galatians 5:1)

I have been blessed with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places. “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ.” (Ephesians 1:3)

I am chosen, holy, and blameless before God. “. . . just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and blameless before Him.” (Ephesians 1:4)

I am redeemed and forgiven by the grace of Christ. “In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace.” (Ephesians 1:7)

I have been predestined by God to obtain an inheritance. “In Him also we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to His purpose who works all things after the counsel of His will.” (Ephesians 1:10b–11)

I have been sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise. “In Him, you also, after listening to the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation—having also believed, you were sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit of promise.” (Ephesians 1:13)

Because of God’s mercy and love, I have been made alive with Christ. “But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved).” (Ephesians 2:4-5)

I am seated in the heavenly places with Christ. “. . . and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus.” (Ephesians 2:6)

I am God’s workmanship created to produce good works. “For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.” (Ephesians 2:10)

I have been brought near to God by the blood of Christ. “But now in Christ Jesus you who formerly were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ.” (Ephesians 2:13)

I am a member of Christ’s body and a partaker of His promise. “. . . the Gentiles are fellow heirs and fellow members of the body, and fellow partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel.” (Ephesians 3:6; see also 5:30)

I have boldness and confident access to God through faith in Christ. “. . . in whom we have boldness and confident access through faith in Him.” (Ephesians 3:12)

My new self is righteous and holy. “. . . put on the new self, which in the likeness of God has been created in righteousness and holiness of the truth.” (Ephesians 4:24)

I was formerly darkness, but now I am light in the Lord. “. . . you were formerly darkness, but now you are Light in the Lord; walk as children of Light.” (Ephesians 5:8)

I am a citizen of heaven. “For our citizenship is in heaven, from which also we eagerly wait for a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ.” (Philippians 3:20)

The peace of God guards my heart and mind. “And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 4:7)

God supplies all my needs. “And my God will supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 4:19)

I have been made complete in Christ. “. . . in Him you have been made complete, and He is the head over all rule and authority.” (Colossians 2:10)

I have been raised up with Christ. “Therefore if you have been raised up with Christ, keep seeking the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God.” (Colossians 3:1)

My life is hidden with Christ in God. “For you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God.” (Colossians 3:3)

Christ is my life, and I will be revealed with Him in glory. “When Christ, who is our life, is revealed, then you also will be revealed with Him in glory.” (Colossians 3:4)

I have been chosen of God, and I am holy and beloved. “So, as those who have been chosen of God, holy and beloved, put on a heart of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.” (Colossians 3:12)

God loves me and has chosen me. “. . . knowing, brethren beloved by God, His choice of you.” (1 Thessalonians 1:4)