Mentoring Minutes

“Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own?For you have been bought for a price: therefore glorify God in your body.”                   – 1 Corinthians 6:19-20

We continue to look at who we are and how we are accepted by God in Christ. We are His children, adopted, redeemed, restored and forgiven, and we are complete and whole in Him! That alone is enough but there is much more.

You are all of the above because He chose to pay the price and give His Life for you (and me and all who believe) …there is no greater value that could ever be placed on you! You have been bought with the highest of prices… the blood of the Perfect Lamb of God, Jesus Christ (1 Corinthians 6:19-20)!

How are you responding to the reality that Christ considered you so valuable that He would give Himself in your place so you could be His…bought with His sacrifice? What are you doing with your body, mind, soul and spirit that honors Him and lets Him know that you understand that you are accepted…valued and esteemed…above everything else in all of Creation.

You and me, all who believe in Him, are priceless…there is no other price that could, or needs to, be paid for He paid it all…just for you!

If you haven’t figured it out yet, trying to do it on your own and allow the world to dictate who you are by comparisons, ratings and rankings, never works. You will always come up short. Only in Christ and the price He paid will we find fulfillment as we belong to God.

You belong to God but He will not force the relationship. Love compels us, just as it did Him, if we will understand it according to His Word and Christ’s living it out for us, and by faith through grace receive His Gift and choose to belong to The King of kings and Lord of lords!

Do you recognize how valuable you are? I pray you do and if you don’t know or fully understand it contact us at loveandlordship@gmail.com.

Unfortunately we are all sinners apart from Christ (Romans 3:23). That’s not a good identity and as a matter of fact it is the one thing that causes us to seek our identity in any and everything but Him. This is fleeting and destructive…but we have a new and incredible identity in Christ and this is what we continue to unpack so you can know and love who you are in Him.

If you believe in Christ you have been bought with the precious invaluable blood of Jesus (no greater price could be paid for you or value placed on you) and you have been forgiven and redeemed.

In this state and with this identity, each of us in Christ, has been justified (Romans 3:24)…(“just if I’d”) never sinned. Your sin, guilt, shame and brokenness have been removed…they no longer identify who you are because your sins have been completely wiped away! Having been justified you are now at peace with God (Romans 5:1). This is your new identity and the only way you go back to your old identity is by choosing in your own free will to return to sin.

By faith through grace you can daily walk as never having sinned because Jesus has justified you before God and you’ve received the gift of eternal life (Romans 6:23)!

Why would you ever choose to continue in or go back to your old identity when Christ has made you totally new and taken away your sin – justified…again, “just if I’d” never sinned. What a great identity!

You can have this new identity in Christ and allow Him to change and make you over and carry that new identity into your relationships, marriages and families because of Christ in you.

When you come (or came) to know Christ you were forgiven of all your sins and given the gift of The Holy Spirit. Because Christ’s blood and sacrifice has made you Holy and whole, The Holy Spirit now dwells in You.

This means many things but for starters we simply want to recognize that by The Spirit we have direct access to our Heavenly Father (Ephesians 2:18). The Holy Spirit goes directly before us and intercedes for us right before God Himself (Romans 8:26-27).

This is who you are and because of your identity in Christ you have a direct line to God! Know who you are in Christ and by His Spirit take full advantage of your access to Almighty God in everything!

Do you know Him? Are you availing yourself of the access you have as a child of God indwelt by The Holy Spirit directly into God’s very presence? You can. That’s incredible!

As we continue with what God’s Truth says about the identity of those who are in Christ and how we are loved and accepted by Him, His Word tells us that as children of His, made right in Christ, that we are literally united with Our Lord (1 Corinthians 6:17)!

We are in a relationship with Him, we can stand completely unashamed in His Presence and His Holy Spirit dwells within us, that very same Spirit makes us one with Him. Our spirit unites with His Spirit. If that doesn’t help you recognize how much you mean to Him and your identity in Christ, what will it take?

The same grace and faith that saves you indwells you and strengthens your spirit by His Spirit. You can choose moment by moment in His grace by your faith to love and obey Him…and know that You are His, valued and treasured so much so that He has paid the price for you and united Himself with you. PTL!

This is not only essential to who you are in The Lord but also to who you are in His Body, The Church (Ephesians 4:2-6). He calls us and saves us to be One in Him and One together in Him… that’s how each of us and all of us as His Body shows the world His Truth in humility, patience, gentleness and Love!

Love and Lordship…Food for Thought – Do you know Christ as Savior and Lord? Do you know that you are so highly esteemed that if He is your Savior and Lord that you are one with Him? You can. Why wouldn’t you?

Love and Lordship…Action Items –

1. Read the Scriptures in this article and ask The Holy Spirit to teach you.
2. Journal what you’ve learned about your identity in Christ in this post. 
3. Spend time in God’s Word and prayer and ask The Holy Spirit to show you what it means to be all that Christ has made you based on the His sacrifice and His promises in His Word.

Contact us at loveandlordship@gmail.com to find out more about how you can know God the Father, Christ His Son and The Holy Spirit.

“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

We spent nearly 6 months recently getting to know the Names of God…and even more, I pray, His character and love for us so that we could know and love Him more fully. God back and check out the videos, podcasts and/or articles at www.loveandlordship.com that cover all His Names and how they are all manifested in Christ! We then began this focus on Love and again, I pray, that it is a bridge between Who He Is and His Love for us and drawing us to fulfill the first and greatest command to worship Him alone and Love Him with all we are.

Hopefully, and in line with God’s Word, we will continue to make our first love a wholehearted growing love and devotion to Him. Only then can we begin to show His Love by loving ourselves and then dying to self to love others just as He did.

With this in mind we recently began focusing on loving who we are in Christ. This is our present focus and I want to look at what God’s Word tells us about who we are as we are recreated in Christ to do all that He has purposed for us to do.

In order to truly love ourselves we must know that our identity is fully in Christ and not in our own flesh, the broken world or the lies and deceptions of the enemy.

Who I Am In Christ is what He wants me to know and only as I get to know and love Him and love who I am can I then love others to show them who Christ is and His Love for them.

Over the next several weeks we’re going to focus on three areas that His Word proclaims over each and every one of us in Christ…1) I Am Accepted and therefore never alone; 2) I Am Secure and therefore need never fear, and; 3) I Am Significant and have a tremendous purpose in this life and in God’s Kingdom!

Please be praying as we go through this that all those who read and share this will be growing in his/her love for God and, as they mature continually in that love, to know and love who they are in Christ!

For starters…You are complete in Christ (Colossians 2:10). It may not always feel like it in this world or in your flesh but that never changes that you have been made perfect, whole and complete in Him and He is the Authority over all things!

The only way you will ever truly love God, yourself and others is according to His Word of Truth, by His Love and knowing your identity in Christ. Let’s look deeper at the Truth that we (you and I) are complete in Christ and what that means for us.

This concept of complete or whole in Christ comes from the Hebrew word “shalom,” most often interpreted as “peace.” But it is much more and the only way to know that peace is to accept and be complete in Him…every part of your life integrally aligned with His Truth!

We continue with that overarching Truth that we are accepted in Christ as we look at the reality that in Him we are sons and daughters of God (John 1:12-13).

Listen carefully and let this change your life…You and I, and all who believe in their hearts and by their lives in Christ, are adopted into His family and God receives us as His children (2 Corinthians 6:18; Galatians 4:4-7). We can literally call God our “Daddy” as that is what “Abba” means in Galatians 4:6. He desires to be that close to us, to know us that intimately and for us to know Him.

Even more, He literally chose you, me…all those who choose to put their faith in Christ to adopt us as sons and daughters (Ephesians 1:5-6) into His Family and Kingdom. Not just sons and daughters of the Most High God…we are joint heirs with our Brother, Savior and Lord, Jesus Christ (Romans 8:14-17). How awesome is that!?!

Do you know Jesus as your Savior and Lord and know that you are a child of God, that He is your loving intimate Daddy? Christ paid the ultimate price so you could be? Do you know that if you are then you are an heir with Christ of the Kingdom of God as His child? I pray that you do.

We can only love others with the love we have received from God and by faith can love who we are in Christ. You are the only person that you take into every other relationship…so how’s that working for you?

Learning to love our self begins with loving God and listening to Him and who He has said that you are in Christ. Backing up a bit in Romans 8 we see just how far God would go to show us our acceptance in Christ that even while we (you and I) were still sinners, God loved me and sent Christ to die for me (Romans 5:8).

This is absolutely crucial because it means that you and I can now be in God’s presence because we have been rescued, redeemed and forgiven…whole and holy (Colossians 1:13-14) by what Christ has done for us! Nothing impure, imperfect or sinful can stand in His presence…but that is not any longer who or what we are in Christ.

Not only does this mean that we can be in His presence but because of His Grace through Christ’s sacrifice and our forgiveness and redemption we can be in a relationship with Him. That’s why we are now sons and daughters all because of what He has done and we receive by faith through Grace. Look at the 2 previous verses in Ephesians 2 to our focus verse that tells us we are His Masterpiece, literally in Greek, His “poemia.” Christ has made it so! (Ephesians 2:8-9)!

Love and Lordship…Food for Thought – Are you beginning to see how God values and loves you? Are you beginning to love yourself even more…or maybe for the first time? You can because of what Christ has done for you! Don’t miss it!

Love and Lordship…Action Items –

1. Read the Scriptures in this article and ask The Holy Spirit to teach you.
2. Journal what you’ve learned about your identity in Christ in this post. 
3. Spend time in God’s Word and prayer and ask The Holy Spirit to show you what it means to be all the Christ has made you based on the texts in this post.

Contact us at loveandlordship@gmail.com to find out more about how you can know God the Father, Christ His Son and The Holy Spirit.

“Jesus answered, “The first and greatest command is, Worship God alone; love the Lord your God with all your being.’ The second is: ‘love who you are in Christ so you can love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.” Mark 12:29-31 (my paraphrase)

Jesus’ answer regarding the greatest commandments should not only inform us but direct us as to how we are to love. By proclaiming that there is a first and greatest and then a second which is like it…but second…this should guide us in everything we do when it comes to loving God and others.

The beauty of the Greek language in which the New Testament was written is that, unlike the English language, it is very precise. Why wouldn’t God choose to send Jesus in today’s time in history when His message could spread like wildfire through the digital world? God’s Word tells us that He came at just the perfect time (Ephesians 1:9-10). You think God knew of the extremely relativistic culture and language that dominates the globe today. Of course He did.

All of this to simply magnify the relevance and priority of how we are to love…

1) We can only love because of His love first given to us (1 John 4:19);

2) Even though we are to show God’s love by the way we love others, this does not dismiss that the first command is to learn to know and love God and this is a continual growing in love for Him throughout our lifetime (Mark 12:29-30);

3) Know and love who we are in Christ (Mark 12:31) and now we are equipped and maturing in Christ so we can;

4) Love others as we love ourselves (Mark 12:31) and as He loved us (John 13:34-35)…ultimately His love that we are to model is giving of yourself for the sake of others.

Why do I continue to press this issue? For two reasons…the first is that we practically ignore the first and greatest command and fail to disciple new, young believers in helping them mature and grow to know and love God with all their heart, mind, soul and strength. In so doing, the second reason follows that we constantly send new believers out to love others as “nearly empty infants” trying to love all others…ultimately in their flesh.

I pray that Christ’s Church, His true disciples and followers, will take to heart the priority of His commands so we will be able to show the world what His Love looks like because we have loved according to His Word and Covenant Order.

Do you know Christ and what it means in Him to even be able to love God with all you are? Are you trying to love others without spending time to know and love God in order to love from the True Source of Love in Christ?

How are you making the time to know and love God? Time in His Word? Prayer? Listening to His Spirit? Take to heart God’s Word for the preciseness and priority that His Truth is expressing to us and you’ll find that it is His Love that makes all of this possible.

We continue with a simple but profound Truth building on yesterday’s priority of commands in God’s Covenant Order.

If we’re not spending time daily to know and Love The Creator of the world and every one of us as well, then what is your source of Love for yourself and others (John 7:38)?

As you spend time in God’s Word, prayer and listening to Him you can’t help but soak in His Love, love Him more…and know and love who you are in Christ.

Remember, Love’s not a feeling but a commitment, a choosing and act of the will over and over because those who love Him obey His commands (John 14:15). Love is obedience, keeping His commands because they are what is best for us as The Loving God is The One who has given them to us. Remember, from last week’s post, everything He does is Truthful and Loving! He can do no other!

There are hundreds of commands in Scripture from this Loving God, for our good. There are no demands because love must be a deliberate choice of your free will by faith, expressing your love for Him (1 John 5:2-4). This carries over into knowing and loving who you are in Christ (more on this in future posts).

I share this message with churchgoers, prisoners, addicts, and on and on, and I ask the question, “As you grew up and went to church did it feel like constant demands?” Nearly every single person replies, “Yes!”

Demanded or forced obedience is never love. Only willing submission is love.

This impacts who you are in Christ and how you build, nurture and live out every other relationship in Him. If He is Lord of your life then it must show by your willing submission to Him (Love for Him) in every other relationship. True Love willingly gives itself away for the sake of the other.

Remember if we do not spend time to learn to love Him then we are empty and cannot truly love ourselves and others.

Where are you when it comes to knowing and loving God? Christ has made a way for you to be in that loving relationship (John 3:16; John 15:13). Have you received Him as Savior and Lord so you can know His Love and love him in return? Only then can you love yourself…and others…as He has loved us.

Loving self seems contradictory to Godly Love and unfortunately as we’ve allowed the culture to define and dictate what love is that is correct. When it’s based on natural, fleshly feelings and emotions, it becomes loving self for the sake of self and that is actually selfishness and lust.

This is why we can’t love apart from God and Christ in us. We must know His Love and learn to love Him before we can truly love at all…ourselves or others. His Love (agape) literally means that we prefer Him above all else because He is Love. As we grow in this real Love then we find that it has very little to do with what we get from it because we are assured of all we need from Him.

His model in creation and in Christ is a Love that is sacrificial, unconditional and self-giving. He loves us even when we don’t love in return and is always waiting with open arms for us to turn to Him no matter what we’ve done. It is always for the sake and good of the other.

When we learn to know and love who we are in Christ (Ephesians 2:10) then we can love ourselves to the point that we can freely give ourselves sacrificially for the sake of and good or others.

The key is to know and Love Him so that your identity is in who you are in Him and not let the world and those of the world rate, rank and compare you, giving you a false identity in a fallen world.

By His grace and through the faith we’ve been given, you can know Him as Savior and Lord and that makes all the difference in knowing His Love, knowing and loving who you are (Romans 12:3) so you can love others…but it is a choice of loving obedience that you make. Do you want to know Him so you can truly know and love who you are?

Love God and love yourself—the self that Christ recreated you to be—God desires that you do this so you can show others His Love through you.

Love and Lordship…Food for Thought – Christ left all the glories of Heaven, became flesh by becoming us as a human being, faced all that we face and gave His life as the perfect sacrifice…that’s what your worth and He defines who you are! Have you accepted that no matter what the world says… or are you still trying to prove who you are by the world’s broken and deceived standards?   

Love and Lordship…Action Items –

1. Read the Scriptures in this article and ask The Holy Spirit to teach you.
2. Journal what you’ve learned about love in this post. 
3. Spend time in God’s Word and prayer and ask The Holy Spirit to show you who you are in Christ and all He has in store for you.
4. Spend time in God’s Word and prayer and ask The Holy Spirit to show you how to love who you are in Christ