Note: Knowing our identity in Christ is vital to glorifying God, defeating the lies of Satan, and ministering powerfully. As you read the following summaries:

*Meditate on the associated verses and on the truth they share about you.

*Reject the lies of Satan about your identity.

*Thank God for who you are in Christ.

*Select one verse/truth per day and specifically apply it to your life and relationships.

My Identity in Christ

Romans 6:8—I live with Christ.

Romans 6:11—I am dead to sin.

Romans 6:11—I am alive to God.

Romans 6:13—I have been brought from spiritual death to spiritual life.

Romans 6:14—Sin shall not be my master.

Romans 6:14—I am not under law, but under grace.

Romans 6:18, 22—I have been set free from sin.

Romans 6:19—I am a slave to righteousness, righteousness masters my being.

Romans 6:22—I am a slave to God.

Romans 7:4—I have died to the law.

Romans 7:6—I serve Christ in the new way of the Spirit.

Romans 7:22—My inner being delights in God’s law—His holy standards.

Romans 7:25—In my innermost mind, I am a slave to God’s law.

Romans 8:1—I will never suffer condemnation because I am in Christ.

Romans 8:2—I am set free from the law of sin and death in Christ.

Romans 8:4—I have met the righteous requirements of the law in Christ.

Romans 8:5—My mindset is on spiritual affections and passions.

Romans 8:9—I am not controlled by the flesh, but I am controlled by the Spirit.

Romans 8:29—I am predestined to be conformed to the image of the Son.

Romans 8:37—I am more than a conqueror in Christ.

Romans 9:23—I have been prepared in advance by God to be glorious.

Romans 10:9, 10, 13—I am saved in Christ.

Romans 15:14—I am full of goodness in Christ.

Romans 15:14—I am complete in knowledge in Christ.

Romans 15:14—I am competent to disciple others in Christ.

Romans 15:16—I am sanctified by the Holy Spirit.

Romans 15:16—I am acceptable to God in Christ.

Note: Excerpted from Soul Physicians: http://tinyurl.com/d8grf6

Note: Knowing our identity in Christ is vital to glorifying God, defeating the lies of Satan, and ministering powerfully. As you read the following summaries:

*Meditate on the associated verses and on the truth they share about you.

*Reject the lies of Satan about your identity.

*Thank God for who you are in Christ.

*Select one verse/truth per day and specifically apply it to your life and relationships.

My Identity in Christ

John 15:11—My joy is complete in Christ.

John 16:33—I have overcome the world in Christ.

John 17:16—I am not of this world.

Acts 2:44; 4:32—I am a believer.

Acts 5:20—I have new life in Christ.

Acts 8:3; 2 Corinthians 1:1—Together with all the saints, I am God’s Church.

Acts 11:26—I am a Christian, a little Christ.

Acts 13:39; Romans 3:24, 26, 28, 30; 4:25; 5:1, 9, 18; 10:10; 1 Corinthians 6:11; Titus 3:7—I am justified freely and fully in Christ.

Acts 20:32; 1 Corinthians 6:11—I am sanctified in Christ.

Romans 1:6—I am called to belong to Christ.

Romans 1:7; 1 Corinthians 6:1, 2; 2 Corinthians 1:1; Ephesians 1:1; Philippians 1:1; 4:21, 22; Philemon 4; Jude 3—I am a saint.

Romans 3:24; 1 Corinthians 1:30; Ephesians 1:7; Colossians 1:14—I am redeemed in Christ.

Note: Excerpted from Soul Physicians: http://tinyurl.com/d8grf6

Note: Knowing our identity in Christ is vital to glorifying God, defeating the lies of Satan, and ministering powerfully. As you read the following summaries:

*Meditate on the associated verses and on the truth they share about you.

*Reject the lies of Satan about your identity.

*Thank God for who you are in Christ.

*Select one verse/truth per day and specifically apply it to your life and relationships.

My Identity in Christ

Matthew 4:19; Mark 1:17—I am a fisher of men.

Matthew 5:13—I am the salt of the earth.

Matthew 5:14—I am the light of the world.

Matthew 28:19; Luke 14:27; John 8:31; 13:35; 15:8; Acts 6:1, 7; 11:25-26, 29; 14:20-22; 16:1—I am a disciple of Christ.

Luke 24:48; Acts 1:8—I am Christ’s witness.

John 3:16-18; 10:28-29; 17:3; Romans 5:21; 6:23; 1 John 5:11—I have eternal life in Christ.

John 8:32, 36—I am set free from sin in Christ.

John 10:10—I have abundant life in Christ.

John 14:26; 16:13—I have been taught all things by the Holy Spirit.

John 14:27; 16:33—I have peace in Christ.

John 15:3—I am clean in Christ.

John 15:4, 5, 8, 16; Romans 7:4—I bear much lasting fruit in Christ.

John 15:5—I am a branch abiding in Christ the Vine.

Note: Excerpted from Soul Physicians: http://tinyurl.com/d8grf6

For those of you who have been asleep the past few months, or don’t own a TV, or TIVO everything and never see commercials, or simply are out of the “in” loop, the hottest commercial in the world right now is about the most interesting man in the world. Like lots of the most creative commercial, this one, unfortunately, is also a beer commercial. But before you’re offended, take a deep breath, keep reading. There really is a biblical point to be made…

The Mythological Most Interesting Man in the World

In the commercial, they mythologize the most interesting man in the world with such outrageous, hilarious assertions as:

You can see his charisma from space.

The police often question him, just because they find him . . . interesting.

If a monument was built in his honor, Mt. Rushmore would close, due to poor attendance.

His blood smells like cologne.

On every continent in the world, there is a sandwich named after him.

He doesn’t believe in using oven mitts, nor potholders.

His cereal never gets soggy. It sits there, staying crispy, just for him.

Respected archaeologists fight over his discarded apple cores.

He has been known to cure narcolepsy, just by walking into the room.

His organ donation card, also lists his beard.

When it is raining, it is because he is sad.

His shirts never wrinkle.

He is left-handed. And right-handed.

Even if he forgets to put postage on his mail, it gets there.

He is The Most Interesting Man In The World.

Not Myth, But Fact

I’ve never met this mythological man.

However, I do have a personal relationship with the One Who truly is THE most interesting Man in the world. Perhaps you know Him. May I introduce you?

He is before all things.

He is eternal.

He created . . . everything.

By the Word of His power He upholds the universe.

He was born of a virgin.

He walked on water and it wasn’t even ice.

He cured the sick.

He forgave the sinful.

He never sinned, not once.

He is the most fascinating teacher who ever lived.

He died for those who hated Him.

He is Savior, Redeemer, Lord.

Whoever believes in Him will not perish but have everlasting life.

He rose from the dead.

God exalted Him to the highest place.

At His name every knee shall bow.

His love surpasses knowledge.

He sympathizes with our weaknesses.

He gives rest.

He offers abundant life.

In everything He has the supremacy.

In Him are hidden all the treasure of wisdom and knowledge.

He is Alpha and Omega.

He is the radiance of God’s glory.

He is God.

He is THE Most Interesting Man in the World—Jesus!

And You Would Add?

You who know Him personally . . . what would you add? Feel free to share additional testimony that you would you give about The Most Interesting Man in the World—Jesus!

The Journey: Forty Days of Promise
Celebrating the Legacy of African American Christianity

Day Seventeen: From Hellcat to Heaven Saint

Welcome to day seventeen of our forty-day intercultural journey. From Martin Luther King Day to the end of Black History Month we are focusing on The Journey: Forty Days of Promise—Celebrating the Legacy of African American Christianity.

Day Seventeen: From Hellcat to Heaven Saint[1]

African American believers rediscovered their pristine identity in Christ. They understood, therefore, that it was their spiritual act of worship to be faithful to that renewed and purified new creation in Christ.

African Americans’ new identity in Christ redefined how they related to others who had sinned against them. Charlie had been enslaved by Mars’ Bill who kept his back constantly sore from whippings. He escaped, joined the “Yanks,” and became a Christian. As a freeman, he met Mar’s Bill again thirty years later.

Recognizing each other, Bill says, “Charlie, do you remember me lacerating your back?”

When Charlie replies, “Yes, Mars,” Bill asks, “Have you forgiven me?”

By now, a large crowd has gathered, for Charlie and Bill are some distance apart and talking loud. After Charlie shouts that he has indeed forgiven his old, cruel master, Bill is chagrined. “How can you forgive me, Charlie?”

I Serve a God of Love

Charlie’s answer is instructive. “What is in me, though, is not in you. I used to drive you to church and peep through the door to see you all worship, but you ain’t right yet, Marster. I love you as though you never hit me a lick, for the God I serve is a God of love . . .”

Old Mars’ Bill then moves toward Charlie, hand held out, tears streaming down his face. “I am sorry for what I did.”

Charlie grants forgiveness. “That’s all right, Marster. I done left the past behind me.”

The Power of Redeeming Love

Charlie then testifies to Christ’s redemptive power.

“I had felt the power of God and tasted his love, and this had killed all the spirit of hate in my heart years before this happened. Whenever a man has been killed dead and made alive in Christ Jesus, he no longer feels like he did when he was a servant of the devil. Sin kills dead, but the spirit of God makes alive. I didn’t know that such a change could be made, for in my younger days I used to be a hellcat.”

From hellcat to heaven saint. From a hateful spirit to Christlike love. That’s the power of our new identity in Christ.

Learning Together from Our Great Cloud of Witnesses

1. African American converts celebrated the new nurture and the new nature. How aware are you of your new relationship to Christ as a son or daughter of the King? How do you apply your spiritual aristocracy to your personal life and relationships?

2. How aware are you of your new identity in Christ as a saint cleansed by God? How do you apply your spiritual nobility in order to overcome sin and to forgive others?

[1]Excerpted, modified from, and quoted from Kellemen and Edwards, Beyond the Suffering: Embracing the Legacy of African American Soul Care and Spiritual Direction. Purchase your copy at 40% off for only $10.00 at www.rpmministries.org.