Good morning!

My hope and prayer as I write these blogs is that our Christ Jesus is always the focus. Today, I am resharing a list of 90 statements about who believers are in Christ - it came my way several years ago (2016 I believe).

This list is rich with each being supported from God's Word. I recently went through a personal quiet time seminar through Bible Study Fellowship and I would recommend you use this list during your daily personal quiet time (if you do this, if not consider carving out daily time for connecting with Jesus) - maybe take 5 per day and read (both the statement and the scripture), reflect on what it means and think about how you would respond to what God says about who you are in Christ...

Here is the list - 90 Statements that describe who I am in Christ

1. I am blameless and free from accusation. (Colossians 1:22)
2. Christ Himself is in me. (Colossians 1:27)
3. I am firmly rooted in Christ and am now being built up in Him. (Col. 2:7)
4. I have been made complete in Christ. (Colossians 2:10)
5. I have been spiritually circumcised. My old unregenerate nature has been removed. (Colossians 2:11)
6. I have been buried, raised, and made alive with Christ. (Colossians 2:12,13)
7. I died with Christ and I have been raised up with Christ. My life is now hidden With Christ in God. Christ is now my life. (Colossians 1:1-4)
8. I am an expression of the life of Christ because He is my life. (Colossians 3:4)
9. I am chosen of God, holy and dearly loved. (Col. 3:12; 1 Thessalonians 1:4)
10. I am a son of light and not of darkness. (1 Thessalonians 5:5)
11. I have been given a spirit of power, love, and self-discipline. (2 Timothy 1:7)
12. I have been saved and set apart according to God’s doing. (2 Timothy 1:9; Titus 3:5)
13. Because I am sanctified and am one with the Sanctifier, He is not ashamed to call me brother. (Hebrews 2:11)
14. I am a holy partaker of a heavenly calling. (Hebrews 3:1)
15. I have the right to come boldly before the throne of God to find mercy and grace in a time of need. (Hebrews 4:16)
16. I have been born again. (1 Peter 1:23)
17. I am one of God’s living stones, being built up in Christ as a spiritual house. (1 Peter 2:5)
18. I am a member of a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a People for God’s own possession. (1 Peter 2:9,10)
19. I am an alien and stranger to this world in which I temporarily live. (1 Peter 2:11)
20. I am an enemy of the devil. (1 Peter 2:11)
21. I have been given exceedingly great and precious promises by God by Which I am a partaker of God’s divine nature. (2 Peter 1:4)
22. I am forgiven on the account of Jesus’ name. (1 John 2:12)
23. I am anointed by God. (1 John 2:27)
24. I am a child of God and I will resemble Christ when He returns. (1 John 3:1,2)
25. I am loved. (1 John 4:10)
26. I am like Christ. (1 John 4:10)
27. I have life. (1 John 5:12)
28. I am born of God, and the evil one…the devil…cannot touch me. (1 John 5:`8)
29. I have been redeemed. (Revelation 5:9)
30. I have been healed. (Isaiah 53:5)
31. I am the salt of the earth. (Matthew 5:13)
32. I am the light of the world. (Matthew 5:14)
33. I am commissioned to make disciples. (Matthew 28:19,20)
34. I am a child of God. (John 1:12)
35. I have eternal life. (John 10:27)
36. I have been given peace. (John 14:27)
37. I am part of the true vine, a channel of Christ’s life. (John 15:1,5)
38. I am clean. (John 15:3)
39. I am Christ’s friend. (John 15:15)
40. I am chosen and appointed by Christ to bear His fruit. (John 15:16)
41. I have been given glory. (John 17:22)
42. I have been justified…completely forgiven and made righteous. (Romans 5:1)
43. I died with Christ and died to the power of sin’s rule over my life. (Romans 6:1-6)
44. I am a slave of righteousness. (Romans 6:18)
45. I am free from sin and enslaved to God. (Romans 6:22)
46. I am free forever from condemnation. (Romans 8:1)
47. I am a son of God; God is spiritually my Father. (Romans 8:14, 15; Galatians 3:26; 4:6)
48. I am a joint heir with Christ, sharing His inheritance with Him (Romans 8:17)
49. I am more than a conqueror through Christ, who loves me. (Romans 8:37)
50. I have faith. (Romans 12:3)
51. I have been sanctified and called to holiness. (1 Corinthians 1:2)
52. I have been given grace in Christ Jesus. (1Corinthians 1:4)
53. I have been placed into Christ, by God’s doing. (1 Corinthians 1:30)
54. I have received the Spirit of God into my life that I might know the things feely given to me by God. (1 Corinthians 2:12)
55. I have been given the mind of Christ. (1 Corinthians 2:16)
56. I am a temple…a dwelling place…of God. His Spirit and His life dwell in me. (1 Corinthians 3:16; 6:19)
57. I am united to the Lord and am one spirit with Him. (1 Corinthians 6:17)
58. I am bought with a price; I am not my own; I belong to God. (1 Corinthians 6:19,20; 7:23)
59. I am called. (1 Corinthians 7:17)
60. I am a member of Christ’s Body. (1 Corinthians 12:27; Ephesians 5:30)
61. I am victorious through Jesus Christ. (1 Corinthians 15:57)
62. I have been established, anointed and sealed by God in Christ, and I have been given to the Holy Spirit as a pledge guaranteeing my inheritance to come. (2 Corinthians 1:21; Ephesians 1:13,14)
63. I am led by God in triumphal procession. (2 Corinthians 2:14)
64. I am to God the fragrance of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing. (2 Corinthians 2:15)
65. I am being changed into the likeness of Christ. (2 Corinthians 3:18
66. Since I have died, I no longer live for myself, but for Christ. (2 Corinthians 5:14,15)
67. I am a new creation. (2 Corinthians 5:17)
68. I am reconciled to God and am a minister of reconciliation. (2 Corinthians 5:18,19)
69. I have been made righteous. (2 Corinthians 5:21)
70. I am given strength in exchange for weakness. (2 Corinthians 12:10)
71. I have been crucified with Christ and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. The life I am now living is Christ’s life. (Galatians 2:20)
72. I am a son of God and one in Christ. (Galatians 3:26, 28)
73. I am Abraham’s seed…an heir of the promise. (Galatians 3:29)
74. I am an heir of God since I am a son of God. (Galatians 4:6,7)
75. I am a saint. (Ephesians 1:1; ! Corinthians 1:2; Philippians 1:1; Colossians 1:2)
76. I have been blessed with every spiritual blessing. (Ephesians 1:3)
77. I was chosen in Christ before the foundation of the world to be holy and am without blame before Him. (Ephesians 1:4)
78. I was predestined…determined by God…to be adopted as God’s son. (Ephesians 1:5)
79. I have been sealed with the Holy Spirit. (Ephesians 1:13)
80. I have been redeemed and forgiven, and I am a recipient of His lavish grace. I have been made alive together with Christ. (Ephesians 2:5)
81. I have been raised up and seated with Christ in heaven. (Ephesians 2:6)
82. I am God’s workmanship…His handiwork…born anew in Christ to do His work. (Ephesians 2:10)
83. I have direct access to God through the Spirit. (Ephesians 2:18)
84. I am a fellow citizen with the rest of God’s family. (Ephesians 2:19)
85. I may approach God with boldness, freedom, and confidence. (Eph. 3:12)
86. I am righteous and holy. (Ephesians 2:24)
87. I am a citizen of heaven, seated in heaven right now. (Philippians 3:20; Ephesians 2:6)
88. I am capable. (Philippians 4:13)
89. I have been rescued from the domain of Satan’s rule and transferred to the kingdom of Christ. (Colossians 1:13)
90. I have been redeemed and forgiven of all my sins. The debt against me has been cancelled. (Colossians 1:14)

Lord Jesus, my prayer for each of us as we go into this weekend is that we remember how valued we are by You, Lord Jesus. That are hearts are filled with thanks and gratitude as a result for Your presence in our lives and the work You alone did to bring us salvation! Amen!

Have a weekend filled with the Peace that comes from knowing our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ,
 
Patrick

Good morning!

Philippians 2:3-8
Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others. In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus,
 
who, being in very nature God,
did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage;
rather, he made himself nothing
by taking the very nature of a servant,
being made in human likeness.
And being found in appearance as a man,
he humbled himself
by becoming obedient to death--
even death on a cross!

​This is often on my heart and is on my heart today.
 
Relationships. I am prompted to this thinking as I see the constant change in the world, people moving from one season to another, some moving closer to Christ and others walking away from His love. I think that scripture makes it clear, relationships are more important than anything else in our lives. It starts with the most important relationship we have – with God, specifically through Jesus Christ and the indwelling Holy Spirit, through which our relationship with the Father has been saved – for eternity.

In Jesus Christ, all of our relationships are redeemed and are being sanctified as we live for Jesus - our relationship with God, with ourselves, with others and with creation - all being renewed.

We are called often in scripture to take this understanding into our relationships that are a part of this world. Philippians 2:3-8 frames it so well – value each other above yourselves – have the same way of thinking about relationships with each other as Christ did…
 
This kind of thinking should become normal for us, and especially for anyone reading this email who has a call on their life that is from God that they have answered yes to. For me I am feeling especially cognizant of this today as I look at and consider my relationships in this ever changing world knowing eternal relationships are anchored in our Savior Christ Jesus. I / we must value each person we meet, each child we meet above ourselves – in the same way Christ and therefore our Father loves and cares for them.
 
God blessed me by bringing me to Feed My Starving Children and during my time there, His hand was the hand that created each connection, each relationship here that becomes a part of the fabric of that season of my life.

Now in "retirement" God's hand is touching, creating and redeeming new relationships, that when those relationships bear fruit, he will get the glory.

I am richer in my life and in my life in Christ, because God felt it was important that for a little while,  some of you had your life and my life connected – even if it wasn’t often, or seemingly significant when we did interact.
 
So I am grateful that I know you.

For those of you that I do not know reading this, God may connect us and if that happens, I pray God's purposes are served in our knowing each other.
 
Lord Jesus, my prayer for each of us as we enter this weekend is that to remember always –our relationships with each other and ours with other people will truly reflect the Light of Christ! Amen!
 
Have a weekend filled with the Peace that comes from knowing our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ,
 
Patrick

Good morning!

I have shared this idea in the past. The idea comes from a brother in Christ, Arlin, who does a daily email devotional.

Here are my thoughts.

Do you have a life list? I had a chance to uncover a list I made a few years ago and it spurred me on to revisit this idea of what are my core values (worldview).  Do you ever think about this - what is your foundation for living your life? Is it a Christian/Biblical worldview or is it some cobbled together set of beliefs from many other sources?
 
Here is the life list I made a few years ago. How does this apply to my daily life (and maybe to yours)? Is it representative of my foundational worldview?…
 
My Life List:

1. Time spent with Jesus –
   1. every morning;
   2. every evening;
   3. everyday
2. Best effort in all the work I do, in order to honor God
3. Be a Philippians 2:1-8 person – live in service to others:
   1. Wife / family
   2. Neighbors
   3. Friends
   4. Strangers
   5. Enemies – or those very different from me
4. Turn to Christ in all circumstances
5. By generous – God has provided all I have – hold it with open hands – both time, talent and money
6. Walk in Christ in all interactions with others…

 
The lenses I put on everyday to view the world, to live in the world should loudly speak to understanding how I live in Christ. This list is an articulation of my worldview, the glasses I wear everyday to determine how I live.

I sense/hear Jesus Christ calling out to me to pause and take the time to walk through this exercise of creating a life list as a way to draw near to Him in my daily walk with Him (see James 4:8, Hebrews 4:16; 7:19, 25; 10:1, 22, 25; 11:16).

The word “anchor” comes to mind – Jesus Christ is our anchor, He should be the foundation of our worldview. He has provided us the way to connect ourselves to Him as our anchor, through Him, now children of God, the veil has been torn open (Matthew 27:51). When we accept the gift of salvation in Jesus Christ offered to us, we are casting off the chains of the anchor of the world (exchanging our existing worldview for one anchored in Christ) – and in our acceptance of the gift, in the surrender of our lives to Christ, we are chaining ourselves to the One sure anchor in life.
 
Knowing our core values (our worldview) as anchored (Hebrews 6:19) in our faith in Jesus Christ is like building our house on the rock and not the sand (Matthew 7:23-25).

I am glad that the Holy Spirit brought this idea of a life list back to mind again. I pray that I keep this idea of worldview anchored in Him top of mind always. And that this represents and authentically describes my heart and soul in Jesus Christ.
 
Lord Jesus, my prayer for each of us as we go into this weekend is that each of us finds a way in the new year to keep you, Jesus Christ, centered in our lives. That we see living out daily a worldview anchored in You is a way for us to live in You, for Your glory! Amen!
 
Have a weekend filled with the Peace that comes from knowing our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ,
 
Patrick

Good morning!
 
I have found lately that as I press into my relationship with Jesus, listening and being obedient to His call, the evil one ups the heat and I experience the challenge of more temptation to sin in my life - causing me to get much more self focused and less focused on others

This leads me then to more often reflect about where my heart is at. How about you?
 
As I fully accepted Christ as my Savior, it seemed clear to me how important the heart piece was in our relationship with God. But sometimes we need to be reminded by God's Word -
 
Proverbs 4:23 “Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it.”
 
We know the heart is one of the most important organs in our body. A healthy heart will give us a sense of well-being, energy and ability to live. An ailing heart, at best, keeps us alive but maybe not much more.
 
The heart is mentioned more than 700 times in the bible. Does that give us some indication of its importance to God?
 
In 1 John 3:20-22, John shares more about the importance of the heart – “If our hearts condemn us, we know that God is greater than our hearts, and he knows everything. Dear friends, if our hearts do not condemn us, we have confidence before God and receive from him anything we ask, because we keep his commands and do what pleases him.” And in Romans 10:8-9 Paul shares “But what does it say? “The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart” (that is, the word of faith that we proclaim); because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.”
 
So, now we see that the condition of our heart matters to our physical well-being and more importantly, to our spiritual well-being. Ultimately, if we embrace our relationship with Jesus Christ fully, we are entrusting from our hearts, our lives and how we live going forward. In doing so, we are acting to guard our heart because the Holy Spirit will be present in all heart challenging circumstances.
 
This is a key gift God provides then in out relationship with Him - one that allows us through faith to resist that higher level of temptation that comes our way as we more fully surrender our lives to Lord Jesus.

As our Proverbs verse states above – “…for everything flows from it.” Actions, words, relationships, and our ability to love – when our heart is not well and guarded, sin flows from our heart – greed, anger, hate, loss of faith and much more; but when our heart is well and in Christ, God’s goodness flows from it – including our ability to fully love God, love our neighbors as ourselves, and to even love our enemies…and to resist the temptations of the evil one.
 
Let’s guard our hearts in Christ so God’s love flows into everything we do. Ultimately we are told that as we stand before Christ in heaven, He will look into our heart to know where we really stand.
 
Lord Jesus, my prayer for each of us going into this weekend is that we spend time taking care of our hearts, making our hearts right, for as Paul shares in Philippians 4:7 “And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus”! Amen!
 
Have a weekend filled with the Peace that comes from knowing our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ,
 
Patrick

Good morning!

I think for many of us the changing of the calendar from one year to the next can be the cause of reflection - looking both back and forward. This is certainly true for me.

As a follower of Jesus Christ, I believe it is important that I slow down to reflect at different times during the year. The changing of the calendar this year from 2024 to 2025 works as a time for me to reflect. How about you?

The last few posts have been fueled by others' thoughts.  This post is as well. This reflection is from Arlin Sorenson (from one of his recent daily emails). He provides a list of questions that can be a starting place for you to reflect on as you look forward to the coming year - here they are:

Here are some spiritually focused questions you might ponder as you begin the new year:

1. What specific steps can I take to deepen my relationship with God this year?
2. How can I incorporate more regular prayer and meditation into my daily routine?
3. In what ways can I better understand and apply the teachings of the Bible in my life?
4. Are there any spiritual disciplines, such as fasting or solitude that I feel called to explore?
5. How can I serve others in my community or workplace in a way that reflects God's love and teachings?
6. What are some obstacles or distractions that hinder my spiritual growth, and how can I overcome them? Are there any idols I need to get rid of?
7. How can I foster deeper connections with fellow believers to support each other’s spiritual journeys?
8. What role does gratitude play in my spiritual life, and how can I practice it more consistently?
9. How can I be more open to the guidance and promptings of the Holy Spirit in my daily decisions?
10. In what areas of my life do I need to seek forgiveness or extend forgiveness to others to grow closer to God?

Arlin closes with this challenge: "My big question as we start the new year is simple. Is your eternity secure?  Do you know Jesus as your personal Savior?  Are you ready for whatever comes your way from a spiritual legacy perspective? It's a new year so let's start spiritually on the right foot.​"

Lord Jesus, my prayer as we go into this upcoming weekend is that we take the time to assess our relationship with You and let You lead us in changes that will deepen our walk with You! Amen.

Enjoy this weekend knowing the truth of the work, the peace and love of our Lord and Savior Jesus,

​Patrick Engesser