Normal

Focus on new creation reality.

"Now, in the light of your co-inclusion in His death and resurrection, whoever you thought you were before, in Christ you are a brand new person! The old ways of seeing yourself and everyone else are over. Acquaint yourself with the new!"

2 Corinthians 5:17 (MB)

We are normal. Not broken, or messed up, or damaged. Whatever we thought was wrong with us was taken down into the grave with Christ and it didn't come up! But we came up out of the grave with Him, fresh and clean and new. We are simply new creations in Christ, and that is all we are! We are good, strong, full, clear-minded, loving, complete, and solid. We have a spirit of power, love and a sound mind, not one of weakness or fear. We are on top of any problem, not under it. We are well and whole, not broken down. We are just as Christ is. All that He is, we are, because we are in Him and He is in us. We are actually seated with Him in heaven. That's how great things are for us. We are normal!

A Thought: There is nothing wrong with me; everything is all right with me!

In His Eyes

When we dare to look into His eyes, we find only love there!

"And Jesus, looking at him, loved him." 

Mark 10:21 (ESV)

He's looking at us right now, loving us. What do we see in His eyes? In His eyes, we see the endless affection He has for all the world.  In His eyes, we see the delight He feels when He looks at us. In His eyes, we see His infinite compassion for all our pain and suffering. In His eyes, we see the beauty of unconditional love. In His eyes, we see that the Father is all kindness and no wrath, all light and no dark.  In His eyes, we see the tenderness and vulnerability of His wide open heart towards us. In His eyes, we see ourselves, just as He has always seen and known us, His innocent little children simply needing love. In His eyes, we see we are like Him, in His image and likeness, beautiful and pure. In His eyes, we see we have always been His own dear ones and always will be. In His eyes, we see we are one with Him and will never be alone or forsaken. In His eyes, we see we are safe, nurtured, comforted, and held for all eternity. He's looking at us right now, loving us!

A Thought: In His eyes I see how much I am loved.

Free from Sin

Because of Christ we have no association with sin.

"You have been set free from sin and have become slaves to righteousness."

Romans 6:18 (NIV)

Free from sin! We died to sin with Christ and are now alive to righteousness.  That means we don't have to sin if we don't want to. And the good news is, we don't want to! We are in God's image of love and goodness, and we naturally hate sin and love righteousness. We are free from sin, not enslaved to it, not bound to it, not at its mercy, not helpless before it. We are actually slaves to righteousness. We WILL be be righteous. We just can't resist it! It's our very nature to trust, to love, to be a good person. And not only that, we are seated with Christ in heavenly places right now. We rule and reign with Christ. We reign in life, we rule over sin, we are master over it in Christ. We naturally say no to sin and yes to goodness and kindness. And the Holy Spirit rises up in us to affirm and express that, in power and love and peace!

A Thought: Because Christ has a hold on me, sin has NO hold on me!

Living in Union

Inside my skin, there are two - Christ and me - face to face at all times, moving as one, going through life together, in constant companionship and love. Inside my skin, there are two, yet we are one.

"God's free gift is eternal life in union with Christ Jesus our Lord."

Romans 6:23 (GNT)

We are living life in union with Him! In union, there is no distance between the two. They are perfectly united as one. In union, there is no barrier, no distance, no separation. Nothing is ever amiss or off-kilter. The two are knit together as 'one heart' in unity, transparency, mutuality, sharing and real communion! Christ is in union with us in our spirit, spirit to Spirit we are bonded as one, and nothing can ever come between us! We are safe, we are melded with Him, we are so close together that we are IN each other!

A Thought: I am one with Christ, so close that we are one heart, one mind, one life!

His Spacious Heart

 

There's room in His heart for all the universe, and room in His heart for me.

"He was supreme in the beginning and—leading the resurrection parade—He is supreme in the end. From beginning to end He’s there, towering far above everything, everyone. So spacious is He, so roomy, that everything of God finds its proper place in Him without crowding. Not only that, but all the broken and dislocated pieces of the universe—people and things, animals and atoms—get properly fixed and fit together in vibrant harmony.."

Colossians 1:18-20 (MSG)

There is room for us in His great big heart..room for all our problems...room for all our doubts...room for all our questions...room for all our inconsistencies...room for all our pain...rooms for all our worries..Absolutely anything and everything that concerns us is welcomed, embraced and healed in the great big heart of Christ. In fact, He is holding and healing the whole of creation in His beautiful heart right now!

A Thought: He holds us in His heart.

No Record

 God never thinks about sin when He thinks about you!

"Love keeps no record of wrongs."

1 Corinthians 13:5b

We see our sins and we feel guilt, shame, and regret. We feel we deserve to be punished. We fear God's judgment and anger. But even though we may think about our sins a lot, God isn't thinking about them. God is Love, and love keeps no record of wrongs. God doesn't have His mind on evil. God has His mind on good. He isn't seeing evil when He thinks of you; He is only seeing good, because you are made in His image of love. If you feel you deserve punishment for what you've done, look to Jesus and take His death as yours. Let that be enough 'punishment.' God doesn't need that punishment, that sacrifice for sin. It was we who needed it, and He graciously allowed us to take Christ's death as such, so we could deal with our guilt and shame. But God, Love, always loves and accepts us and does not keep a record of wrongs. So why would He punish them? Why would He judge them? Why would He even need to forgive us, since He keeps no record of our wrongs at all! Our failures don't exist to God! He only sees the person He made, in His image of Love, and nothing we do can change that!  As Julian of Norwich wrote, "What a powerful love that no trespass can break!"

A Thought: God takes no account of my wrongs. He only takes account of His love for me!

Healing Love

"I was so messed up and broken. I expected God's wrath. But all I got was His love, and that's what changed me!"

Susannah St. John

"Yet the Lord longs to be gracious to you; therefore He will rise up to show you compassion. For the Lord is a God of justice. Blessed are all who wait for Him!"

Isaiah 30:18

God's justice isn't like the human way of justice. God's justice is part of His love, and His way of doing justice is to heal us with His love. No matter what we do, no matter what regrets we have, His love embraces us, engulfs us in tenderness and kindness, with grace and compassion.  He is not judging us but rather accepting us. This acceptance that comes to us no matter what we have done, heals us!  He is not about punishing wrongs but about righting wrongs by healing hearts! His love reaches deep into our hearts and mends all the broken places, heals all the wounded places.  What a wonderful justice to be healed by love!

A Thought: Your love heals all my hurting places.

God's Spitting Image

We are in God's image and likeness and the mirror image of Christ.

"He already knew his people and had already appointed them to have the same form as the image of his Son. Therefore, his Son is the firstborn among many children."

Romans 8:29 (GW)

I had a dream. In this dream I was holding my little child, a tiny little girl, and I was saying, let's just look at you! And I looked into her face and she looked just like I did as a baby! I mean I could have been looking at my own photo from those baby days - she had the same hair, same eyes, same expression, everything. And I was so proud, my heart swelled with joy, I felt such a connection to this little one, and I loved her so much..I ADORED her! And I was thinking, she's my spitting image!

If He sees us anything like I saw that child in my arms in the dream, He must ADORE us! I just feel the intense love He has for us, the pride and joy He has when He looks at us. When He sees us He sees someone He ADORES just as much as He ADORES Christ our Brother! We bear the family likeness; we are His spitting image!

A Thought: God sees Himself in me because I am in His image.

Inner Light

The true Light, God Himself, is shining within us.

"God is shining in our hearts to let us know that His glory is seen in Jesus Christ."

2 Corinthians 4:6 (CEV)

The Quakers call Christ inside the Inner Light. He is a Light inside us that can't be extinguished, a Light that has already overcome all darkness. He is a Light that will always guide us from within and light our path all the way home. He is the Light of pure Love that has no darkness in Him - He is only kindness, friendliness, and goodness, with no trace of evil or wrath. This beautiful Light, Christ Himself, is there within, His face glowing with glorious radiance, shining forth and waiting for us to remember that He has been here with us all along, He loves us like noone else, and He will never ever leave us.

A Thought: I am filled with the Light of God, not any darkness.

Within Us

Christ is within every person, like a seed waiting in the soil, till the water of the Word comes to give each one the message of "Christ in you, the hope of glory!" 

"He was pleased to reveal His Son in me, so I could proclaim Him in the nations."

Galatians 1:16

Little children seem to instinctively know God is with them and seem to find it easy to trust God. They seem to know what adults often forget - that God is in us. Paul said that God revealed Christ in him, not separate from or outside of him. And Paul said he wanted to proclaim Christ in the nations, that is, in everyone. We can look at ourselves and at every person and see that Christ is within. He is not far from each of us. We live and breathe in Him, and we also find Him deep within us, in our heart of hearts, where He waits to be seen and experienced, waits to burst forth in love for us and abundant life through us!

A Thought: Christ waits to be revealed and known in every person.

Chosen

God chose us in Christ before time began. We are wanted, just as we are, for who we are!

"I have called you by name; you are Mine."

Isaiah 43:1 (NLT)

We were already prized and valued by God, like a priceless jewel to Him that He saw and delighted in, long before we even existed on this earth, for we already existed in His heart and thoughts and imagination! He chose us way back then before creation, and choosing means calling by name! That means before time began He already called us by name, called us "My Beloved" and "Beautiful" and "My Bride." He gave us grace before time began, gave us favor, meaning that He actually called us His favorite - favored, highly esteemed, greatly loved - before time itself even started. What security in knowing that before we were even born, before we could do anything to try to earn any acceptance or approval, He already chose us, wanted us, called us 'worth everything to Me', said 'you are Mine, My very own!' If He chose us before we were even around to try to cause the choosing, then nothing we do could make us lose that choosing. We will always be His delight and joy! He is never going to divorce His Bride.

A Thought: We are safely in His embrace forever!