Where We Have Always Belonged

We have always been in His thoughts and in His heart.

“God the Father knew you and chose you long ago, and His Spirit has made you holy.”

1 Peter 1:2 (NLT)

God our Father chose us to be His very own long ago, before the universe even existed. He already had us in His heart and in His mind as the beloved children He adored. He already knew us long ago in Christ. 

Rather than hoping to find God, we can truly say we’ve always been with Him in Christ from before time began. 

God has always been holding on to us and we have always been included in the love and joy of God. Our place of belonging has always been in God’s family. We have always been special, delighted in, a treasure to Him!

A Thought: My Father wants me, my Father chooses me, my Father treasures me.

Everywhere I Go

A Poem: Everywhere I Go

Everywhere I go I see You.

You are the sheltering of the trees

You are the sunlight glowing through the leaves

You are the unfurling beauty of the ferns

You are the cool, shady trail I walk upon 

Everywhere I go I find You.

You are the waves caressing the shore

And the infinite grains of sand I walk upon

You are the song of the seabirds calling

And the embracing immensity of the sea

Everywhere I go I am with You.

You are all around me like the fresh morning air

I live and breathe in You my atmosphere

You fill me like the sunrise fills up the sky

You surround me, I live in Your embrace

Everywhere I go I sense You

You are in the smile of a friend

And the warm laughter of my family

You are the notes of a love song

Floating endlessly through my soul

Everywhere I go I am in You.

Inside and out You are present

Saying, "I love you and I never leave you,

I hold you and I never fail you."

Your presence is everything to me.

“You have surrounded me on every side, behind me and before me.”

Psalm 139:5 (VOICE)

Defined by Christ

I am defined by Christ alone.

“The Spirit… bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God.”

Romans 8:16 (ESV)

We can consider all the struggles, all the fears and anxieties, all the failures as over and gone, part of a “life” that ended at the cross. What rose with Christ is all “the life” that we are, our true identity in Him revealed and filled with His Spirit. We died, and we are alive again. always with Him. All that He has is ours. We no longer see anyone according to worldly fleshly labels. We see noone as unclean. We see everyone through Spirit eyes, new creation eyes. Perhaps some have not awakened to it, but it is still true what Christ did for us. Christ said, “Now is the judgment of the world, now the ruler of this world is cast down.” When was the “now” Christ spoke of? It was about 2000 years ago, when He took away the sin of the world, justified us, reconciled us, set us free. He brought down with Him the old creation (or old Adam) and brought up with Him the new creation (heavenly Adam). One died for all, thus all died. If we died with Him, we will live with Him. Let’s wake up to what is already ours! The gift, the eternal life, the righteousness, the freedom! Let’s wake up to who we already are, to who God always made us to be - human beings filled with the life of God! Let’s see ourselves in Christ, for when we see Him, we will see ourselves to be like Him! Let’s turn from law to grace, turn from the old way to Christ, and let that veil over our minds fall away! And let’s find the Spirit within and be renewed from glory to glory as we look at the face of Christ and see our face in Him!

A Prayer: Lord, remind me of my true, new creation identity.

Law and Grace

“The law makes you conscious of sin. Grace makes you conscious of being the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus.” 

Rob Rufus

“You no longer live under the requirements of the law. Instead, you live under the freedom of God’s grace.”

Romans 6:14 (NLT)

Law is a system of trying to earn blessing by good performance or keeping rules; grace is the beauty of having blessing as a free and unconditional gift of love through Christ. The unconditional love of Christ does for us what living by rules could never do. It takes us right into God’s arms, into a real relationship with Him. What freedom and joy come knowing that we are not under law but under grace. 

Law is about reward and punishment. Grace is about a love relationship.

Law says, "It's up to you." Grace says, "It's up to Jesus."

Law blesses only success. Grace blesses even failure.

Law is only the pure may come. Grace is whoever wishes may come.

Law says, "You’re not enough, do better." Grace says, "Jesus is enough, rest."

Law says, "You must be perfect before God." Grace says, "You are already perfect before God."

Law leads to condemnation and death (retribution). Grace leads to forgiveness and life (restoration).

Law condemns the ungodly. Grace justifies the ungodly.

Law makes us feel God is a judge. Grace makes us know God is a Father.

Law is conditional acceptance. Grace is unconditional acceptance.

Law says everything must be earned. Grace says everything is a gift.

A Thought: It is wonderful to live under grace.

A Complete Salvation - Quotes from Early Church Fathers

Christ did all that was needed for our salvation - it is finished!

“The Lord touched all parts of creation, and freed and undeceived them all from every deceit.”                                       Athanasius of Alexandria

“As God He washed away our sins.”            Gregory of Nazianzus

"[Christ suffered] as if a condemned sinner, so that we might be delivered from the penalty of our sins. This is God's righteousness...all our sin is removed."

John Chrysostom

“The death of all was accomplished in the Lords’ body, and death and corruption were wholly done away with because of the Word that was united with it.”                                  Athanasius  of Alexandria      

“Christ, having completed for us His saving work and ascended to heaven with the body which He had taken to Himself, accomplishes in His own Self the union of heaven and earth.” Maximus the Confessor

“By Christ’s suffering, all of us, and not one but not another, have been restored. All of us who participate in the same Adam were deceived by the serpent and killed by sin; all of us have been saved by the heavenly Adam.”                                                           Gregory of Nazianzus

"He pitied sinners, and restored them without cost, and made low the mountains of their sins." Ephrem the Syrian

"Having taken up that which was condemned, He liberates all from condemnation."                                             Gregory of Nazianzen

"For when the Lord forgave all sins, He made an exception of none."

                                                                         Ambrose of Milan

"You redeemed us from the curse and from sin, having become both on our behalf." Macrina the Younger

“This is the One who delivered us from slavery into freedom, from darkness into light, from death into life, from tyranny into an eternal kingdom.”                                                        Melito of Sardis

“Christ took humanity, and humanity has been raised in Christ to God.”

                                                                         Hilary of Poitiers

“He was transfused throughout our nature, in order that our nature might by this transfusion of the Divine become itself divine, rescued as it was from death and put beyond the reach of the caprice of the antagonist.” 

                                                                         Gregory of Nyssa

“Christ unites all mankind to Himself, and to the Father through Himself.”                                                         Gregory of Nyssa

“Out of the fullness of his grace he has blessed us all.” (John 1:16 GNT)