ICS Daily Devotions
Let God Be Your Only Cheerleader
Ephesians 1:5-6 (NKJV) Having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will, to the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He made us accepted in the Beloved.
The root of our rejection started in the Garden of Eden when God booted Adam and Eve out of the garden after they had sinned against Him. Thereafter, men started on their quest to look for love and acceptance in the fallen would without knowing that the acceptance that ultimately brings rest to their hearts is a restored relationship with God.
The redemptive work of Jesus Christ has caused us to be accepted in the Beloved. Because we are hidden in Christ, God will always accept and welcome us. This positional truth doesn’t depend on what do, but purely on the grace of God and His Agape love towards us. It will bring us to a position of rest, where we don’t need perform in order to be accepted. It is revolutionary because we have always had to perform for man to show Phileo love to us, but we can now rest in God’s unconditional love through this new identity.
Romans 5:1-2 (NKJV) Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom also we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.
This is the kind of confidence that comes with our new identity in Christ where we have direct access to the King of kings at His throne of grace to find help and mercy in our time of need, because we know that we have peace with Him, and are accepted by Him without needing to be on the performance treadmill; He accepts us based on what Jesus has achieved for us and who we are in Christ. Hidden in Christ, we are seen as righteous, blameless, and holy, and we can have faith that He is listening to our prayer prayed in Jesus’ name!
Our identity in Christ is indeed the best identity to have because it will hold us up in good times and in bad times. Once we have our identity in Jesus Christ, it will help us to weather any storm in life. We will be able to manage our emotions because we are secure in Christ and no longer rely on man’s praises. In fact, we will only begin to enjoy the abundant life meant for us when we have the right identity in Christ. There is nothing to prove to anyone; we are only looking to God to be our cheerleader because we have chosen to live our lives for Him.
Sermon Series: He Came to Give You a New Identity
