Equipment needed:
- dumbbells
- yoga mat
Daily Devotional:
Main point: God doesn’t just fix problems, he makes things new.
Key scripture: “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is in new creation. The old has passed away: behold, the new has come. All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself, and gave us the ministry of reconciliation.” (2 Corinthians 5: 17-18)
One meeting someone new, often that person will say, “tell me about yourself. “Usually, the person is looking for a job titles or relationship status or the city where you live. You may answer with things like “I am a nurse, I live in Dallas “I am a married father of two “. And our society you are often identified by what you do or where you live.
Through categorizing people this is often harmless, sometimes people go a step further and identify individuals by their wrongs. If someone commits adultery, that person labeled as a “adult. “When coworkers do poor work, they are called “incompetent “people who talk about others behind their backs are noted as “gossips.” it is easy for past failures to become identifiers that are not easily erased. Even when you take steps to make amends for your mistakes, labels can stick with you in the minds of others, and sometimes in your own mind, too.
However, God sees you differently. He loves you. He fearfully and wonderfully created you and his own image. In fact, you are so valuable to him that even though he knew all the sins you were going to commit, he sent Jesus, his son, To Dye For you so that you could be reconciled to a right relationship with him. Second Corinthians 517 through 18 says that if you are reconciled to God through Jesus, he doesn’t just fix you, he makes you. He gives you a new identity and purpose.
You may want to stop the action that is your struggle, but God wants to do much more than just help you modify your behavior. He wants you to be in a right relationship with him to be healthy, to realize who he created you to be, and to see yourself as he sees you. He wants you to live out the purpose for which you are created, so that you can experience all that he has for you and every area of life. If you are willing to come to him on his terms, he will make everything new. What is stopping you?
Challenge: list the characteristics by which you most often identify yourself curious also list how you think God sees you. Consider the differences of these two list. Ask someone you trust to see if you’re understanding of how God sees you lines up with what the Bible says about how he sees you.
Prayer: dear God, help me let go of my past help me to see myself and others as you do, not for the wrongs I have done.
- Meg