For God hath not given us the spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind. ~2 Timothy 1:7 (KJV)
It takes some of us longer than others to come to know who we are in Christ Jesus. The concept of being a whole new person halfway through your life is almost unfathomable. Nicodemus, who was a member of the Jewish Ruling Council, asked Jesus in John 3:4 “How can someone be born when they are old? Surely they cannot enter a second time into their mother’s womb to be born!” (NIV) His question was in response to Jesus’ statement “Very truly I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again." (NIV) The bible teaches when we accept Jesus as our Savior and we are filled with the Holy Spirit, we are born again. We are a new creation in Christ Jesus. The Holy Spirit begins working with us immediately to sanctify us and show us who we are in Christ Jesus so that we can take our place in the body of Christ and make our impact on this world for our generation. We are told in 1 Timothy that the Spirit we received is not a wimpy spirit. It’s the Holy Spirit who enables us to love as God loves, He enables us to exercise God’s power in the earth and He brings to us the wisdom of God to overcome the battles that the enemy wages against us in our minds, in our emotions, and in our bodies.
God strategically places born again believers throughout the earth to show His power and there is nothing more powerful than a changed person, someone who has received God’s gift in Christ of a regenerated heart. Have you ever met someone who seemed to think completely different overnight? They can’t help it they are a new creation. God has taken up residence in their life and even goes as far as to call them His temple. In 2 Corinthians 5:17 God tells us “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!” (NIV) Can you say I am not the same person I used to be? Although there is still a lot of growing up to do when we come to the Lord, we can be sure He is working with us to help us to be who He has called us to be every day. Some of the sin in our lives the Lord deals with immediately and some He comes along side and works with us to overcome. God does this by His Holy Spirit living inside us. In our daily lives we must remind ourselves God did not give us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind. A spirit of fear is one that is timid, lacking self-confidence, anxious and indecisive. That’s not who we are anymore. We have been given the Spirit of God. We are powerful and bold. We have been filled with God’s love. We are told in Romans 5:5 that “the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us.” (KJV) We have also been given a sound mind. A sound mind is a healthy mind that trusts in God completely. We are born again to overcome our enemy, our circumstances and even our own attitude!
You are of God, little children, and have overcome them; because greater is he who is in you than he who is in the world. ~1 John 4:4 (WEB)
Can you say I am not the same person I used to be? What has changed?
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