Knowledge gives tremendous advantage to the one who possesses it especially if they know how to put this knowledge into good use.

Personally I have been determining to know what it means to be a Christian. Paul and David are the ones that challenge me most. The way they write and talk about and of God; tells me there is more that I don’t know.

As Paul longed this too is my longing “I want to know Christ—yes, to know the power of his resurrection”……..Philippians 3:10Christ dying on the cross not only brought about the forgiveness of our sins. He changed everything and you may ask why don’t I feel different? The truth is you are different, your identity changes. Here is a continuation of our previous conversation.

The identity that we have received by being in Christ :

Power to say No to sin. I will explain this borrowing from super hero character. For most of them once they encounter the phenomenon that transformed them; their lives gradually start to change. For example; Peter Parker’s sight is perfect after the spider bite and after a while he discovers he can climb walls. Before we became Christians we were powerless to sin and after salvation we received power to say no to sin. Unfortunately, for a majority of us, we do not know this- some of us are still caught in the web of the lies of what we believe and as a result; we become helpless to sin and continue to sin. (Imagine if Peter Parker continued being bullied even with his powers- that is some of us continue in our helplessness to say no to sin.)The power is not your own or in the analogy above from the spider; you have to be dependent on Christ and the power of the Holy Spirit in you.

• Consider these verses “For the grace of God has appeared that offers salvation to all people. It teaches us to say “No” to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age, Titus 2:11-12”. 
  • Do you believe this?
  • Is there a sin in your life that you feel you are helpless to or simply can not overcome? 
  • Meditate on 1 Corinthians 10:13. 
• No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it. 

Righteous. The first time I heard someone say to me “you are righteous” I thought to myself ‘crazy’ you see when this was said to me I struggling with addiction to pornography and I viewed myself as being unrighteous. After all, righteous to my understanding meant not to be with sin. What wrong information I had! Righteousness as I have come to understand is a status that only Jesus can give us. He took upon himself our sin and in him we become the righteousness of God, righteousness is clothed to us. Look at these verses below. 

• Isaiah 61:10. I delight greatly in the Lord; my soul rejoices in my God. For he has clothed me with garments of salvation and arrayed me in a robe of his righteousness, as a bridegroom adorns his head like a priest, and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels. 

• 2 Corinthians 5:21. God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. 
  • The knowledge that I was righteous helped me see and know that it is all a gift, and once my believe changed from thinking and believing I was unrighteous to knowing and believing I was righteous, I stopped trying to earn righteousness by my behavior and if for nothing else, I believe I entered rest and in so many ways welcomed the working and manifestation of Christ in me.
• Isaiah 64:6. All of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags; we all shrivel up like a leaf, and like the wind our sins sweep us away.8. Yet you, Lord, are our Father. We are the clay, you are the potter; we are all the work of your hand. 
  

The secret is knowing you are forgiven, going back to God in repentance and asking for help in case you sin. Keepcoming to Christ no matter how long it takes. Even if it doesn’t seem so trust God that He is mounding you into Christlikeness. And where you are struggling ask for help from other believers.

Jesus, I thank you for the work you did on the cross. Thank you for taking my punishment and giving me righteousness, thank you for making me like you. Help me believe that I am a finished work and choose to obey you as the Spirit prompts. Forgive me all my sins today and enable me walk in your righteousness. For its your Name Jesus I pray.