R-ooted. E-mpowered. A-live. L-oved.
“Then, by constantly using your faith, the life of Christ will be released deep inside you, and the resting place of his love will become the very source and root of your life.” Ephesians 3:17 (TPT) I think a lot of people move through life without asking themselves some of the deeper questions, like “Am I REAL?”. It’s easy to ignore these things with a pat answer, “of course I’m real, duh!” I asked myself some of these questions years ago and began a search for my identity that continues to fascinate me to this day. One of the first verses in the Bible that caught my eye was Colossians 2:17, “These are a shadow of the things that were to come; the reality, however, is found in Christ.” (NIV) It makes sense to me that if reality is found in Christ, them I’m going to want to know Who Christ is.
Christ is in me, I’ve invited him to reside there. In the beginning of this invitation my faith was weak and the path ahead was full of questions. But, Christ did continue to release his strength deep within me and my life gradually grew roots around his roots, I was becoming more and more rooted in the life of Christ and relationship with him. The quest to be deeply rooted leads me daily to more realizations.
“Your anointing has made me strong and mighty. You’ve empowered my life for triumph by pouring fresh oil over me.” Psalms 92:10 (TPT) Jesus, our Savior, anoints us with his strong and mighty power. As I learn to focus on his strength and the anointing he has poured over me, I feel empowered to live a life of great triumph over lies that are like fiery arrows searching for ways to attack who I am.
“The Almighty is alive and conquers all! Praise is lifted high to the unshakable God! Towering over all, my Savior-God is worthy to be praised.” Psalms 18:46 (TPT) He is alive in me, and in you! This is key to living real. “You brought me back from the brink of death, from the depths below. Now here I am, alive and well, fully restored!” Psalms 30:3 (TPT) I once was dead in the slime of my sins, unaware of the gift Jesus was offering me, and then he took it all from me at the cross, and with him, I too was resurrected into a life of freedom, alive, and able to face the destruction that the enemy so dutifully had planned for my life. The enemy of my soul is eager to bring me to death and destruction, but because of the gift of grace in my life, Jesus restores and brings abundant life to my heart. Whew! this brings me to Loved. “But Christ proved God’s passionate love for us by dying in our place while we were still lost and ungodly! And there is still much more to say of his unfailing love for us! For through the blood of Jesus we have heard the powerful declaration, ‘You are now righteous in my sight.’ And because of the sacrifice of Jesus you will never experience the wrath of God.” Romans 5:8
Jesus willingly took everything, past, present, and future to the cross and on that cross he died so that we could be alive. His Love so powerful for us gave him the desire to wipe away the sin that insisted on staining us forever. He Loved us then, He loves us now, and He will love us forever! This love is like a wrecking ball; it destroys fears, limitations, and lies we believe. It takes you to new and limitless heights. It makes you brave! This love never leaves you, in fact it passionately chases you relentlessly searching for new ways to deeply root you, empower you, and make you alive, so that you always know and feel loved!
This is REAL, and when you can BE REAL, you can conquer anything.
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