There is a war for the love of God. This all-out war makes perfect sense since loving God is the first and most important commandment. This vital ingredient, love, is how the world will know we are Christians. The Daily Nuggets of Grace is a tool to help Christians remove barriers like guilt, shame, fear, and pride while learning to abide in Christ and recover their first love for Him. Freedom In Christ Ministries
Day 1
Scripture: 2 Corinthians 5:14-18
Who You Are
We raised our three children on the family farm. As a homeschooling family, we found immense pleasure in most things outdoors. Loving small animals and investigating insects were part of our routine.
Caterpillars were always a delight. We marveled how these chubby little creatures would one day take flight and flutter through the air as butterflies. A momentous change with great beauty was in the future of these creepy critters.
We knew that once the caterpillar took on its new form as a butterfly, it would never return to its old way of living.
Butterflies were also a common catch. We admired their markings and delicate features, then let them return to butterfly life. The children never looked at a butterfly and wondered if it would behave like a caterpillar again. We studied a completed butterfly’s life process and knew it was now fully what it was created to be.
As Christ’s followers, we are now fully what we were created to be. Jesus has given us an entirely new identity in Christ.
We hear comments like, “We’re just sinners saved by grace.” However, the Lord doesn’t address us that way.
Throughout the New Testament, Christians are called saints, holy ones, children of God, and new creations. Does that make you uncomfortable? Do you want to argue against it by saying, “Yes, that is true, but…” It can initially feel awkward to recognize what God’s Word says about us. It almost seems prideful.
The truth is that our seeing ourselves as anything less than how God does, assumes that Christ’s sacrifice wasn’t enough.
As believers in Christ, we would never get on our knees and say to God, “It’s nice that You sent Jesus, but He wasn’t quite enough to make me the new creation referred to in 2 Corinthians 5:17.”
While we wouldn’t go to God and say it, many of us live our daily lives assuming we must identify with who we were instead of who we are now.
This week as we think about victory in Christ, specifically our victory over sin, recognize that this victory begins with seeing yourself as God sees you. You need to see yourself as you are in Christ.
Reflect and Respond
Paul opens several letters with greetings to the saints, not sinners or even sinners saved by grace. Do you think of yourself as a sinner or a saint? What difference does it make in your life?
Pray
Lord Jesus, help me to recognize how You see me. Help me to see myself as God the Father sees me.
Day 2
Scriptures: Ephesians 2:10, John 15:16
What You Do
Yesterday, we examined the truth about who you are in Christ. Today, we will explore what you do based on that truth.
Research shows that people act on what they believe. If a child of God thinks they are a sinner, they will behave like a sinner. If children of God understand who they truthfully are, they can live with a refreshed and honest sense of being.
One of our grandchildren’s ducks laid an egg a few years ago. While the mother duck wasn’t interested in tending to her nest, a hen was. She faithfully sat on the nest until her little treasure hatched.
This duckling lived like a chick. Little Duck slept with the chickens, ate with the chickens, responded to their voices, and even ran under his hen’s wing when a danger alarm sounded. But he wasn’t a chicken. In time, he was a fully grown duck, still acting like a small chicken.
After several months, Little Duck became interested in what the other ducks were doing. The pool they swam in seemed more inviting, and strolling down to the pond captivated him. Little Duck soon realized he was indeed a duck. Once he recognized who he was, he began acting like a duck. Knowing who he was influenced what he did. Now, he happily lives life as, you guessed it, a duck.
You were once a sinner—we all were. However, the minute we received Christ as our Savior, our identity changed from sinner to saint. As saints, we are no longer required to sin. We are free to live a life of righteousness with the help of the Holy Spirit in us.
Living in the truth of who we are in Christ brings about actions that flow from our being God’s child. We feel internally that our sin doesn’t fit our identity as new creatures. We also begin living with authentic purpose.
The Bible tells us that Jesus came to give us abundant life. We can only live this abundant life when we believe what God says about us.
Pray
Lord Jesus, I praise You that You have made me a new creation at the core of my being. Help me to live according to the truth of who I am in You.
Day 3
Scriptures: Romans 6:4-11, Galatians 2:20
Sin Has No Hold
Shortly after I turned sixteen, I moved in with my grandparents. I was always close to them, so living in their home increased their parental role in my heart and life. I married a young man in their community, so Grandpa was also active in our children’s lives.
Doing life together was natural for us.
When Grandpa’s health began to decline, I spent hours, days, and weeks by his side. After he went home to Jesus, I woke some mornings feeling like I needed to rush to help him. Those feelings didn’t last long, but they felt real.
The truth is that Grandpa is eternally home with Jesus, and I will be there one day, too.
Just as some mornings, my feelings lied to me about Grandpa’s physical life and death, your feelings may lie to you about your death to sin and life in Christ. God’s word is clear: we are dead to sin; it is no longer our master. We are freed from it. But sometimes it certainly feels like sin still has a grip on us.
Christ united us to His death and His life. Our old self was crucified with Christ. Jesus took our sins to the cross. Because He rose again, we too are eternally alive. Because of our unity with Him in these two significant events, we are no longer slaves to sin.
You might say, “But I feel very alive to sin.” We will sometimes sin, but we no longer must sin. Sin now has no hold on us. When we do sin, the world, the flesh, or the devil may try to convince us that we are still sinners. We may even feel alive to sin and dead to God. But that is not true.
The complete work of Christ is just that. Complete. He delivered us from the penalty of sin by removing our guilt. He also removed our slavery to sin because we are united with Him in His death and resurrection.
At the cross, Jesus spoke, “It is finished.” If you are a believer in Christ, Jesus paid your sin debt in full. You are fully alive in Him.
You can ignore the lies your feelings tell you and renew your mind with the truth. Living in the truth proclaims that you have been set free from sin and death. Sin has no hold on you.
Reflect and Respond
Do you believe you are dead to sin? What do you do when you hear lies in your mind that sin still has power over you?
Pray
Lord Jesus, Thank You for going to the cross for my sins and rising from the grave so I can live in You. I agree with You that I am dead to sin and alive in Christ. Help me to walk in this new life.
Day 4
Scriptures: Ephesians 4:17-24, Romans 6:12-14, James 1:14-18
Consequences
Our enemies – the world, the flesh, and the devil – vie for our attention and scheme for our response.
Because we are God’s children, we can proclaim, “Greater is He who is in us than he who is in the world” (I John 4:4).
The truth is that our relationship with sin is dead — DONE! ANNULLED! We no longer have to walk in its enticing ways.
While we are no longer in a relationship with sin, our enemies try to seduce us back to our old ways of thinking and behaving.
There are certain foods that my body doesn’t handle well. With care and a better diet, I feel better than I have in years. However, if I again eat food that my body can’t handle, I will eventually feel miserable again.
Last year, during my travels, I took liberties to cheat on my diet. I made excuses even after returning home. My grocery list began accommodating my physical desires. Soon, I began to feel ill. My body was responding to what I was putting into it. There were consequences for returning to my fleshly desires.
God is so generous that even after we are eternally secure as His children, He gives us choices to walk closely with Him.
In Ephesians 4, we are reminded that we no longer have to live in worthless thinking according to our former way of life, but we are to be renewed in the spirit of our minds.
We don’t have to give the devil an opportunity. Like veering from a healthy diet, we will face consequences when we deviate from God’s best for us. It is never God’s best for us to cheat with sin.
When we choose to sit at sin’s table, we are being served lies. However, we never lose our place at our Father God’s table.
Why would we want to dine with a dead relationship to sin when we can sit freely with The One who gives us perfect grace?
Run to the seat of grace. Father God is waiting for you.
Reflect and Respond
Where are you tempted to cheat with sin? How does the truth of God’s grace for you make you feel?
Pray
Father, forgive me for going back to sin, even though you set me free. (Take time to confess that sin to God.) I am running to You so I can receive the full benefit of your grace.
Day 5
Scriptures: James 4:7, Ephesians 6:10-18
The Effects of Your World View
Two people living in the same region, one from the city and another from the countryside, can be so comfortable with their local sights and sounds that they barely notice them.
When a city person goes to the countryside for the weekend, they hear the birds and see the evening black skies and bright stars with amazement.
When a person from a rural area spends a weekend in a large city, they may be startled by the blast of sirens, gawk at the height of buildings, and marvel at the city lights.
The same is true when considering a worldview and reading Scripture. If you are from a Western culture, you may barely notice the devil when reading The Word and deny the reality of his influence on your daily life.
Other cultures may have a keen awareness of the spiritual dimension to the point of living in fear, therefore giving the demonic realm too much attention and power.
The Bible says we are to submit to God and resist the devil. Depending on where you live, you may be tempted to interpret this only as “Submit to God” or “Resist the devil.” Most of us emphasize one over the other.
Notice that we are to submit to God first, and from our position in Him, we can resist the devil. Both are essential instructions in living out the freedom that Jesus has given us.
As children of God, we are free to resist the devil. We shouldn’t pretend he doesn’t exist because that would deny Jesus’s words. From our position in Christ, we can expose the enemy’s schemes and proclaim the truth of God’s victory over them. We can resist the devil by the powerful truth of Christ.
It was a grand day in my walk with Jesus when I realized “I get” to resist the devil because of my position in Christ and submission to God. You can enjoy this freedom too.
This simple two-step process can be a powerful tool in helping you overcome sin in your life. When tempting thoughts or situations come, you can overcome them by submitting to God and resisting the devil.
Reflect and Respond
How has your worldview affected how you see submission to God and resisting the devil? Which do you naturally emphasize? Which are you more likely to ignore?
Pray
Lord God, you are all powerful and victorious. Thank you for the gift of submission to You. You are the One who created me for close fellowship with You. As I submit to You, I will resist the devil.
Day 6
Scriptures: John 14:6, 1 Corinthians 10:13
The Way Out
As a Christ follower, you may find yourself in a vicious cycle of sin, confess, sin, confess. Maybe you struggle with old flesh behaviors. You may experience family patterns you can’t seem to break free from.
When we recognize repeated sins in our lives, we can be assured that “No temptation has overtaken us except what is common to humans.” You’re not the first person to be stuck in that sin.
You might say, “But this temptation is overwhelming.” It will always seem overwhelming if you focus on tempting thoughts. The verse acknowledges that the temptation has overtaken us – it has a grip on us.
The verse goes on to encourage us, “God is faithful; He will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear.”
You can find great comfort in knowing that Jesus thought of you when He saw the cross before Him. Now you get to think of Him instead of the temptation before you.
Jesus says He is the Way, the Truth, and the Life. He is our way out of temptation and repeated sin.
Sometimes our thoughts seem innocent. However, if they don’t align with God’s holiness, they are an attempt to get us to live independently of Him. We may linger in those thoughts, looking for pleasure or a false identity. These thoughts then lead us into temptation.
Every temptation is based on a lie trying to meet our needs for acceptance, significance, and security through someone or something other than God.
When Jesus rose from the dead, He made the way for us to live perfectly complete in Him. He opened the door of victory for us.
As believers in Christ, we know the Holy Spirit lives in us. He helps us recognize thoughts of temptation and shows us where the enemy may have strongholds in our lives. When the Holy Spirit reveals a foothold, we can renounce it, repent, and renew our minds in the truth.
We can live victoriously over the lies when we choose to set our minds on truth. God says that in Christ, we are FREE.
Father God is generous. He provides the way for us to walk in freedom and graciously gives us the daily choice to walk in our freedom.
Reflect and Respond
Do you recognize a temptation you face repeatedly? What is the lie behind that temptation?
Pray
Jesus, Thank You for being the way out of temptation. I want to walk in the freedom You provided, so I proclaim that You are The Way, the Truth, and the Life. I choose to listen to Your voice instead of the lies that tempt me.
Day 7
Scriptures: Ephesians 2:4-9, Hebrews 4:14-16
Your Place at the Throne of God
According to Hebrews 4, Christ’s followers are to boldly approach the throne of grace.
I was always fascinated by Queen Elizabeth II. She seemed to have a caring connection with people, and her regal smile spoke of kindness. She was one of those people that I wish I could have sat down to visit with. While that may have been delightful, it would have also been stressful.
Protocols for approaching royalty can be tedious and involve many rules. There is much to remember, especially for those not living in the United Kingdom. The media is quick to report a lack of protocol by visiting leaders. For example, proper etiquette for a queen included never touching a commoner. A handshake was appropriate only if the queen extended her hand first.
We have One who sits on His heavenly throne and whose hand is always extended toward us. He wants more than a friendly handshake; He desires a deep relationship.
According to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, a definition for protocol is “a code of prescribing strict adherence to correct etiquette and precedence.” Jesus fulfilled every protocol and rule necessary for us to approach the absolutely holy throne of God.
When Jesus died on the cross for our sins, the temple’s curtain in Jerusalem was torn in two. God made it clear that through Jesus, our sacrificial lamb, we now always have access to Him.
In Ephesians 2, Paul tells us the amazing truth that by God’s grace, Christ raised us up with Him and seats us in the heavenly places. We are no longer weighed down by bondage to sin. Jesus has given you victory.
If you have trusted Christ as your Savior, God has a place for you at The Holiest Throne. You are His child. He extends His loving hand to you. He invites you to approach Him confidently.
Reflect and Respond
Close your eyes and imagine God’s hand extended to you. Imagine sitting before Him at His throne. How does the truth of your place at God’s throne make you feel? You can freely step forward and take His hand. Experience His embrace for you.
Pray
Father God, I am confidently approaching You in awe. You are holy. Your kindness and care for me never end. You continually give me a deeper understanding of Your grace, and I thank You. Be glorified in my life.