Who stares back at you when you look in the mirror?

A better question would be, “Who do you think is staring back at you when you look in the mirror?”

Proverbs 23:7 says:

For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he…

What we think about ourselves is very important indeed.

Over the years many things try to shape the image we carry on the inside? Have you ever met a skinny lady who always complains about being fat? That has to do with what she she’s with her inner eye, not how she asexually looks on the outside. Or how about the man who thinks he is just plain stupid, when actually he is laden with gifts and talents just waiting to be realised.

A lot of the struggles we face in life arise from this inner reality we carry with us wherever we go. People often try to change it with outward things; a new dress, a better car, new watch or phone – but essentially nothing outside, no natural thing, can truly change what is in the heart and spirit of a person.

The way to change that inner image is through words – words that minister life and spiritual reality to our inner man.

God has a lot to say about who you are, all of it startlingly positive. If He weren’t absolutely trustworthy, you would almost say it was unbelievable!

I have a free gift for you that can be downloaded by clicking the link below. Please Tweet it to your friends, forward it via email and generally share the blessing in any way you can…

You are God’s masterpiece <<<< CLICK TO DOWNLOAD YOUR FREE GIFT

PS: The gift is a short booklet that will definitely encourage your soul, and will download to your computer in a matter of moments. Enjoy!

“Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.” 2Cor. 5:17

The new creation is a reality we all need to grasp. We are citizens of a Kingdom where old things have passed away – a very appropriate truth to remember at this time of year (New Year’s Day) – and all things have been made new. In Him we have redemption, healing and peace. In Christ we have all our needs supplied and a future filled with hope and joy.

One way to use these declarations is to print them out and speak them out. Let’s face it, sometime we need to remind ourselves of the truth! PLEASE ADD YOUR OWN DECLARATIONS FOR TOO!

Click here to add your own confessions from Scripture, and bless all our readers, by leaving a comment!

Listed below are some of these awesome realities personalised to strengthen your heart and your faith for the coming year.

God tells me in His word that…

l AM God’s child for I am born again of the incorruptible seed of the Word of God which lives and abides forever. 1Pet 1:23

l AM Forgiven of all my sins. 1Jn2:12 1Jn 1:9

l AM A new creature. 2 Cor 5:17

l AM The temple of the Holy Spirit. 1 Cor6:19

l AM Delivered from the power of darkness and translated into God’s Kingdom. Col 1: 13

l AM Redeemed from the curse of the law. 1 Pet 1:18,19; Gal 3:13

l AM Blessed! Deut 28:2; Gal 3:9

l AM the head and not the tail. Above only and not beneath. Deut 28:13

I AM holy and without blame before Him in love. Eph 1:4

I AM Established to the end. 1 Cor 1:8

I AM made near by the blood of Jesus. Eph 2:13

I AM Victorious. 1 Cor 15: 57

I AM set free. Jn 8:36

I AM Strong in the Lord. Eph 6:10

I AM dead to sin and alive to God. Rom 6:11

I AM More than a conqueror. Rom 8:37

I AM joint heir with Christ. Rom 8:17

I AM Sealed with the Holy Spirit of Promise. Eph 1 :13

I AM a son of God. Gal 4:7

I AM In Christ Jesus, by His doing. 1 Cor 1 :30

I AM accepted in the Beloved. Eph 1:6

I AM Complete in Him. Col 2:10

I AM crucified with Christ. Gal 2:20

I AM Alive with Christ. Eph 2:4,5

I AM free from condemnation. Rom 8:1

I AM Reconciled to God. 2 Cor 5:18

I AM qualified to share in His inheritance. Col 1 :12

I AM Firmly rooted, built up, established in my faith and over flowing with gratitude. Col 2:7

l AM A fellow citizen with the saints and of the household of God. Eph 2:19

l AM Built upon the foundation of the apostles & prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the Chief Corner Stone. Eph 2:20

l AM born of God and the evil one does not touch me. 1 Jn5:18

l AM His faithful follower. Eph 5:1

l AM raised up with Christ and seated in heavenly places. Eph 2:6

I AM beloved of God. Col 3:12

I AM One in Christ .Jn 17:21

l AM overtaken with blessings. Eph 1:3

l AM His disciple because I have love for others. Jn 13:34,35

l AM The light of the world. Mat 5:14

l AM the salt of the earth. Mat5:13

l AM The righteousness of God. 2 Cor 5:21

l AM a partaker of His divine nature. 2 Pet 1:4

l AM Called of God. 2 Tim 1:9

l AM the firstfruits among His creation. James 1 :18

l AM Chosen. Eph1:4

l AM an ambassador for Christ. 2 Cor 5:20

l AM God’s workmanship created in Christ Jesus for good works. Eph 2:10

l AM the apple of my Father’s eye.  Ps 17:8

l AM Healed by the stripes of Jesus. 1 Pet 2:24

l AM being changed into His image. 2 Cor 3:18

I HAVE The mind of Christ. 1 Cor 2:16

I HAVE obtained an inheritance. Eph 1 :11

I HAVE Access by one Spirit to the Father. Eph 2:18

I HAVE overcome the world. 1 Jn 5:4

I HAVE Everlasting life and will not be condemned. Jn 5:24

I HAVE God as my heavenly Father. 2 Cor 6:18

I HAVE the Spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him. Eph 1 :17

I HAVE The peace of God which passes understanding. Phil 4:7

I HAVE Received power, the power of the Holy Spirit; power to lay hands on the sick and see them recover; power to cast out demons. Mk 16:17,18

I HAVE Authority over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall by any means hurt me. Luke 10:19

I LIVE by and in the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus. Rom 8:2

I WALK In Christ Jesus. Col 2:6

I CAN do all things in Christ Jesus. Phil 4:13

MY LIFE Is hidden with Christ in God. Col 3:3

I SHALL do even greater works than Christ Jesus. Jn 14:12

I Possess the Greater One in me because greater is He who is in me than he who is in the world. 1 Jn 4:4

I Always triumph in Christ. 2 Cor 2:14

I proclaim and show forth His praise. 1 Pet 2:9

I Overcome evil with good. Rom 12:21

I put my faith in the power of God. 1 Cor 2:5

I PRESS toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God. Phil 3: 14

GOD is directing my paths. Prov 3:5,6

Click here to add your own confessions from Scripture, and bless all our readers, by leaving a comment!

“Two men?” you say, how can that be?

In this short but thought provoking post I will explain what I mean. Stay with me for a few eye-opening paragraphs and consider which man you are associated with?

The First and the Second Man

Paul describes two men in 1 Corinthians 15 (open your Bible to this chapter if you have one handy and refer to the Scriptures as we look at what he said), and associates all others with either the first or the second.

The first man, he says, is a man of the earth – Adam. (1 Corinthians 15:47). In this man, the man of flesh, all died (v22). In Adam, we fell, still in his loins, and generations were lost to a life bound to the sinful nature.

Thank God the story does not end there, a Second man, again in the image of God, arrived on the scene. Only this Man came with a solution.

“For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.”

(1Corinthians 15:22 KJV)

The first man was made a living soul, but the second was the Lord from Heaven, a life giving Spirit (1 Cor 15:45-49).

We were born of the first, our natural heritage, and carried his image both inwardly and outwardly (1 Cor 15:49), but through a new birth we strip off the old and put on a new creation (1 Cor 5:17). We “put on Christ” (Gal 3:27) and bear His image, born again, not of natural birth, but by the Spirit (John 3:3-7).

Which man are you associated with, the man of the flesh or the Man of the Spirit?

Performance or Promise

The next two men we will compare are contrasted in Galatians chapter 4:21-31.

The first of these man was born of a slave, and thus born into slavery. He is compared to those born under the law of performance. Those who a slaves to a set of religious rules which must be observed to maintain their place in the Master’s house.

The second on the other hand is a child of Promise – the heir of the entire household. Not a servant, but a Son. His place is not based on performance but on Promise. He does not earn His place at the Father’s side, it is His by direct association. You too, if you are born again, are a Son or Daughter of the Father.

We are asked by Paul, “Do you want to be under the law?” (Gal 4:21)

Do you want to remain a son of the bond woman or become a Son of the Free?

Son of the father

The final two men we will compare were two specific men, not symbolic – real flesh and blood men who stand before all of humanity awaiting their judgement.

It was these men who first got me thinking about this idea, and they stand starkly before humanity.

The story of their trial is found in Matthew 27, Mark 15, Luke 23 and John 18. It was an historical event, yet as I say, in a sense they still stand judgement today.

One was the innocent Jesus, the Son of the Father.

The other was a notorious criminal. His name was Bar-Abbas. Ironically his name means “Son of the father”.

So here we have two men, both the “son of a father”. The difference between the two was the nature of their father. One was the Son of the heavenly Father, and displayed the nature and character of His Father (John 14:9). The other, a thief, a murderer and a liar, also displayed the image of his father (John 8:44).

Whom will you choose to associate with today?

In Christ

So there we have it – Two men, but one decision.

Are we going to follow the man of earth, driven to earn his place in the house – slavishly performing the will of his murderous daddy?

Or are you born into the Second man, the man of the Spirit, a true born son or daughter of the household of God, not by works but by grace and promise – a brother or sister to the Son of the Father?

In our overview of the Bible we need to understand that it is not merely to inform us of a host of Bible ‘facts’, authors, times, places etc, but rather to help us comprehend the vastness and the wisdom of God’s great plan of redemption through the ages.

Just as when we marvel at a sunset or a range of mountains, it is not the details that strike us, but the overall panorama of the scene before us, so with scripture; when we ‘pan-out’ to take a broad view, we can appreciate the awesome wisdom of God at work through history, and the divine hand behind the story of mankind.

In the same way as a biologist might pore over the intimate design of a single cell, we too at times we will take a microscopic view. We will learn that just one paragraph, a sentence, one word even, can contain a whole world of revelation. At other times, we will stand back and see, together with the Psalmist, that God’s Word is a vast and wonderful as the most awe inspiring vistas of creation…

“The heavens declare the glory of God;
And the firmament shows His handiwork.
Day unto day utters speech,
And night unto night reveals knowledge.
There is no speech nor language
Where their voice is not heard.
Their line has gone out through all the earth,
And their words to the end of the world.
…The testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple;
The statutes of the LORD are right, rejoicing the heart;
The commandment of the LORD is pure, enlightening the eyes;
The fear of the LORD is clean, enduring forever;
The judgments of the LORD are true and righteous altogether.
More to be desired are they than gold, Yea, than much fine gold;
Sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb.”
(Psalm 19:1-10 NKJV)

Also Available – The Bible Timeline Notes

Accompanying Bible Timeline notes are also available for immediate download. The notes will greatly enhance your comprehension of the timeline, and introduce Biblical concepts that will broaden your understanding of God’s grace at work through the ages.
These comprehensive notes broadly cover:

• Timeline concepts to grasp the overall sweep of God’s dealings through history
• Jesus Christ through the Scriptures
• Prophetic pictures and concepts woven into Biblical history
• Major historical events on the timeline and where they are in the Bible
• and more

You can purchase the notes for only $10

http://www.studythebiblenow.com/browse-modules/bible-overview/1-bible-timeline/

See the rest of the Bible Timeline Series of posts…

Bible Timeline I – The Stunning Vista of bible chronology

Bible Timeline II – Christianity is rooted in rock solid history

Bible Timeline III – Dispensations

Bible Timeline IV – The Covenants

Bible Timeline V – A Supernatural Legal Drama

Bible Timeline VI – The Historical Understanding of the Biblical Timeline

Bible Timeline VII – Bible History the Typical Principle

Bible Timeline VIII – Jesus Christ and His-Story

Bible Timeline IX – This Is Your Story!

Click the links below to view information and resources about the following:

Speaking in Tongues

The Lords Prayer

Tabernacle Prayer

Christian Intimacy in marriage (married adults only)