Who I Am In Christ - Lesson 1

I am God's Child. ~ John 1:12


"But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name." (NASB)


My sister, what was your moment? That special time where you just KNEW you were a sinner, you needed Someone to save you, and you asked that Someone - HJesus Christ - to come live in your heart and save you? Some moments are life-shaking, going blind on the road to Damascus type experiences. Some will have that moment in a moving church service with weeping and wailing. Still others will have an experience as warm and quiet as the sun creeping  across the floor on a spring afternoon. No matter how you came to ask Jesus to be your Savior, you are now God's child. His child! A daughter of the King of the whole universe! The Creator of everything that is or ever was or ever will be. His daughter. God loves you as if you are the only child He ever had. No worrying about hand-me-down gifts or blessings.You don't have to wait for anyone to get finished with or outgrow what God has given them. And you shouldn't be waiting for that! I remember reading once about a well-known and powerful minister of the gospel who visited the grave of the famous faith-healer Kathryn Kuhlman. He said that he had placed his hands on her gravestone and asked God to give him the gift that she had. I don't know why he did that, if he thought that he could heal more people with her gift on top of his or if he didn't have faith in his own gift, but I remember feeling a "check" rise up in my spirit. To this day I have not watched any of his shows, partly for that reason and partly because I never cared for him. But now I have a different feeling for him - pity. He doesn't understand, for all his years in ministry, for all the lives he has touched, he has no idea that Kathryn Kuhlman's gift was for her, and that God has given him the gift that is right for him.

God will give you blessings and gifts that He created just for you. You may have heard the saying God doesn't have grandchildren. Well he doesn't have step-children either! God only has sons and daughters. And the moment you asked Jesus into your heart, that is the moment that you became His daughter. I know people who celebrate their days as their re-birthday, complete with cake and parties. Absolutely nothing wrong with that. My re-birthday is July 14th. I will be 11 this year. Breaking of bondages! Maybe you decide that yuo should spend that day giving of yourself to your favorite charity, or you will make a monetary donation to your favorite ministry. Or maybe you just decide that you will spend the day quietly with the Lord. I encourage you to celebrate the day, because God calls you Daughter.

I am Christ's friend. ~ John 15:15


"No longer do I call you slaves, for the slave does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all things that I have heard from My Father I have made known to you."


At this point in the Bible, Jesus is speaking to His disciples at the feats of Passover, before He was arrested and went to the cross. He had washed their feed, Judas had left, and Jesus had told Peter that he would deny Him three times that night. Immediately after telling Peter this, He said, "Do not let your heart be troubled." (John 14:1a) I never thought about it before I started this study, but it occurred to me that Jesus was comforting the disciples, especially Peter. I mean, if I was told that I was going to do something horrible I would be in a state of despair, and I am sure Peter was too. But Jesus calmed the fears and despair of Peter and the rest of the disciples. They had been told that Jesus was leaving, their friend and teacher. They didn't understand what He was going to do or why He was doing it.

My sister, have you ever been through a moment like that? Perhaps you were with a bunch of people who didn't believe in Jesus, or made fun of Christians, and you didn't stand up to be counted. Maybe they were your family or friends, or maybe someone with authority over you like a teacher or boss. Afterwards you felt condemned because you didn't say anything. Maybe you feel like you can't understand the Bible as well as you should, or that you keep messing up over and over. My sister, Jesus is speaking to you in this verse... He has called you His friend. Friends forgive. Friends support. Friends are on your side, even if they don't always agree with you. I hope each of you has a friend like that. If not, then I pray that God will bring you a friend "with skin on" to walk this walk with you. I have a friend like that. I have known her for over 20 years, and she has stood with me through all the bad decisions and good times... through the storms and sunny days. I cherish her, she cherishes me, and I pray daily for her salvation. That's right, she isn't saved... yet. But I also have Jesus beside me. There are times when I feel like nobody else believes what I do, and i feel so alone. But I know that Jesus is there. He is my friend, and He wants to spend more time with me, He wants to talk with me. I have His Word to guide me, and His Spirit to guide me. So do you, my sister! I truly believe that there is no problem in this world that the Bible doesn't have the answer for. Sometimes we don't find it right off, but we will find it if we keep seeking.

If you feel like you have betrayed Jesus by something you said or did, or maybe something you didn't do or say, my sister let me assure you - Jesus still calls you friend. He isn't fickle like children can be. "If you don't play what I want, I am taking my toys and going home!" Jesus never takes His toys and goes home in a huff because we don't play by His rules. He knows our failings, he knows which of His rules we won't play by, He knows what we are going to do that will make Him sad even before we come to that point in our lives. He knows, and yet He still calls us friend. Jesus is the best Friend in all of eternity. He will never leave you. Because that's what friends do. Stand by us.