The Power of the Written Word of God

Although I've not been writing as much lately, it's not to say that I've not been about my Father's business, as it has often meant in the past. Life on life interaction has been increased lately and for this I am thankful. God has changed the channel on the season of my life and I simply want to be tuned into what He is broadcasting in this hour.

I have a dear friend that is a Believer. He has had a very rough life, dramatically more difficult than any other person that I have ever met in my thirty-five years. I have known him for a few years now and have attempted to help him see his value and identity in Christ since we met. His challenge and struggle is not a unique one. He is constantly bombarded with who he was and what he's done in days past. He is told by the enemy that he is not worthy of such a great sacrifice as that of Jesus. His salvation is constantly in question when he sits and really analyzes it. Without question, He knows the LORD, but the truth is, he just doesn't grasp the biblical reality of what took place at his salvation. As I said, he is, without question in the Christian majority. Few understand the miracle of regeneration and that when one moves from darkness to light, the old concerns (hell, judgment, sins and failures) are no longer issues. All was settled on the cross of Christ and when I grasp the vast promises made via the written Word, my understanding and confidence changes. Confidence – what an absolutely incredible asset that so few Believers possess. Confidence not in myself but in the fact that my God will do what He says He will do – period. Always. Forever. He can be nothing but perfectly true to all of His promises, even if they just seem too much in my limited intellect. There is none like Him and in Him I am all that He says that I am. You cannot shake that from me. My life is no longer focused on my failures or sin, but on my LORD.

So when you read the Bible, do you see yourself in It? Do you see all of Its promises to be personal? Do you see how you fit into the whole picture? Do you grasp that when the Word states that you are a new creation, no longer alive to yourself, that it means what it says? The mysteries within Its pages are not to make us feel nice or just to sound good when some preacher reads them from a pulpit. They are life! Within them are the keys to maturing in Christ and living a life that is filled with confidence, joy and purpose! Without an ongoing, revelatory understanding of the Scriptures, the Christian majority will continue to forge ahead ignorant and unequipped to be who they are meant to be. We miss the entire purpose of being born again if we don't envelope ourselves in His beautiful Word and uncover who we are in Christ.

So, what I compiled for my friend, I pass onto you. I've realized over the last several years that very few Believers ever read Scripture aloud. I know that until I was truly born from above and embarked on this journey of intimacy with the LORD, I never did either. So in order to give others an opportunity to experience the power and confidence of seeing Gods promises made personal, I've edited out my friends name and placed an "X" for you to insert yours. I encourage you to print these out and read them with passion until you get it deep within your innermost being. It is time that we see ourselves in these Scriptures. It is His plan – that we study, declare and stand upon the promises that He made in His beautiful Word. My prayer is that you will take the time to allow these verses to come alive and accomplish what they were written to do. Abundant life awaits!

2 Corinthians 5:17 - Therefore if [X] is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come.

1 John 5:11 and 12 - And the testimony is this, that God has given [X] eternal life, and this life is in His Son. He who has the Son has the life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have the life.

Romans 6:4 - Therefore [X] has been buried with Him through baptism into death, so that as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so he too might walk in newness of life.

Isaiah 43:18 and 19 – [X], do not call to mind the former things, or ponder things of the past. Behold, I will do something new, now it will spring forth; will you not be aware of it?

Colossians 3:1-4 - Therefore if [X] has been raised up with Christ, he should keep seeking the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. [X], set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth. For you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is [your] life, is revealed, then you also will be revealed with Him in glory.

2 Corinthians 13:4 - For indeed He was crucified because of weakness, yet He lives because of the power of God. For [X] also is weak in Him, yet he will live with Him because of the power of God directed toward him.

1 Corinthians 2:16 - For WHO HAS KNOWN THE MIND OF THE LORD, THAT HE WILL INSTRUCT HIM? But [X] has the mind of Christ.

Colossians 2:13 and 14 - When [X] was dead in his transgressions and the uncircumcision of [his] flesh, He made [him] alive together with Him, having forgiven [him] all [his] transgressions, having canceled out the certificate of debt consisting of decrees against [X] which was hostile to [him]; and He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross.

Philippians 4:7 - And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard [X's] heart and [his] mind in Christ Jesus.

Romans 6:8 and 9 - Now if [X has] died with Christ, we believe that [he] shall also live with Him, knowing that Christ, having been raised from the dead, is never to die again; death no longer is master over Him.

2 Timothy 2:11 - It is a trustworthy statement: For if [X] died with Him, [he] will also live with Him.

1 Corinthians 6:14 - Now God has not only raised the Lord, but will also raise [X] up through His power.

Ephesians 4:21 – [X,] if indeed you have heard Him and have been taught in Him, just as truth is in Jesus, that, in reference to your former manner of life, you lay aside the old self, which is being corrupted in accordance with the lusts of deceit, and that you be renewed in the spirit of your mind, and put on the new self, which in the likeness of God has been created in righteousness and holiness of the truth.

Titus 3:4-7 – When the kindness of God our Savior and His love for mankind appeared, He saved [X], not on the basis of deeds which [he has] done in righteousness, but according to His mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit, whom He poured out upon [X] richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that being justified by His grace [X] would be made an heir according to the hope of eternal life.

Romans 6:6 – [X’s] old self was crucified with Him, in order that [his] body of sin might be done away with, so that [he] would no longer be a slave to sin; for [X] who has died is freed from sin.