Faith Food: God's image of you

 

17 So faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ. Romans 10:17 NASB 

So · faith comes from hearing the message, and what is heard comes through the word of Christ. Romans 10:17 MOUNCE

Nutritionists and doctors agree on the importance of a proper diet. It matters what we feed our bodies—there are both benefits and consequences. Did you know it's also vital to understand what we are feeding our spirits?

 If we want our Faith to grow, we must know what we are feeding on. Are we feeding more on our circumstances, the diagnosis, and the conditions around us—or on what God says in His Word? Are we feeding on what God declared or what the religious tradition of men says? 

 To become strong in Faith, we must first know the reality of the Lord's goodness. God is a Good Father. His lovingkindness gives us the assurance that we can trust Him. We must also know the truth of God's Word. What God says is Faithful and true, and we can count on it. 

 To grow stronger in Faith, we must also grow in another reality: our identity in Christ. We must know who we are in Him, and we must begin to see ourselves as God sees us. We must feed on or give attention to our true identity.

 This fallen and fractured world and the enemy work overtime to label us. They label us as failures, mediocre, common, never good enough, defeated, and broken. Is this what God declared? Is this who God says we are?

 God declares who we are, not circumstances, not setbacks, not failures. God declares we are overcomers. God says we are triumphant victors, not victims. God calls us more than conquerors, not defeated or fallen. God proclaims we are above and not beneath, the head and not the tail, not average or mediocre. 

 As we resist the enemy and refuse to conform to the world system, we must also reject the lies of religious tradition spoken over us. Religion says we don't measure up, we aren't doing enough. We are displeasing to God. We are unworthy, unrighteous, and have no security in Him. 

 God tells us who we really are, not the traditions of men. God declared us to be the Righteousness of God in Christ. We are Righteous not by our doing but based solely on the complete and Finished work of Christ Jesus. Our acceptance and approval come from Jesus' perfect Redemptive work, not our abstinence from sin or our good works. 

God has made us righteous and holy through His blood—kings and priests unto our God. He has forgiven us of all our sins forever. His Blood has made us worthy. He has unconditionally secured our salvation for all eternity. 

 We are secure in Christ. We have perfect peace, because we are forever in His hands and He will never let us go. We can walk tall knowing we are in Him and He is in us eternally. 

 Strong Faith comes not just from knowing His Words of promise, but also from a confident knowing of who we are in Him. Knowing our true identity means we can come boldly to the throne of our Father and receive all He has procured and provided for us in Redemption.