Thinking Truthናሙና

READ THE TRUTH

The bathroom wallpaper in the second home my wife and I purchased was out of style. Junanne told me, “Bub (my nickname), the wallpaper has to go.” I agreed. But we got busy with life and got used to the wallpaper, so it stayed up for years, and every guest that used that bathroom saw how hideous it was.

If I walked into your mind, what wallpaper would I see? We have messages wallpapering our minds, and if they’re not aligned with the truth of God’s words, they’re going to conceal the truth of His promises. What are the words on your mind? Are they self-loathing like “fool, failure, mistake, loser, broken, or damaged”? Or maybe they’re self-elevating like, “I got it, glad I’m not them, what’s in it for me?” Either way, it’s got to change.

So, first, let’s get a solid standard for thinking right—some good-looking wallpaper. You deserve to know your true identity. Jesus died for you to be free from lies and accept the truth of God’s word. Knowing who you are “in Christ” is the most fantastic truth you can internalize. If you have surrendered your life to Jesus and received His grace and forgiveness, you have become a new person.

Everything about your life flows from thinking rightly about who you are. The most joyful and fruitful people I know still need to regularly revisit the truths in Scripture about who they are in Christ. Here’s the list from day 1 of this study. Read them slowly and really soak them up.

• I am loved as much as anyone has ever been loved. (1 John 4:10)
• I am officially one of God’s kids. (John 1:12)
• I am chosen by God. (John 15:16)
• I am inseparable from God. (1 Cor. 6:17)
• I am carrying the life of God inside me. (1 Cor. 6:19)
• I am a vital member of God’s bigger family. (1 Cor. 12:27)
• I am identified by God as a saint, not a sinner. (1 Cor. 1:2)
• I am free from any condemnation. (Rom. 8:1)
• I am a brand new creation. (2 Cor. 5:17)
• I am sealed and secured by the Holy Spirit. (2 Cor. 1:22)
• I can go straight to God with anything. (John 16:26–27)
• I can receive wisdom for any trial. (James 1:5)
• I am absolutely inseparable from God’s love. (Rom. 8:38–39)

The Bible’s sixty-six books are chock-full of liberating truth—how much God loves us, who we are in Christ, and what we now have in the Holy Spirit. The above are just a few of the high points. But imagine what it would be like to have these truths as an active part of your daily thinking. It can and must happen. Reading God’s Word every day is the first step.

BATTLE FOR YOUR MIND:

• How’s your Scripture memory from the first day of this study going? Take that verse and look up some other passages on the same topic. What else can you learn about how God thinks about you?
• Write down the references of the verses you find and read them a few times throughout the next week.