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Living Truly
At the beginning of this plan, we asked the question: What makes you, you? Together, we’ve discovered that it isn’t the clothes we wear, the things we do, or the people we hang around. The thing that makes you, you is so much deeper than any of those things.
What makes you, you is the God who created you.
You are made in the image of God. You were created to live in relationship with God and to partner with Him in His wonderful plans for the world.
You are a sinner saved by grace. All of us have been infected by the disease of sin, but because of Jesus’s sacrifice on the cross we can be freed from sin and made right with God.
You are a citizen of heaven. God is the one true King of the world and He has invited all of us to be a part of His Kingdom. A Kingdom of truth, grace, mercy, and justice.
You are a child of God. He is our Father and He has made it possible for us to be adopted into His family, to become His children, through the work of Jesus.
You are a disciple of Jesus. He saw you and called you. Not because of your own greatness but because of His gracious love. He’s invited you to learn from Him and He’s given you His Spirit to make you more like Him.
You are a temple of the Living God. The Holy Spirit has made His home inside your heart. He guides us, comforts us, and convicts us. He enables us to become more like Jesus and empowers us to do whatever God asks us to.
This is who you really are. But do you actually believe it?
That’s the most difficult part. Getting these truths buried deep enough inside that they actually change how we see ourselves and how we live.
So, how do we do that?
In his letter to his apprentice, Timothy, Paul pens these words:
All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right. God uses it to prepare and equip his people to do every good work. 2 Timothy 3:16-17 NLT
The entirety of the Bible has been inspired by the Spirit of God to teach us what is true and how to do what is right. The same Spirit that was at work in the writing of these words is still at work in the reading of the words. When we, as followers of Jesus, commit ourselves to studying the Scriptures, we are opening ourselves up to be transformed by the Spirit of God and become more of who God has made us to be.
One of the most powerful ways to get the truths found in Scripture buried deep into our hearts is by not just reading scripture, but going the next step to memorize it. When we do the work of becoming so familiar with a verse or passage that we can recite it from memory, we are allowing those words to work their way deeper and deeper into our hearts.
The Psalmist tells us…
Oh, the joys of those who do not follow the advice of the wicked, or stand around with sinners, or join in with mockers. But they delight in the law of the Lord , meditating on it day and night. They are like trees planted along the riverbank, bearing fruit each season. Their leaves never wither, and they prosper in all they do. - Psalms 1:1-3 NLT
If you want to learn more about making scripture memorization a part of your rhythm of studying the Bible, start the plan, Becoming Like Jesus: Scripture Memorization.
Scripture
About this Plan
What makes you, you? A set of internal characteristics? External behaviors? Your likes and dislikes? In part 3 of Becoming Like Jesus, we will discover that before we were or had any of those things, we were made, loved, saved, and called by our Creator. And because He made us, what God says about us is the most true thing about us.
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