I am a minister of reconcilliation for God

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old is gone, the new has come! All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men's sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. We are therefore Christ's ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ's behalf: be reconciled to God. God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him, we might become the righteousness of God.

As God's fellow workers, we urge you not to receive God's grace in vain. For he says, "In the time of my favour, I heard you, in the day of my salvation I helped you." I tell you, now is the time of God's favour, now is the day of salvation!

~ 2 Corinthians 5:17-21

This passage overwhelmes me. It speaks of identity. It speaks of the core message of the entire Bible. It speaks of my overwhelmingly huge yet blissfully simple purpose as a Christian. It speaks of my heart's desire for people to know and understand the depth of what God has done for them. This passage speaks. This passage is life.

I am never separated from the love of Christ

Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or sword? ... No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, now any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
~ Romans 8:35, 37-39

How deep the Father's love for us
How vast beyond all measure
That he should give his only son
To make a wretch his treasure

I am a citizen of heaven

But our citizenship is in heaven, and we eagerly await a saviour who comes from there, the Lord Jesus Christ. ~ Philipians 3:20


I am a stanger here, I don't fit in, I'm out of place
I am a citizen of heaven and it's obvious to see
That I belong with you

Don't want to settle or get too aquanted with this life
Got to keep on looking up, cause He's coming soon
And then I will be

Heavenbound

~Phatfish

I am part of the body of Christ

The body is a unit, though it is made up of many parts; and although all its parts are many, they form one body. So it is with Christ... Now [all of] you are part of the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it. ~ 1 Corinthians 12:12, 27

This whole passage talks about how each part of the body has its own role, it's own job, each important to the functionning of the body. I can't help but wonder sometimes what my role is. As I was thinking of this, the following song came to mind, taken directly from Micah 6:8.

He has shown thee, O [wo]man
What is good and what the Lord requires of thee:
But to do justly
and to love mercy
and to walk humbly with thy God.

I am the salt and light of the world

You are the salt of the Earth. But if salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer useful for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled by men. You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. In the same way, nobody lights a lamp and hides it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand and it gives light to the whole house. Let your light shine before men that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.
~ Matthew 5:13-17

Christian or not, I dare you to watch this and NOT be grinning from ear to ear by the end! :D

Opinions of others

I like to think that I really don't care what other people think. But that's a lie, plain and simple. That's something that's become even more apparent over the last six days as I've started this "I am" series.

I've wondered if I should post it. I've considered setting up a separate blog for it. I've wondered if people will stay away from my blog becuase it's "just a bunch of religious crap" all of a sudden (to quote someone talking about a different blog they were reading).

I care what people will think. I know I shouldn't, but I do. I know there are many of you who read my blog who don't share my beliefs - friends, co-workers, fellow bloggers... I keep thinking that you must think I'm crazy. But why? (Both why would you think that, and why would I think that you think that... I think I think too much, you think? :P )

A big reason that I am doing this series (see how I feel the need to justify?) is not to toot my own horn cause "look at me, aren't I great!" Honestly, it's because I am sick and tired of not acting like the person I want to be, the person I was created to be. I've forgotten who I am. Reminding myself of how God sees me helps me act more consistently with that identity. Not to mention that posting every day keeps me on track, helps me to be sure that I do it. (So if I miss a day, give me heck!!!) Cause I'm just THAT disciplined! Heh. *groan*

It's funny that today's "I am" statement is "I am a witness.*" I guess that's some pretty good confirmation that I should keep doing these posts, hey? :)

But also, it's got me thinking. It's really easy to write up a verse, type out a few lines of a song. Letting my life speak is a whole other ball game. Having a clear view of who I am, of who I want to be, will help.

_____________________________
* I get the statements and the scripture from a list a friend gave me. There always seems to be a song that pops into my head as I'm thinking and praying about the verse, so I post that, too. Just in case you were wondering! :P

I am a witness for Christ

But you will receive power when the holy spirit comes on you and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth. ~ Acts 1:8

I will shout to the North and the South
Sing to the East and the West
Jesus is Saviour to all
Lord of heaven and earth

I am a saint

This makes me guffaw out loud. Stick with me here...

To the saints in Ephesus, the faithful in Jesus Christ, grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ... ~Ephesians 1:1
To all in Rome who are loved by God and called to be saints... ~Romans 1:7
To the church of God in Corinth, to those sanctified in Christ Jesus and called to be holy/called to be saints... ~1 Corinthians 1:2

I've gotta say, I have trouble with this one. Saint? Holy? Even knowing that it means "set apart for God," still I can't get away from the notion of some perfect, sinless being with a halo over her head, fluttering around on a cloud. But over and over in the Bible, not just in the openings of letters like I've quoted here, people who have put their faith in God are referred to as saints, are referred to as holy.

I struggle with it, too, because of how self-righteous it sounds to call myself a saint. I feel that I am quite the opposite. But it's a different definition of saint. Being a saint is to be set apart for God's purpose. It's giving up what I want for my life, knowing that God's plan has so much more, is so much more reflective of who I really am.

I guess that's the beauty of learning who I am according to God. To call ME a saint? Yeah right. But He names me far before I am worthy of the name. He calls me out to be the person I was created to be, and won't give up until I truly AM that person. Wow. That's grace for you.

... be confident of this, the He who began a good work in you will carry it out to completion until the day of Christ Jesus. ~Philippians 1:6

Refiner's fire
My heart's one desire Is to be holy
Set apart for You, Lord.
I long to be holy,
Set apart for You my master,
Ready to do Your will.

I am bought with a price

Do you not know that your body is a temple of the holy spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought with a price. Therefore, honour God with your body.
1 Corinthians 6:19-20

King of all days, oh, so highly exalted
Glorious in heaven above
Humbly You came to the earth You created
All for love's sake became poor...

I'll never know how much it cost
To see my sin upon that crossI'll never know how much it costTo see my sin upon that cross.

~ Chris Tomlin

I am one in spirit with the Lord

But [she] who unites [her]self with the Lord is one with Him in spirit.
1 Corinthians 6:17

One in spirit. What exactly does that mean? I will love the things God loves, weep over the things he weeps over, be angered as he is over injustice, then be moved to action. I will love the people around me no matter who they are, show mercy, be generous. I will be quick to forgive, for heaven only knows I am forgiven for failing at all of these.

I am Christ's Friend

I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his father's business. Instead I have called you friends, for everything I have learned from my Father I have made known to you.
John 15:15

Your love is extravagant
Your friendship, it is intimate
I feel I'm moving to the rhythm of Your grace
Your fragrance is intoxicating in the secret place
Cause Your love is extravagant

Spread wide in the arms of Christ
is the love that covers sin
No greater love have I ever known;
You considered me a friend

Capture my heart again

~ Casting Crowns

A question of identity

Life is insane. It rattles along at breakneck speeds, and is so unforgiving in a lot of ways. There's no way to go back, no pause button, no end to the messages it throws at us. There's no end to the messages I create about myself, either. Fact or fiction, I tell myself who I am every second of every day.

Accomplished a goal? I feel great. "I am successful."
I say something I regret? I am ashamed. "I am cruel."
Somebody thanks me for something I did? "I am making a difference."
I lay on the couch for 'just one more show' when I know I should get up and move my body? "I am undisciplined."
Do something I never thought I could? "I am strong."
See someone who's got it all together (or seems to!)? "I am never going to measure up."

And on and on it goes... "I am not good enough. I am good at what I do. I am better than her. I am lazy. I am trying my best."

And I am told who I am countless times in a day, too. Sometimes it builds me up, sometimes it tears me down. But the voices - from inside or out - are loud. Deafening, almost. And they drown out the one voice who tells me who I really am - God's.

I'm constantly looking for comfort, looking for identity, looking for validation in all kinds of places. It's a very human thing to do. But I've been neglecting to go back to the One who tells me who I was created to be - my creator Himself.

So I've decided to take this month (and a bit) to remember who God says I am. To hear His voice over all the others. I'll be doing some journaling on my own, but each day I'll post the statement and the scripture I'm looking at, and maybe a thought or two, a song, or anything else that might be relevant. (And yes, that's above the NaBloPoMo challenge! Gee, I sure know how to over commit myself, hey? :P )

Join me, won't you? Because after all, God created you to be all these things, too.

I am a child of God

"Yet to those who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God." John 1:12

With every breath,
with every thought
From what is seen,
to the deepest part
I offer all that I've come to be
to know Your love fathering me

Father You're all I need
my soul's sufficiency
My strength when I am weak
the love that carries me

Your arms enfold me,
till I am only
a child of God

~Kathryn Scott