Identity in Christ

I feel like it is only fitting for the first post to be an introduction of myself. So who am I? My name is Aliyah, I will be a senior in High School and I plan to be a Dental Hygienist, but ask me again in a few months and that might not be true. I play Volleyball, I am the president of FCA at my school and I'm in Student Council... but that's about it. I know, I'm not very exciting; just an ordinary girl, but I'm glad you're here and I hope you continue to read despite my boring life. To really set the tone of the blog though, the better question to ask is: Who am I in Christ? You will never be able to start TRULY living until you can answer this question without skipping a beat. This world will continuously try to bring you down, but all we can do is try to remember who we are in Christ and that we can only get through this thing we call life with God on our side. So... who am I in Christ? Disclaimer: When I say "I", I mean you too! :)

1. I am loved ~ 1 John 4:9-10 - "In this the love of God was manifested toward us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into this world, that we might live through Him. In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins." - - - You don't have to look too hard in the Bible to find a verse about God's love for us. It is top three of the main themes in the Bible, if not number one. In fact, God sending His son Jesus to die for our sins is quite possibly the greatest love story of all time. So if you've ever felt unloved, left out, or not good enough when being held to earthly standards, I've got good news for you: Jesus thinks you are worth dying for. Remember you are worth more than what the world tells you, you are precious to God. Therefore, I am loved by the only Person whose opinion truly matters.

2. I am accepted ~ Ephesians 1:5-6 - "...having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will, to the praise of the glory of His grace, by which made us accepted in the Beloved." - - - I am going to come back to this concept, so if you've made it thus far, please keep reading! But to understand this concept, we must first understand this one...

3. I am known ~ 1 Samuel 16:7 - "But the LORD said to Samuel, 'Do not look at his appearance or at his physical statute, because I have refused him. For the LORD does not see as man sees; for a man looks at outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.'" - - - In 1 Samuel here, Samuel is trying to find the next leader that is going to reign over Israel, God's chosen nation. Samuel, naturally, looks at their physical appearance to see who is the strongest, best built, etc. that will make Israel prosper. But God speaks to him and says what you read above in verse 7. God sees through the makeup, the "best body", and any other physical attributes. He looks straight into our hearts. He TRULY sees us. After all, He is the one who made us... why would He not know our hearts (Psalm 139:13-14)? This also means there is no hiding. God knows our sins, struggles, thoughts, and true intentions, yet still accepts us. He knows how evil and wicked we can be, yet still CHOSE to send His Son to die for our sake. Romans 5:8, one of my favorite verses of all time, "But God demonstrates His own love towards us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us." Through Jesus dying for our sins, we can have a relationship with God which means we can have eternal life; eternal union with the LORD. So praise the LORD for those "But God" moments... then and now. Amen?!

4. I am forgiven ~ Hebrews 8:12 - "For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more." - - - Does anyone else find it hard to forgive people? I know I do. Forgiveness can take a lifetime to master. In all honesty, I find it hardest to forgive myself. So how can God so graciously and easily forgive us? That is one of many clear pictures that describes how majestic God is. It is just who He is. Jesus Christ went upon the cross to save your soul from eternal fire and to cleanse your heart. You are made whole in Jesus. Your sins are washed away and you are FREE from the chains that once bound you. How freeing is that? 2 Chronicles 7:14 is a verse to keep in mind, though, if we want to understand how we can be forgiven. It states, "...if My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn away from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land." We must repent. We must pray. We must turn away from sin. We suck. If you are human, which I'm like 99.9% all of you are, then you will always make mistakes. Not to be mean, I'm just being honest. It's because we are human and only ONE human will ever walk this earth blamelessly, and I hate to break it to you, but He already walked this earth, and His name is Jesus... therefore, it's not you. Luckily, we serve a God of forgiveness. All we have to do is humble ourselves before Him and admit that we cannot do anything without His help. We need God on our side, and He wants to be on it. Lastly for this topic, we cannot forget the statement "and turn away from their wicked ways" in verse 14. Another great verse to reference to is 1 John 3:9. When we are reborn, we cannot continue to walk in our sin knowingly. God's law is written on our hearts and because He forgives us is no excuse to continue in our sin. Repent and run in the opposite direction.

I seriously apologize that I wrote so much, it probably won't always be this long, but no promises because it is always hard to find a stopping point...so I'm very sorry. But if you've made it to here, THANK YOU SO MUCH. I appreciate it, for real. I appreciate more your interest in my faith and Jesus Christ. Ultimately, your relationship with Him is all that matters. And remember, God has placed you wherever you are for a reason, hence the theme verse for this blog: Jeremiah 17:7-8. I encourage you to go get your Bible and go read it! Wherever you are, though, continue to hope in the LORD and your roots will be strong. Comment with any concerns or questions, or contact me personally, I would love to get to know you. Love you guys, have a blessed day. ❤