The Secret to Living Life.....

About 10 days ago, I found myself muddled in a whirlwind of thoughts. What should I do with my future? Should I go back to the states, should I stay in Korea? What should I do? Talking to people, while encouraging, often results in more confusion.

At times of crossroads, Proverbs 3:5-6 is really the only way to proceed: "Trust in the Lord with all your heart and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths." But...how do we trust in the Lord?

We have to learn to receive God's love for us. All of our earthly fathers, no matter how good or bad of a job they did, failed in some way. They were/are men. They are imperfect. Because of that, we tend to struggle to trust God as being a perfect Father. We fear rejection. We fear getting beat over the head for a wrong move. Or we fear abandonment.

As children of God, we must realize God's great love for us. If you understand salvation the way I do, you realize God literally had to change our hearts before we could even make a decision for him. We all choose sin, because of our own nature. God loves us enough to save us from ourselves. And he isn't going to stop loving us now. Phillipians 1:6-- "And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ."

There are so many scriptures that talk about God's love for us. These are not "fluff" scriptures. These are where we need to get our identity--so we can obey the so-called "hard" scriptures. The best way to overcome any sin or lack of obedience is to focus on the love of God, not on self denial and more "religion."

I posted a list of "I am" scriptures a few weeks back. I finally took my own advice and began meditating on that list over the past week+. I am going to again today. God is grounding me through these scriptures.


I am the salt of the earth (Matt 5:13)
I am the light of the world (Matt 5:14)
I am a child of God (John 1:12)
I am part of the true vine, a channel of Christ's life (John 15:1, 5)
I am Christ's friend (John 15:15)
I am chosen and appointed by Christ to bear His fruit (John 15:16)
I am a slave of righteousness (Rom 6:18)
I am enslaved to God (Rom 6:22)
I am a son of God; God is spiritually my Father (Rom 8:14, 15; Gal 3:26; 4:6)
I am a joint heir with Christ, sharing His inheritance with Him (Rom 8:17)
I am a temple-a dwelling place-of God. His Spirit and His life dwell in me (I Cor 3:16; 6:19)
I am united to the Lord and am one spirit with Him (I Cor. 6:17)
I am a member of Christ's Body (I Cor. 12:27; Eph 5:30)
I am a new creation (2 Cor 5:17)
I am reconciled to God and am a minister of reconciliation (2 Cor. 5:18, 19)
I am a son of God and one in Christ (Gal 4:6,7)
I am a saint (I Cor. 1:2, Eph 1:1, Phil 1:1; Co1 1:2)
I am God's workmanship--His handiwork--born anew in Christ to do His work (Eph 3:1; 4:1)
I am righteous and holy (Eph 4:24)
I am a citizen of heaven, seated in heaven right now (Eph 2:6, Phil. 3:20)
I am hidden with Christ in God (Col. 3:3)
I am an expression of the life of Christ because He is my life (Col. 3:4)
I am chosen of God, holy and dearly loved (Col. 3:12; 1 Thess 1:4)
I am a son of light and not of darkness (I Thess. 5:5)
I am a holy partaker of a heavenly calling (Heb 3:1)
I am a partaker of Christ; I share in His life (Heb 3:14)
I am one of God's living stones, being built up in Christ as a spiritual house (I Pet. 2:5)
I am a member of a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God's own possession (I Pet. 2:9,10)
I am an alien and stranger to this world in which I temporarily live (I Pet. 2:11)
I am an enemy of the devil (I Pet 5:8)
I am a child of God and I will resemble Christ when He returns (I John 3:1,2)
I am born of God, and the evil one--the devil--cannot touch me (I John 5:18)
I am NOT the great "I am" (Exod 3:14; John 8:24, 28, 58), but by the grace of God, I am what I am (I Cor. 15:10)

As I began to read these scriptures, my problems did not all get solved.....but I became a whole lot more content. I can embrace God's love, and let it transform my life. I can cling to who he says I am, and his love for me.

I'll finish this post with a quote from Simon Guillebaud and his book "More than Conquerors."

"I am immortal until I die."

I am immortal until I die. And so you are you! But we can't live this reality out until we really embrace God's love. I'm done with sinful fear. I hope you are, too! To God be the glory.

Signing out from Korea--Jay