Who Are You?

The Bible says that we are created in the image of God yet most of us live our lives trying to measure up to the standards of man. We were all created for a higher purpose but so many of us believe the lie of the enemy and don’t realize that there is more to each of us than what can be seen with the physical eye.

Often times the enemy will come up with a lie for you to believe. He will tell you lies about who you are but more significantly he will tell you lies about who God is. If the Lord put His breath of life in us and said that He would make us in His own image then we should rejoice that we are God’s very own creation.

So to understand who you are, you must know what God’s word says about you.

Genesis 1:26: And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.

We are made in the image and likeness of God. God molded us after His likeness. How awesome is that! In the creation account in the Bible, no other creature was made after the Lord’s image. God told the waters to bring forth aquatic creatures; God told the air to bring forth birds and likewise told the earth to bring forth animals and creeping things. However when it comes to man, God spoke to Himself and in a way told Himself to bring forth man in His own image. We are a reflection of God, which is also why the enemy is afraid of us and wants to diminish the image of God. If the enemy can get us to believe that we are less than who God says we are, he is also diminishing the image of God. It’s a twofold plan. Convince man that he is worth nothing and simultaneously diminish God’s image. If you start believing that you are less than who God says you are then you are also saying God is less than who He is. We need to stand firm on what the Lord has told us.

Psalm 139:14: I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvelous are thy works; and that my soul knoweth right well.

The psalmist states that he is fearfully and wonderfully made. Often times the enemy will sow a seed of doubt in our hearts that we are not good enough, that we are not worthy enough that there is something wrong with us. But the psalmist knows that it is a lie. Why would God create anything that is not beautiful and wonderful? Why would he create something that is not worthy of love or blessings. Don’t let the enemy lie to you about who you are. The psalmist in the same verse says, marvelous are thy works. We are a work of God and that makes us and the things that the Lord does in our lives marvelous. We are unique and special in the sight of God.

Matthew 5:14: You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden.

We are a light to this world. The world is a dark place. Everything around us is a breeding ground for sin. Many of the movies, ads and music that we are subjected to are provoking us to be apart of the darkness. It lures us into a world that feeds our flesh and lustful desires. Yet, God says that we are a light unto the world. Don’t let the devil convince you that the darkness is fun that it is attractive. You are a light in the world. You are an example of the truth of God and the mercy and grace of Jesus Christ.

1 John 3:1: Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God!

John writes that we are loved by God. One translation uses the word lavish, that He lavishes us with love. A big lie of the enemy is that we are not loved. When we believe this lie, so many of us start looking for love in all the wrong places. We start looking for love in other people, sex, drugs, money and so much more. We try to find live and acceptance wherever we can get it instead of knowing that God loves us above everything else. He loves us. He loved us so much that He gave His only Son for our salvation. That’s a pretty big deal. That God himself would come through space and time to take on human flesh and dwell among us and die for us. The Bible says that there is no greater love than a man lay his life down for another and that is what God did. He died so we could be free from sin and shame. He loves us so much. John goes on to say that this love was so great that he has called us his children. We are the children of God. You are a child of God. He is your Father and would do anything for you, even die for you. How great is our God!

The first lie the devil ever told was that God was a liar. Genesis 3:1-5 says:

¹ Now the serpent was more cunning than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said to the woman, “Has God indeed said, ‘You shall not eat of every tree of the garden’?”

² And the woman said to the serpent, “We may eat the fruit of the trees of the garden; ³ but of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God has said, ‘You shall not eat it, nor shall you touch it, lest you die.’”
⁴ Then the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die. ⁵ For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”

Notice that the serpent says, you will not surely die, which contradicts what God said, therefore the serpent is trying to convince Eve that God lied to her. If the devil can convince you that God is a liar then he can coerce you into voiding every promise, every truth, and the knowledge of God. He wants to defile not only your image but the image of God in you. You cannot allow the devil to do this to you. You have to know what God says about you. How he loves you and wants you to know Him, because the more you know God the more you learn about yourself. The enemy will try to hurt you with fiery darts (lies) and cripple you, but if you know that you are a victor and not a victim you can serve the enemy notice that all his lies will never be greater than the truth of God which resides in you, Christ Jesus. Don’t allow depression, low self-esteem, the nasty things people say and the like take root in your life. God wants to show you who you are to make you strong in Him. If you are saying to yourself, I don’t know if this is true, then I would strongly recommend you ask God. Ask God who you are and He will show you. He will show you that you are loved, fearfully and wonderfully made, His child, a light unto the world, marvelous! Let God show you who you are. Take hold of it and believe it, because this truth is the door to your freedom.

Defeating the Devil in July!

Happy July Stormriders! There is so much going on in the world lately. I was watching the news last night and the principalities of darkness are running rampant. There were two stories from New Jersey related to Voodoo practices. One involved the removal of a young girl’s body from a cemetery; while the other involved the cutting of a child and forcing them to watch the cutting and sacrificing of animals while the adults chanted. With so much going on, it’s time to fight this unseen battle! This month we would like to focus on defeating the enemy! There are a couple of things that you need to know and understand to combat the enemy, they are;

Prayer
Fasting
Knowing the truth (The Word of God)
Knowing the enemies weapons
Knowing and using the weapons God has given us
Faith
Perseverance
Worship

This month we will dive into these items and ask God to reveal more to us than ever before. God is good all the time! My prayer is that we all learn more about the spiritual war being waged against us!

Now thanks be unto God, which always causeth us to triumph in Christ, and maketh manifest the savour of his knowledge by us in every place.
- II Corinthians 2:14