527. Remembering Who And Whose You Are

Ricky brought our breakfasts.  Stan looked down at his plate of blueberry pancakes, looked at Ricky, and said, “I think you forgot something.  I need some of that maple syrup.”

“Sorry, Stan,” Ricky replied.  “Sometimes I think I would forget my head if God had not attached it so well!  I’ll be right back.”  And he was.

After thanking God for His blessings of the food, Stan said, “Forgetting can be a real problem.  And, unfortunately, it can go way beyond the ordinary things of life.”

Continuing, he said, “I am constantly forgetting who I am.  Not only that, I forget whose I am.”

“Who and whose?” I replied.  “Do you really forget who you are?  And what do you mean by ‘whose’?”

“I do forget,” Stan said.  “Not in the sense of forgetting that I am Stan, but certainly in the sense that I am in Christ.  As to the ‘whose’ part, I am constantly forgetting that I belong to God.  I no longer belong to Stan or to the world, the flesh, and the devil.  I belong to God and I have to remember that!”

“No,” he continued, “once I accepted the finished work of Christ Jesus on the cross, I became a new creation in Him and gave up the right to belong to anyone or to anything other than Him.”

“Through His life, death, and resurrection?” I asked.

“Exactly,” Stan replied.

Continuing, he said, “The whole issue of forgetting who and whose I am is mentioned by James in his letter in the Bible.  What he wrote about the reason for that is essential to me for my continuing faith walk with God.”

“What did he say about that?” I asked.

“That the reason I forget,” Stan replied, “is because I do not do what I hear in God’s word what He wants me to do.  If I hear from God’s word and His voice that there is something He wants me to do in the furtherance of His word, and I do not follow up by doing it, I have forgotten who I am, a new creation in Christ, and whose I am, His.”

“The remedy for this kind of forgetting is fairly simple,” Stan concluded.  “I just have to choose to be who God intends, doing what He intend.  And I need to never forget that it is a choice that doesn’t just happen all by itself.”

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For if any one is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks at his natural face in a mirror; for once he has looked at himself and gone away, he has immediately forgotten what kind of person he was.  James 1:23, 24.

Therefore if any man is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold new things have come.  2 Corinthians 5:17.

Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own?  For you have been bought with a price; therefore glorify God in your body.  1 Corinthians 6:19, 20.

Prayer:  Thank you, Father, for all you have provided for me on both sides of eternity.  Life eternally with you when it is time, as well as the eternal life of knowing you and your Son on this side of eternity.  Thank you for your word and your voice that tell me what it is you have for me to be and to do in furtherance of your kingdom.  I confess that too often I do not hear your voice because I do not listen.  And I too often fail to do what I do hear from you because I want to do what I want to do apart from you.  Please forgive me.  And please, Father, help me in following your lead in being who and doing what you intend for me.  Thank you I can and do bring these prayers before you in the name of Jesus.  Amen.

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Things to think (and journal) about:

1.  What is your biggest take-away from this devotional?

2.  What does this devotional say about God and about us as His people?

3.  What is God saying to you to do personally?

4.  Who can you share this with to make a difference?

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Comments, questions, suggestions, and the like can be addressed to The Storyteller at: waiting4thetrain@gmail.com.