Identity

You cannot outrun You.

August 22, 2018 By Eva Conner 2 Comments

Besides God, there is one other person that you cannot outrun. You.

Do you like yourself? Recently I was challenged with coming up with three attributes about myself that I like. It’s so easy for us to come up with a laundry list of things that we DON’T like about ourselves BUT have we ever pondered all the things we like about ourselves?

We are created in God’s image.

If we cannot find things about ourselves to like, are we rejecting God?

God recently spoke to me about our skin. Our skin is a covering and a protection for our inner organs and inner person. The very first mention of the word “skin” in the Bible is in Genesis 3.

Also for Adam and his wife the Lord God made tunics of skin, and clothed them.

Genesis 3:21

This very first mention of skin is a type and shadow of Jesus for us today. For God to have made Adam and Eve tunics from skin, He would have had to sacrifice an animal. Do you see the shadow of Jesus? Jesus became our covering, our tunic. He became our sacrifice to clothe us in righteousness and salvation.

Jesus became our skin.

Our skin is what people see when they look at us. Is our skin reflecting Jesus?

Now it was so, when Moses came down from Mount Sinai (and the two tablets of the Testimony were in Moses’ hand when he came down from the mountain), that Moses did not know that the skin of his face shone while he talked with Him. So when Aaron and all the children of Israel saw Moses, behold, the skin of his face shone, and they were afraid to come near him.

Exodus 34:29-30

Jesus Himself reflected off of Moses’ skin so much so that the people were afraid of him and made him wear a veil. It was a physical transformation wherein the very presence of God was manifested in the skin on Moses’ face.

We see another transformation that appeared on the face of Jesus. Jesus, Peter, James and John went up on a mountain and had a personal encounter with God that transformed the very face of Jesus.

The others fell on their faces afraid, but Jesus calmed their fears.

Now after six days Jesus took Peter, James, and John his brother, led them up on a high mountain by themselves; 2 and He was transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun, and His clothes became as white as the light. 3 And behold, Moses and Elijah appeared to them, talking with Him. 4 Then Peter answered and said to Jesus, “Lord, it is good for us to be here; if You wish, let us make here three tabernacles: one for You, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.”

5 While he was still speaking, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them; and suddenly a voice came out of the cloud, saying, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. Hear Him!” 6 And when the disciples heard it, they fell on their faces and were greatly afraid. 7 But Jesus came and touched them and said, “Arise, and do not be afraid.”

Matthew 17:1-7

No veil is needed when Jesus is with us.

I’ll share one other verse in 2 Corinthians where Paul speaks about the glory of God on our faces reflecting Him to the world. It is this reflection that is our fishing pole allowing us to fish for men.

But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord.

2 Corinthians 3:18

So I’ll ask again. Is your skin reflecting Jesus?

If you don’t like yourself, it’s impossible to reflect Jesus to the world. One of the very first things that God will work on in our spiritual walk with Him is our own self-image and identity. But, as is God’s way, we first have to invite Him in to do the transforming work needed. God is a gentleman and will never intrude and enter uninvited. He is waiting on an invitation. Always.

For too many years in my own life, I did not like myself. I spent a lot of years running from who I was. But you know what? You cannot outrun yourself. Wherever you are, there you are:)

Not until I handed the reigns over to God did I begin to like myself. This is truth. I now love myself and who God created me to be. I am comfortable in my own skin. I enjoy being alone with me. I no longer try to outrun me.

If you are running from yourself, today – right now – invite God in and pour out your heart to Him.

Let Him know what you don’t like and hand it over for Him to begin the most amazing transformation of your life. Jesus desires to cover you from the inside out and the outside in. Let Him in today.

To begin the transformation and to start loving yourself, begin reading some Scripture that speak of God’s love for us. Here are a few verses but please dig into the Word of God and find the deep and hidden treasures it holds.

The Word is truly our lifeline to Jesus because the Word is Jesus.

For You formed my inward parts;
You covered me in my mother’s womb.
I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
Marvelous are Your works,
And that my soul knows very well.
Psalm 139:13-14

For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.
John 3:16

The Jesus spoke to them again, saying, “I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in the darkness, but have the light of life.
John 8:12

I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.
John 15:5

He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?
Romans 8:32

But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light; who once were not a people but are now the people of God, who had not obtained mercy but now have obtained mercy.
1 Peter 2:9-10

Comments

I’d love to hear if this post has unlocked something within you. Please leave me a comment. I also am happy to help you start your journey if you haven’t begun yet. And I’m happy to help you along the way! We need to strengthen one another because all of us together make up the Body of Christ. Love and blessings!!

Stay in the Light and Love always,

Eva

Losing Your Dignity

February 18, 2018 By Eva Conner Leave a Comment

How many moments in a day do you feel special?

Let’s leave this question for a minute and look at another.

How many moments in a day do you think about Jesus?

These two questions are intricately linked together. The more we know about Jesus, the more we’ll know how special we are. You see, we cannot truthfully and accurately know anything about ourselves outside of our knowledge of Jesus Christ.

A couple weeks ago in my prayer time, God asked me to write down the very first word in the Bible? My immediate response was to recite the first verse in Genesis. “In the beginning…”

He stopped me and asked again, “What is the first word in the Bible?” This time I really listened and answered Him.

The first word is ‘IN.’

He then asked me to write down the very last word? ‘AMEN.’

I asked what this means. Which prompted the third question.

What is in between these two words? ‘CHRIST JESUS!’

IN CHRIST JESUS, AMEN!

This is the message of the Bible. The entire Word of God reveals the person Jesus Christ. His purpose in every word spoken in the Bible shows us a redemption plan that is beautiful and perfect. Jesus is revealed from the very first verse in Genesis until the very final verse in Revelations.

And not only is Jesus revealed but we are revealed as well throughout the entire Word because we are in HIM.

Out of everything He created, He chose us to be His prized possession!

He chose to give birth to us by giving us His true word. And we, out of all creation, became His prized possessions.
James 1:18

Think about this more than one minute. This truth will change your life if you allow it to hit your heart. You are Jesus Christ’s prized possession. He came to earth to redeem YOUR life. YOU are so very special and dear to Him. YOU fill His thoughts and His heart. YOU are loved dearly. YOU are valued. YOU are beautiful.

Let’s stop looking left and right for things that only Jesus can give us. Man cannot provide what we need deep within our being. Only Jesus.

Who do you see in the mirror? Start looking for Jesus today.

So let me ask the two questions again.

How many moments in a day do you feel special?

How many moments in a day do you think about Jesus?

The more we allow our minds to think about Jesus, the more we will know how special and valuable we are. When we allow our thoughts to become dominated with Jesus, He will transform us into His very image. As this happens, we will know how special we are and this knowledge will carry us places we otherwise would not go. This knowledge will drive us to our knees in worship. This knowledge will drive us to stand on our tiptoes with arms stretched upward in praise.

This knowledge will remove all dignity.

Dignity is not one of the fruits of the Spirit. Dignity has no place in our life as a precious child of God. Another word for dignity is pride and pride will lead us down a dead-end path. EVERY. SINGLE. TIME. If you want to know how special you are every minute of every day, lose your dignity and pride. The world needs less dignity and more rawness.

Our world is in an identity crisis right now.

It’s vital that you and I know our own identity so that we can move out into the world and help others discover their identity. This is the only way we will stop hate and evil. This is the only way we’ll stop school shootings and violence. This is the only way we will stop addiction and divorce.

We must know who we are in Christ.

Our world is hurting. Despair and hopelessness are all around every one of us. There is a relief to this brokenness. It’s for you and for me. Christ died for every single person who ever was, or who is or who will ever be in the future.

NO ONE IS TOO BROKEN FOR OUR CREATOR TO RESTORE.

It is simply not possible for any one person to be too broken for Jesus. There is not one issue or problem in this world that is too big for Him. But we need to understand He chooses to fix the world issues and problems through us. That’s me and you. He chooses to work through us to reach those hurting and lost.

Jesus will enable and empower us to do the work He calls us to do. We have the Holy Spirit residing within us. We are never alone! Therefore, we need to lose all dignity and pride and get to work for Jesus. Let’s share His great love for each person.

Let’s stop judging and condemning ~ this does not show Jesus.

We need more love and less hate. We need to tell people how special they are and how loved they are. We need to do this contantly without ceasing. This is what He does for us.

Let’s get in the Word today and start looking for Jesus from cover to cover. Allow Him to transform your image of YOU. When you look in the mirror, you will begin seeing the beautiful person He created and you’ll desire to share this transforming lifestyle with everyone. This is His way for all of us.

In Christ Jesus, Amen!

Here is my prayer for all of us:

Dear God,

Thank You for today. Out of all creation, You chose us to be Your prized possessions. Help each of us know just how special we are to You. Teach us to be quick to listen, slow to speak and and slow to get angry. Let us always show love in everything we do. Thank You for giving birth to us by giving us Your Word – Your Son Jesus Christ!

We are loved and cherished. Today, show each of us in a special way how very loved we are. When we realize our identity in Jesus, then we are empowered to share that with everyone. Thank You for Your good and perfect gifts.

In Jesus name we pray.

Amen♥

Stay in the Light and Love always,

Eva

Set the Captives Free ~ Be Free Today!

August 10, 2017 By Eva Conner 2 Comments

What is holding you captive today?

Are you hurting with physical illness? How about a broken relationship? Or a financial crisis? Or maybe even an addiction? Life is not easy but we do not have to live defeated lives.

How do we break the cycle of a defeated life?

There is a very real battle raging all around each of us daily. You may not even be aware of it but you are definitely living in the middle of it. I’m talking about the spirit world – light vs. dark.

Paul tells us in Ephesians that we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood, meaning other people. So if we are not fighting against people, who are we fighting? The evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world. Satan and his minions.

Be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on all of God’s armor so that you will be able to stand firm against all strategies of the devil. For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places.

Ephesians 6:10-12

When we realize the force behind the attacks on our lives and when we see them for what they are, it’s easier to rise above. And knowing that we are not fighting against people is a life-changer. So that person you work with who makes you crazy? Guess what. It’s not about them. That family member who hurts your feelings? It’s not about them.

When we act out in meanness and hatred we need to understand that what we are seeing is a result of what is controlling us.

When our heart is focused on Jesus, we will show the fruit of the Spirit which is good. When our focus is on the world, we are going to show the fruit of the world which is not so good. Look at the wording in verse 17 of Galatians 5 below. Like I mentioned above, there are two forces that are constantly fighting with each other – and these two forces are good and evil or light and darkness. Look at the impact on our lives each world can have. This is big!

16 So I say, let the Holy Spirit guide your lives. Then you won’t be doing what your sinful nature craves. 17 The sinful nature wants to do evil, which is just the opposite of what the Spirit wants. And the Spirit gives us desires that are the opposite of what the sinful nature desires. These two forces are constantly fighting each other, so you are not free to carry out your good intentions. 18 But when you are directed by the Spirit, you are not under obligation to the law of Moses.

19 When you follow the desires of your sinful nature, the results are very clear: sexual immorality, impurity, lustful pleasures, 20 idolatry, sorcery, hostility, quarreling, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambition, dissension, division, 21 envy, drunkenness, wild parties, and other sins like these. Let me tell you again, as I have before, that anyone living that sort of life will not inherit the Kingdom of God.

22 But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things!

Galatians 5:16-23

How do we move past living in the flesh toward living in the Spirit?

Over the next week, we’ll focus on answering this question. Here are the points we’ll explore.

Knowing God.
Knowing God’s great love for us.
Knowing and understanding the finished work of the cross.
Knowing who we are in Jesus.
Knowing our assignment.

I’ll finish today’s post with this glimpse of what our assignment is from Isaiah the Prophet:

The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is upon me,
for the Lord has anointed me
to bring good news to the poor.
He has sent me to comfort the brokenhearted
and to proclaim that captives will be released
and prisoners will be freed.

Isaiah 61:1

Here is my prayer for all of us today:

Dear Father,
Thank You for being good – all the time. Thank You for showing us Your love in and through Jesus Christ. We are so very blessed because of Jesus. We ask that You bless Jesus in return. Your ways are so mighty. Help us to see You and dig deeper this week as we explore more about our calling, our identity and our purpose. Expose things that we need to see so that we can move toward freedom. Create in each of us pure hearts and renew steadfast spirits within us. Grow our compassion and love for one another. Bring people to us who need to see light. Use us in mighty ways to impact Your kingdom. For all this and so much more, we are forever grateful.
In Jesus name we pray.
Amen♥

Stay in the Light and the Love Always,

Eva

Romans 1:8-17 – The Power of God at Work

May 5, 2017 By Eva Conner Leave a Comment

The power of God at work in and through us saves.

Let me say first that I thank my God through Jesus Christ for all of you, because your faith in him is being talked about all over the world. 9 God knows how often I pray for you. Day and night I bring you and your needs in prayer to God, whom I serve with all my heart by spreading the Good News about his Son.

10 One of the things I always pray for is the opportunity, God willing, to come at last to see you. 11 For I long to visit you so I can bring you some spiritual gift that will help you grow strong in the Lord. 12 When we get together, I want to encourage you in your faith, but I also want to be encouraged by yours.

13 I want you to know, dear brothers and sisters, that I planned many times to visit you, but I was prevented until now. I want to work among you and see spiritual fruit, just as I have seen among other Gentiles. 14 For I have a great sense of obligation to people in both the civilized world and the rest of the world, to the educated and uneducated alike. 15 So I am eager to come to you in Rome, too, to preach the Good News.

16 For I am not ashamed of this Good News about Christ. It is the power of God at work, saving everyone who believes—the Jew first and also the Gentile. 17 This Good News tells us how God makes us right in his sight. This is accomplished from start to finish by faith. As the Scriptures say, “It is through faith that a righteous person has life.”

Romans 1:8-17 (NLT)

The Good News of Jesus Christ is the power of God at work.

What beautiful and powerful words these are in Romans 1:8-17. Let’s start at the beginning. Verse 8. You will get noticed when you follow Christ. Your faith will be noticed by all those around you. You may not feel any different, but others will see something different in you. Something that they will want for themselves. This is how good our God is! He makes us attractive even when we don’t know it:). The Roman believers were the talk of the town. No, the talk of the world! That’s impressive. And it is the same for us. Get noticed for the right thing.

Paul was a prayer warrior.

The next little nugget we find in this Scripture (verse 9) is that Paul prayed day and night. He was a prayer warrior. He knew the power of prayer. It is that important. We need to do our very best to imitate Paul and start praying all the time. Talk to God as you’re driving, when you’re in the shower, when you lay your head down on your pillow, when you wake up in the morning, as you go through your day. Just keep talking to God. He is always there and He is always listening.

So start talking – right now!

It doesn’t always have to be a formal, on-your-knees-in-front-of-an-altar prayer. He wants to be our best friend. What do best friends do? Talk to each other. Start thinking of Him as your very dearest friend and you’ll notice a difference in how you talk to Him – and how often you talk to Him. It’s all good because He’s good.

In the next few verses (11-15), we see that Paul was so eager to visit the Roman believers. He wanted to share with them all that Christ had done for Him. He wanted to impart spiritual gifts on them through his witness and testimony. I’m fairly certain that he wanted to lay eyes on them and then lay hands on them as well. He wanted to give them kisses and hugs and embrace them with all the love he had for them in Christ.

We need to pray for this eagerness for our brothers and sisters in Christ.

We need more compassion and more love – the type of compassion and love that can only come from Jesus. Ask for it today. He desperately wants to give us these good and perfect gifts. These gifts help each of us to be built up in our faith in Lord Jesus so that we can edify and build up one another. It is a beautifiul circle of comfort and encouragement in Christ’s world. And as with all circles, there is no beginning and no end. The comfort and encouragement and compassion and love we receive from Christ and we share with others is endless when we make Him the focus of our attention.

We simply cannot be ashamed about the Good News of Jesus Christ.

For I am not ashamed of this Good News about Christ. It is the power of God at work, saving everyone who believes—the Jew first and also the Gentile.
Romans 1:16

I typed out verse 16 again so that we could read it twice. It is that powerful and we should grab hold of these words and make them our cornerstone.

He is our Lord and Savior and if we cannot proclaim His name here on earth, how are we going to do it before His throne in Heaven? We need to pray for Him to give us the courage and boldness to raise our hands in total surrender. It is through His power that we are saved. It is through His power that we have life. We need to grab hold of that power and use it to share the Good News with everyone. Time is short and we need to make sure that we each do our part in sharing His name.

We are right with God because of the work Jesus did on the cross for you and for me.

This Good News tells us how God makes us right in his sight. This is accomplished from start to finish by faith. As the Scriptures say, “It is through faith that a righteous person has life.”
Romans 1:17

It is finished! We can walk in fullness of Christ here on earth. He wishes for us to have Heaven on earth. That is His will for us.

May your will be done on earth, as it is in heaven.
Matthew 6:10b

These words in Scripture are very much for us today.

They contain instruction and advice on how we should live. The words tell us our identity. We are the righteous one of Christ! We are holy. We are pure. Start speaking it over yourself and your loved ones today. Speak it out loud and often. We are righteous. We are holy. We are pure. All because we are in Jesus and He is in us. It is the infinite circle again. We are truly protected from the inside out. With Christ for us, who can be against us?

Stay in the Light and the Love Always,

Eva

Fear. Must. Go. Revealing the True Identity Theft Problem.

February 15, 2017 By Eva Conner 1 Comment

Adam and Eve were the very first victims of identity theft!

Fear is very real and at times can be tangible. Have you ever had thoughts that overwhelm you? Thoughts that almost paralyze you they are so extreme? Know this truth – God does not want His children to live in fear. He sent His Son Jesus Christ to set the captives free and to stop the identity theft problem. For you and for me. We have all been held captive to something in our life. Most often that something is fear.

Where does fear originate?

Let me set the stage. Adam and Eve are enjoying life in the Garden of Eden. Until the enemy slithers in to the picture. The first thing that he attacked is their identity. In Genesis 1:27, we are told that God made man in His own image. Therefore, we were already created to be just like God. But Satan comes in and tells them that God is withholding something from them – something that makes them not like God. So in an attempt to become like God (which they were already!), they ate of the tree of good and evil. Satan stole their identity.

Fear now enters the Garden.

Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the Lord God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from the Lord God among the trees of the garden. But the Lord God called to the man, “Where are you?” He answered, “I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid.” And he said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree that I commanded you not to eat from?”
Genesis 3:8-11

Do you see how easily the enemy stole their identity?

Fast forward a few centuries and we see Satan trying to steal Jesus’ identity.

As soon as Jesus was baptized, he went up out of the water. At that moment heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and lighting on him. And a voice from heaven said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.”
John 3:16-17

We see in the next verses that Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert to be tempted by the devil. The very first words that Satan speaks to Jesus are, “If you are the Son of God…” Satan heard the Father identify Jesus as His Son and so that is the very first thing he tried to steal.

Satan tries to steal our identity as well. When we don’t know who we are, he is able to get us stuck in an ugly place of fear and anxiety. When we’re stuck in our own mess, we’re no longer able to be the people Jesus called us to be. While Satan cannot steal our salvation, he can stop us from sharing the Good News with others, possibly even depriving them of knowing Jesus, which would be devastating.

So how do we protect ourselves against identity theft and kick fear to the curb?

The only way to protect ourselves against identity theft is to know our identity. We must be like Jesus and stand strong against the enemy when he tries to twist who we are. You know, when he whispers these things in your ear:

God doesn’t love you – you’re not good enough.
There’s no way that anyone will love you because of your dirty past.
They are against you – everyone is against you.
You’re not welcome in church – you’re not good enough.
They’re making fun of you all the time.
They say they love you but they really don’t. No one could ever love you.

When we believe these lies, we give the enemy a foothold into our lives. We open a door and allow him access to torment our thought life. We must speak life into the air around us. We must speak out loud who we are and continue to proclaim it. Always. We must never waiver in this one area of our lives. It’s too vital.

So, say these things with me right now – out loud:

God loves me.
God forgives me of all my sins.
God forgets all my sins.
I am a child of the Most High God.
I am an heir to the throne.
My past does not define me – The Word defines me.
I am a sister or brother to Jesus Christ.
I am righteous because Jesus is righteous.
I am holy because I am washed clean in the Word of God.
I am spotless because my sins are washed away with the blood of Jesus.
I am in the body of Jesus Christ. And He is in me!
I am protected From The Inside Out!
God loves me.

I put extra bullet points in this list because there is no way I can think of all the infinite ways that God loves us. As you meditate upon your identity in Christ, add to this list. An amazing thing will happen in your life when you focus on this second list and forget about the first list.

Fear will disappear!

Just like that it will go away. Because when you know who you are – Whose you are – it’s impossible to fear. Your life was created in the very image of God. God is so superior to Satan which makes us so superior to Satan. He cannot torment us or hurt us. We are in the body of Jesus Christ!

So the next time fear comes knocking, refuse to answer the door. Refuse to allow the enemy to steal your identity. He has no right to do so. Speak out loud directly to fear and tell him that he has no home with you. Tell fear that you are a child of the Most High God who is protecting you from the inside out and that there is no reason to fear anything! Do this every single time that fear comes knocking and he will move on.

I hope these words resonate with you as they do with me. If you have friends and family who would benefit from this teaching, please share this encouraging word of life and hope. You may just change the course of their life by sharing.

Stay in the Light and the Love always,

Eva

Fear and identity theft