I have a confession. I have had some major struggles with belief, faith, trust, and identity. Our Lord God Yahweh has come into my life with His Spirit of restoration and redeemed me. He has led me to believe. He convicts me to learn and grow in faith daily. By His Mighty Hand, and through the fellowship and teaching of His sons and daughters, I have begun to know who I truly am by understanding who He truly is.
During last year’s Forged Men series, I recall being reminded just how lost and broken so many men are when we are not in Christ. This is nothing new, for I see men’s ways, ideas, and hearts being the problem all throughout Scripture, don’t you? It has slowly been revealed to me that our Creator, who is a Living God, and has ALL authority, is the only One who determines my purpose. For a while, my heart and brain wrestled for control. I did not yet know the freedom, peace, confidence, and true life that would come from deciding once and for all that I don’t own me; He does. This reality is planted in the soil of my heart by verses like Galatians 2:20, where Paul writes, “I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.” Several of my brothers in the Church have spoken this verse to me countless times over all kinds of situations. I am new. Truly, I am a new creation, and the things that are important to me have been transformed.
A critical step has been deciding to actively seek and pursue a relationship with our Father. It has been revealed to me that when God plants His Seed in me, I need to nurture and protect it. This means learning to care about the things He cares about. Only through the processes of His Holy Restoration is this possible. What breaks my heart and brings me great joy is that He wants to restore me. The God who breathes life into dead and seemingly useless things, He who speaks things into existence, the One who doesn’t need any of us to do His work, He chooses to use imperfect people like me to participate in His perfect plan.
I have grown to love God’s promises of His Restoration power. He promised through the prophet Ezekiel in chapter 36:26-27, “I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. I will put my Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will keep My judgements and do them.” And in Jeremiah 31:33-34, “I will put My law in their minds, and write it on their hearts; I will be their God and they shall be my people.” Friends, I am on a journey of learning what it means to be a child of God and walk in His ways. At the center of my journey is authentic and intimate relationship with Him. As he continues to restore me, I grow hungrier and thirstier for closeness with Him. I pray ever-growing closeness and intimacy in your walk with Him, as well.
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I have a confession. I have had some major struggles with belief, faith, trust, and identity. Our Lord God Yahweh has come into my life with His Spirit of restoration and redeemed me. He has led me to believe. He convicts me to learn and grow in faith daily. By His Mighty Hand, and through the fellowship and teaching of His sons and daughters, I have begun to know who I truly am by understanding who He truly is.
During last year’s Forged Men series, I recall being reminded just how lost and broken so many men are when we are not in Christ. This is nothing new, for I see men’s ways, ideas, and hearts being the problem all throughout Scripture, don’t you? It has slowly been revealed to me that our Creator, who is a Living God, and has ALL authority, is the only One who determines my purpose. For a while, my heart and brain wrestled for control. I did not yet know the freedom, peace, confidence, and true life that would come from deciding once and for all that I don’t own me; He does. This reality is planted in the soil of my heart by verses like Galatians 2:20, where Paul writes, “I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.” Several of my brothers in the Church have spoken this verse to me countless times over all kinds of situations. I am new. Truly, I am a new creation, and the things that are important to me have been transformed.
A critical step has been deciding to actively seek and pursue a relationship with our Father. It has been revealed to me that when God plants His Seed in me, I need to nurture and protect it. This means learning to care about the things He cares about. Only through the processes of His Holy Restoration is this possible. What breaks my heart and brings me great joy is that He wants to restore me. The God who breathes life into dead and seemingly useless things, He who speaks things into existence, the One who doesn’t need any of us to do His work, He chooses to use imperfect people like me to participate in His perfect plan.
I have grown to love God’s promises of His Restoration power. He promised through the prophet Ezekiel in chapter 36:26-27, “I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. I will put my Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will keep My judgements and do them.” And in Jeremiah 31:33-34, “I will put My law in their minds, and write it on their hearts; I will be their God and they shall be my people.” Friends, I am on a journey of learning what it means to be a child of God and walk in His ways. At the center of my journey is authentic and intimate relationship with Him. As he continues to restore me, I grow hungrier and thirstier for closeness with Him. I pray ever-growing closeness and intimacy in your walk with Him, as well.
Written by
Story Sunday Guest Writer
Eagle River Campus
16620 Brooks Loop
Eagle River, AK 99577
NE Anchorage Campus
Regal Tikahtnu
1102 N Muldoon Rd B
Anchorage, AK 99504
