by Jessie

That’s Not What You Are Anymore!

The metamorphosis of the caterpillar to a butterfly is remarkable. Talk about becoming something COMPLETELY different! And, what a beautiful creature the butterfly is! Imagine if you could have a conversation with a butterfly:
You: “Hey, Butterfly, you’re really just a caterpillar, right?”
Butterfly: “NO! I’m a butterfly, look at me!”
You: “Well, don’t you still feel like a caterpillar?”
Butterfly: “No! I WAS a caterpillar, but now I’m a butterfly! That’s who I am! I’ll never be a caterpillar again!”
That’s what I think of when I consider this passage in I Corinthians 6:
“9 Don’t you realize that those who do wrong will not inherit the Kingdom of God? Don’t fool yourselves. Those who indulge in sexual sin, or who worship idols, or commit adultery, or are male prostitutes, or practice homosexuality, 10 or are thieves, or greedy people, or drunkards, or are abusive, or cheat people-none of these will inherit the Kingdom of God. 11 Some of you were once like that. But you were cleansed; you were made holy; you were made right with God by calling on the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.”
Many followers of Jesus are still stuck thinking they are caterpillars, when they are actually butterflies!!  They are still thinking and acting like those who aren’t going to inherit the Kingdom of God! The Word here tells us, when we called on the name of the Lord (Jesus Christ):
we were CLEANSED
we were MADE HOLY
we were MADE RIGHT
Wow! Check out the past tense verb there: “were”. The moment we called out to Jesus to save us we WERE cleansed, made holy and made RIGHT! In an instant, by faith, you had a glorious metamorphosis!! It’s not going to happen, it already happened! Friends, that is some Good News!  It’s doesn’t matter what you have done in your past, or who you thought you were apart from Christ (and even in moment of failure in Christ). You are now CLEAN. You ARE Holy. And, whatever was broken/wrong… He made it right!!  Incredible.
Have you struggled with sexual immorality? Lying? Fear? Greed?
Guess, what that’s NOT what you are!
In Christ, you ARE holy! You are cleansed! You ARE made RIGHT.
Don’t believe me? It’s right there in the Word of God (see verse 11), and God doesn’t lie! Many cleansed, holy saints of God still believe and act like they are sinners, like they’re still caterpillars. But you aren’t! Now, you may have thoughts and temptations that make you feel like you want to act like a caterpillar, but you have no need to obey those thoughts and compulsions! The truth is, you are DIFFERENT. You are a butterfly. So, FLY! Fly free from the constraints of sin and bondage. That’s not who you are any more!
Once you were slave to sin, but you are no longer, you are a servant of righteousness. You don’t have to obey sin, you now have the ability to obey God and please Him (Romans 6:6-11).  The old you IS GONE, and you have been made completely NEW in Jesus!  (2 Corinthians 5:17).
When the thoughts and temptations come, telling you you’re still a sinner, a liar, fearful, sexually perverted, etc.. remember that they are not true! You don’t have to obey them. Let your mind be renewed in truth, tell yourself,
“That’s not who I am! I have been washed! I’ve been made right! I am holy!”
Sometimes, I even just say aloud to myself, “No!”. Your voice is powerful, and sometimes you have to speak the Word to yourself, so you can obey the Truth.
Let Jesus wash you in the water of this Word today… you are free! You are free to FLY! Be the glorious creation He made you to be, and let go of the lies of who you once thought you were (even if it was yesterday!)… that’s not what you are anymore!
What Truth are you taking hold of today? Let me know in the comments!
You also might like a three part series of blogs I did a little while back on “When the Good News is No News” Part 1, Part 2, Part 3.

 

Let’s Fly!

2 thoughts on “That’s Not What You Are Anymore!”

  1. I heard a song last week, the chorus of which says “live like you are loved”. Wow, it struck me immediately ( I believe it was the Holy Spirit) that I should do that because it’s TRUE! I am loved, such a simple idea but when I thought about it more, living like I am loved should change EVERYTHING – all fear, doubt, I can rest in peace etc. I agree that we tend to live like sinners almost getting by but the Word of God says WE ARE LOVED by the God of the universe. Wow again!

    Denise

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