THE GOOD THINGS WE HAVE IN CHRIST

PHILEMON 6 NKJ 
6 that the sharing of your faith may become effective by the acknowledgment of every good thing which is in you in Christ Jesus.  

The first part of this verse is not very clear - the sharing of your faith may become effective.  I like what the NLT version says.  "And I am praying that you will put into action the generosity that comes from your faith."  Hopefully, that helps a bit, but here is an important part of this verse, "...by the acknowledgment of every good thing which is in you in Christ Jesus." 

As we begin to acknowledge what Jesus has done for us and who we are in Him, it will energize our faith.   

Way too much of our time has been focused on the negatives in our lives.  Where we have been hurt.  Who has done us wrong.  Where we have failed.  The many dysfunctional areas of our life and who is to blame for all our issues.  Now, this is by no means saying that bad things have not happened in our lives.  Pretty much, bad things have happened to everyone, regardless of what is projected on Facebook.   

But how much has that helped us?  What has it done to our faith?  I can answer both questions with not much.  Acknowledging our weaknesses, faults, failures, hurts, and disappointments has not helped us much.  So, we need to follow the wisdom of the Bible.  We must acknowledge the good things in us in Christ Jesus.   

APPLICATION: 

How do we do this?  How do we acknowledge the good things in us in Christ?   

Great question, glad you asked.  We first have to find out what good things are ours in Christ.  The epistles are the best place to go.  They tell us what has been done for us and in us. So Romans through Jude is a place to camp on this coming year.   

The second thing is to simply agree to say Yes to what the scriptures say about us in Christ.  Yes, to being a new creation.  Yes, to being God's chosen people.  Yes, to being blessed and loved and accepted.  Yes, to being made right in God's sight.  When we find what we've been made and given in Him, we say Yes! 

This will energize our faith and help us live out the high calling we have in Christ.  This will absolutely make for a better year in 2022! 

PRAYER: 

Dear Father, thank You for all You have done for me in Christ. I say Yes to all the good and in 2022 I will not focus my thoughts on all the areas I have come short or failed or missed it. My faith in You is expressed much better from a joyful heart and what You have done in me makes me glad!