What Do You Have Apart from Jesus?

In this Spiritual Life UPGRADE, I want to share the blessing and power of not doing anything apart from Jesus.

February 1, 2022, when I couldn't sleep in the night, I started thinking about what life would be like apart from Jesus. In that long night, the Holy Spirit was my Comfort and Peace, but my mind turned to my Savior.

I thought about all He had done for me. I thought about Him praying in Heaven for me. The more I meditated, the more I realized how He touched every part of my life, and that I, in fact, had no life apart from Him.

Here is what I reminded myself about that night.

Nothing Apart from Jesus

1. Apart from Jesus, there's no PATH to eternal hope and heaven.

In other words, there's no salvation. Jesus said,

I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me (John 14:6).

Apart from our Savior, we have no hope for eternity; but with Jesus, we have "a living hope" (1 Peter 1:3).

2. Apart from Jesus, there's no PURPOSE for spiritually-meaningful life and legacy.

We all have personal goals—some made with much prayer and in seeking God, and others planned without Him.

The best way for a Christ-follower to live is to prayerfully ask God for direction.

Why?

For we are God's handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do (Ephesians 2:10).

God planned works for us to do. He had jobs, careers, and responsibilities in mind when He created us.

I've thought about this a lot. I believe:

• God gifted me and He empowers me.
• He knew I would be a wife, mother, and grandmother.
• He knew I would be a writer, speaker, and love to sing in the choir.
• He has provided all I've needed, in my weakness, to be strong in Him.
• He designed me to love truth and show mercy.
• He gave me the desire to live for His glory.

He did all of this for me and in and through me as I am "in Christ"—and I am so grateful!

Perhaps you might review your own life. Consider how God has prepared the way and used you in ways you never would have imagined.

Perhaps you are like me. Without the Lord, I have no spiritually-meaningful life. Without Him, my legacy would be shallow. But with Him . . .

3. Apart for Jesus, there's no POWER for godly choices and change.

We may be able to overcome some issues with sheer will power, but godly choices requires knowing God. When we have the "mind of Christ," we will think differently (1 Corinthians 2:16).

Also, because Jesus stands in victory, we do not have to sin! As a popular song says, "sin's curse has lost its grip on me." * I have both the desire and the enabling to overcome temptation in Christ (1 Corinthians 15:57) and through the Word of God (1 Corinthians 10:13; Psalm 119:11).

I am being transformed through the "renewing" of my mind (Romans 12:2). God is changing me to become more like His Son (Romans 8:29).

Without Christ, we can do nothing, but with Him—when we abide in Him, when we live in His strength—what a difference!

4. Apart from Jesus, there's no PROVISION for spiritual growth and godliness.

God gives us great grace. It is the grace of God that He chooses to bless us instead of give us what our sin deserves.

Paul reminds us that nothing good dwells in our flesh (Romans 7:18). How can that which is not good do good? Even our so-called goodness is as "filthy rags" before God—tainted by sin or wrong motives.

Oh, how we need Jesus!

In Jesus, God made a way not only for eternal life, but blessings as well. In Christ, we are given many spiritual blessings and we are able to live "to the praise of his glory" (Ephesians 1:3-14).

God give us "grace gifts" (spiritual gifts) to help us "bear much fruit" (John 15:8) as we serve Him and pursue God-given goals.

• Father God calls us to be holy as He is holy (1 Peter 1:15-17).
• He gave us the Holy One, Jesus, to enable our holiness (John 6:68-69).
• And Jesus prayed the Father would send the Holy Spirit to guide us into righteousness (Romans 8:14; Galatians 5:16).

Clearly, it is God's will that we be holy; but we cannot be godly apart from our Savior.

5. Apart from Jesus, there's no PEACE in the world's confusion and chaos.

Just listening to newscasts for one day is enough to either make us angry or make us afraid. We rightly ask, "What in the world is going on?"

We may be tempted to panic. We crave peace in all the confusion and chaos. 

Yet, as Christ-followers, we know there's more going on than earthly headlines.

• We know Jesus, the Prince of Peace, is coming back to set things right.
• We know that—whatever happens to our earthly bodies—sin, circumstances, and the evil one cannot destroy us.
• We know that apart from Jesus we might panic, but in Him, we have peace that the world cannot understand.

Jesus desires to give us HIS peace, far beyond the peace promoted in this world (John 14:27). It's the kind of peace that enables us to not be troubled or afraid in the scary circumstances of life.

Apart from Jesus we may feel hopeless, purposeless, powerless, helpless, and restless. But all that changes when we are alive in Him.

"No guilt in life no fear in death,

This is the power of Christ in me.

From life's first cry to final breath,

Jesus commands my destiny." *

How grateful I am that I do not live apart from the One who loved me enough to die for me, the One who has provided all I will ever need.

Is there some area of life where you are apart from Jesus? Do you have a personal relationship with Him? What do you have that has not come from Him?

Dawn Wilson, founder and President of Heart Choices Today, is a speaker and author, and the creator the blog, Upgrade with Dawn. She is a contracted researcher/reviewer for women's teacher and revivalist, Nancy DeMoss Wolgemuth at Revive Our Hearts, and is a regular columnist at Crosswalk.com. She and her husband Bob live in sunny Southern California, and Dawn has traveled with Him in Pacesetter Global Outreach. They have two grown, married sons, three granddaughters and a rascally maltipoo, Roscoe.

* Lyrics from "In Christ Alone" by Stuart Townend and Keith Getty.

Graphic adapted, courtesy of Matteo Vistocco at Unsplash.

Who Are You? What Are You Doing Here?

Kolleen Lucariello is one of my favorite writers because she is funny and factual (biblically), practical and passionate (about God's Word). In this special UPLIFT, she writes about her dad, and a precious lesson she learned about herself while observing his life.

"'I don’t mean to be blunt, but who are you and what are you doing here?' my father repeated to the unfamiliar face joining my mother and I at the kitchen table.

"I’d given him the information," Kolleen said, "but with Alzheimer’s holding him hostage, he asked again, 'Who are you and what are you doing here?'"

It's not hard for me (Dawn) to understand that scenario. I remember how brokenhearted I felt one evening when I spoke to my mom and sister on FaceTime. My mom peered at the image on her screen and asked my sister, "Who IS that?" I wiped away a tear.

I'm glad Kolleen goes on to share a sweet lesson she learned after her dad asked those questions.

Kolleen continues . . . 

I reintroduced the new home health aide to my dad. 

“A home health aide? Well, what do we need one of those for?” Dad continued.

 “Help. Sometimes, we just need someone to help care for us.” I replied.

His rebuttal held little doubt of his confidence that they needed no help, when he turned to the aide and again asked, “Who are you and what are you here for?”

When I’ve replayed that moment countless times over the months since, inevitably two thoughts enter my mind.

First, sorrow floods me with my front row seat of this awful disease that is stealing my dad from us.

My second thought is to pause and reflect on his question: Who are you and what are you doing here?

The answers to these questions evaded me for many years of my life, causing such inner turmoil and conflict that I often found myself wrestling with dis-ease.

If you had asked me to answer my dad’s simple questions a few years ago, you might have heard something like,

I am Kolleen, and I am here to make other people happy.

I have since discovered that a heavy weight of dis-ease was created when I conditioned myself to believe my sense of identity and purpose could only be found when I felt others’ approval and acceptance.

A near emotional breakdown led me to the realization that we were only meant to live for the approval of the One who created us. 

I am so grateful John took notes the day Jesus spoke these words to the crowd:

“Remain in me, and I will remain in you. For a branch cannot produce fruit if it is severed from the vine, and you cannot be fruitful unless you remain in me” (John 15:4 NLT).

It is through my remaining, or abiding, in Christ that I become the most authentic version of myself. However, whenever the familiar nudge to win approval sneaks in desiring to hold me hostage, I am the only one who can decide if I’m willing to participate.

It still catches me from time-to-time when I shift my focus and allow my heart to wander from that place Jesus invites each of us into—the place of abiding. 

It doesn’t take too long before those who know me best recognize that shift of focus and help me find my focus again. We need to be in relationship with others who help us live in the identity and purpose God has for us. They help bring an upgrade in our life. 

So, who am I?

• I am the most authentic representation of my true self when I remain in Jesus, for it is in Christ that I am blessed, chosen, and alive.
• I am even a masterpiece in the Father’s eyes (identity) created to do the good work He prepared for me to do (purpose) (Ephesians 1:3, 2:1,10).

And if this is who I am in Christ, it’s who you are too. After all,

“God works in different ways, but it is the same God who does the work in all of us” (1 Corinthians 12:6 NLT). 

What are we here for?

We are here to reveal the character of Christ to everyone through every encounter so good fruit is produced and brings glory to the Father (Matthew 5:16).

What might happen if we no longer lived according to our own plan and purpose and instead asked God to show us His?

Imagine if whatever we do or say, we “do it as a representative of the Lord Jesus” (Colossians 3:17a NLT). 

In Christ, we no longer live life just “to please ourselves” (Romans 15:1). Instead, we “patiently embrace others” with our goal being “to empower others to do what is right and good for them, and to bring them into spiritual maturity” (Romans 15:2 TPT).

Paul empowers every New Testament believer to know who they are so they can live a life of purpose and identity. He gives us detailed descriptions of who we are in Christ in the book of Ephesians.

I think it’s time for you to be released from the effects of dis-ease by living in the identity Jesus died to give you.   

Now, I don’t mean to be blunt, but I must ask: Who are you and what are you here for?

Kolleen Lucariello, #TheABCGirl, is the author of #beYOU: Change Your Identity One Letter at a Time and is the Co-Director of Activ8Her, Inc. She is passionate to every woman realize her identity in Christ and live accordingly. Kolleen and her hubby, Pat, make their home in Central New York. She’s the mom of three grown children and Mimi to six incredible grands. For more information about Kolleen, visit www.speakkolleen.com.

Graphic adapted, courtesy of ar130405 at Pixabay.

Who We Are and What We Have—In Christ

Sometimes we forget who we are. And forgetting can have sad, even devastating consequences.

When I realized who I am and what I have in Christ, it revolutionized my thinking. And the more I focus on these truths, the more freedom, peace and courage I have in my life and ministry.

There are three things I discovered in my study. In Christ, I have a new identity, absolute security, and God-given dignity.

Let me unpack those for you here:

I. In Christ, you have a New IDENTITY

• You are a new creature, born of God – 2 Corinthians 5:17; I John 4:7
• You are ALIVE! You have eternal life – Ephesians 2:5; John 5:24
• You are also dead to sin's power—crucified with Christ – Romans 6:1-6; Galatians 2:20
• You are washed and sanctified (made holy) through the sacrifice of Jesus – I Corinthians 6:11; Hebrews 10:10, 13-14
• You are justified (made righteous) – Romans 5:1
• You are reconciled to God – Romans 5:10-11; Colossians 1:22
• You are redeemed and forgiven – Colossians 1:13-14
• You are accepted and blessed in the Beloved – Romans 15:7; Ephesians 1:6
• You belong to God – I Corinthians 6:19-20
• You are His adopted, chosen child – Ephesians 1:3-8; I John 3:1-2
• You become a part of God’s family, a member of His household – John 1:12-13; Ephesians 2:19
• You become a member of Christ’s body – I Corinthians 12:27
• You are one with Christ (in spirit) – I Corinthians 6:17
• You are complete in all the fullness of Christ - Colossians 2:9-10
• You are a child of light, not darkness - I Thessalonians 5:4-5
• You have a new mind—a new way of thinking – I Corinthians 2:16
• You are Jesus’ friend - John 15:15

II. In Christ, you have Absolute SECURITY

• You are indwelt and sealed for God’s purposes – I Corinthians 2:12; 2 Corinthians 1:21-22
• You cannot be separated from the love of God – Romans 8:31-39
• You are connected to the True Vine – John 15:5
• You are safe from the Evil One, rescued from Satan’s domain – I John 5:18; Colossians 1:13
• You are prounced free from condemnation and accusation because Jesus paid it all—your penalty for sin – Romans 8:1-2; Colossians 1:22
• Your new self is hidden securely from the world, but settled in Him – Colossians 3:1-4
• You have new courage—you do not need to fear, because you’ve been given a spirit of power, love, and sound thinking – 2 Timothy 1:7
• You are being transformed—be assured that God is working on your behalf, making you more like Jesus – Romans 8:29
• You can be confident that God will finish what He’s started - Philippians 1:6

III. In Christ, you have God-given DIGNITY

• You are a unique workmanship with a special purpose and God-ordained tasks – Ephesians 2:10
• You are appointed to do “the works of Christ” and bear fruit – John 14:12; 15:16
• You are “seated in the heavenlies” and have a heavenly calling – Hebrews 3:1
• You are a disciple with a mission – Matthew 28:19-20
• You are a citizen of heaven – Philippians 3:20
• You are an heir of God (a joint heir with Christ) – Romans 8:17; Galatians 4:7
• You are a child of the King—and a royal, set-apart priest to serve the Father – 1 Peter 2:5, 9-10; Rev. 1:5-6
• You will share an inheritance with the other saints in God’s “kingdom of light” – Colossians 1:10-12
• You are God’s holy “temple,” indwelt by His Spirit – I Corinthians 3:16
• You are a Minister of the New Covenant and of Reconciliation – 2 Corinthians 3:6; 5:17-21
• You are an ambassador – 2 Corinthians 5:20
• You are empowered to be effective and victorious – Philippians 4:13
• You are salt and light to reach the world; a light shining in a dark place – Matthew 5:13-14; 2 Peter 1:19
• You are blessed with every spiritual blessing – Ephesians 1:3
• You are a child of promise, receiving the promised Spirit through faith and receiving a new nature – Romans 9:8; Galatians 3:14; 2 Peter 1:4

I encourage you to study each point, and rejoice in who you are and what you have in Christ.

Which of these categories of who you are and what you have in Christ speaks to you today? How will you allow it to change or encourage you?

Dawn Wilson, founder and President of Heart Choices Today, is a speaker and author, and the creator of three blogs: Heart Choices Today, LOL with God (with Pam Farrel), and Upgrade with Dawn. She is a contracted researcher/reviewer for Revive Our Hearts and a writer at Crosswalk.com. She and her husband Bob live in Southern California and have two grown, married sons, three granddaughters and a rascally maltipoo, Roscoe.

Graphic adapted, courtesy of Lightstock.

Why Does Rejection Feel So Bad?

Kathy Collard Miller continually turns women to the Word of God to find truth to combat the lies they might believe. In this Spiritual Growth UPGRADE, she helps us focus in on the truth about rejections.

"Rejection," Kathy says, "hits like an atom bomb in our soul."

Boom! I (Dawn) have felt the powerful impact of rejection over my entire life. But I've learned over the years how to counter the reality of rejection and my brokenness because of it—with God's truth. That's something Kathy' espouses too.

Kathy continues . . .

Recently I felt sick in the depths of my stomach and my soul when I felt rejected.

Personal rejection can be described as someone refusing to accept what we offer them or they believe something bad about us.

We feel attacked and misunderstood. It can be a very hopeless feeling.

Here are three points for hope.

1.  We can understand where the feelings of rejection originated.

Rejection can bring up the lies we believed or felt about us in childhood. In that moment, we feel as if we’re back being that little girl or boy when we felt horrible, because we were attacked emotionally or physically.

It feels like all the resources and truth we know as adults about God are thrown out the window and we’re back to being voiceless, powerless, or without defense. The feelings are the same even though the situation is different.

In those moments, God offers hope through assuring us we aren’t the child any longer—thinking God isn’t there for us.

Instead, the truth is, God promises to be our refuge, help, protector, and give unconditional love.

We may not see evidence of that like we’d prefer, but by faith we can tell ourselves our loving Savior is “for” us and is defending us more than we realize.

2. Rejection most often comes because the other person feels threatened in some way.

Most of the time, she is reacting out of her own pain or even feeling rejected or worthless herself.

Even if we made a mistake or react in a hurtful way, she is responsible before God to offer grace because He has forgiven her for so much and He offers the strength she needs to make a wise choice.

But so many of us respond to and are responded to by others out of past wounds. Unfortunately, we take the person’s attack personally and blame ourselves.

Certainly we can take responsibility for our wrong choices but regardless, the other person is responsible for their response too. God wants to empower us to not take the attack personally but to offer an example of God’s grace of unconditional love. It is possible.

3. Rejection is the feeling of our worth and value being dismissed.

We believe the rejection is valid, because we believe the lie someone else believes: “She is worthless,” “He is stupid,” “She has nothing of worth to offer,” and many other lies.

But those are lies created by Satan against God’s beloved creation.

We must look primarily to God for who He says we are, not other people.

Not only were each of us created with God’s stamp of “good” at creation, even in our sin He demonstrates we are important and loved by Him through the sacrifice of His Son on the cross. That act determines we are never rejected or reject-able by God.

In the first chapter of Ephesians, He says the opposite of rejection.

He says we are:

• loved,
• forgiven,
• blessed,
• redeemed,
• accepted,
• adopted,
• and many other truths of our identity.

Only believing those truths will counteract the atom bomb going off in our soul and minds when we feel rejected.

Indeed, our audience of One—God Himself—is still seeing us “in Christ” regardless of another person’s opinions.

Jesus demonstrated that many times.

• Jesus refused to believe the rejection of His own family who believed Him crazy (Mark 3:21).
• Jesus didn’t respond to the rejection of the Pharisees, His own disciples, and even the betrayal of Judas and Peter.

He knew His identity as God.

Even as a human, Jesus depended on who His Father said He was.

That’s our challenge also.

Which point will you focus on the next time you feel rejected?

Kathy Collard Miller is the author of more than 50 books including Choices of the Heart: Daughters of the King Bible Study Series. She is a popular women's conference speaker both nationally and internationally. Visit KathyCollardMiller.com. Kathy lives in Southern California with her husband Larry (of 45+ years). They have two children and two grandchildren.

Graphic adapted, courtesy of comfreak at Pixabay.

4 Ways I'm Learning to Be a Light-Dweller

In this Spiritual Life UPGRADE, Dawn Wilson reminds us Jesus wants His followers to walk in the light. That's crucial in these dark days!

Some time ago, when San Diego had days of heavy rains—not common for us—I got a serious case of "The Glooms."

My nutritionist said I might actually have SAD (Seasonal Affective Disorder). And that might be. Thinking back, I've never tolerated gloomy days well; I've always craved sunshine.

I remember one day in the midst of The Glooms when I got out of our car and suddenly, a ray of sunshine peeked through some clouds. I turned my head toward the sun and basked in its light.

Though I love the crispness of fall, I NEED the sunshine of summer.

I read about a little bird that enjoys perpetual summer. In the book God of Wonders, David A. Steen writes about the arctic tern, a mostly-white bird with a bright-red bill and tiny red legs and webbed feet. The arctic tern only weights about 3.5 ounces. When it's summer in the far north, they raise their young in Greenland or Iceland, and then when summer wanes, they take off for the Weddell Sea in Antarctica—some 12,000 miles south!

The actic tern "enjoys the most daylight hours of any creature on earth," Steen wrote. Flying in a looping, zig-zag pattern, they log the most miles during their annual migrations—24,000-30,000 miles each year, pole-to-pole-to-pole, round trip. They are so desperate for the summer sun.

Now reading that, I had a thought. I wonder how desperate I am for the light of the Son? How much do I desire to seek Him—the Light of the World? I get so caught up in seeking other things. But God has a better way.

The Lord wants me to live as a Light-Dweller.

Here are some things He's teaching me about that.

1. I'm Learning to Seek the Son.

In Matthew 6:33, Jesus said, "Seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you."

What we seek shows the state of our hearts—what we really crave. Sadly, I'm inclined to seek "stuff" because I love it; but oh, how I need the Son!

Sometimes the Lord has had to draw my stuff away from me before I realized what really matters. "Stuff" isn't wrong, but my inordinate affection for my stuff can keep me from seeking and loving God and desiring to live fully sold-out for Him.

I must learn to turn my head toward the Son and bask in His glory.

2. I'm Learning My Position—Light in the Lord.

When I became a Christ-follower, the Lord slowly began transforming my heart as I studied the scriptures. I learned I was once "in darkness," but by God's grace I became "light in the Lord." God wants me to discern what is pleasing to Him (Ephesians 5:8-10).

Slowly I've understood: the darkness of my spiritual graveyard is behind me. In the resurrected Christ, I should and can live in the light of my new birth.

I am a partaker of "the inheritance of the saints in light" (Colossians 1:12). That's where I belong ... in the light.

Jesus wants to shine His light on me, but I must wake up and start living like a child of light (Ephesians 5:14-17).

3. I'm Learning to Walk in the Light.

In his book study on Ephesians, Warren W. Wiersbe wrote, "Walking 'as children of light' also means reveling in God's light in our daily lives. By our character and conduct, we bring God's light into a dark world. As God's light, we help others find their way to Christ."

Yes, I need to discern what God wants and obey Him for my own good and His glory. But walking in the light is even more than that. People are blinded by Satan and living in darkness. "Only as we witness and share Christ can the light enter in," Wiersbe wrote.

I can't be sluggish in my walk of light. I must be intentional and faithful.

"Jesus bids us shine, shine for all around.

Many kinds of darkness in the world are found.

Sin and want and sorrow, so we must shine—

You in your small corner and I in mine." (Susan B. Warner)

4. I'm Learning How Light Exposes Darkness.

Light reveals truth and exposes lies. It reveals sin for what it is.

That's why some people avoid church like the plague. They will not come to the light (John 3:20); they like their sin too much.

We don't have to blast sin at every point. God wants us to love people. But the truth is, if we are seeking God, resting in Christ and walking in the light, our lives will expose others' sin in contrast.

Some time ago, a woman blasted me, saying I was "on a pedestal." She said I must think I'm "holier than others." Her words cut deep. I felt I was following hard after Christ—pursuing Him and His righteousness; but I examined my heart to see if there was truth in her statements. Was I projecting pride?

God showed me one way that might be true and I dealt with that, but in the process, the Lord showed me the root of the problem. This woman was smarting under her own sinful choices. She lashed out under the weight of her own guilt.

God nudged me to love her more, encourage her and "be there" for her if opportunities came to help. But I realized at that point, standing for righteousness is going to invite some enemies (2 Timothy 3:12). I can't be a phoney Christian—I must walk in HIS light and not put the spotlight on anything less (and especially on myself)—but I can't expect everyone will love me for that.

The self-righteous Pharisees hated Jesus, the Light of the World, precisesly for this reason, and they tried to destroy Him. When sinners saw Christ's character, they had no cloak for their sin (John 15:22).

The righteousness of Christ in us will make the lost and religious hypocrites uncomfortable; but that doesn't mean we should stop walking in the light.

I want to be a Light-Dweller. Don't you? What's stopping you? Turn your head toward the Son today, rest in Him, and walk in His light.

Dawn Wilson, founder and President of Heart Choices Today, is a speaker and author, and the creator of three blogs: Heart Choices Today, LOL with God (with Pam Farrel), and Upgrade with Dawn. She is a contracted researcher/reviewer for Revive Our Hearts and a writer at Crosswalk.com. She and her husband Bob live in Southern California and have two grown, married sons, three granddaughters and a rascally maltipoo, Roscoe.

Graphic of Sunbeams Breaking Through a Cloud, adapted, courtesy of SeaquestDS at FreeImagesLive.

Graphic of Arctic Tern, courtesy of Pixabay.