Morning By Morning #12

You are Christ’s.

1 Corinthians 3:23 ESV

From the pen of Charles Spurgeon:

“You are Christ’s.” You are His because of a donation, for the Father gave you to His Son; His because He purchased you with His blood, paying the price for your redemption; His through dedication, for you have committed and consecrated yourself to Him; and His through a family relationship, for you have been named by His name, become one of His brothers or sisters, and made “co-heirs” (Rom. 8:17) with Him.

Endeavor to show the world you are the servant, the friend, and the bride of Jesus. When you are tempted to sin, respond by saying, “I can’t do this terrible wickedness, for I am Christ’s.” Remember—eternal principles prohibit the friend of Christ to sin. So when ill-gotten wealth is set before you that can only be won through sin, say, “I am Christ’s,” and then refuse to touch it.

Are you facing difficulties and dangers? Stand firm in these evil days, remembering “you are Christ’s.” Do you find yourself sitting down with others, doing nothing? Then rise up to work with all your strength. And when the sweat beads up on your forehead and you are tempted to be idle again, cry out, “No, I can’t stop, for I am Christ’s! If I had not been purchased by His blood I might be like Issachar, ‘lying down between two saddlebags’ (Gen. 49:14), but I am Christ’s and I can’t linger.” And when the siren song of pleasure tempts you from the path of righteousness, reply, “Your music can’t attract me. I am Christ’s.”

Never betray your profession of faith in Christ. Always be a person whose walk is Christian, whose speech is like that of the Nazarene, whose conduct and conversation have such an aroma of heaven that everyone who sees you will know you belong to the Savior, recognizing in you His features of love and His countenance of holiness.

In ancient times, to say, “I am a Roman!” was a reason for integrity and pride. In a far greater way, then, let this proclamation be your argument for holiness—“I am Christ’s!”

From the pen of Jim Reimann:

Continually reminding myself of whose I am helps me “take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ” (2 Cor. 10:5). And personalizing Scripture is another means helping me be victorious over the temptations of life. For example, “Do [I] not know that [my] body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in [me], whom [I] have received from God? [I am] not [my] own; [I was] bought at a price. Therefore [I will] honor God with [my] body”(1 Cor.6:19-20).

As the Lord continues to sanctify us, making us more and more holy, we will indeed see victory even over sins with which we may have struggled for years. “For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ” (2 Cor. 10:3 – 5).

“In all these things we are more than conquerors” (Rom. 8:37).

Dear Jesus, thank You that I am Yours, and that because I am in You, I am more than a conqueror.