I pray that your hearts will be flooded with light so that you can understand the confident hope he has given to those he called—his holy people who are his rich and glorious inheritance. Ephesians 1:18 (NLT) We are three-part beings: spirit, soul and body. But when Adam and Eve left the garden, their spirits lost the presence of God, and they began to function as only two-thirds of a being.   Today as a believer, you are whole and complete with the nature of Christ. But although you have a new nature, your heart needs to catch up. The heart holds your deepest beliefs. These beliefs need to continually be corrected and built on truth—especially your beliefs about your identity.   Unless you do this heart …

Put on your new nature, and be renewed as you learn to know your Creator and become like him. Colossians 3:10 (NLT) Trying harder is not the key to change. The key to change lies with your identity in Christ. Most of us want to improve. We know there are times when we could have made better choices in life. We want to avoid making the same mistakes again so we try hard to change. The problem with this approach is that we think we need to change who we are. In reality, we don’t. We just need to realize who we are. We have to choose to take God at His Word. What does God’s Word say? In Jesus, you are God’s child (1 …

The temptations in your life are no different from what others experience. And God is faithful. He will not allow the temptation to be more than you can stand. When you are tempted, he will show you a way out so that you can endure. 1 Corinthians 10:13 (NLT) One of the most common reasons people distance themselves from God is personal failure. We are taught that Christians have an advantage because Jesus lives inside us, but we still struggle with temptation. If we fail to meet the standard we’ve set for ourselves, we sometimes allow that failure to define us. As a Christian, this should not be the case. When you gave your life to Jesus, He made you entirely new. If you make …

God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it. Ephesians 2:8–9 (NLT) You cannot build a close relationship with someone you don’t trust. If a child grows up with an abusive mother, he may love his mom but he’s also afraid of her. He doesn’t trust her because he is never sure of what he’s going to get. One day she’s loving; the next she’s filled with rage. He learns to pull away from her—to lie about his mistakes and hide his imperfections—because he fears his mom’s emotional reactions. On the other …

But God is so rich in mercy, and he loved us so much, that even though we were dead because of our sins, he gave us life when he raised Christ from the dead. (It is only by God’s grace that you have been saved!) Ephesians 2:4–5 (NLT) Do negative circumstances happen to people because God is angry with them? If a child passes away, it’s not because the parents needed to be taught a lesson. And if someone gets sick, it’s not because God wants them to get what’s coming to them! Any teaching that says God is going to pay you back for the sin in your life ignores the New Covenant. God isn’t allowing bad things to come into your life. Romans …