PERFECTED

Day 13 – Who He Says I Am Series

“For by one offering He has perfected for all time those who are sanctified.”

– Hebrews 10:14 (NASB)

In Christ – 

YOU ARE PERFECTED

I love to watch the shows on HGTV where they take something and repurpose it.  It’s just the coolest thing to me to see something that is old, worn out, worn down, or seemingly useless, be completely changed into something new, cool, and used for a completely new purpose. One thing I have become increasingly fascinated with is all the transformations and uses for storage containers.  According to cbp.gov at the time of writing this, 11 million maritime containers arrive at our seaports every year. That is a lot of containers. I am so intrigued by the creative ways that people have taken these standard, oftentimes beat up and unadorned containers, and repurposed them into other uses filled with character and flair. One of our favorite restaurants in Orange Beach, AL is called The Gulf. While the food at The Gulf is creative and super yummy, the most distinctive element about this particular restaurant is its incredible atmosphere.  The restaurant has no buildings. The seating is all outdoor and all structures are made of repurposed shipping containers.  Somehow that makes it even more unique, creative, and alluring than if a building had been erected from the beginning to sit there.  This reminds me of our identity in Christ.  We have been repurposed by Him.  We have been perfected. We have been taken from our meaningless lives that were enslaved to sin and we have been made new.  We have been cleaned up and restored. We have been cared for and loved by One who saw our value beyond the wear and tear.  I love the analogy of the coin found in the mud by the merchant.  Many passed over the coin not even noticing it because of its outward appearance. It had been trampled and stained, but the merchant bent down to pick up the coin and cleaned it off. He knew that just because the coin had been trampled and stained it didn’t change its worth.  My friend, it doesn’t matter your past or what you have done. You are not the sum of your behavior. Let the guilt and shame of your past stay there. Rest in knowing that whatever you have done in the past and whatever you will do in the future has all been paid for. Your value is determined outside of yourself because of your Creator. He has perfected you. Like the wise merchant and his coin, He has redeemed you from the miry clay. (Psalm 40:2) You have been made new. You have been sanctified. His blood purchased your forgiveness for all sin and gave you His righteousness. He exchanged all of our bad for all of His good. Receive the grace gift of His goodness today.

PERFECTED – is your Identity.

Daily Reminder

You don’t have to work to be Perfected, you already are Perfected because Christ gave you a new identity. His identity. This is who you are because of who He is, not who you have to try to become.

– Religion tells us what to do to become, which equals self reliance – the focus is on self.

– The truth of the Gospel tells us who we are because of who Jesus is and what He did – the focus is on Jesus.

Good News  – Our Father in heaven is pleased with you because of what Jesus did – it all hinges on Him not us.

We are in union with Christ (1 Corinthians 6:17). When our Daddy in heaven looks at you, He sees Jesus, and He is nothing but pleased. (Matthew 3:17)

Rest in Him today.

Holy God,

Thank You for perfecting me. You are the Author and Perfector of my faith. Today I will rest in knowing that You have done a cleansing, healing, and restoring work in my life. This is work You have completed on the inside of me and I receive it fully today. Thank You Jesus!