{"id":1930,"date":"2022-08-31T08:14:12","date_gmt":"2022-08-31T12:14:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/js1cd06kre.onrocket.site\/?p=1930"},"modified":"2022-08-31T08:15:27","modified_gmt":"2022-08-31T12:15:27","slug":"identity-check","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/2022\/08\/31\/identity-check\/","title":{"rendered":"Identity Check"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Throughout the month of August, we\u2019re taking a close look at 23 verses of the New Testament.  They comprise Ephesians chapter one, which paints one of the Bible\u2019s most comprehensive pictures of what it means for ordinary people to be \u201cin Christ.\u201d  <\/em>
 
A man named David Rice Atchison was President of the United States for one day.
 
And he didn\u2019t even know it.                                                                                     
 
According to the U.S. Constitution in the 19th<\/sup> century, if neither the President nor the Vice President was officially sworn in to the role of chief executive, the president pro tem<\/em> of the Senate moved to the Oval Office.  On March 4, 1849, President James Knox Polk\u2019s term had lapsed and the newly elected President, Zachary Taylor, couldn\u2019t yet be sworn in because it was Sunday. 
 
Thus, for one day David Rice Atchison was technically President of the United States \u2013 something he didn\u2019t realize until he got to thinking about things a few months later.
 
When followers of Jesus get to thinking about things, it gradually dawns on them that they have been granted a status that utterly exceeds any earthly title or honor.  But as Christians we may not even know that \u2013 until we take a close look at the teaching of Scripture.
 
What have we learned during our extended look at the first chapter of the book of Ephesians?  If you have surrendered yourself, as best you can, to Jesus of Nazareth, then you can know that the following 16 things are true: 
 
You are a saint<\/strong>, one of God\u2019s holy ones (v. 1) \u2013 even if your spiritual track record is anything but stellar.   
 
You are blessed<\/strong> by God (v. 3) \u2013 and there is no power in heaven or earth that can take that away.
 
You were chosen<\/strong> before the creation of the world (v. 4) \u2013 which means you\u2019ve already won the ultimate lottery.
 
You are loved<\/strong> by God (v. 4) \u2013 all of his actions are grounded in his deep commitment to secure your life in this world and the next.
 
You are predestined<\/strong> (v. 5) \u2013 which means God has always known that you were coming.
 
You are adopted<\/strong> into God\u2019s family (v. 5) \u2013 as his treasured child, you will never be abandoned.
 
You have been redeemed<\/strong> (v. 7) \u2013 a reminder that he paid the price to make sure you will always belong to him.
 
You are forgiven<\/strong> (v. 7) \u2013 you never need to be afraid to look him in the eye. 
 
You are for the praise of his glory<\/strong> (v. 12) \u2013 he\u2019s not ashamed to be called your Father.
 
You are included<\/strong> (v. 13) \u2013 in a world that divides and separates, he has welcomed you into his forever family.
 
You are \u201cin Christ\u201d<\/strong> (v. 13) \u2013 you don\u2019t just live in a house, in a state, or in a country, but in the privileged condition<\/em> of enjoying everything Jesus accomplished.
 
You are sealed<\/strong> with the Spirit (v. 13) \u2013 God\u2019s own \u201cproof of purchase\u201d of your life.
 
You have received a down payment<\/strong> (v. 14) \u2013 the Spirit is his assurance that you\u2019ll ultimately receive the totality of your spiritual inheritance.
 
You are God\u2019s possession<\/strong> (v. 14) \u2013 and no one can pluck you out of his hand (John 10:28).
 
You have access to God\u2019s power<\/strong> (v. 19) \u2013 which means you\u2019re not stuck in the rut of your own resources.
 
You are a member of Christ\u2019s Body<\/strong> (v. 23) \u2013 the assurance that you have gifts to help extend God\u2019s reign, right here and right now. 
 
One of my friends grew up in a proud, traditional family.  He recalls that sometimes, as he was about to bolt out of the house, his mother would say, “Have a great time!”  Then she would add, “And remember who you are<\/em>.\u201d 

Our call is to remember who we are. 
 
By God’s grace, that will make all the difference in the world.

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Throughout the month of August, we\u2019re taking a close look at 23 verses of the New Testament.  They comprise Ephesians chapter one, which paints one of the Bible\u2019s most comprehensive pictures of what it means for ordinary people to be \u201cin Christ.\u201d   A man named David Rice Atchison was President of the United States for one day. And he didn\u2019t even know… Read more »<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1931,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[480,489],"class_list":["post-1930","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-ephesians","tag-identity-in-christ"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1930","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1930"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1930\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1934,"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1930\/revisions\/1934"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1931"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1930"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1930"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1930"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}