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The Secret Of Our Identity
A daily devotion for July 15th
From your friends at RayStedman.org
Read: John 14:15-20
I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you (John
14:18).
Here Jesus tells us the secret of our identity as believers. The most
fundamental fact of our life as Christians is there: Jesus says that He is
not going to leave His disciples desolate or as orphans. These men are
frightened. They know that He is going away. They remember the intimations
He has given that it will be by violence, by being taken and beaten and
ultimately crucified. And they are fearful--not only for Him but for
themselves. But now He reassures them: I'm not going to leave you orphans;
I'm not going to abandon you. I will come to you.
He is not talking here about His second coming. His reference to that is in
verse 3 where He has said that He will come again and take them to Himself.
At his second coming, John tells us, Every eye will see him (Revelation
1:7). But here is a way of coming that the world will not see, but in which
the disciples will not only see Him but live by Him: Because I live, you
will live also. That is more than merely a reference to His resurrection and
the promise of our resurrection some day. It is really a reference to His
coming by the Spirit, the result of which will be you in Me, and I in you.
And that is to be the secret of our lives, as His relationship with the
Father was the secret of His life.
I find Christians all over this country who do not understand this truth
about their new life in Christ. The truth from which they get their identity
is this fact: Jesus is in them and lives in them. It is to this fact that
they should return whenever there are pressures and problems and demands
made upon them, because it is from this fact that the secret of life will
flow to them.
The day of the Spirit began on the Day of Pentecost, when suddenly the
Spirit of God was poured out upon these believers, and they became changed
people. And that day is still with us. It began over two thousand years ago,
and it hasn't ended yet. In fact, on the Day of Pentecost, Peter stood up
and bracketed its extremes--the events that would mark the beginning and the
end of the day of the Spirit. It begins with the pouring out of the Holy
Spirit, as prophesied by the prophet Joel. Peter quotes that prophecy. He
says, This is what was spoken by the prophet Joel (Acts 2:16), this pouring
out of the Spirit upon people. And it ends, he says, when, The sun will be
turned to darkness and the moon to blood before the coming of the great and
glorious day of the Lord (Acts 2:20).
Lord, what a privilege to live in this new day when the Spirit has been
poured out and even makes His home in me! Teach me to reckon on this
profound reality today.
Life Application
What is the ultimate secret of our lives? How can we know this is the truth?
How is our identity related to our reality?
Related Message
For more on this portion of Scripture read the message:
That Other Helper
or listen to the audio by clicking:
Listen to Ray
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Copyright C 2014 Ray Stedman Ministries - This daily devotion is from the
book The Power of His Presence: a year of devotions from the writings of Ray
Stedman, compiled by Mark Mitchell. It may be copied for personal
non-commercial use only in its entirety free of charge. All copies must
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Victoria E Gilkerson
