Who I am in Christ : Understanding my true significance in Christ

Dear Friends,

Thanks for stopping by! Thank God today is Thursday. Thursday always remind me to count my blessings and to thank God. I am learning to be thankful daily but to write about it and share with others, really helps me to remember God's goodness and mercies to me daily.

♥ I thank God for seeing me through another week. The last one week has been a very busy one for me as I took on some new freelance assignments. The income will really help me but I need to remember to pace myself moderately to avoid over-straining and over-stressing myself. I thank God for giving me strength, grace and wisdom daily.

♥ I thank God for saving me through our Lord Jesus Christ and giving me a new life in Him. Due to undiagnosed recurrent clinical depression over some 17 years, I have a lot of distorted views regarding God, myself and the Christian life. During depression my thoughts all turned negative and turned against me. This is mainly due to the chemical imbalance in the brain which caused my brain not able to function properly thereby affecting my thoughts and feelings. Partly also the enemy made used of such times to cast doubts into my mind about God, myself and the Christian life. I was often very confused. Due to the lack of understanding on the issue of clinical depression, many people around me have misjudged me and misunderstood that my depression was due to me being very weak, emotional and lack of faith in God. The enemy made used of them to discouraged me further. I was very discouraged by what they said but I also made the mistake of believing them. So these negative thoughts and negative self-image have been ingrained in me for some 17 years.

Thank God that after my diagnosis of bipolar, I realized that my condition is a medical condition just like asthma and diabetes and not due to a weakness in my character or a lack of faith in God. I need to trust that God has a purpose in allowing me to have this condition, and allowing me to go through 17 confusing years, and He is working all things for His glory and my good even out of all these. In order to do that, one of the most important thing I have to do is to understand afresh my true identity in Christ. I need to know afresh that God loves me and I am of value to Him. It is true that I am a sinner with many sins, weakness and failures, but God loves me, I am precious to Him and I am valuable to Him because He sent His Son to die on the cross for me and He has redeemed me. It is precisely because I am a sinner that I can find salvation in Christ. He has been doing a wonderful work of grace in my soul ever since the day He saved me though I was not sensible of it due to recurrent depression. The many prolonged severe depression caused me to remember mostly only the negative thoughts and experiences. I need to understand afresh God's love for me and my true worth in Him, and find meaning once again in my new life in Christ. The Lord in His mercies has been helping me over the last 3 years to do so and I found that as He lead me step by step to understand His great love and mercies, I have grown to love Him more than I ever did. It is so important to have a right understanding of our identity in Christ and to fight against those wrong notions that threatens to draw us away from God daily.

♥ I thank God for a friend who sent me this encouraging list of reminders on Who I am in Christ.

John 1:12	Who I am in Christ I am accepted... I am God's child.
John 15:15	As a disciple, I am a friend of Jesus Christ.
Romans 5:1	I have been justified.
1 Corinthians 6:17	I am united with the Lord, and I am one with Him in spirit.
1 Corinthians 6:19-20	I have been bought with a price and I belong to God.
1 Corinthians 12:27	I am a member of Christ's body.
Ephesians 1:3-8	I have been chosen by God and adopted as His child.
Colossians 1:13-14	I have been redeemed and forgiven of all my sins.
Colossians 2:9-10	I am complete in Christ.
Hebrews 4:14-16	I have direct access to the throne of grace through Jesus Christ.
	I am secure...
Romans 8:1-2	I am free from condemnation.
Romans 8:28	I am assured that God works for my good in all circumstances.
Romans 8:31-39	I am free from any condemnation brought against me and I cannot be separated from the love of God.
2 Corinthians 1:21-22	I have been established, anointed and sealed by God.
Colossians 3:1-4	I am hidden with Christ in God.
Philippians 1:6	I am confident that God will complete the good work He started in me.
Philippians 3:20	I am a citizen of heaven.
2 Timothy 1:7	I have not been given a spirit of fear but of power, love and a sound mind.
1 John 5:18	I am born of God and the evil one cannot touch me.
	I am significant...
John 15:5	I am a branch of Jesus Christ, the true vine, and a channel of His life.
John 15:16	I have been chosen and appointed to bear fruit.
1 Corinthians 3:16	I am God's temple.
2 Corinthians 5:17-21	I am a minister of reconciliation for God.
Ephesians 2:6	I am seated with Jesus Christ in the heavenly realm.
Ephesians 2:10	I am God's workmanship.
Ephesians 3:12	I may approach God with freedom and confidence.
Philippians 4:13	I can do all things through Christ, who strengthens me.

♥ Thank God for this video with these encouraging verses:




♥ I thank God for my family, my church and all my friends, who love me, pray for me and accept me.

♥ I thank God for everyone of you, my dear blogging friends, and for your prayers and encouragements. They mean a lot to me.You have made a great difference in my life by your friendship and encouragements. I thank God for every one of you. May God may your visit here a blessed one too!

Thank you for stopping by. Take care and have a blessed day!

Warm Regards,
Nancie

Do you know of any good church at Delaware, US?

I took this picture in Singapore. This is the national flower of Singapore, the Orchid Flower or Vanda Miss Joaquim.

Dear Friends,

Thanks for stopping by. Hope you have had a blessed weekend.

I am thankful to God for many of you and your prayers and encouragements. It is so wonderful to know that we can pray and encourage one another in the Lord because of what the Lord Jesus Christ has done when He laid down His life on the cross to save us from our sins. It is because of the salvation He has given to us that we can enjoy this special bond of love as a family in Christ. Though we have never met and we are separated by seas and mountains, the love of Christ our Lord bind our hearts together. This is such a mercy! You are God's gifts and blessings to me! I thank God for all of you. May you find your every visit here a very blessed one too.

It is very important for us to be able to worship in a church where God's Truths is being faithfully preached and the people of God seek sincerely to live by faith and the by the Word of God. One of the commandments God has given to us, is to love one another like the way He has loved us. By nature we are sinful and selfish people. On our own, we are not able to love others unconditionally. We only love those who love us, and those who can do us good. But Christ has demonstrated His love for us in that while we were yet sinners, He died for us. He died to save us and reconcile us to God. And He wants us to love others with the same unconditional love. Only by God's grace, we can love one another. It is my prayers that daily God will fill me with His love so that I can love others like the way He is loving me.

One of my friends is now in the midst of looking for a church. I am just wondering whether you or any of your friends can help one of my friends. He is staying at Delaware, US. He has just been diagnosed with bipolar disorder and learning now to cope with his condition and live usefully for our Lord. He is in the midst of recovering from a relapse of severe clinical depression and very much in need of prayers and encouragements from fellow believers. Please pray for him, if you can. His name is Will.

Like myself and many others who have suffered from recurrent clinical depression, Will has suffered a lot of pain and confusions over the years. Thank God that the Lord has preserved him and he is seeking now to walk closely with the Lord and to be more dependent upon Him. Due to the terrible stigma and great misunderstanding on the issue of clinical depression, Will has often been misunderstood by his friends. They misjudged his condition and caused more harm than help to him.

Now Will is in the midst of looking for a church where God's Truths is being faithfully preached and where God's people are warm and compassionate, and able to accept him, love him unconditionally for Christ's sake, and pray for him. This form of support from God's people is most precious to him.

Please do let me know if you are staying at Delaware or anywhere near there and you are able to link up with Will to bring him to a good church. Or if you know of any friends or relatives staying at Delaware or near there, who are able to introduce a good church to Will.

Please leave a comment here, if you are able to help, or email me at mylifewithbp@gmail.com

Thank you! Take care and have a blessed week!

Warm Regards,
Nancie

(Note: I found on the internet some details of a church at Wilmington Delaware. It's called Emmanuel Orthodox Presbyterian Church (Emmanuel OPC). It sounds like a nice church that is desiring to honour God. 

You can read more about them from their website is http://www.eopc.org/:

Their other contact details are:

Emmanuel Orthodox Presbyterian Church
1006 Wilson Road
Wilmington, DE 19803-3449
Telephone : (302) 478-7776
Website: http://www.eopc.org/

Worship Services:
Morning Worship: Sunday 9:30 am
Sunday School: Sunday 11:15 am
Evening Worship: Sunday 6:30 pm

Has anyone worship in this church before? If you have been to this church, can you share with me more about it? Thanks!)

When there seems no way out, let God in... for with God all things are possible.

My friend EN took this lovely picture. 
(I posted this picture on song on Monday too)

Dear Friends,


♥ Thanks for stopping by and all your encouragements!


♥ I thank God for seeing me through another week and providing a new freelance work assignment for me  this week.


♥ I thank God for strengthening me and my health is improving. Thanks for your prayers and encouragements!


♥ I am thankful to God for giving the joy of walking with Him and serving Him once again.


♥ I thank God for everyone of you, my dear blogging friends, and for your prayers and encouragements. They mean a lot to me.You have made a great difference in my life by your friendship and encouragements. I thank God for every one of you. May God may your visit here a blessed one too!


♥ I thank God that He is with us through all the changing scenes in life. And He always work a way out for us in whatever difficulties we go through.


♥ Thank God for comforting me with His Words daily and through the psalms, hymns and songs I have heard. The following song is very encouraging whenever I hear it as it reminds me that God will work a way when there seems to be no way. He works in ways we cannot see but He surely will work a way for us. May you be encouraged by this song too and know that God will work a way for you whenever you look to Him. No matter how difficult a situation you are going through now or whatever pain and sufferings you are going through, the Lord will make a way for you. He promise that His grace is sufficient for us and He will not allow us to be tempted more than what we can bear. He never leaves us nor forsakes us. Nothing can separate us from His love.

God will make a way


God will make a way
Where there seems to be no way
He works in ways we cannot see
He will make a way for me
He will be my guide
Hold me closely to His side
With love and strength for each new day
He will make a way, He will make a way.


By a roadway in the wilderness, He'll lead me
And rivers in the desert will I see
Heaven and earth will fade
But His Word will still remain
He will do something new today.


God will make a way,
Where there seems to be no way
He works in ways we cannot see
He will make a way for me
He will be my guide
Hold me closely to His side
With love and strength for each new day
He will make a way, He will make a way

Click here to see the video.

To read Thankful Thursday visit Laurie.


Thank you for stopping by. Take care and have a blessed day!


Warm Regards,
Nancie

God will work a way where there seems to be no way

My friend EN took this lovely picture.

Dear Friends,

Thanks for stopping by and all your encouragements!

I thank God that He is with us through all the changing scenes in life. And He always work a way out for us in whatever difficulties we go through.


The last few months have been very challenging for me as I was very busy with my work, taking care of my mother who has many illness, serving the Lord in my church through visitations to the sick and elderly, and other volunteer publications work plus posting on this blog and visiting my blogging friends whenever I can. Thank God for giving me much grace and strength daily. Thank God that His grace is always sufficient for me!



Clinical depression is a very distressing and painful experience. I have been through it many times in the past without understanding what it is. Thank God that with medical helps, I am being helped and lifted up to more functional level. I am not as severely depressed as in the past and I am beginning to learn to rest in our Lord and depend more upon Him. Just like a man with a broken leg will take time to recover, so will my broken mind. Once the chemical in my brain are restored, I will be able to think and feel more normally.

I am thankful to God for giving the joy of walking with Him and serving Him once again. Whenever I am better, I am like a busy octopus :) There are so many things I love to do and I want to do especially to bring joy to other people and share God's goodness and mercies to them. I got very carried away especially in visiting the sick and elderly. I derived so much joy from doing so as I witnessed time and again God's goodness and mercies to them and their simple faith in Him. But I tend to get too carried away and do too many visitations. Whenever I am busy I sometimes forget to listen to my body when it is tired or sometimes I simply don't feel the tiredness (my body and mind don't synchronize. This is a symptom of bipolar disorder with its mania and depression). I tend to want to reach out and help whenever I see a need. By the time I know it, I have over-strained myself and soon it lead to burnout and relapse of clinical depression. This has happened to me many times but I am still so slow to recognize it and to learn how to manage it.Thank Go for helping me to slowly learn how better to manage my condition so that I can be more functional and able to walk closer with Him and serve Him more effectively and consistently.



I have suffered from this mood disorder ie alternating hypomania and depression, for some 20 years before I was diagnosed 3 years ago. I am thankful to God that with the diagnosis I can find help and live a more useful and productive life. I am thankful to God for working His ways out for me and continuing to work His ways for me daily. I am encouraged by His love and His mercies daily. It gives me the courage to press on daily, depending on His grace and strength. Though I am weak, He is strong. His strength is made perfect in my weakness. I pray that He may increase my love for Him and His people daily, and enable me to die more and more to self and live more and more in Him and for His glory.


Thank God for comforting me with His Words daily and through the psalms, hymns and songs I have heard. The following song is very encouraging whenever I hear it as it reminds me that God will work a way when there seems to be no way. He works in ways we cannot see but He surely will work a way for us. May you be encouraged by this song too and know that God will work a way for you whenever you look to Him. No matter how difficult a situation you are going through now or whatever pain and sufferings you are going through, the Lord will make a way for you. He promise that His grace is sufficient for us and He will not allow us to be tempted more than what we can bear. He never leaves us nor forsakes us. Nothing can separate us from His love.

God will make a way

God will make a way
Where there seems to be no way
He works in ways we cannot see
He will make a way for me
He will be my guide
Hold me closely to His side
With love and strength for each new day
He will make a way, He will make a way.

By a roadway in the wilderness, He'll lead me
And rivers in the desert will I see
Heaven and earth will fade
But His Word will still remain
He will do something new today.

God will make a way,
Where there seems to be no way
He works in ways we cannot see
He will make a way for me
He will be my guide
Hold me closely to His side
With love and strength for each new day
He will make a way, He will make a way

Thank you for stopping by. Take care and have a blessed day!

Warm Regards,
Nancie

It's In the Valleys I Grow

Dear Friends,

Thanks for stopping by! Thanks for your prayers and encouragements.

♥ Thank God for strengthening me and restoring me day by day. I am feeling much better and learning to wait upon our Lord and rest in Him daily.

♥ Recently, one of my blogging friends, LivingForGod shared this poem "It's In the Valleys I Grow" with me. It is very encouraging to remember that though it is wonderful to experience the joy of mountain top experience in our Christian walk, it is often in the valley that we grow. The Christian life is truly a very joyful and blessed one as we trust in the Lord daily. But as Christians, we too go through all the ups and down in life, just like everyone else. We too experience sickness, failure, disappointment, death, loss, etc etc. But we can have comfort and hope in God because He loves us and He is with us all the time to strengthen, uphold and deliver us in His time. And it is often during the most difficult times in our life that God is very real to us and we experience His love and mercies in very practical and personal ways daily. Through this way, God draws us nearer to Himself and enables us to grow in Him. So it's in the valley that we grow the most.

I know this valley life very well. Bipolar disorder truly caused me to go through alternating mountain top and deep valley experiences. Whenever I am well, I am a little hypomania with lots of joy in the Lord, more energetic, more creative and productive. These are mountain tops experience and I often can accomplish much in my daily life and service for our Lord. It is hard during such time to know that I am not quite "normal" :) but rather I am going through extreme mood swing with greater energy and creativity that an average person would have. It is hard to imagine during such joyful and productive time that I can ever be any different.

But no one can be on the mountain top forever. Usually period of hypomania with too many projects and the 101 things I love to do, tend to lead to over-straining, burn out and depression. I will then go through prolonged severe depressions which are like deep valleys experiences and made to know very sensibly my many sins, failures and weaknesses. Thank God that through such valley experiences the Lord is causing me to see more and more of my need to depend upon Him. Without Him, I can do nothing at all. I realized that every time the Lord restored me and bring me out of the valley experience, He enabled me to grow a little in Him. He is becoming more and more precious to me daily. And I am finding greater joy in walking with Him and serving Him. He is helping me to grow in the valleys.

Hope this poem will encourage you too. If you are trusting in the Lord Jesus Christ and yet going through deep valley experience now, may you take comfort that the Lord is with you and He has a purpose in allowing you to go through it. He never leaves you nor forsake you and is holding you tightly. Though you may not see it clearly now, you will surely grow in this experience. It's in the valleys that we grow.

It's In the Valleys I Grow
By Jane Eggleston

Sometime life seems hard to bear,
Full of sorrow, trouble, and woe.
It’s then I have to remember
That it’s in the valleys I grow.

If I always stayed on the mountain top
And never experienced pain,
I would never appreciate God’s love
And would be living in vain.

I have so much to learn
And my growth is very slow,
Sometimes I need the mountain tops,
But it’s in the valleys I grow.

I do not always understand
Why things happen as they do,
But I am very sure of one thing.
My Lord will see me through.

My little valleys are nothing
When I picture Christ on the cross.
He went through the valley of death;
His victory was satan’s loss.

Forgive me, Lord, for complaining
When I’m feeling so low.
Just give me a gentle reminder
That it’s in the valleys I grow.

Continue to strengthen me, Lord
And use my life each day
To share Your love with others
And help them find their way.

Thank You for valleys, Lord
For this one thing I know
The mountain tops are glorious
But it’s in the valleys I grow!

My brother took this picture in New Zealand.

Thank you for stopping by. Take care and have a blessed day!

Warm Regards,
Nancie