Kingdom Tension Part 12 Devotionals
Day 1: Embracing Your New Identity
Devotional Have you ever received a gift so incredible that it changed everything about your life? That’s exactly what happens when we say yes to Jesus. In that moment, something profound occurs – we become entirely new creations. The old version of ourselves, with all its failures and shortcomings, is gone. A new version, seen through the perfection of Christ, has arrived. This isn’t just a nice spiritual concept. It’s the foundation of our entire Christian journey. When we accept Christ, we’re immediately justified – declared righteous as if we’d never sinned. This isn’t something we earn or achieve through good behavior. It’s an immediate, complete transformation of our identity. Yet many of us struggle to fully embrace this truth. We keep trying to earn what we’ve already been freely given. We add requirements to the cross, creating formulas and checklists when God has already declared us complete in Christ. Today, take a moment to sit with this revolutionary truth: if you’ve said yes to Jesus, you are already a new creation. Not becoming one, not working toward it – you are one right now. Your journey isn’t about earning a new identity but learning to live from the one you already have.
Bible Verse
“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!” – 2 Corinthians 5:17
Reflection Question
In what areas of your life are you still trying to earn God’s approval rather than living from the approval you already have as a new creation in Christ?
Quote “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, if you’ve said yes to Jesus, the new creation has come. The old is gone, the new is here. Something has changed that. Something dramatic has happened in you because you are now a new creation.”
Prayer
Father, thank you for making me a new creation in Christ. Help me to stop striving to earn what you’ve already freely given me. Today, I choose to embrace my identity as your beloved child, completely accepted and made new. Amen.
Day 2: From Formula to Relationship
Devotional We humans love formulas. We want clear, step-by-step instructions for everything – including our spiritual lives. If we just do X, Y, and Z, we think, then we’ll be good Christians. But Christianity was never meant to be reduced to a formula. Jesus didn’t say, “I’ll teach you about the way” or “Let me give you a formula for truth.” He said, “I AM the way, the truth, and the life.” The difference is profound. Our faith isn’t primarily about following rules or checking boxes – it’s about following a Person. When we reduce the gospel to a formula, it ceases to be good news. It becomes another religious system, another burden to carry. But Jesus came to give us life through relationship with Him, not another set of requirements to fulfill. This doesn’t mean there aren’t practices that help us grow – prayer, Scripture reading, worship, and community are vital. But these are means of deepening our relationship with Jesus, not formulas for earning His favor. Today, consider how you might be relating to God through formulas rather than relationship. Are you measuring your spiritual life by what you do, or by how connected you are to Jesus? The invitation is to move beyond formulas into the freedom of knowing and being known by Christ.
Bible Verse
“For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified.” – 1 Corinthians 2:2
Reflection Question
In what ways have you reduced your faith to formulas and rules rather than embracing the relationship Jesus offers?
Quote “Christianity isn’t about a formula and following a bunch of rules. It’s all about a person. His name is Jesus, and life is found in following him.”
Prayer
Jesus, forgive me for the times I’ve reduced you to a formula. I want to know you, not just know about you. Help me to experience the freedom and joy of walking with you in relationship rather than striving to follow religious rules. Amen.
Day 3: Transformed by Renewal
Devotional Our minds are powerful. They shape how we see ourselves, others, and the world around us. That’s why the renewal of our minds is so crucial to living as new creations in Christ. The world constantly bombards us with messages about who we are and how we should live – messages that often contradict our true identity in Christ. Without intentional renewal, we’ll naturally conform to these patterns, living from our old identity rather than our new one. Renewing our minds isn’t a one-time event but a daily practice of replacing lies with truth. It happens as we meditate on Scripture, as we pray, as we pause to listen to the Holy Spirit. This renewal doesn’t happen automatically – it requires our cooperation. The beautiful promise is that as our minds are renewed, transformation follows. We begin to think more like God thinks. We start to see ourselves as He sees us. And gradually, our lives begin to reflect the new creation reality that is already true of us in Christ. Today, take a moment to pause and breathe. As the sermon reminds us, there’s something about a breath that reminds us of the Holy Spirit – the breath, wind, ruach of God. Invite Him to renew your mind with the truth of who you are in Christ.
Bible Verse
“Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.” – Romans 12:2
Reflection Question
What specific thought patterns or beliefs do you need the Holy Spirit to renew so that you can more fully live as a new creation?
Quote “Do not conform to the pattern of this world. Don’t keep doing the things the way that you’ve always done them and the way that the culture does them around you. Be transformed, change by the renewing of your mind.”
Prayer
Holy Spirit, I invite you to renew my mind today. Show me where I’m still thinking according to the patterns of this world rather than the truth of who I am in Christ. Transform me from the inside out as I surrender my thoughts to you. Amen.
Day 4: Responding from Your New Identity
Devotional Life is full of challenges. We face disappointments, setbacks, and sometimes even persecution for our faith. In these moments, we have a choice: we can respond from our old nature or from our new identity in Christ. Paul and Silas model this beautifully for us. Thrown into prison unjustly, they could have complained, grown bitter, or questioned God. Instead, they worshiped. From the darkness of their prison cell, they sang praises to God – not because their circumstances were good, but because God was good and their identity was secure in Him. When we face difficulties, our response reveals what we truly believe about our identity. Do we see ourselves primarily as victims of our circumstances, or as new creations who can respond with grace, faith, and even joy in the midst of trials? God doesn’t waste our difficulties. As the sermon reminds us, He often weaves even the most challenging circumstances into the bigger story of what He’s doing in and through us. When we respond from our new identity rather than our old nature, we participate in this redemptive work. Today, consider how you might respond differently to a challenging situation by remembering who you are in Christ. How might your response change if you approached it as a new creation rather than from your old patterns?
Bible Verse
“About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them. Suddenly there was such a violent earthquake that the foundations of the prison were shaken. At once all the prison doors flew open, and everyone’s chains came loose.” – Acts 16:25-26
Reflection Question
What difficult situation are you facing right now where God is inviting you to respond from your new identity rather than your old patterns?
Quote “Watch how God takes even difficult things and often weaves them back into the bigger story of what’s happening.”
Prayer
Father, thank you that no circumstance can change who I am in you. Help me to respond to difficulties today from my identity as a new creation. Use even the challenges I face to display your goodness and power in my life. Amen.
Day 5: Living as New Creations Daily
Devotional Our identity as new creations isn’t just a theological concept – it’s meant to transform how we live each day. The challenge isn’t earning this identity but learning to live consistently from it in our everyday choices and interactions. What does this look like practically? It might mean choosing grace when you would normally choose frustration. It could mean responding to criticism with humility rather than defensiveness. Perhaps it means approaching your work as service to God rather than just a paycheck. Living as a new creation involves intentional cooperation with the Holy Spirit. He knows God’s thoughts and wants to share them with us, helping us think more like God thinks. As we yield to Him moment by moment, He empowers us to live in ways that would be impossible in our own strength. This journey isn’t about perfection. We won’t always get it right, and that’s okay. The invitation is to keep pressing in, to keep yielding to the Spirit, to keep choosing to live from our new identity rather than our old patterns. At the end of each day, take a moment to reflect: How did I live as a new creation today? Not to condemn yourself, but to celebrate growth and identify areas where you can continue to yield more fully to the Spirit’s work in your life.
Bible Verse
“You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.” – Ephesians 4:22-24
Reflection Question
What is one specific way you can intentionally live from your new creation identity tomorrow?
Quote “Ask yourself at the end of the day, how did I live as a new creation? Not to beat yourself up, because we’re never going to get it right, but just to encourage yourself to keep pressing in and adding a little more, yielding the Holy Spirit, living a life that pleases God, because that’s where life is found for us.”
Prayer
Holy Spirit, thank you for your presence in my life. Help me to cooperate with your work in me today. Remind me moment by moment of who I am in Christ, and empower me to live from that identity in my choices, words, and actions. Amen.
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