Know who you are in Christ.

Know who you are in Christ.

In the past few days I've had one tire on my car that was losing just enough air to cause the "low tire" sensor to alert me of it.  Today, I went to a mechanic/tire place to take care of it. (I forgot that I had road hazard coverage from where I purchased the tires until later)

Anyway, I've known this mechanic for nearly twenty years. Over all of those years, we've become friends, chatting when my family and I had issues with any of our vehicles. I have friends and chat at any/every place I frequent.

Over a nearly twenty year time span, I've seen this mechanic a total of two to three times outside of his business. When I spoke to him today, he had some interesting things to say. Of course, like most people, he didn't know that God had changed my plans for going to Australia and he thought that I had moved away, so he was surprised to see I was still in town.  All of that to say that apparently I have been the center of a scandal over the past several months or so and didn't even know it. LOL! This man has recently divorced his wife and because he had apparently been spotted talking to me outside of his mechanics shop where our paths had crossed about a year ago, I had been touted as "being the the other woman," so to speak. LOL Well, I assure you that is nothing that I would do … Lord willing … or unwilling.  LOL  The most interesting thing to me is how people let their minds run amok and then spread lies and gossip.

I tell you, I was not and am not moved by this "scandal." I know who I am in Christ. I choose to have morals and integrity. Apparently, these folks (people whom I don't even know) wanted to ruin my reputation. Well, I say ... say/do what you will. Who am I?  No one in this community except the righteousness of God in Christ like all of my fellow Christians, I assure you that! What has been said cannot hurt me. Again, I know who I am in Christ.

The only people who are hurt by this situation are those who have chosen to spread lies. If these folks knew who they were in Christ, this, most likely would not happen.

I'm not writing about this to defend myself. No way! There's nothing to defend. I'm writing about this because I want to encourage folks to follow Christ and be a good example to an unbelieving world.

Do you know who you are in Christ?

Who would you be in the story ... the innocent mechanic ... the innocent customer ... the gossiper? You see, in our everyday lives, we all have the opportunity to be any of these people in a wide variety of situations. If we know who we are in Christ, we will not be moved, no matter who we are in the story.

Over the past several months, I have been the brunt of gossip by more than the person mentioned previously. (Different situations, different places) I won't go into details. There's no need. But, I will assure you this: Had I not known who I am in Christ, this could have totally rocked my world … but, it didn't and it hasn't. If anything, it saddens me because people choose to do things like this for what could be a variety of reasons. There's no room for that in God's Kingdom. But! It! Happens! Every! Day! Do people realize how much they're hurting themselves when they speak falsely about others? I don't believe they do, otherwise, they wouldn't choose this path.

Folks, it's time to raise the bar! If you consider yourself a follower of Christ, check your heart before you decide to spread untruths/gossip about someone. God's word says that we are to believe the best about others. (See 1Corinthians13:7-13) And, by raising the bar we must know who we are in Christ. When people do come against us … and it’s no surprise by the state of our world … that people will come against us, in ways beyond simply verbally attacking us. (There are many in this world giving their lives for simply being a follower of Christ. This is nothing in comparison!)

Get with God. Learn to trust Him in every way. Learn to live your life by the leading of the Holy Spirit. Holy Spirit will not lead you in the wrong way … ever! “Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the LORD, your God goes with you, He will never leave you or forsake you.” Deuteronomy 31:6 Truth is, the road Holy Spirit leads you on may not be an easy route, but God’s grace is sufficient. “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.”… 2 Corinthians 12:9

Nothing … nothing … not even the innocent conversation I had that someone else witnessed and decided to call a scandal was by chance or random. They key is to know that God allowed it, has purpose for it, and will use it for His good. (Romans 8:28)

Do you know who you are in Christ?