Is there evidence of Christ in me?
Published by Deborah Negron- Child of God
First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for you all, that your faith is spoken of throughout the whole world.
Romans 1:8
But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin. If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us.
I John 1:7-10
I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called, with all lowliness and gentleness, with longsuffering, bearing with one another in love, endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all. But to each one of us grace was given according to the measure of Christ’s gift. Therefore He says: “When He ascended on high, He led captivity captive, And gave gifts to men.” And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ; that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting, but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head—Christ— from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love. This I say, therefore, and testify in the Lord, that you should no longer walk as the rest of the Gentiles walk, in the futility of their mind, having their understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God, because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart; who, being past feeling, have given themselves over to lewdness, to work all uncleanness with greediness. But you have not so learned Christ, if indeed you have heard Him and have been taught by Him, as the truth is in Jesus: that you put off, concerning your former conduct, the old man which grows corrupt according to the deceitful lusts, and be renewed in the spirit of your mind, and that you put on the new man which was created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness. Therefore, putting away lying, “Let each one of you speak truth with his neighbor,” for we are members of one another. “Be angry, and do not sin”: do not let the sun go down on your wrath, nor give place to the devil. Let him who stole steal no longer, but rather let him labor, working with his hands what is good, that he may have something to give him who has need. Let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth, but what is good for necessary edification, that it may impart grace to the hearers. And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, and evil speaking be put away from you, with all malice. And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you.
Ephesians 4:1-8, 11-32
How am I walking Lord?
Am I shining your light?
Are my thoughts, my actions and reactions such, that they point others to you?
Do I speak words of truth and show your mercy?
Do I take apart another with my words?
Do I speak about the goodness of God often?
Or do others hear words from my lips that tear up another?
Do I see others tjrough the lens of Christ’s work in them?
Or do I simply continue viewing them in the sins of their past?
Do I jidge another for past sins and keep bringing up the things they had don2 bwfore being reconciled to God?
What do my eyes see?
Do I look for the negative in others?
Or do I see the work of God’s Holy Spirit in what Christ conrinues to do in the lives I see?
Oh, Lord, am I negative and always pointing rhe finger at what others do?
Or do I look at my own life and surrender daily to the probing of your Holy Spirit?
Let me say, as David did.
“Create in me a clean heart, O God, And renew a steadfast spirit within me. Do not cast me away from Your presence, And do not take Your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of Your salvation, And uphold me by Your generous Spirit. Then I will teach transgressors Your ways, And sinners shall be converted to You.”
Psalms 51:10-13
Let me examine my own walk and continually come before you for cleansing.
Let me remember that Though I may be blood washed and forgiven, I walk on this path called life. I may get the dust and the debris of the road on me. Let me be found seeking your face daily. For in continual repentance and the humbling of my own heart daily I will be made clean. There I will grow to the stature of the perfect man, Christ Jesus.
Let me tecognize that others are also on their journey. They too have a ways to go.
Let me see them through the eyes of grace and mercy that you look through.
When I judge another, let me measure myself as well. For one day we will all have to gove and account for how we treated each other.
I am but clay and you are still The Potter.
They too are clay, in your hands they are yet being formed.
None has yet arrived to that state of perfection. So, let me guard my lips and my mouth from speaking that which is c9ntrary to your purpose in their lives.
Too often, we look at the negative. We recall every act and repeat every flaw. This is sin.
We may be repeating and reporting a past that has been already forgiven.
The Devil is the accuser of the brethren. The Devil is the one who continues to remind us of past sin. Past failures are those he continually goes down to the palce where the Lord threw them in to the depths of the sea.
But Satan reminds us of how others failed. He reminds us of past mistakes we have also made. He causes us to live in the past.
God is not the author of confusion. He calls us from darkness in to His Marvelous Light.
Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away. Behold, the new has come!
Now all things are of God, who has reconciled us to Himself through Jesus Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation, that is, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not imputing their trespasses to them, and has committed to us the word of reconciliation. Now then, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were pleading through us: we implore you on Christ’s behalf, be reconciled to God. For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.
II Corinthians 5:17-21
When you or I look at another and dredge up their past we are diminishing the work of God their lives.
We are in actuality saying that Christ and his redemptive work on the cross has no power to save them.
We are treading on thin ice here.
The Bible says by their fruits you shall know them.
What fruit?
The fruit of the Holy Spirot which is the evidence of Christ’s work of salvation and sanctification in their lives.
I know a man who would always bring the padt sins of others up.
He would recall the sins of their past and speak of them as if they were still in sin. I knew how angry and bitter he was inside. He severed many relationships. He has wounded many people.
My prayer has been, Lord have mercy on him.
For one who points to the sins of others as if they themselves have no sin, will have to stand before the judgment seat of Christ.
They will be judged for every word.
But I tell you, that men will give an account on the day of judgment for every careless word they have spoken. Mathew 12:36
Jesus teaches us to love one another. He teaches us to speak those things which edify and build up others rather than words that destroy.
Lord guard each heart, mine included. Lord, cause us to remember from where you plucked us out of. We too, were sinners saved by grace.
We too, were broken and undone and desperately needed the Savior.
Your Blood covered our sin. So, it is able to cover the sins of others.
Confession of sins to God is sufficient. He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us.
The Lord says,
I, even I, am He who blots out your transgressions for My own sake; And I will not remember your sins.
Isaiah 43:25
Help us to guard our minds and hearts from negating your power to transform lives.
As you daily work in each life to sanctify and justify and purify esch one.
Life and Faith By Deb 
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