ALIVE MAGAZINE July-October 2018 | Page 11

His words— “I in them and you in me—so that they may be brought to complete unity. Then the world will know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me.” (Emphasis added) Truth The world knowing Jesus is contingent upon ONENESS. The oneness of all Believers! Again… “…then the world will know you sent me, and have loved them”. Life Application Find your identity in Jesus. Jesus Christ must be the point of reference, the rally spot, for every Believer! Believing in the power of His Blood, the finished works of His cross… and the hope of His RESURRECTION, has given us all new life! Who we are now and all that we will be… is defined in Jesus! If we continue, however, to find our identity in everything else (race, politics, economics, social debates etc.) the issues of our day will divide us even further, thus hindering greatly our Kingdom assignment. I challenge you today to embrace the identity found within the Gospel of Jesus Christ. In Him we live, we move, and we have our ‘being’. In Him our passions will be divinely aligned, our focuses harmoniously shifted, and oneness will then be inevitable. Conclusion In His presence, as I began to meditate on the divisions and troubles of these times, I was given this revelation. It has become my declaration: More than I am the color of my skin, : “““ Culturally speaking, we are no longer to see ourselves as black Christians, white Christians, Hispanic Christians, Asian Christians, and so forth. When we experience conversion, not only is the curse of sin reversed, but so, too, is our self-description. I am not a black Christian; rather, I am a Christian who is black. This is more than a mere changing of the order of the words; it is an expression of a Christian view of life and the world.““ (p. 95-96). The righteous convictions of the Believer take form as Jesus reveals His heart to us. It’s a powerful process. The more He unveils His heart to us, the more we discover who we are. When we know our Jesus-identity, we will find UNITY, we will find PEACE… and THEY will find LOVE… And that my friends, is the reason we are here. More than I am a member of a political party, More than I am opponent of or an advocate for any social issue, More than I am even— an American, More than I am ANYTHING… Lacie L. Jones Publisher/Founder www.alivemagazine.tv 11