One of the biggest problems in the body of Christ in my opinion is people who seem to want to fake and front and appear to be someone they really are not.  Although it really does bother me, I think it is important to identify and understand the real reason this sort of behavior takes place.  There was once a time in my life when I was younger, entering into adulthood, where I put up a front and pretended to be something I really wasn’t.  Whether or not anyone knew it or not, I don’t know, if they did they never called me out on it.  Nevertheless, I pretended to be something I wasn’t, and I can say with an honest and open heart that the reason why I did this is because I was not happy with myself.  I wasn’t happy with where I was in life, so I figured if I made it appear as though my life was bigger and better than it really was, I could cover up all the hurt, pain and struggle that I was dealing with internally.  I remember reading one day about the importance of understanding who we are in Christ.  Learning that I am an heir of God and a joint heir with Jesus Christ, I am above only and not beneath, I am the head and not the tail. All of these things sound great, but the revelation for me was that it is in the bible, which we know is the word of God and truly a word that I needed to stand on and believe.  When you believe in the word completely, no matter how many flaws you may feel you have, the desire to make things up and pretend should not exist.  It was at that moment when I found the ability to truly come to grips with myself by being completely transparent.  God changed my mindset about who I was in Him, which in turn changed my behavior.  He took the desire out of my heart to pretend, and placed the desire in my heart for me to love me again, imperfections and all.  To love all of me, no matter what the world standards appeared to be, love me by letting go of my past trusting God that no matter how bad it seemed in my eyes it was all predestined to bring me into the individual I am today.

It seems as though this acting, is extremely prevalent in the church.  As the body of Christ, we are supposed to reach the lost and draw people in.  How can we do that when we are so busy turning our noses up at people because they have on a tight dress or smell like alcohol.  If we aren’t doing turning up our noses, then we are trying to make them believe we are something we aren’t and they don’t even see Jesus in us because they too busy trying to look beyond all the foolishness.   We can’t be a reflection of God until we look in the mirror and take a true reflection of ourselves first and ask God to change whatever it is within us that is not like Him.  He does not expect us to do it on our own, He just wants you to acknowledge the reality of who you are in Him.  How do you begin to know who you are in Him?  Study your word. It’s all written in the bible.  Once you study your word and see what it says, you must then believe what it says.  Believe that there is a King in you.  Believe that you are a royal priesthood. Believe that nothing, absolutely nothing can ever separate you from the love of God.  Find your identity in Christ alone and you won’t have to struggle with being fake or phony.  Love you just the way you are.  Your creator sure does.  #iDeclare #keepitreal

Prayer:

Father God in the Name of Jesus, I come now thanking you for showing me who I am.  Forgive me Lord for times I have appeared or acted in a way that was false.  Help me to find my true identity in you Lord.  I decree and declare that I am the head and not the tail, that I am above only and not beneath and that there is a King in me.  I am a royal priesthood.  Help me to do what you have called me to do, so that when people see me they will see you.  I die to myself right now in the name of Jesus and I thank that you that I will never have to be fake or phony another day in my life.  I embrace the real me, the person you created me to be and I love me.  Thank you Jesus for hearing my prayer and for life changing transformation.  In Jesus name I pray, Amen.

Scripture Reference:

Deuteronomy 28:13 KJV” And the Lord shall make thee the head, and not the tail; and thou shalt be above only, and thou shalt not be beneath; if that thou hearken unto the commandments of the Lord thy God, which I command thee this day, to observe and to do them:”

2 Corinthians 5:17 NKJV “So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.”