Promises in Christ

Jesse has taken the girls to the park, and given me the morning to study the Word more in-depth. I love these mornings...I've "gotten away" a few times this summer to sit with my Bible and study for a longer period of time. When I'm at home, I only have short bits of time to read and pray before one of my sweet little girls needs me or the laundry needs to be folded or the doorbell rings, etc. I'm sitting in Starbucks after studying the Word for about 2 hours and I'm filled with thankfulness to our Savior. I think it would be helpful for me to write down some of what I've learned as a way for me to remember what God is impressing upon me. Please don't feel like you have to read all of this, but if you do, I pray God's amazing kindness is revealed to you and you are brought to a place where you humbly and thankfully praise Him. I'm doing a study through Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, and Colossians where I'm just noting all of God's promises to us as His children. What HE has done for His redeemed. I want to answer the question, "Who am I in Christ?" Well, this is no small study because I have come to find out that salvation promises so much more than I generally think. The list I've typed out of God's promises to His children is extensive. Listen to these promises He has made to those who are given faith, repent of sin, and trust in Him: we are justified by faith (not works), crucified with Christ, He gave Himself for me, grace through Christ, faith through Christ, no longer slaves to sin; but slaves to Christ which makes us heirs with Him, Heavenly citizenship, hope of righteousness, eternal life, new creation, He's lavished on us all wisdom and insight through His Word, He's made known the mystery of His will, the Holy Spirit is our guarantee of our inheritance, made us alive, we're adopted into His family, He looks at us as holy and blameless because of the work of His Son on the cross, He can show us the immeasurable riches of His grace in kindness towards us, we are given boldness and access with confidence through our faith in Him, He is able to do more than we ask or think according to His power that works within us, etc. These are just a few of the promises of God that the Scripture gives to us. I've listed the rest that I've found so far in Galatians and Ephesians with chapter and verse here. I think that so often I focus on all that the Bible tells me to "do", that I become almost weighed down with wanting to be loving, patient, giving, humble, etc. BUT, when I consider all that Christ has accomplished for me, when I sit and remember His love for me, what He's sacrificed for me, all of a sudden my obedience becomes more joyful. How I can I respond any other way after seeing all that Christ has done for me? He crushed His only Son to save me, my only response is one of joy and obedience and praise. My prayer is that I will dwell on my Heavenly Father's lavish love for me and that this will affect the way I think, parent, talk, and live every aspect of my life. Hold me to this. I pray you can rejoice with me in Christ's abundant, undeserving, immeasurable riches of His grace.