Kenneth E Harbaum
View the FCFI Newsletter – December 2018: Click here.
Below, please find an excerpt from the newsletter.
“Merry CHRISTmas”
Hello and Merry CHRISTmas. As we enter into this Christmas season, it’s so important that we as believers have a complete understanding of who Christ is, and who we are in Him. I have been afforded the opportunity to minister in many churches across America and still I come across those who struggle with their identity in Christ. If you’re not confident of who you are, the enemy will do his level best to convince you that you’re somebody else.
Identity theft has plagued our culture to the point that people fear leaving any type of personal information to chance. The attempt to steal someone’s identity didn’t just become a threat in recent years. It has been a serious offense since the beginning of time. To be honest, it began with Adam and Eve. Adam was created in the image of God. He was God’s representative on the earth. When the enemy came to Eve, his purpose was to confuse her God-given identity. Genesis 3:5 says, “For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.” The truth of the matter was, Adam and Eve were already like God. He created them that way. Adam and Eve forfeited everything they had, including their God-given authority in the earth, because they lost focus of their real identity of being created in God’s image.
From that time until now, the devil has continued with the same plan of attack and that is to keep us from God’s best. I declare that we as the Body of Christ will no longer lose our identity but will take our stand and be what God has created us to be.
In meditating on this subject, I recalled the statement that has been said so many times, “You’re guilty by association.” If one can be guilty by association, then in the same manner one ought to be able to be justified by association. When you become identified with Christ, you are identified with all that He is and all He has. That will never change. Let’s not forget what 1 John 4:17 says, “Herein is our love made perfect, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment: because as he is, so are we in this world.”
When we find out who He is, then we know that we have access to what He has. In Isaiah 9:6, the Word says, “For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, The Mighty God, The Everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.”
This verse isn’t just for Christmas. It is for us every day. Jesus is still Wonderful. He is still Counselor; The Mighty God; The Everlasting Father; The Prince of Peace. When I remain identified with Him, I have access to His counsel, His peace and so on.
Now, we are well into the Christmas season, and people are fast about shopping, going to parties and family get-togethers. During this time it becomes easy to allow what really counts to slip away. As you now know, Christmas is more than what we buy or get. It’s about a time of honoring our Lord and Savior. The world has no concept of that, so it’s up to us to keep the standard high.
Even though this is a wonderful celebrated time for us as believers, the enemy has made it his plan to take away the complete identity of what Christmas represents. For several years now, people have been successful in removing Christ from Christmas. The heartbreaker is, over time His own people have become desensitized to the point that they no longer feel it necessary to keep Christ in Christmas. They too have replaced Him with an X. This has been nothing more than just a violation of identity theft.
So, let’s not allow ourselves to be overcome with the world’s way of doing things, and let us do our part to maintain His and our true identity during these Christmas holidays.
May you and your families be greatly blessed as you bless Him!
Kenneth E. Harbaum, President
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