Did you know that you have rights as a child of God?  They are legal spiritual rights that you can exercise if you know about them.

Just like being a citizen of the US with a constitution and a Bill of Rights, has the right to expect to be treated a certain way or have access to things, you as a citizen of heaven (which you became when you were saved) have rights that are outlined in the Bible - rights to everything in the Kingdom.  There is a covenant between Jesus and God, signed in Jesus’ blood, which provides these rights for you.

People have been willing to fight and even die to protect our natural rights that belong to us.  People today are fighting for what they think is rightfully theirs—an opportunity, a personal belonging, a raise, a promotion - but in spiritual things, they tend to just roll over and give up instead of fighting for what is theirs. 

Many people think like I thought in the past, that I just had to wait...

Who among us hasn't wished they could get in a time machine and go back in history to do something differently?  Moments of regret have plagued my life from my role in a high school musical not being good enough, to not supporting my husband's original career choice, to moments of raising my children.  Add on top of that my failures at personal holiness and you have a recipe for stress and a lack of joy in life.  Although I wasn't living in secret sin, I had shame over the sins that were present and discouragement over who I wasn't.

It's hard to rule and reign in life as God intended when you are carrying around the heavy baggage of your past.  Being weighed down by shame, condemnation, fear, disappointment, and discouragement is the power of sin.  And although your sinful past really happened, there is a greater reality: your forgiveness in Jesus.  

Oh, I always knew that if I asked Jesus to forgive me of my sins, they were forgiven.  But the...