King Richard's Morning Lesson

. King Richard I , or King Richard the Lionheart as he became known , was one of the greatest English kings of all time . He ruled from 1189 to 1199 . During that time , he went off and fought in the Crusades . He was captured and taken as a prisoner in Italy , where he had to raise an enormous ransom for his freedom , and then he returned back to England .

He was the king coming back home for which Robin Hood was supposed to have been fighting for . He was also not just respected for being a king , but he was also one of the most effective military leaders that England ever had . He fought many , many battles , and he won almost all of them , with only the battle for Jerusalem being called a draw .

The story goes , however , that during one of these other battles , king Richard realized that he was vastly outnumbered . So , for one of the very few times in his life , he sounded a retreat , and it was during that retreat that one of King Richard's advisors rode up beside him and said your Highness , your Highness , don't forget who you are .

Well , that made King Richard stop , turn around and give the order to sound once again the attack , and he went on to win that battle . The amazing part

of this story is that there was nothing that really changed other than King Richard's understanding of himself and what he was called to do . What really happened was he had a momentary identity crisis . As Christians , we often struggle with this ourselves . We forget who we are , and not only who we are , but whose we are .

Often , we base our worth on our own accomplishments or our appearance or the opinions of others . However , as Christians , we have the privilege of knowing how God sees us and what he says about us , and throughout Scripture we see the many times that God reminds us of who we are and how he wants to work in our lives .

In 1 John 3 , verse 1 , it says see what great love the Father lavished on us that we should be called children of God . The Father lavished on us that we should be called children of God , and that's what we are . Did you know that , no matter what , no matter the circumstances or the problems or the mistakes , when we become a Christian .

We are a child of God , and there are times when we need to remind ourselves hey , I am God's child , he is with me and he is my Father . That is who and what I am Over .

In Romans 8 , verse 17 , it says Now , if we are children , then we are heirs , heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ , if indeed we share in His sufferings in order that we may also share in His glory . That reminds us that we have a share in the inheritance that Christ has received from the Father . We have the promise of eternal life and the hope of

being with Christ forever and the promise of His Holy Spirit working in our lives every day . And then it says over in 1 John 4 , you belong to God , my dear children , you have already won a victory over those people , because the Spirit who lives in you is greater than the spirit who lives in the world .

There are times when we can find ourselves feeling overwhelmed by what we're going through , the challenges that we face , especially with all the changes and uncertainty around us , things getting far more expensive and in many ways it's becoming more difficult to find medical help , particularly here in Canada , and so we can't see the future .

We don't know what's coming . But if we lay in bed at night and we let our minds wander , we can be filled with all sorts of fear and worry about what might happen . But we need to remember that we belong to God . We are His children . He loves us and he's working in us , and remember this too .

Over in Romans , chapter 8 and verse 37 , it says In all these things , you are more than conquerors , through Him who loved us .

For I am convinced that neither death nor life , nor angels nor demons , neither the present nor the future , nor any powers , neither height nor depth nor anything else in all creation will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus , our Lord .

Nothing can separate you from the love of God , nothing can separate you from your relationship with Him , nothing can separate you from His ability to work in you and for you . And he's created us all to live this life . Live it to the full , knowing that we are children of the King and we belong to him . Be encouraged this morning .

There is nothing coming against you that is too

great for God . Remember who you are . You are God's child and remember whose you are he has paid the price for you . You belong to him . Have a great day , my friends . Live it in strength and hope and victory , and we will talk again tomorrow .

Thank you for listening today and I invite you to join me Monday to Friday , right here on Starting Right with Denny Mac .