CoffeeWithFather

Ephesians 2:
19 Now, therefore, you are no longer strangers and foreigners,
but fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God . . .
(New King James Bible)

How do you think our heavenly Father views you?
Maybe the Ephesian Christians needed to have this explained to them, as much as we do, because the Apostle Paul tells them clearly how God looks at them. Paul pictures God's kingdom as a country and he uses three key terms in his explanation: STRANGER, FOREIGNER, FELLOW CITIZEN.

STRANGER means, someone who is passing through. A stranger is just here for a while, not intending to settle in the country.
Some people, when they open their life to Jesus Christ as their Saviour, have the attitude of a stranger: they're just trying out salvation for a while but Jesus is not in control of their life. He's just a convenient Saviour.
Trust in the Lord is minimal.

FOREIGNER means, someone who lives in a country legally, but is not a citizen. A foreigner has the protection of the community but still maintains his citizenship elsewhere. Just so, a foreigner in God's kingdom has not yet decided on a full commitment to the Lord Jesus Christ.
Trust in the Lord is "sort of" there.

Then there is the FELLOW CITIZEN. This person has committed all the way to the Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus is not only Saviour, He is also Lord and Master.
Trust in the Lord is full.

Now, God's commitment to us is full. Paul tells us in the verse above that in God's eyes we are "no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God."
But how do you see yourself?
Are you a stranger - just passing through, trying out salvation?
Are you a foreigner - enjoying the perks of salvation, but with your true commitment somewhere else?
Or are you as God sees you: a full citizen - belonging completely to Him and trusting and obeying Him fully?

When God wanted to show His ancient people how rich the land was, that He wanted to give to them, God instructed Moses to choose twelve men to go through the land, assess it and bring back a report to the people.
God's idea was that when the people heard these leaders' report of how wonderful the land was, that the people would be enthusiastic about going in to possess it.

This, in part, is the report the leaders brought back of the land they had seen:
Numbers 13: 27, 28, 31 - 33
. . . "We went to the land where you sent us. It truly flows with milk and honey, and this is its fruit.    Nevertheless the people who dwell in the land are strong; the cities are fortified and very large. . . .
"We are not able to go up against the people, for they are stronger than we."
"The land through which we have gone as spies is a land that devours its inhabitants, and all the people whom we saw in it are men of great stature. There we saw the giants . . . ; and we were like grasshoppers in our own sight, and so we were in their sight."    (New King James Bible)

God had taken these people out of slavery in Egypt through a series of miracles.
He had brought them through the Red Sea and He had destroyed their enemies before their very eyes.
Yet now, instead of focusing on how good God's land was, they saw only potential enemies, and they could not muster the faith to trust that God would do the same for them in this situation, as He had done for them before.
They had short-term memory loss concerning God's care, protection and purpose for them.  The reason for this short-term memory loss was Grasshopper Mentality.

Grasshopper Mentality causes you to believe fervently that other people will always get the better of you and so, you will never succeed at what God has called you to do.
Grasshopper Mentality causes you to be a victim in your situation that draws oppression and bad luck into your life.
That means that even if you are a "Full Citizen" with God, you will never receive His best for you, if you continue to see yourself as a grasshopper.

Prayer:
Father in heaven, I know I am a Full Citizen in Your kingdom.
I refuse out of my life and thinking, all Grasshopper Mentality.
I know that You view me as an overcommer in Jesus Christ.
So now I want to rise up and please You fully, by viewing myself in the way that You view me.
Please show me how to take my commitment in thinking and being to the next level.
I ask this in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ,    Amen.