New Life Brings New Identity
March 28, 2009
(Taken from Victory Over the Darkness by Neil T. Anderson, Chapter Two, Pp. 46,47)
Being a Christian is not just a matter of getting something; it is a matter of being someone. A Christian is not simply a person who is forgiven and goes to heaven. A Christian, in terms of his or her deepest identity, is a saint, a spiritually born child of God, a divine masterpiece, a child of light, a citizen of heaven. Being born again transformed you into someone who didn’t exist before. What you receive as a Christian isn’t the point; it is who you are. It is not what you do as a Christian that determines who you are; it is who you are that determines what you do (see 2 Cor. 5:17; Eph. 2:10; 1 Pet. 2:9,10; 1 John 3:1,2).
Understanding your identity in Christ is essential for living the Christian life. People cannot consistently behave in ways that are inconsistent with the way they perceive themselves. You don’t change yourself by your perception. You change your perception of yourself by believing the truth. If you perceive yourself wrongly, you will live wrongly because what you are believing is not true. If you think you are a no-good bum, you will probably live like a no-good bum. If, however, you see yourself as a child of God who is spiritually alive in Christ, you will begin to live accordingly. Next to a knowledge of God, a knowledge of who you are is by far the most important truth you can possess.
The major strategy of Satan is to distort the character of God and the truth of who we are. He can’t change God and he can’t do anything to change our identity and position in Christ. If, however, he can get us to believe a lie, we will live as though our identity in Christ isn’t true.
not just man’s best friend.
February 23, 2009
I’ve been thinking a lot about dogs, lately. I think it’s because I’m reading “Marley & Me.” Anyway, it makes me sad, because I had a really awesome dog, and I wish I could go back in time and play in the backyard with her again, and bury my face in her golden-red fur. She used to come up to me when I was sitting on the couch, and she would just lift her paw up and rest it on my leg, just staring at me with those amber-colored eyes. In my mind, she was without a doubt the best dog in the entire world. So this post is dedicated to Tawny, woman’s best friend.
Spelling from the mind of a 5-year-old.
January 26, 2009
I watched a video about big bird and the alphabet, and it reminded me of a story.
This past fall, Tim and I had the opportunity to babysit our neice and nephew, Samantha and Sawyer. We had a lot of fun, and mostly did crafts and played with toys. My neice Sammy did something that I thought was really cute.
We were drawing with crayons on construction paper, and I drew a big pumpkin for Sammy, and wrote the word PUMPKIN underneath. I told her, “look, it says pumpkin!”
A few minutes later, I glanced at her paper, and she had written SAM in big letters across the top of her paper.
“It’s your name!” I exclaimed.
“Yep.” she said, and proceeded to write SAM again, underneath the first. “This says ’scissors,’” she pointed.
“But, that’s your name…” I hesitated. I decided that S, A, and M must be the only letters she knew.
“No, this says ’scissors,’” she insisted. Then she said to me, as if she was my teacher and I was the 5 year old, “You see, I can use letters to make my own words.”
on worrying…
April 21, 2008
“From the rising of the sun to the place where it sets,
the name of the Lord is to be praised.” Psalm 113:3
No matter where we are in life, or what is going on, God is in control and he deserves all the praise and glory in our lives.
Every day this week, I am taking a piece of paper and on one side, writing a list of all the things I worry about. On the other side, I am writing a prayer asking God to help me release these things to him, so that I do not worry about them any longer.
Then I am putting the paper through the shredder in the office, to symbolize that I am letting go of these things.
What do you worry about? What will it take for you to allow God to take these burdens off your shoulders?
“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes?” Matthew 6:25
