Who Do You Think You Are?
From Emperors to Popes continued...
Today’s Verse and Thought
Beloved, we are God's children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is (1 John 3:2).
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For several weeks now, we’ve been looking at the development of the Church; from the early Apostolic centuries; through the universal catholic invitation transforming into religious Catholicism; into the Protestant Reformation; and finally the escape of the Puritans and others arriving in the Colonies.
We left off last week at the Second Great Awakening in the mid 1800s as we have tried to determine if we are a Christian nation or not. And we have seen that the term “Christian” seems to be very broad in scope.
This week we will establish a few basic things about Christianity before going forward so that we might see how it all informs our current cultural reality.
Who Am I?
Back in the 70s there was a cultural call to all adults - especially “housewives” - to go out and “find yourself.”
Then in the early 2000s, another call went out to everyone to “find your purpose driven life,” or discover “what color is your parachute?”
After that came the call to “live our best life now.” This call turned into an unhinged identity search that now has people barking like dogs and parading around like provocative hairy rainbow cartoons.
I think we need to go back and find ourselves again; we are definitely lost.
Our human identity in the world is quite “fluid” if we accept the cultural norms. We are at a moment in time where anything goes - except being a Christian; the one identity approved by God. And it’s the one identity that is demonized.
But it’s also a term that is misunderstood and misdefined.
What does God say about your identity as a Christian and who are you in His eyes?
You are created as God’s image bearer above all else
You no longer belong to yourself; you belong to Christ
God disciplines us
You are a new creation, the old one is dead
You were born either male or female
You are loved by the author of love
You are the salt of the earth
You are the light of the world
You are saved from eternal destruction
God calls you by name
You are holy (a saint)
You don’t need to worry about your daily needs
God is your refuge and fortress - He protects you
All that belongs to Jesus is yours
You are truly His disciples if you live by His Word
You are able to hear God
You are clean
You are Jesus’ friend if you do what He commands
You are completely forgiven
You are God’s temple
You are God’s child
You are made for good works
You are God’s ambassador on earth
You are surrounded by God’s mercy
You have a peace that is unexplainable
You are never alone
You are precious to God
You are blessed by God
You are honored
You are beautiful
You have a great hope in a future kingdom
If we are going to follow the way of Christ and reap the true benefits of being a child of God, we need a good road map to get there. Otherwise, we may find ourselves lost on some dark and dangerous side road pursuing a shiny object like a fish chasing a lure.
Living as Child of the World
The identity that the world offers demands a constant state of change as we progress toward some futuristic state of futuristic utopia.
We are never satisfied. We are never enough. We never have enough. We spend most of our time working to earn money so that we can change our clothes, our hair, our furniture, our weight, our fitness, our education, our standing, and our happiness.
We spend our entire lives searching, longing, and comparing ourselves to others. We listen to all the world’s experts and shun the uneducated and simple. We listen to the egotistical professionals and the PhDs. We reject the advice of the wise as irrelevant.
We listen to strange little mystical bald men who sound extra holy as they tell us to meditate and worship nature.
We honor our Ted-talk experts, entertainers, sports heroes, scientists, business tycoons, and global elites.
We will constantly experience insecurity, confusion, anxiety, and fearfulness. This way of life drives us to become socially polite and accepted, but with hearts that are silently judging, condemning, aggressive, jealous, depressed, prideful, ungrateful, angry, unforgiving, and selfish.
You think that you are “going somewhere” but you will never arrive.
You think you are reaching for something you deserve, but it never satisfies you. It is all about what you want. It’s all about what you desire. It’s all about you.
And it is never enough.
And yet, we stay on the wheel.
We joke about being on the wheel together with all the others who are going round and round and round, like it’s some kind of badge of honor or rite of passage.
We can choose to be like the world, and will be welcomed, applauded, and rewarded by the same. We will blend in. But we also will suffer the consequences for choosing to participate in the way of the world.
You and your children will reap the outcome of your choices.
Living as God’s Child
The identity that God gives you is loving, truthful, accepting, encouraging, pure, giving, peaceful, wise, certain ,generous, humble, kind, confident, honorable, unwavering, courageous, perfect, and eternal.
You will be blessed by God; you and your household.
This is the narrow road that leads to peace.
Which identity do you want your children growing up with? Which do you choose for yourself? What do you see as worth fighting for?
To be continued…
Today’s Question
Verses to Explore
So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.(Genesis 1:27).
For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.(Hebrews 12:11)
And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus (Philippians 4:7).
But from the beginning of creation, ‘God made them male and female.’(Mark 10:6)
“You are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled under people's feet.(Matthew 5:13).
“You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. (Matthew 5:14)
Fear not, therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows.(Matthew 10:31)
And he said to him, ‘Son, you are always with me, and all that is mine is yours.(Luke 15:31).
And he said to them, “You are those who justify yourselves before men, but God knows your hearts. For what is exalted among men is an abomination in the sight of God.(Luke 16:15).
If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you.(John 15:19)
And do not seek what you are to eat and what you are to drink, nor be worried.(Luke 12:29).
And he said to him, ‘Son, you are always with me, and all that is mine is yours.(Luke 15:31).
So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed him, “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples…(John 8:31 )
Whoever is of God hears the words of God. The reason why you do not hear them is that you are not of God.”(John 8:47).
Already you are clean because of the word that I have spoken to you
You are my friends if you do what I command you.
For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace.(Romans 6:14).
I am writing to you, little children, because your sins are forgiven for his name's sake.(1 Jon 2:12).
Do you not know that you are God's temple and that God's Spirit dwells in you?(1 Corinthians 3:16)
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.(2 Corinthians 5:17).
See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are. The reason why the world does not know us is that it did not know him. (1 John 3:1).
For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.(Ephesians 2:10).
Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.(2 corinthians 5:20).
Many are the sorrows of the wicked, but steadfast love surrounds the one who trusts in the Lord.(Psalms 32:10).
…fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.(Isaiah 41:10)
Blessed are those who dwell in your house, ever singing your praise! Selah (Psalms 84:4).
Because you are precious in my eyes, and honored, and I love you, I give men in return for you, peoples in exchange for your life.(Isaiah 43:4)
You are altogether beautiful, my love; there is no flaw in you.
(Song of Solomon 4:7 )
For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.(Jeremiah 29:11)
He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will abide in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say to the Lord, “My refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.” For he will deliver you from the snare of the fowler and from the deadly pestilence.(Psalms 91:1-3)
Today’s Prayer
Father, I pray today that we stop listening to the world and believe your Word instead. Help us see ourselves through your eyes of pure love, and then help us see others that way too. Help us to be kind.
Help us to live in the purity of your holiness. Help us to learn from your discipline and seek righteousness that is fitting for us as your children.
Help us Father to stop the lies in our own heads that tell us we are something we are not.
It is exhausting trying to live up to the expectations of others and to the ideals sold by our culture. We are never enough. We never seem to be accepted for being the person you created us to be.
I’m sorry we don’t look to you first for our approval; we look instead to people. We sell ourselves to a world that wants to exploit us for their own gain and their own agenda.
None of us wants to be considered an outcast Father, so I know why we try to blend in with the world. But Father, we are making our lives conform to the enemy. We reject all your promises in trade for lies.
Help us have a very clear picture of ourselves as you see us. And then give us the courage and conviction to never waiver from that, no matter what our circumstances.
For only when we find our true identity in Christ we will live whole, free lives and with sincere kindness and love towards others. I want that to be my life every day. Thank you Father for loving us even while we were still sinners. All praise, honor and glory are yours. Amen.❤️
What is it you are looking for today? (source)
