Tag: me

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Identity Crisis

I was sitting in church worshiping and a thought hit me…why do we, as born-again Christians, have such a hard time laying things down and living a life full of joy when we serve such a faithful and present God?  I have seen so many people stay in their struggle to overcome things in the past for years and years – going to the alter crying, being prophesied over, reading the Bible, and all the other things that seem the right thing to do when we are walking with God.  And yet, they still have this baggage tagging along.

Could it be that when we have struggled so long with something that it becomes a part of us?  And when it becomes a part of us, we are afraid that, if we allow God to heal that part of us we no longer are who we have become to know as ourselves?  Therefore, we find so much of our identity in the struggle – healing, even if subconsciously, is just too scary to accept?

If this is correct – then laying this issue fully down and giving it ALL over to God is a completely scary thing full of doubt and anxiety.  As we face the fact that healing will bring so much change that we decide not to fully give God the authority to do what He needs to do.  And then we remain sitting in our mess because that is easier than the change of healing – even though God is more than willing to give us what we need if we fully trust him.

Our identity was never for us to be hurt, broken or misused.  We never were meant to remain sick, hurt, abused, or stuck.  That is not who God is.  We have seen, over and over, how God has redeemed those in the Old and New Testament – Jacob, Judah, Joseph, Moses, Rahab, David, Bathsheba, Solomon, Peter, Paul – to name only a few who have seen the redemptive work of the Lord in their lives when they surrender all to Him.

So – what is it for you?  What issue do you face that you need to lay down?  Trauma, chronic sickness, your abusive past, shame from what you did in your past, drugs, alcohol, relationships that are not good for you…what is it that you are afraid to lay down?  What struggle has become your identity?

Whatever it is, remember these things:

  • We are a new creature in Christ Jesus
    • So we have stopped evaluating others from a human point of view. At one time we thought of Christ merely from a human point of view. How differently we know him now! This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun! 2 Corinthians 5:16-17
  • We are called out of darkness and into light
    • But you are not like that, for you are a chosen people. You are royal priests, a holy nation, God’s very own possession. As a result, you can show others the goodness of God, for he called you out of the darkness into his wonderful light. 1 Peter 2:9
  • Christ lives inside of us
    • My old self has been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. So I live in this earthly body by trusting in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. Galatians 2:20
  • We are friends of Jesus
    • I no longer call you slaves, because a master doesn’t confide in his slaves. Now you are my friends, since I have told you everything the Father told me. John 15:15
  • We are God’s masterpiece
    • For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago. Ephesians 2:10
  • We belong to God
    • But now, O Jacob, listen to the Lord who created you.
      O Israel, the one who formed you says,
      “Do not be afraid, for I have ransomed you.
      I have called you by name; you are mine. Isaiah 43:1
  • God’s thoughts about us are precious
    • How precious are your thoughts about me, O God.
      They cannot be numbered!
      I can’t even count them;
      they outnumber the grains of sand! Psalm 139:17-18
  • We were knit together in our mother’s wombs
    • You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body
      and knit me together in my mother’s womb.
      Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex!
      Your workmanship is marvelous—how well I know it.
      You watched me as I was being formed in utter seclusion,
      as I was woven together in the dark of the womb.
      You saw me before I was born.
      Every day of my life was recorded in your book.
      Every moment was laid out
      before a single day had passed. Psalm 139:13-16

It’s time to start seeing our identity in Christ and not in the things that of this world.  No matter what someone has said to you or how someone made you feel, how long you have been sick or what secret shame you hide – God loves you and wants to make you whole.

Go to Him and give over those things that you are holding onto.  Let Him make you who He sees you to be!!

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Pressing Reset

Being a Christian does not automatically cause you to stop sinning. Nope…I am a sinner in need of a Savior every day.  Being a Christian also doesn’t keep you from experiencing tough times.  Nope…we go through them like every other human on the Earth.  The difference, though, resides in who we turn to when in those trials.

Here is a major battle I fight often: I feel so inadequate and unworthy at times. I feel very much like I am worthless…like the promises God has placed on my life are not real.  Oh, but those are just lies.  They are lies from the enemy who wants me to cower and not fulfill my life’s purpose; to keep me believing that I am weak and no different than I’ve ever been.

What about you? What are the lies the enemy tells you?  What self-talk do you struggle with?

The greatest way to counter those lies is the word of God. The truth in the Bible is everlasting.  It will not die!

Here are a few truths I consistently remind myself of:

God loves you and me: But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8).

You and I are made new: “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new” (2 Corinthians 5:17)

He knew us before He formed us: “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations.” Jeremiah 1:5

Through Christ, we are made strong: “But he said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.’ Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.”(2 Corinthians 12:9)

Believers have been given eternal life: “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” (John 3:16)

We have been bought with a high price: “For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your ancestors, but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect.” (1 Peter 1:18-19)

Replacing the lies of the enemy – whatever those lies may be – with the word of God will keep your mind on track. Keeping your thoughts on track will help you stay your course and finish the race set before us.  Don’t ever give up!

There are times, though, where I find myself in a place that I am unsure what are lies and what aren’t. It get confusing because life gets busy, I don’t spend time with God like I should, or I’m just stuck in a mindset that is unhealthy…I will have to pray this simple prayer from Psalm 139:23-24:

“Search me, O God, and know my heart;
test me and know my anxious thoughts.
Point out anything in me that offends you,
and lead me along the path of everlasting life.”

I encourage you to start spending time with God every day. Pray the prayer from Psalm 139,  Feed your mind with the word of God so when the enemy lies, you can remind yourself what God says about you.

Be blessed, readers.

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Carry

Life can get rough.  I get tired, I struggle, I have problems, I get busy, I don’t have time to do everything…I, I, I, I….  Too many times I get in a place where all I see is me.  For instance, right now, I have been given a new position at work and am currently in training.  Being tired and consumed with this new job, I have moments where I find myself only concerned about me…my issues…what I want and not concerned with praying, reading my bible, or serving others.  It is awful how I turn to wallowing when I get tired, hurt, or busy.  No matter what happens in this life, good or bad –  I need to remember one thing…I must continue to carry my cross.

When you look at the story of the crucifixion – you see how Christ could have easily backed off, became selfish for a moment, and walked away from the opportunity to save the world, but he didn’t.  Instead, he decided to do what he knew he needed to do, even though it cost him his life.  I am so very thankful for what his sacrifice did for this world and for mankind.  It also gives me conviction to do what I know I need to do rather than just what I feel like doing.  If Christ can hang on a cross for me, can’t I get up and serve in my church on a Sunday when I don’t really feel like it?  Or go feed the homeless despite being exhausted from life?  Or smile at someone despite me having a bad day?

Luke 14:25-27 says “Many people followed Jesus. Then He turned around and said to them,  “If any man comes to Me and does not have much more love for Me than for his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, and even his own life, he cannot be My follower.  If he does not carry his cross and follow Me, he cannot be My follower. “

To love God more than I love myself, to put Him first even before my own family, to die to self daily is what I must do to be His.  There are days that my entire being cringes at the thought that I must serve.  I have had moments that I so did not want to do anything…at all.  I wanted to lay in bed and not move.  But then He reminds me of what He has done for me.  So I reluctantly pick up my cross and follow Him.

I encourage you, when you have those days that you have to fight to get out of bed, do it anyway.  Carrying the cross is hard, but being His makes it all worth it.  He’s got you, he loves you, he sees you, and he won’t abandon you.  Keep going and don’t give up.

Pray this with me: Lord, I am sorry for all the times that I complained about things not being all about me.  Thank you for your sacrifice that set me free.  If I must carry my cross the rest of my life, I will do that because I know that there is nothing greater than being yours.  Thank you for loving me, even when I was my most selfish.  Help me be all that you want me to be and live my life for you.  I love you.  In Jesus’ name.  Amen.

Be blessed everyone.

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