Today, Bolster Your Identity in the Lord
Is It Time to Refresh Your Identity in the Lord?Â
Did you know that the greatest battles in your life aren’t really about your circumstances? At their core, they are battles over your identity.
From the beginning, the enemy’s strategy has been to attack our identity by distorting our relationship with God. In the Garden, he led Eve to question God’s goodness—painting Him as a liar and a withholder. His goal? To make her feel lacking, inadequate, and disconnected from her true identity. (Genesis 3)
Fast forward to Jesus in the wilderness, and the enemy used the same tactic. Every temptation—about provision, authority, and significance—was an attack on Jesus’ identity as the Son of God. (Luke 4:1-13) Adam and Eve believed the lie and lost their footing, but Jesus stood firm, choosing to trust His Father completely.
How Do You Deepen Your Identity in Christ?Â
It’s not about pretending to be stronger or more faith-filled than you are. Instead, it starts with raw honesty. Sit with G...
Are You Baffled By Suffering?
Do you ever feel like you can’t catch a break – like people and circumstances are constantly raising their hands against you? This is part of what life is like sometimes. Life on earth is difficult. Sometimes, even for long periods of time, life can feel oppressive – and bring suffering. Understanding this reality can be helpful – everyone suffers, and everyone needs to learn to persevere.
Unfortunately, many people of faith are baffled when they hit difficult patches. They subtly or blatantly believe that their lives should be easier because they have faith in God. This is wrong theologically and unhelpful in practice.
Jesus’ life was difficult, and it grew more difficult as He continued in His faithful devotion to the Father. The apostle Paul’s life was also difficult. Yet, rather than being perplexed by his difficulties or feeling sorry for himself, Paul invited his spiritual son and apprentice to “join him in suffering like a good soldier in Christ Jesus.” (2 Timothy 2:3)Â
Perse...
How Are You Doing?
“How are you? … I hope all is well.” This is the kind of greeting many of us write to those we have not been in touch with for a while.  It’s a very general and surface approach. When in person, however, we may want to go deeper. Unfortunately, oftentimes people are not very aware of how they are doing and aren’t inclined to answer very deeply. When you ask most people how they are doing, they may describe what’s going on around them – their circumstances.  If you press in a little further, they might describe how they feel about their circumstances and what they are trying to do about them. Few people seem to take stock of how they are doing below/beyond their circumstances. Yet, our lives are deeper than what is happening around us.
Our circumstances will change. Sometimes great things will happen and sometimes horrendous things will happen. Sometimes life seems very routine. These experiences will affect us, but they need not determine the state of our soul.  Jesus told Hi...
Are You Growing Weary?
Most of us who come to Christ do so when we are facing difficult times. We come when we are in great need. We are hoping for change in our circumstances and/or within ourselves. Â
Why don’t we often come to God when we are in a “good space”? It’s probably because, when things are going well, we tend to be content in our self-reliance. We call out to God when relying on ourselves isn’t working anymore.
Life can still be tough – even when do we rely on God. The apostle Paul encourages those who are living in Christ, “Not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.” (Galatians 6:9)
Why would people who have learned to rely on Christ become weary in doing the right things?  It’s because we all are prone to lose focus.Â
                              
It could be that we really want to see things change as a result of our good work. We keep our eyes on the change we hope for, and when we don’t see it, we ...
Are You Positioned to Hear From God?
What do people mean when they say they “hear God’s voice?” Can everyone hear God? Do people have the same capacity and/or ability to hear the Lord? Does the Lord “speak” more often or more clearly in some places and at some times than others?
The book of 1 Samuel notes, “In those days the word of the LORD was rare; there were not many visions.” (1 Sam. 3:1). Apparently, there are different dispensations regarding the frequency and clarity of God's communication. Approximately 3,100 years ago the people of God were not experiencing much of the revelation of God. Then Samuel was born, and God started communicating boldly through the prophets.
In the New Testament, the book of Hebrews begins, “In the past God spoke to our ancestors through the prophets at many times and in various ways, but in these last days He has spoken to us by His Son, whom He appointed heir of all things, and through whom also He made the universe.” (Hebrews 1:1-2). Jesus is the fulfillment of all prophecy. It all...
