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 arenât really about your circumstances? At their core, they are battles over your identity.
From the beginning, the enemyâs strategy has been to attack our identity by distorting our relationship with God. In the Garden, he led Eve to question Godâs goodnessâpainting 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 temptationâabout provision, authority, and significanceâwas an attack on Jesusâ 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
Itâs not about pretending to be stronger or more faith-filled than you are. Instead, it starts with raw honesty. Sit with G...
Navigating God's Purpose and Your Desires
Can you articulate some of the primary needs, desires and burdens that you are carrying these days?Â
God wants you to express, to Him, the things are important to you.  He is often more interested in our needs than we realize. You may not have what you want âBecause you donât ask God.â (James 4:2)
Our desires can become problematic, however. When we become obsessed with our âstuff,â when our concerns become too much of a priority, they can become toxic and destructive to our souls. Our wishes may seem harmless at first, but as they become a fixation in our lives, they begin to diminish our world. It is as if can only see the object of our obsession. God wants to raise our eyes.
1 Kings speaks of a widow who, along with her son, was starving . She was about to prepare her last meal for the two of them when she met the prophet Elijah. He said to her, âDonât be afraid. Go home and do what you have [planned]. But first make a small cake of bread for me and then make something for y...
Does Your House Need A Clean Up?
Sometimes the things that seem like they will make our lives easier and more efficient are the very things that can steal our purpose and passion right out from under us.
Godâs desire has always been to draw people from all nations into His eternal household. But, âdoing churchâ (or, in this case, "doing temple") got in the way of that purpose in the lives and practice of the people of God. Addressing the people in Jerusalem, Jesus quoted from the book of Isaiah and said, âIs it not written: âMy house will be called a house of prayer for all nationsâ? But you have made it a den of robbers.ââ (Mark 11:17) When the people came to make sacrifices at the temple they had to bring animals, or grain or whatever was needed. This proved to be quite an inconvenience for those who had a long way to travel, so they developed a system of exchange right at the temple. People could simply bring money and âbuyâ what they needed for sacrifice âonsite.â This made things much easier for many people, Â bu...
