Tag Archive for: Identity

Keep Your Identity in Christ

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But to as many as did receive and welcome Him, He gave the right [the authority, the privilege] to become children of God, that is, to those who believe in (adhere to, trust in, and rely on) His name—who were born, not of blood [natural conception], nor of the will of the flesh [physical impulse], nor of the will of man [that of a natural father], but of God [that is, a divine and supernatural birth—they are born of God—spiritually transformed, renewed, sanctified]. (John 1:12-13, AMP)

I think one of the top two greatest secrets to a joy-filled life is keeping your identity in Christ. If I place my identity in anything but Christ I will be disappointed. Everything else will cause me to lose my joy at some point in time.

  • If I put my identity in what I do, I’ll lose joy when I’m called to do something new.
  • If I put my identity in what I look like, I’ll lose my joy when my looks change.
  • If I put my identity in my children, I’ll lose joy when they do something that I don’t agree with or when they leave home.
  • If I put my identity in my performance, I’ll lose joy when I’m not performing well.
  • If I put my identity in how much money I can make, I’ll lose joy when that money ceases to bring me satisfaction.
  • If I put my identity in my achievements, my joy will flee when I’m not getting recognition for a new achievement.
  • If I put my identity in my marriage, my joy will disappear when my spouse says something hurtful.
  • If I put my identity in my church, I’ll lose my joy when someone in the church hurts me.
  • The only thing that brings a steadfast joy in this life is having a sole identity in Christ.

“Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.” (Hebrews 13:8)

He is the only thing that doesn’t change. My stuff will get old. There will be a day my children move out. There will come a time when my achievements have just collected dust. Nothing on this earth lasts forever.

In fact, I’ve noticed the times when I let the cares of this world occupy my heart. I’ve noticed when I’ve displaced Jesus and given over the throne of my heart to things going on around me. Those things tend to choke out my joy. I must always leave Christ on the throne of my heart, not my concerns, not my worries, not my anxieties, and not my expectations. I must become less so that Christ can become more in me.

Dear Father God, Please help me to identify where I have placed my identity in anything but Christ. Please help me to see where I have let other things occupy the throne of my heart. I surrender. Lord, my joy is only found in Jesus! May I live to serve You alone and become more Christlike with every passing day as I find my identity in the only One who will never change!

Never Give Up

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Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.” (Matthew 19:26)

Are you facing the impossible? Are you tempted to give up? I have talked to a few different people this last week who are facing what they think is impossible. My heart aches for them and I pray that their eyes will soon get fixed on the Lord who never sees anything as an impossibility.

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Willing to Go the Distance

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Not that I have already obtained it [this goal of being Christlike] or have already been made perfect, but I actively press on so that I may take hold of that [perfection] for which Christ Jesus took hold of me and made me His own. Brothers and sisters, I do not consider that I have made it my own yet; but one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the [heavenly] prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus (Philippians 3:12-14, AMP).

We are doing a study on running the race, as we study Philippians 3:12-14. If you would like to read the first devotional in this series, you can click here, you can find the second one by clicking here, and the third one by clicking here.

You know we could follow the first three essentials to the T and still never really get in the race. We could become dissatisfied with where we are but not really so dissatisfied that we move from there. We could recognize that we need to clarify our devotion but choose to never do it. We could figure out what the right direction is but neglect to take it. This fourth essential really brings it all together. We need determination to run the race!

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Is it time to Simplify your life?

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Not that I have already obtained it [this goal of being Christlike] or have already been made perfect, but I actively press on so that I may take hold of that [perfection] for which Christ Jesus took hold of me and made me His own. Brothers and sisters, I do not consider that I have made it my own yet; but one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the [heavenly] prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus (Philippians 3:12-14, AMP)

We are doing a study on running the race, as we study Philippians 3:12-14. If you would like to read the first devotional in this series, you can click here.

I want to talk a little bit about the second essential needed for running the race. The first essential I shared came out last week and we talked about how important it is to not get satisfied in our walks with the Lord. We will never truly run in this race until we are dissatisfied with our current position in it. The next essential for running the race is DEVOTION.
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Are you Dissatisfied?

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Not that I have already obtained it [this goal of being Christlike] or have already been made perfect, but I actively press on so that I may take hold of that [perfection] for which Christ Jesus took hold of me and made me His own. Brothers and sisters, I do not consider that I have made it my own yet; but one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the [heavenly] prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus (Philippians 3:12-14, AMP)

I would like to do a study with you on Philippians 3:12-14. Each week I will share one essential for running the race in Christ! Come with me on a journey to discover what it truly means to run for Jesus! Let’s get our minds fixed on eternal things and run with a clear focus!

Let’s take a look at what Paul has to say in Philippians 3:12-13 and learn about the first essential for running the race. Along with this study, I will share 4 secrets to keeping a victorious mindset.

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