4/3/2022 0 Comments Identity War
I ran to get the ruby necklace and put it on. The little necklace helped me get my bearings and remember not only who I am but who I am created to be. It gave me the courage to go to God and ask for forgiveness. Simply remembering changed the course of the entire day. Knowing who we are changes how we live.
Even Jesus’ ministry started with God declaring Jesus’ identity. In Matthew 3:16, immediately before beginning His ministry, Jesus approached John to be baptized. When Jesus came up out of the water, God the Father declared, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well-pleased” (Matthew 3:17). Immediately after God’s declaration, Matthew 4 tells us Jesus was led into the desert to be tempted. After forty days of fasting, the devil came to him and questioned Jesus’ identity saying, “If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread” (Matthew 4:3). That statement was an attempt to get Jesus to question His identity and then feel the need to prove who He was. Jesus was so firmly established in who He was, He felt no need to prove Himself. Instead Jesus replied in verse 4, “Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.” Bringing Jesus to the pinnacle of the temple, Satan once again tempted him to prove Himself in verse 6 saying, “If you are the Son of God... throw yourself down.” Jesus answered, “Do not put the Lord your God to the test” (Mt 4:7). He again did not succumb to the temptation to prove Himself because His identity was firmly established. The Father’s truth was stronger than the fleshly need. That little necklace reminded me of who I am and helped me resist the temptation to act like who I am not. Whenever I get a bit testy, I have found I am often trying to protect a piece of my threatened identity, but when I remember who I am to God, that need dissipates. You may not have a little necklace to remind you of what is true, but remembering who we are has the power to change us. We will act like who we believe we are. Because of Jesus’ death on the cross, through Him we are:
We do not need to prove who we are because God has already declared it. As His children, we get to live in the identity HE has given us.
Memory Verse: “But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.” I Peter 2:9 NIV
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
Devotionals by AuthorAll Abby McDonald Alexa Gearhart Angi Morrison Anna Bearden Anne Say Audra Powers Breanna Faith Spearman Brenna Kurz Brittany Marlow Caroline Hultgren Courtney Filippin Dana Schaefer Danielle Biddy Debbie Burns Heather Kenny Jannetta Cox Jessica Parker Jess Ridgeway Joan Lavori Katelyn Wilson Katie Gibson Kelly Orlowski Kerri Barfield Keryn Stokes Kristen Williamson Laura Pendley Lindsay McNeely Lonette Baity Martha Rudolph Nancy Ehlinger Renee Robinson Saretta Wells Tara McGill Taylor Watkins Tierney Nashleanas Wendy Gerdes |