Wednesday, August 21, 2013

We Are Living in the Time of the The Rock - We Are An Unstoppable Kingdom


Written by Victoria Boyson:
Victoria Boyson
Listen to Me, all who hope for deliverance – all who seek the Lord! Consider the ROCK from which you were cut, the quarry from which you were mined.
Yes, think about Abraham, your ancestor and Sarah, who gave birth to your nation. Abraham was only one man when I called him. But when I BLESSED HIM, he became a great nation. Isaiah 51:1-2, emphasis mine

Our adversary has been busy in an effort to distract us and dull our memory of who we are and Whose we are, where we've come from and where we're going. Religious spirits are experts at getting us to fear things we do not understand, compare ourselves to others, and compete with one another. That's what religious spirits do – and they are good at it.

Even as a child, the enemy tried to subvert or supplant your view of who you are and replace it with a corrupt view of your own self, implanting painful or confusing incidents that changed your perception of yourself. He brought people into your life who treated you as though you were something you are not.

They've released the enemy's poison and venom and seeds of poisonous, corrupt theories of who you are in order to blind you to the reality of who God destined you to be.

Satan has tried to keep you believing his lies, but if you turn the tables on him and use the abuse he's launched against you as a tool to bring deliverance to others, you not only conquer for yourself, but for those who will be influenced by your victory. 

If you tear up the roots of the lies he's planted in your heart and replace them with the Father's truth about you, you become an unstoppable and powerful force for the Kingdom of your Father.

There is only ONE version of the truth about you – and that is what your Father says is true. He says, "[YOU are] the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus" (see 2 Corinthians 5:21, emphasis mine). That is the truth and there are no exceptions – if you accept His Son, you are heir to His righteousness – His justification – His Kingdom.

The time has come to let go of the past; you can't afford to allow the old lies to entrap you in any belief that does not align with the Father's truth

You are made a new creation in Christ – a POWERFUL, UNSTOPPABLE heir of your Father's Kingdom. You were made to accomplish and complete His will for you, equipped with all the power and authority of Heaven.
The Battle for Destiny
Yes, the enemy's tried to stop you, but it's nothing he hasn't tried countless times throughout history. The Bible is filled with stories of saints who first had to overcome the relentless attacks against the destiny God had established for them.

God declared and constituted a kingship for David, a young shepherd boy (see 1 Samuel 16:1-13). It seemed unlikely to those who knew him (see 1 Samuel 16:11), but that's what God does, and those who could not accept David's destiny were used by the enemy to persecute him. Attempting to reduce him when David's brother couldn't convince him he was just a shepherd with few sheep (see 1 Samuel 17:28), along came King Saul. Even though David had done so much to help him, Saul hated David and wanted him dead (see 1 Samuel 18:10).

In David's story, and in many others, it was the battle they fought for – the destiny God had for them, that made them who they ultimately became. David was content to be a shepherd in the fields, he was even satisfied to be just a warrior in Saul's army, but God saw a great king and the plan that He had affirmed for his life, and He needed David to see it too.

David didn't think he was good enough to marry Saul's daughter or to become the King's son-in-law. It was only when Saul pursued him and tried to kill him that David was pushed to redefine himself. Why would the enemy even bother pursuing David, unless all that God had proclaimed over his life was true?

It was when David fought for deliverance and sought the Lord –he considered the Rock from which he was cut and he became mighty in God.
Did You Know?

You are cut from the Rock of Christ,
"Who is and was and who is to  come"  
(Revelation 1:8).

Do you realize you were mined from the quarry of God's heavenly Kingdom?  It's the enemy's plan to keep you focused on your earthly life with its earthly circumstances and your earthly past consisting of your earthly trials and your earthly history. But God wants your focus to be on Him – His plan and His Kingdom. He says, "Come to Me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest" (Matthew 11:28).

In Isaiah 51:12-13, God says to us, "I, yes I, am the One who comforts you. So why are you afraid of mere humans, who wither like the grass and disappear? Yet you have forgotten the Lord, your Creator, the One who stretched out the sky like a canopy and laid the foundations of the earth. Will you remain in constant dread of human oppressors? Will you continue to fear the anger of your enemies?..."

In an instant, God can strip ANY human power of its anger and fury. He can strip them of their power to harm you, putting His words in your mouth and hiding you safely in His hand (see Isaiah 51:16).

If we will remember Who He is, what He's done, and remember the Kingdom we are heirs to, we literally and absolutely become irrepressible. We become the unstoppable Kingdom of God!
Unstoppable Kingdom
Remember Daniel, who, though a captive of the Babylonian empire, spoke to King Nebuchadnezzar and revealed to him through the power of His God an unstoppable Kingdom that would have NO END!

In Daniel 2, King Nebuchadnezzar had a terrifying dream. He dreamt of an enormous statue of a man. The head of the statue was made of gold, its arms and chest of silver, its belly and thighs were bronze and its legs were made of iron, but its feet were a combination of iron and clay.
In the dream, he watched as the entire statue was crushed by a rock that was cut from a mountain – a rock cut by nonhuman, supernatural hands. Striking the statue, it smashed it to pieces and the wind blew away the pieces like chaff being blown away on the threshing floor. And the rock that struck the statue became a great mountain that covered the whole earth (see Daniel 2:31-35).

The king was so upset by the dream, he demanded that all the wise men of his kingdom not only give him an accurate interpretation of the dream, but, to ensure their accuracy, he refused to tell them his dream. He wanted them to tell him what it was before they could interpret it. When none of the wise men could tell him what he had dreamt, he ordered them to be killed.

Hearing the news, Daniel sought the Lord. He considered the Rock!

He said, "There are no wise men, enchanters, magicians, or fortune-tellers who can reveal the king's secret. But there is a God in Heaven who reveals secrets, and He has shown King Nebuchadnezzar what will happen in the future. Now I will tell you your dream and the visions you saw as you lay on your bed" (Daniel 2:27-28).

Daniel described the king's dream to him, and then explained its meaning. "Your majesty, you are the greatest of all kings. The God of Heaven has given you sovereignty, power, strength, and honor. He has made you the ruler over all the inhabited world and has put even the wild animals and birds under your control. You are the head of gold" (Daniel 2:37-38).

He went on to explain the dream's forecast of the rise and fall of empire after empire. Then Daniel said, "During the reign of those kings, the God of Heaven will set up a Kingdom that will never be destroyed or conquered. It will crush all these kingdoms into nothingness, and it will stand forever" (Daniel 2:37-44).

That's us! That is our Kingdom! Thousands of years ago, God gave the King of Babylon a dream that foretold the future, the future that you and I are living in. We are living in the time of the Kingdom of the ROCK, and we are that unstoppable Kingdom that covers the earth.
Isn't that incredible?!

God talked to a random Babylonian king to tell him of HIS coming Kingdom. Why a Babylonian king? Weren't they supposed to be an evil nation? Why not talk to a Jewish king or a prophet?

The Lord wanted every nation to embrace His Kingdom and get excited about His coming.

He wanted to declare to Babylon, Israel, and all the nations that HIS Kingdom would be established on the earth – a Kingdom that would reign in power over the entire world and have NO END!


We are this unstoppable Kingdom – God was talking about us!

Though a captive, Daniel must have rejoiced to see that many years from his time God would crush the kingdoms of the earth and establish His Kingdom on earth. He must have dreamt of being alive during that time and living out the revelations he saw. What Daniel could only dream about, we are living!
God Wants You To Know Who You Are!
When God found Abraham, He didn't see just one man, He saw a Kingdom, an unstoppable Kingdom – a Kingdom that would cover the earth and have no end. He rejoiced over the spiritual and natural descendants of Abraham and Sarah. God looked into the future and saw you, and He was thrilled! He saw the great love you would have for Him and the work that you would do through that love – the power of His Kingdom covering the earth, raising the dead, healing the sick, and saving the lost!

When you received Christ, you accepted His invitation to His unstoppable Kingdom – the Kingdom He created, first through Abraham, then, finally, through Christ, THE ROCK – God incarnate.

"Consider the ROCK from which you were cut, the quarry from which you were mined" (Isaiah 51:1-2). He is your Father and you are His child! You were His child before the foundations of the earth were laid. You are His, and He has destined you to bring His restoration to the earth.

You are no longer simply human, you are a captive Kingdom-warrior fighting for your release. You are the plunder of tyrants to be retrieved (see Isaiah 49:25). You are the fulfillment of the promises made to Abraham and to Daniel – to the patriarchs of Heaven's history.

Dear one, stand up – shake off the contrived and distorted image of who you are and what you are capable of – turn and face the heavens and scream, "I AM the righteousness of God in Christ!"

Declare to the atmosphere: "He who gives me justice is near. Who will dare to bring charges against me now? Where are my accusers? Let them appear!

"See, the Sovereign Lord is on my side! Who will declare me guilty? All my enemies will be destroyed like old clothes that have been eaten by moths!" (Isaiah 50:8-9).
No Apologies
Do not hide your face (see Isaiah 50:6). You have nothing to be ashamed of. Has any work the Spirit has accomplished in your life been too small? Even His smallest work is of great importance.

Should we be ashamed of the Holy Spirit? If we are ashamed of the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives, then we have allowed the enemy to deceive us. Is any manifestation of Holy Spirit too small? Is it meaningless? No!
Are you a captive of the lies of the enemy? Are you held captive by the lies of inferiority? False humility is a god-less lie that robs the Church – uproot that demon and shake it off. Apologizing for what the Holy Spirit has done in your life or doubting what He's able to do in your future is an insult to Him.
Are you small? Do you have a small church? It is a lie!  Does God have a small arm? Does He have a powerless Kingdom? Do you see it now?

There are those who say, "Strength lies in numbers, power, or money!" God says, "NO! Your strength lies in ME! Remember ME! My righteous rule never ends!" (see Isaiah 51:6)
.
Let your Father uncover the lies of insignificance – throw off that junk and consider the ROCK from which you were cut.

Victoria Boyson
Speaking Life Ministries

Email: victoria@boyson.org
Website: victoriaboyson.com
Victoria Boyson met Jesus at the age of seven. At thirteen, she started ministering using music as a platform to tell others about Jesus. She and her husband, Steve, ministered as pastors in the mid-west, but in 1999, the Lord told them to move to work for Francis Frangipane, who was extremely influential in their development as Christians and as ministers.
Victoria is a powerful prophetic voice to this generation and co-founder of Speaking Life Ministries. Based out of the Houston, Texas area, she is called to awaken and prepare the Bride of Christ for the end-time harvest and compel His Church to embrace a passionate relationship with their Heavenly Father. She is the author of The Birth of Your Destiny and His Passionate Pursuit.

Thursday, August 15, 2013

Everyone fails often, but only those who live in grace survive.

:  is a post from: I Take Joy ~ Posted: 14 Aug 2013 10:00 PM PDT

376px-Cassatt_Mary_Helene_de_Septeuil_1889
Mary Cassatt
“Compassion will cure more sins than condemnation.”
–Willard Beecher

For through the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think more highly of himself than he ought to think; but to think so as to have sound judgment, as God has allotted to each a measure of faith.” Romans 12:3

Pounding down our long winding stairs, anger was mounting with each step. I could hear my boys fussing. Sarah and Joy were nowhere to be seen and still the dishes were piled high  and I knew that none of the chores I meted out had been accomplished. As I reached the bottom stairs, I began blasting. I was yelling from the bottom of my toes.

Sarah and Joy came out of their rooms and peered over the railing to the main floor to see what all of the ruckus was about.

And it wasn’t just for this day. Seemed I had been storing up my anger for quite a while. All the children stared at me somewhat in fear and partially with humor twittering at their lips–which made me all the more angry. I did not appreciate being a source of humor to this crowd.

Of course, as soon as I quit, I was appalled at myself. What mother yells like I did? What damage had I done?

Sarah, the typical oldest child, responsible, compassionate, taking responsibility,  brought me a cup of tea, and sheepishly began smiling.

‘Mama, you know how much we all love you. I think you should consider when you feel anger and frustration building up and try to manage it–decide not to blow– just before you feel like you are going to, because it always makes you feel worse than we do.”

Does anyone else ever feel this shameful regret? After all, I am a fairly mature believer, I write about motherhood, I love my children—what comes over me at these times? Maybe I should quit writing and speaking until I have integrity, the voices whisper to me in my failure.

Sometimes I punish myself when I blow it, as though I am above sinning. I hate to hurt the feelings of my children. Just hate to do something like this.

All of us blow it most every day. We are selfish at heart, limited in virtue and all in need of forgiveness–but mostly we need the grace of living beyond our guilt.

Each of us is tempted at times to the kind of pride that pretends we are better than others. However, Jesus was so very clear about our nature and propensity to fall short in every ideal possible.
John says, “If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves.”

I am so very glad Jesus chose Peter to be the rock. Peter, falible, wrongly self-assured, and the one who abandoned Jesus. Couldn’t Jesus see His flawed character. And yet, instead of judging him by his works, Jesus judged him by his heart. Peter, the rock, who greatly failed was Jesus’ choice to be the rock of the early church. He accepted his role, after he found the gracious forgiveness of His Lord, to guide and shepherd the early church in Jerusalem–not perfectly, but with a whole heart. He gave his life for the cause of His dear friend and savior.

And so, Jesus does not judge me by my fleshly fallacies, but by my heart of love for Him, my utter dependence on His grace, my heart of gratitude for His enduring patience.

If you have blown it, and feel like a failure, walk in His wonderful grace today, even in the midst of your shortcomings. Remember, you are defined by His strength and provision, not your own limitations. It is why you need a savior.  He forgets our sin, but we remember his grace and humbly walk each day with Him.

Ponder these verses:
Peter reminds us, “Love covers a multitude of sin.” Repent and ask for forgiveness to your children and kiss them, hug them, love them and give them words of grace. You are modeling to them what they can do when they fail.

“There is therefore, now, no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” Romans 8:1

“It was for freedom that Christ set us free, therefore, keep standing firm so that you may not be subject to a yoke of slavery.” Galatians 5:1

“Nothing can separate us from the love of God,” Romans 8

May you find today, the rest and peace that comes from living into His gracious, gentle and compassionate heart.

Tuesday, August 13, 2013

Shaken Leaders Arise! I Hear a Call to "Rise Up with Expectation"

Joey LeTourneau:
Shaken Precedes Sending
I believe there is a generation of leaders arising who have been so shaken in their own lives that they will shake the world. 

Their eyes will no more be on the people, or on perception, for the fear of man has been put to death. It is a generation of leaders, young and old, female and male, shaped and scarred – who are now beginning to realize their grace for this time.  And when they had prayed, the place where they were assembled together was shaken; and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and they spoke the word of God with boldness. Acts 4:31

In Acts 4:29-34 we read of a room that was shaken, so that those within it could be sent. Shaking precedes sending. New, and renewed, shaken leaders are arising to join the Lord in a new way. 

Jesus knows a way to lead us through such narrow paths, and the shaken process we have endured will empower us to thrive there with Him, where the world is waiting for those who will show them Jesus through the love-filled scars of how God intimately met them in their own journey.

We must be leaders not focused on what we are doing, but so focused on what the Father is doing that we change the world's perception of Who He is. We have been shaken with purpose, so we will be Jesus to the world.

These are leaders who are shaken from the governing of human perception and results oriented security, whose vision is fixed instead upon the Presence of heavenly reality.

 They are leaders who unite the most differing opinions not just because of their ability or negotiations,but because of their undying focus upon their First Love.

They do not lead people together in their doctrine or opinions; they lead people directly to the Lord where all can be found together united by the beats of His heart for His people.
The world needs to taste of the grace that has been poured into our shaken places. 

God's grace is the definition of perfection in this world, so being shaken makes you fertile soil for Jesus to be revealed. These will not just be listened to for their leadership but will be followed because of the First Love whom they won't compromise in following. 

He is their Vision! They will teach the world a new way – and show us the contagious life of First Love leadership.
To Those Who Have Been Shaken:
To not be moved by the world, we have to be shaken from past mindsets of the world. New requires a process, where the promises we often wait for are mined like diamonds

When Joshua led the Israelites across the Jordan River, it was only his generation that he led. The previous generation died in the wilderness. They would not let themselves be shaken from their old vision or past mindsets to join the Lord in a new way.

Therefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and rest your hope fully upon the grace that is to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ... 1 Peter 1:13
My question is this: What if two generations had crossed over instead of one? What if two generations had taken possession of their Promised Land? What if it wasn't just the new, but also the renewed? What if two generations had taken this new ground, been fruitful, and multiplied? Imagine how much more life would have been born of the Lord!

It's not just about the "new," but like Jesus, it's about the new that comes to fulfill the old. Jesus did not come to destroy the old law but to fulfill it! The old was made new, which set the stage for widespread multiplication.

We so often talk of all Job lost and everything that he went through, and I can't imagine what it must have been like. But to me, the key to Job is found here:  Now the Lord blessed the latter days of Job more than his beginning... Job 42:12

To those who have been shaken, consider Job who experienced a latter part of his life that was more blessed than the first, he truly experienced a "latter rain" (Joel 2). We can focus on the loss the shaking has caused or, we can see it as a precursor for even greater grace revealed.
Rise Up With Expectation
I hear a call to rise up with expectation, not away from our wilderness but because of it. In God's upside down Kingdom, the wilderness of shaking is actually chosen fertile ground for next season's multiplication! 

Similar to what Peter said above, gird up the loins and old ways of your mind, and believe in the grace that is being brought to you.

Are you one of these shaken leaders God has called upon – now unmoved on the inside so you can transform culture on the outside? That is what our wilderness season's offer, for us to demand a profit from our trials that we can spend on the world. 

Let them become a wilderness of oneness, pressed to the heart of God and like a butterfly from a cocoon ready to launch out into the new. The world may have brought shaking upon you, but God will use that shaking to reveal Himself through you to the world!

To those who have been shaken during this past season of life, I want to honor you. You have been chosen. I believe the latter part of your lives will be more blessed than the former. You have been in a wilderness of oneness and prepared for launch. 

You will not only see what you lost restored, you will see it restored abundantly, and a new kind of multiplication will spring forth. Profit from the wilderness process with even greater focus on your First Love and step forward into the river Jordan. 

Your shaking has made you a new breed of leader who has abandoned the pressures of perception and expectation to live out a culture of leadership that Jesus Himself has set the course. The world around you is not just waiting for a new, great ministry; they are waiting for Christ in you, the hope of glory!

The oil did not ceaseYou are part of a new breed of leaders who will not be moved by pressure, but who will move many others by your unearthly passion and enduring love. The grace you receive into these wilderness places will be the grace the world tastes from your life, so rejoice!

Your past season may have felt like a wilderness, but to God, it's now a harvest field of promises that He wants to reveal through you to the world.  But imitate those who through faith and patience inherit the promises... Hebrews 6:12

I can only imagine what would have happened had two generations crossed over the Jordan into the Promised Land, but I believe we are about to find out. Shaken leaders arise!

Joey LeTourneau
M.A.R.K. 10:14 Family/Heavenly Hope Ministries

Email: joey.letourneau@gmail.com
Website: bringhishope.org / uncommonvision.org
Joey LeTourneau, his wife Destiny, and their four daughters live near Denver, Colorado. They travel extensively, empowering the Body of Christ to draw near to their First Love and live out the life-giving testimony of Jesus to the world around them. They desire to see the Father's heart fully revealed to the world, and through such see a multiplication of life so abundant the whole world will know the true nature of our Father! Joey has authored two books, Revolutionary Freedom, and his new release, The Life Giver.

Tuesday, August 6, 2013

There are giants in the Land, and there will be more tomorrow…..

There are giants in the Land, and there will be more tomorrow…..

Guillaime_Courtois_-_David_and_Goliath_-_Google_Art_Project
Guillaime Courtois
As long as I can remember, there have been giants in my life and in my land. Some are uglier and bigger than others, but all of them stand before me, threatening the stability and security of my life and seem greater than my ability to conquer them. A giant is a picture of those obstacles or issues that come into our lives that tempt us to live in fear, or that cause us to wonder where God has gone or that seem insurmountable. Those threatening issues that are gigantic to our heart, and  cause us to worry and lose heart.
My giants are of different sizes and different threats:
Financial; fears of how a child will turn out or if my children will indeed end up loving the Lord;  marriage stresses and pressures or misunderstandings;  deep loneliness for me or another family member; medical problems that don’t go away; relationship issues with family; sad and devastating circumstances in loved ones’ lives; weariness; and often fear of the future.
There were also many instances of giants in scripture. In Numbers 13, we read the story of Moses sending out the heads of the families, twelve leaders, to spy out the land that God had promised to give to them. Even though these men indeed found the land to be a place of milk and honey as God had promised, these leaders of their families gave a bad report to their people and said, “The land was a land of milk and honey, but there were people who were very strong and very large. ,…, We were as grasshoppers in our own sight and so we became in their sight.”their sight” (the sight of the giants). Consequently, because of the bad report, these men swayed the people to disbelieve in God’s ability to provide for them, and so the result was 40 years wandering in the desert wilderness.
Grasshopper_(2753403363)
Grasshoppers, tiny insignificant bugs in comparison to the giants.
This is such a picture of me of what happens when we see giants and don’t face them with God’s strength. We become as grasshoppers in our hearts. We become small minded, fearful, ineffective. Then, God gives us over to our faithlessness and we end up “wandering in the wilderness.” Faithlessness always leads to a wilderness of soul.
As I see it, in scripture, giants gave people a great opportunity to glorify God–to see His faithfulness, to believe in His goodness, to conquer. We really can’t walk with God and have fear and disbelief at the same time. Our heart has only enough room for one of the other. I often think people say to me, “I feel like God is far off from me and doesn’t even hear my prayers”, when often, we have left His presence and companionship by disbelieving Him in the midst of our fears and being overwhelmed.
Caleb and Joshua had different eyes in their hearts–they saw the giants, but they saw God and His strength more clearly. They believed He could conquer and lead them in victory. Because of their faith, they were the only men who were allowed to go into the promised land after the 40 years of discipline were completed.
God’s response to the disbelieving Israelites was this:
Surely all the en who have seen my glory and y signs, which I performed in Egypt and in the wilderness, yet have put me to the test these ten times and have not listened to my voice.
Yikes–how often have I seen God’s faithfulness in my own life and then looked at the next giant with fear and faithlessness as though God had never worked in my life! Sometimes I just get tired of giants and want to coast in my life. Am I testing and grumbling against Him when the giants come, or resting and waiting patiently for His solutions because I see Him in His glory and faithfulness and lovingkindness?
Here God says that disbelief is evil! He is the one who also told us, “Now, faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.,…, Without faith, it is impossible to please Him, for He who comes to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him.” Hebrews 11: 1, 6
We all know the story of David, too. Around 40, 000 soldiers, strong men, faced Goliath, the giant, and with their eyes, they saw someone who could not be defeated. Yet, David saw him and in the eyes of his heart, he immediately saw something different. His response to Goliath was, “For who is this uncircumcised Philistine, that He should taunt the armies of the living God?” ( I Samuel 17: 26; 45-46) He saw Goliath as an opportunity to show His faith in the one true God and in His strength. When he was killing Goliath, he said, “You come to me with a sword and a spear and a javelin, but I come to you in the name of the Lord of Hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have taunted. This day, God will deliver you in my hands.”
So that is how I am supposed to face my giants, see them as taunting God’s realities in my life, but facing them in the name of the Lord of Hosts–the Lord who leads armies of angels, the strong and mighty God who is able to conquer all the giants in my life. 
I am learning that God is stronger than all of my giants. That it is a waste of time to live by fear. That when I give my giants into His hands I can find rest for my soul as Jesus found rest in the boat in the middle of the storm.
But where does this battle take place? In my heart.
When I am alone in my bedroom pondering my issues, feeling darkness, but knowing that God sees me and sees the battle–that He knows when I choose to say, “I will believe–even though I don’t feel faith, I will choose today to praise you–to put one foot in front of the other, to be grateful, by faith, for your presence, for this child, this circumstance–you see my heart–you alone–today I will believe in the Lord of hosts working amongst my giants to slay them.
Old giants will be defeated. New ones will come.

But, this life, these giants, are the best way I have to live a story of faith and to show God’s glorythis is the way I will model faith in my home, so that my children can learn how to face their giants.
Today, I will look my giants in the face and see God’s shadow towering over them, the Lord of Hosts fighting for me–see God’s purposes in the midst, learn to grow stronger and see them conquered as He has conquered so many in the past.
What are your giants? How are you facing them?

Friday, August 2, 2013

A Mistaken Identity

Karen Ehman
August 2, 2013
A Mistaken Identity
Karen Ehman
"He who belongs to God hears what God says." John 8:47a (NIV 1984)
I poured a cup of coffee and logged on to my computer to peek at a friend's Facebook page.
When I tried hopping over to see her latest pictures, I couldn't get her name to appear in the search bar. I was puzzled. This had always worked before. Glancing at the top of the screen, I realized I wasn't logged in to my own account. My son had forgotten to sign off when he'd been on earlier, so I was actually logged in as him instead.
I couldn't get where I wanted to go because I had a mistaken identity.
With a quick click of a mouse, I switched accounts and used Facebook as "me." Under the right identity, I was free to view friends' pages, leave comments with ease and get where I wanted to go.
Sometimes in life we encounter the same issue-a mistaken identity keeps us from living out God's best for our lives. This may happen when a voice from our past or our own negative self-talk causes us to forget our identity in Christ. We log into our day and encounter wrong thinking that's not in sync with who we are. Those wrong thoughts lead us to doubt God's promise of a life filled with security. We can question our value that is rooted deep in His heart toward us.
Instead of the truth of our identity, we hear: You can't do that. You aren't good enough. You'll never change. Why can't you be more like your sister? If only you were more ____________ instead of so ___________.
When self-doubt screams and discouragement sets in, we need to recognize what's happening, log out of the lies we believe and log into God's truth. It's the only way to live in our true identity so we can navigate our lives according to God's Word.
Here are some truths we can tell ourselves to remember who we are: I am the daughter of the Most High God. I am loved, redeemed and renewed. I am chosen, blameless and holy. I was bought at a great price. God knows me thoroughly and yet loves me completely. He has plans for my future that include hope, not harm; blessings, not banishment. I belong to Him.
John 8:47a tells us, "He who belongs to God hears what God says" (NIV 1984). We need to listen to His Word, let it take root in our minds and allow it to eradicate any untrue, destructive thought patterns. Replacing the negative chatter with assuring scriptures will gently, but firmly, remind us we are children of God.
Yes, if we "belong to God" we will hear what He says. As we log into His truths daily, no longer will we mistake our identity. We will know the confident reality of who we are in Christ.
Dear Lord, when I am tempted to think of myself in a way that is neither healthy nor true, remind me both of who I am and to Whom I belong. In Jesus' Name, Amen.