Our Image in Christ

“Don’t you believe that I am in the Father, and that the Father is in Me? The words I say to you I do not speak on My own authority. Rather, it is the Father, living in Me, who is doing His work.”  -John 14:10

Have you ever found yourself lost in something?  We can often find ourselves lost in movies, entertainment, work, or other activities.  It isn’t wrong to be completely focused on something; in fact God calls us to work diligently and faithfully.

But when something consumes us before God, it can cause identity issues, limiting us from God’s unlimited power and presence in our lives.

Recently I was sitting in church during worship asking God some questions about certain things that were going on in my life.  "Look to Me," I heard Him say. At that moment, a gush of revelation about being "in Christ" came over me. 

"Your image in Me is going to look different than anybody else.  Don’t look to others - look to Me.  I am the source of your true identity."  When we look to Jesus, we don’t look to anything else to find or define ourselves.  We are defined by God and His plan for our lives. We can’t look to others for our identity because God has made us each unique.  It is okay to honor someone who has helped you in your walk, and it is okay to look to an admirable person as a good example.  But, when we cross the line into comparing ourselves and trying to live exactly how they live and do the things they do in order to earn acceptance by others, we are headed for trouble. God made us each uniquely, with a unique call and a unique set of gifts for our life.  This is not to say we do not live blameless, holy lives. 

When we look to Christ, the old image of our old self passes away.  (2 Cor 5:17) We become a new creation in Him.  We are no longer bound by old ways of thinking - we are released to live life to its fullest potential.  Our faith in Christ releases us to pursue all we’ve been given with everything we are.  Our weaknesses are overcome by His image being released in us.    If we are in Him then He is in us - and our true identity with shine through.  We find ourselves in Him.  "Lose your life to find it," (Matt 10:39) means when we lose ourselves in Him we find all we were really meant to be. 

Do you find your image in Christ?  Let Him help you discover all you were meant to be in Him today. 

Smaller Story vs. Larger Story

"Going on from there, he saw two other brothers, James son of Zebedee and his brother John. They were in a boat with their father Zebedee, preparing their nets. Jesus called them, and immediately they left the boat and their father and followed him."  -Matthew 4:21&22

Each of us has a story.  When we have completed our lives here on earth, a story will have been written.  But, what we do today determines whether we will have lived our smaller story, or whether we stepped out into our larger story.

What is a larger or smaller story?  A smaller story is written when we accept the adversity life has handed us as reality.  We stay stuck in ruts unable to move forward due to our feelings about where we are.  We let our circumstances and past define us, instead of letting God define our now and our future.  We hold on the grudges and resentment citing other people to blame for our problems.  We accept mediocrity.  We likely don't enjoy where we are in life, but don't have much hope about the future.

In contrast, if living our smaller story is about doubt and defeat, living our larger story is all about faith and victory.  It takes much more faith to walk in our larger story, even if we believed in Jesus in the first place.  There are many people who believe in Jesus but stop there.  They don't have the faith that He can transform their lives. 

If we want to live extraordinary lives in Christ, then we have to have the belief that anything is possible, no matter what we've seen before.  This may involved a process of emotional healing and restoration, training in the things of God, and the letting go of past hurts and resentments through the power of the cross.  This may involve trying new things and stepping out into situations that are uncomfortable for us. Whatever it is, if we want to step into our larger story, discomfort and faith is defininitely a part of this process.

Which story are you living?  Are you living your smaller or larger story?  Pray and ask God today to bring you into the larger story He intends for your life.

The Religious Spirit and Our Calling

"What sorrow awaits you experts in religious law! For you remove the key to knowledge from the people. You don't enter the Kingdom yourselves, and you prevent others from entering." -Luke 11:52

Jesus was very popular among the religious leaders of his day.  However, it was not a positive popularity.  The Pharisees, because their power was threatened by Jesus, were the ones who plotted to kill Him.  The scripture says they hated him - they wanted nothing more than to put him away.  But it was the people who stalled the process of Jesus' crucifixion, because many believed He was the Messiah.

This gives us a weighty example about the truth of the religious spirit - it seeks to destroy true works of God in us, and it seeks to destroy our destiny. It reinforces the lie that we are required to perform religious rituals or duties in order to gain acceptance by God.

A man my dad knows owns a film studio in Hollywood.  He said for 30 years he felt ostracized in Hollywood - he was a black sheep to the church because he worked in Hollywood, and he was also outcast by the Jewish film producers in the area because he was a Christian. 

But the fact of the matter was, he was right where God wanted him to be.  When my dad met him and told him he had one of the greatest opportunities to make uplifting films that could change culture and draw people to hunger after Jesus, he said, "Boy, I wish I had known you 25 years ago." He had finally felt affirmed in his destiny.

Can you see any places where the religious spirit has operated in your life, living out rules and regulations in exchange for relationship and destiny?  Pray that God will redeem any areas where this has caused hurt, and that God would reveal His ultimate destiny for you, redeeming and restoring it for His ultimate glory.

“RELIGION: I obey; therefore, I am accepted. // GOSPEL: I am accepted; therefore, I obey.” - Caterina Santoro

Focus & Purpose

“God is mighty, but despises no one; He is mighty, and firm in His purpose.” -Job 36:5

Each of us has a call, an assignment from heaven for our lives.  We may or may not know what it is, but all of us have one thing in common. We have time – a finite amount of it. 

Whether or not you’ve decided on your path in life, God certainly made no mistake when He made you.  It says in the Bible through the example of Jeremiah’s that He fashioned us before we were born, and has a plan for our lives. (Jeremiah 1:5)

The place where our gifts, talents and God’s dream for our lives collide is called Convergence.  Experts say that just 20% of us will every reach this point in our lives.

You may even be involved in a “good” thing right now.  But is this God’s thing for your life?

That is why it is so important to examine where we focus, where we spend our time.  If you know what God has in mind, or you have a general idea, are you spending time in these pursuits? If you’re not sure what it is yet, are you seeking God and discovering and developing the gifts and talents He’s given you?

I have a good friend whose father recently passed.  She said that at the very end of his life he regretted never getting involved in computers, his true passion.  How awful would it be to get to the end of our lives and think, “I wish I would have pursued such and such.”  I never want to be in that place! “The biggest mistake people make is not making a living at doing what they most enjoy.”- Malcom Forbes

Do everything you can to stay focused on the things that make you the most alive.  Do everything you can to seek God out in your life. Our purpose is tied up with others – could it be possible that God is birthing a purpose in you “for such a time as this”? (Esther 4:14)

What Is My Purpose?

“But he said, “I must proclaim the good news of the kingdom of God to the other towns also, because that is why I was sent.”   -Luke 4:43

Do you know your purpose?  Do you know that God made you with a specific idea in mind? There is no doubt that each of us is unique. But have you ever asked yourself why?

Sometimes it is baffling to try to figure out specifically why God made each of us.  But, it is a wonderful, lifelong journey of self-discovery.  Our gifts and talents collide with our passions, relationships, and an assignment from heaven.  Once we choose God, the journey doesn’t end there.  It is only the beginning.  The Bible says He has great plans for each of His children. (Jer 29:11) And just as Jesus’ was and is, our identity is unique in Christ. (Romans 1:2)

There are many stories in the Bible where God ordained someone for a particular task.  The problem with us is many of us don’t get to fully walk in the purpose God designed specifically for us.  We settle for doing tasks that keep us busy, versus having a real impact in the kingdom. We go to church on Sunday, go home and love our family. But this is the smaller story.  God has a much bigger story in mind.

Mark Driscoll said in a recent sermon: “If Satan can’t make you sin, he will keep you busy. Not doing bad things, but neglecting first things.”  What is the passion that is burning on your heart?  What is the thing that you most enjoy that collides with your gifts, talents, and abilities?

Churches have a purpose. Cities have a purpose.  Nations have a purpose.  Our purpose is tied up in our community, where we live, what church we attend, and what country we live in.  Even what school we go to.  God has a purpose for everyone on this planet, no matter how it looks right now.  God invites us to live our His purposes in our lives, so that we can be fruitful, peace-filled followers of His seeking to reclaim His kingdom on the earth, to bring heaven to earth. (Matt 6:10)

Do you know your purpose?  If you don’t know, I invite you to find out, through prayer, reading the word, trying new things, and perhaps using some tools to help you such as self-assessments.  We can live full, abundant lives living in our purpose.  After all, isn’t that following Christ’s example?

Righteous Anger

"And 'don't sin by letting anger control you.' Don’t let the sun go down while you are still angry”  -Ephesians 4:26

What makes you mad? Often we don't talk about getting angry in Christian circles because it's an uncomfortable topic.  But, if we're true followers of Christ, isn't it true that certain things should make us angry?

I'm not talking about the kind of anger where we didn't get our way.  I'm talking about things that really get you - injustices like child trafficking, a lack of ethical business practices, corruption, abuse in relationships, bullying, an inaccurate view of God - these are the types of issues that need solving in our society.  I think when we recognize what angers us, it is a big key to our destiny and calling.

Jesus got angry. Jesus actually got angry at several things.  This most notable example is when He entered the table and ran out all the money changers.  He said, “The scriptures declare, ‘My temple will be called a house of prayer,’ but you have turned it into a den of thieves!” (Matthew 21:18&19)  The money changers didn’t care about people’s spiritual growth. Jesus was angered by their greed.

But Jesus was probably the most angry with the Pharisees, the religious leaders of the day.  He said to them, “What sorrow awaits you teachers of religious law and you Pharisees. Hypocrites! For you shut the door of the Kingdom of Heaven in people’s faces. You won’t go in yourselves, and you don’t let others enter either.” Matthew 23:13  We never see Jesus angry with sinners.  But He was angry with the Pharisees.  He was angry with them for misrepresenting God, for seeking out man’s approval more than God’s, for failing to recognize the kingdom of God among them, and for their overall corruption and failing to look after the poor and the widows.

What in today's world makes you righteously angry?  It could be a clue to connect you to a problem that you are called to solve.

Forgetting the Former Things

“Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past.  See, I am doing a new thing!  Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland.  Is 43:18-20

Are there things from your past that you keep going back to?  Old mistakes, past regrets, personal failures, or things that you still feel guilt over? Are there things that you need to “forget” or stop dwelling on in your life?

In the Old Testament, when the Israelites were far away from God, rebelling and worshipping other gods, the prophet Isaiah was one of the prophets to call them into account. But, even though the Israelites had done horrible things, (even sacrificing their children to idols! Ezekiel 16:20), God was willing to give them another chance. 

“‘Come now, let’s settle this,’ says the Lord. ‘Though your sins are like scarlet, I will make them as white as snow.  Though they are red like crimson,  I will make them as white as wool.’” - Isaiah 1:18

Sometimes we are unable to fully move forward in life because we are continually looking behind us.  Mistakes, regrets, and avoidable circumstances may continue to plague us even after we’ve asked forgiveness and laid it to rest - even against ourselves! But the fact of the matter is, when the past is behind us, and we’ve been forgiven, it really is no more.   Satan wants our past and present to be our future. But God always sees us for who we are becoming.

Are you ready to receive God’s forgiveness, and decide to let go of the “former things”? Pray and ask God to give you the strength and grace to leave the past behind you.