WHAT DO WE NEED, VS. WHAT DO WE REALLY NEED?: Thoughts on our real identity. 30 DEC 2016

Perhaps the title’s question might also be framed: who are we really? For who we really are, determines what we really need. Quite often people enthrone themselves & worship themselves…in such a case, he is a false god.(A) Or we restrict ourselves to a small limited view of ourselves, only seeing the small mundane events of things, and never reaching for the higher, bigger aspects of life. In this case, we are settling for less…for Almighty God sees that we could be so much more, but we fail to see how His glory can transform our lives into something beyond comprehension. To insure that we don’t appreciate what we can become–Satan distracts us with petty carnal things; to use a biology analogy…”Stay in your cocoon!…Don’t transform into a butterfly!” So our priorities are focused on the trivial. Like Esau, we sell our glorious transcendent spiritual birthright for bowls of carnal pottage. And of this people say, “I have to live in the real world…not even realizing there is a more real world that they are missing. One of the positives of competition, is it gets people out of themselves to see beyond themselves. We need to open our spiritual eyes & see way beyond our limited carnal selves. Or to flip things around, How do you think God sees you at this moment??

FAITH. Yes, God in His holiness sees we are sinners. But we don’t need a change of behavior; we need a change of identity. Yet life is like a big masked ball with Him seeing through all the masks & costumes. God sees two categories: “For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive.”(B) Our first birth creates a son of a man of sin, & with sin comes death. The second (new) birth creates a child of a sinless man. “For by grace are ye saved through faith;…it is the gift of God.”(C) As this just stated, God’s grace (favor) comes through faith. But not all faith is saving faith…there is a dead faith (D) and a temporary faith.(E) There is even a mental/intellectual belief in God that fails to save.(F) But if we have that confidence & assurance of the Holy Spirit in our lives, that comes from real faith, we can “…then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy & find grace to help in our time of need.”(G) Where is our identity? Is it in Christ, or somewhere else? If your identity is in Christ, and He were introducing you around heaven…how would he introduce you?? Would He use the labels the world gives you, or would He view you from His own spiritually advanced perspective of unconditional love?

FINAL THOUGHT. I hope you find the real thing…and that your self image of who you are expands to the potential God’s sees in you. He has a big kingdom, not the small world that so many of us cling to. And the music of His Spirit will inspire your heart & transform your life. You may just become His dance partner. Be blessed my friend.

(A) EX 20:4, MT 16:24-26 (B) 1 COR 15:22 (C) EPH 2:8-9 (D) JAS 2:17, NUM 3 (E) LK 8:13, NUM 2 (F) JAS 2:19 (G) HEB 4:16