Identification Please

People often throw out the phrase "identity in Christ" and I never know what that means. They say they know their identity in Christ. If that were a multiple choice question (What is your identity in Christ?) I don't even know what the choices would be. If the question were "what's your favorite color?" or "What state were you born in?" or even "What's your favorite part or verse in the bible?" I would at least know what some possibilities would be: Blue or green, Wisconsin or California, Romans 12:2 or 1 Timothy 5:2.

As I often do with overused statements and cliche's I tried to reword the statement so that I could understand it in a way that makes sense. I asked myself, "If God issued my ID card and not the state of MN, what would it say about me on that card?" My first thought was that I am a son, a brother, an ex-husband, a coach, and a friend.

That's all well and good, but those are just my relationships to other people. Who does God say that I am? I am a child of God, a son, an heir to the Kingdom, the bride of Christ. I am a man who seeks after God's heart. I am a disciple, a missionary, a servant. Satan has no power over me and sin's chains have been broken. I think that's a pretty sweet identity.

I'm also rereading Eldridge's "Wild at Heart" and he talks about "taking the mask off". I guess he means that we act in a way that is not who we are to hide. Hide what or from what...? I guess it's to hide our wounds and to hide who we actually are. What lies about the world or about myself am I trying to hide? What wound(s) am I hiding or compensating for...? Boy, those are tough questions that I just don't have answers to.

What do these two separate questions/comments have in common? I guess it's about who we are and who we act like we are. And I guess even who we think that we are, even though we have no idea.

God's will and the open door

I've been meditating on Romans 12:2 the past few days* and a thought occured to me that when you are faced with a number of open doors that all seem like they are in line with God's overall plan for humanity (ie: loving God, loving your neighbor, and fullfilling the great commission) just pick one and charge through it full blast, guns blazing. There's no need to wait around to figure out which one God wants you to do.

*Rom 12:2 - "Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what the will of God is - His good, pleasing and perfect will."

If I could go back to any one moment in history...

I was paging through the book of Joshua in the bible the other day and the fall of Jericho caught my attention, so I read it more closely. It starts like this: Now when Joshua was near Jericho, he looked up and saw a man standing in front of him with a drawn sword in his hand. Joshua went up to him and asked, "Are you for us or for our enemies?" "Neither," he replied, "but as commander of the army of the Lord I have now come."

WOW!!! Can you imagine that!!!? I mean, of course there are a ton of other cool moments that it would be great to see (the transfiguration, the burning bush and probably a ton of others now that I think of it), but seriously, The angel who is the commander of the army of the Lord. Okay, first of all angels...? How powerful must they be? And God? No one/Nothing more powerful! And this guy is the commander of God's army? Wow! All I'm saying is that is one moment in history that I would have liked to been there for!

Beautiful picture

I saw the most beautiful picture of the church (the body of Christ) tonight! The church was doing what it was made to do; build each other up and glorify God. An empty room filled with nothing but college students, about 80 of them, scattered throughout the room. All of them there for the purpose of worshiping God with a worship team made up of their peers. A break in the music; and a man, the pastor for college students at this church, says that he feels there are people in the room that need encouragement and to be prayed over. The keyboard player beautifully plays underneath it all while students come up front for prayer and encouragement. After a good amount of time has passed and many have been up front the students begin to gather around each other to pray for their friends. A girl in the corner stands with her hands high and her eyes closed swaying back and forth as if dancing with God. Others sit on their knees in silent prayer. What a beautiful picture of unity in the body of Christ; the very thing that was prayed for at the beginning of the evening: Romans 15:5 - May the God who gives you endurance and encouragement give you a spirit of unity among yourselves as you follow Christ Jesus, so that with one heart and mouth you may glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Giving your very best

I'm a coach. And sometimes what I see and experience makes me think, "Is it all about winning and losing? Is that the greatest purpose of what I do? Or of sports?" Maybe it's about giving your very best. If you believe that God created you, don't you think you owe it to Him to give your best? Even if you don't believe that, don't you at least owe it to yourself? I don't remember the times I won or lost so much as the times I gave it my all or just gave up...

What's your motivation? Why do you do anything? Satisfaction? Glory? Reward? Whether God allows you to be successful or not, He deserves to be praised either way!

Ask one thing of yourself. Give your very best every day. When you fail to do that you are letting yourself down, and possibly others around you. Win or lose you can't expect any more from yourself than your very best effort. When you've given your best, that alone is something to be proud of. Never give up! Press on toward the goal!

Romans 15:20

Romans 15:20; Paul says, "It has always been my ambition to preach the gospel where Christ was not known, so that I would not be building on someone else's foundation."

That verse summarizes how I've always felt about missions. Taking the gospel to people who've never heard Jesus' name. I heard someone say once that, "No one deserves to hear the gospel twice until every person on Earth has heard it once." That's bold and maybe a bit harsh, but I think I agree with it. I think, "What good could I do in a group who hasn't been reached? Maybe I should just join with someone else's effort."

I feel like I can't argue with someone who's already made up their mind about God, but I would love to talk to someone who's never heard of Him, or who believes in a false god.

Just some randomness that I thought I'd write down...

Ted Haggard

Do you assume that everyone that teaches you something is able to execute every instruction that they give you without flaw every single time? If you’re in sales does your sales trainer ever make a mistake and you then proceed to say that that person is a fake and a liar because they messed up a sale? I’m a coach. Do you think that just because I know how to teach someone else how to pole vault or long jump that I can execute a perfect pole vault or long jump once, let alone many times over? Of course not! I’m an awful pole vaulter and my long jump form is terrible. Just because someone teaches something that does not mean that they themselves can perfectly perform that task. Ted Haggard teaches people (among other things) how to live a righteous life before God. That certainly doesn’t mean he himself is able to do so. Shouldn’t we give a pastor the same grace in failure that we give a teacher or a coach?