Stomping Out the Darkness: Discover Your True Identity in Christ and Stop Putting Up with the World’s Garbage

Read the opening story about Claire and then answer the following questions:

· What does my (Neil’s) account of Claire teach you?

· What was Claire’s “secret”?

· Claire accepted herself for who God said she was in Christ—His child. She also confidently committed herself to God’s main goal for her life—to be like Christ and to love people. Can you say the same about yourself?

· What keeps you from being more like Claire?

Our guess is that, like most Christians and unlike Claire, you struggle to accept who you are. You don’t simply accept yourself as a child of God. We’d also guess that, unlike Claire, you find it hard to be focused primarily on God’s call to be like Christ and love other people. Claire’s experience reminds us how important it is to base our Christian lives on what we believe instead of how we behave. We need a firm grip on what God says about who we are before we will experience much success at living the Christian life.

BELIEF BEFORE BEHAVIOR

A healthy Christian lifestyle is the result of a healthy Christian belief system, not the other way around. If what we believe about God and ourselves is shaky, then our day-to-day behavior will be shaky.

Get a Grip on God’s Grace. “Grace” is one of those words you may have heard a lot but no one’s ever really defined, and you’ve never asked because you felt you should already know what it means! Well, a classic definition of “grace” is “unmerited favor.” Grace is goodness we receive that we don’t deserve and couldn’t earn. It’s God’s gift of forgiveness and eternal life through the death of His Son, Jesus.

· Remember Myndee Hudson? What about her story hit you the hardest? Be specific.

· What has happened in your life to help you realize what’s really important?

· To quote Myndee, “When you know you’re going to die, you only care about things that are going to last. Before I was sick, Jesus was only a part of my life. Now He’s everything to me.” Is Jesus only a part of your life? Or is He everything to you?

· What do your answers tell you about yourself and how you’re living life?

Getting right with God means settling once and for all the issue that God is your loving Father. You are a child of God, you are created in His image, and you have been declared righteous by Him because you have put your trust in Christ.

· When you shift your focus away from your identity as God’s child and try to be something you’re not or wish you were someone else, you’ll struggle. What interferes with your focus on the truth that you are God’s child?

· Read again these powerful truths: We don’t serve God to gain His acceptance; we are accepted, so we serve God. We don’t follow Him in order to be loved; we are loved, so we follow Him. What are you doing to earn God’s acceptance?

· What are you doing to earn His love?

Make your answers to the two previous questions the topic of a prayer. Ask God to remove the barriers to your belief that you are His child. Ask Him to free you from feeling you have to earn His acceptance and love. And ask Him to protect you from Satan’s efforts to convince you that you are unworthy and will always be unacceptable to God. Remember—you are a saint whom God has declared righteous. Believing this truth about your identity will set you free.

The Fallout from God’s Grace. God’s grace has far-reaching effects on our lives, as the list of truths that begins on page 34 suggests. Review this list and then answer the following questions:

· Which one or two of these “Since I Am in Christ” statements are the most encouraging to you today? Why?

· Which one or two of these “Since I Am in Christ” statements are the most challenging to you today? Why?

· Which one or two of these “Since I Am in Christ” statements are the hardest for you to believe? Why?

Understanding who you are in Christ won’t change the circumstances of your life. But your perception of your identity makes a big difference in your success at dealing with the challenges and conflicts that come your way.

THERE’S A DIFFERENCE

You are a child of God—period. There’s absolutely nothing you can do to make yourself more a child of God. But you can enjoy a more harmonious relationship with God if you diligently try to obey Him.

· What can you do to change your relationship with your heavenly Father? (Yes, this is a trick question.)

· What can you do to affect how well you get along with your heavenly Father? Think about your relationship to your earthly father or my (Neil’s) relationship to my father.

BELIEVE WHAT YOU PERCEIVE IN OTHERS

As important as it is for you to believe in your true identity as a child of God, it is equally important that you see other Christians for who they are and treat them the way they should be treated. Gulp!

· Okay, who in the course of your week could you have treated more like the child of God that they are?

· What did the story of Miss Thompson and Teddy teach you about how we are to treat other people?

· Write out Ephesians 4:29. When you blew it, who has given you grace through his or her words? Who has loved you no matter what you did or didn’t do?

· Who can you, a new recruit for God’s construction crew, build up through your words today? Do it!

BELIEVING THE TRUTH ABOUT YOURSELF

Remember Jenny? At what stage of Jenny’s transformation are you right now? Are you …

· Depressed, wondering where to turn?

· Waiting for someone to affirm your value to God?

· Beginning to understand that you are a child of God, no better and no worse than any other of His children?

· Walking by faith, seeing yourself for who you really are in Christ?

· Wherever you see yourself along this time line from Jenny’s life, think about where you want to be. What goals do you have for your walk of faith? Choose one goal and identify the next step you will take toward reaching that goal. Now take that step!

You are a righteous and accepted child of God—and that is solid truth from the Bible. Read and reread the identity statements listed in the second and third chapters of this book. See yourself in them. Believe them. Walk in them. As you walk by faith, your behavior as a Christian will begin to conform to what you believe.

START STOMPING!

This Test Could Change Your Life. Take the test that I (Dave) challenged Kristy to take, and see what happens. Read aloud the “Since I Am in Christ” statements and really listen to what God is saying to you about you.

Tune-Up Time! How harmonious is your relationship with God right now? Disobedience means disharmony. Where are you being disobedient? Fess up! Receive forgiveness! Enjoy harmony with God.

Find a Friend. Living a Christian life isn’t easy, so don’t try to do it alone. Find a friend—someone who knows the Lord and has walked closely with Him for a good while—and let this person know where you’re at and what you need. Do you need affirmation and encouragement like Jenny did? Do you struggle to believe you’re valuable to God? Do you need help obeying God’s commands in a certain area of your life? Do you need prayer? Let this person give you the support you need. Give him or her the opportunity to be an active member of God’s construction crew.

God, I feel like the father who wanted Jesus to heal his sick boy (see Mark 9:14-27). Like that dad who believed You could heal his son, I believe You can help me. But also like that dad who said, “If you can do anything …” I need help with my unbelief. I believe, God, that I am Your child. Help my unbelief. Amen.

STRENGTH GIVERS

These words are for you and about you. As you read each day’s verse, ask yourself, “How would my life be different if I could live out this truth?”—and ask God to help you do so.

Monday:	1 Corinthians 6:19-20
Tuesday:	2 Corinthians 5:21
Wednesday:	Ephesians 1:4
Thursday:	Ephesians 1:7-8
Friday:	Romans 5:1