What identity do you live by? We live out of who we believe we are. So if you believe you are unlovable and not worthy, you will live like it. If you believe you are the dumb one or the weak one, you will live like it. What identity are you living out of right now?
Watch, download or listen to True Identity to hear more.
There is real tension in the Christian life where we tend to swing our pendulum one way or another. "I don't have to worry about what I've done because God is a God of grace and He's going to forgive me." "I'm going to keep God's law because He is just." So here's the question: how do we engage in the Christian experience? By grace? Or by law?
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In all of Paul's letters, he always starts out with theology. And theology gets a bad rap—there's all these rules and ideas and convictions... we don't agree with everything. But the truth is theology is just a way of understanding who God is and how we relate with Him. Paul always follows up with practical steps for how to live out the mercy and grace of God. But in order to do the practical things, we have to have a clear understanding of the theology.
Watch, download or listen to Christ Our Identity to hear more.
"Be heavenly minded." Let's be honest. Being heavenly minded is not a character trait we tend to like. We like people who are grounded. Realists. People who keep their heads out of the clouds. Why? Well, if eternity is a reality then it makes no sense to shrink our life and our identity down to the needs and wants of this little moment we have called life.
How was your 2016? What happened? How did it go? It seems like the consensus on social media is that 2016 was full of painful moments. But many of us welcomed children and grandchildren while others celebrated wedding days and anniversaries. How do we remember the year? Well, ask yourself this question: what did God do? Consider how God might have been present in both the good times and the bad. And how might we live differently this new year if God was at the forefront of our minds?
One of the things that makes Christmas so distinct is the tradition of gift-giving. There are many holidays throughout the year that we celebrate, but Christmas is the only one during which we give gifts. And we don't tell each other what we're getting for each other. We wrap it. Put it under the tree. Wait till Christmas morning. Give our family and friends something special. And that is what the Christmas story is. The Savior didn't just come. He was given.
It's easy for Christmas to become irrelevant. Let's be real—life doesn't turn out like we want it to. Our expectations aren't met. We didn't get to see the people we wanted to see. This time of year really has a way of revealing all of our deepest fears and insecurities. If we're not careful, we allow Christmas to become plastic, and we let the season just be a story. We miss out on the reality that it is meaningful, there is a purpose and God wants to do something in our lives.
Watch, download or listen to Heaven Opens to hear more.
