Monthly Archives: January 2017

I want to thank Mo from the Alternative Church (Google+) for helping bring this into focus for me:

Have you ever been troubled by these verses…?

“To him who overcomes,
…I will give the right to eat from the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God!
…will not be hurt at all by the second death!
…will be dressed in white.
…I will never blot out his name from the book of life,
…I will acknowledge his name before My Father and His angels!
…I will be his God and he will be my son!”
~Revelation 2 & 3

I have been troubled by them! Wait a second! What happened to being saved by grace through faith? What happened to “believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved”?

Once upon a time these passages confused and frightened me because I did not see myself as having the strength to overcome. Here’s what I failed to comprehend:

We are designed to overcome. It is God’s purpose that we overcome. It is our destiny as sons and daughters of God. It is who we are. It is what we do.

How? God grants His children vigorous faith. Mustard seed faith grows inside us. God prepares us for what we face. David vanquished the lion and the bear before he took on Goliath.

The just shall live by faith. Our job is to say yes to Him now, while He may be found. When the mighty waters rise, they will not reach us. That is God’s gift to His children. He will make us strong when we need His strength to go on.

Your identity: You are an overcomer. That’s who you are.

Bible trivia:
Answer from last time: Just as the Bible has 66 books, Isaiah has 66 chapters.
New question: God told this leader to remove all but 300 of his 32,000 soldiers. With those 300, he defeated a huge army. Who is this leader?

People lose their God-given identity in many, many different ways. Here’s my story:

I’m sure my parents thought of me as a model child. I was super compliant, eager to please, on my best behavior at (almost) all times.

What they didn’t know, and couldn’t know, was this: I was slowly losing my own identity. Dwight Clough was being slowly erased and all that was left was compliance.

As I grew up, I tried to transfer this compliance to my relationship with God. “Whatever You want me to do, God, I’ll do it. Just name it. Just tell me what to do.”

Sounds good, huh? Well, it wasn’t really.

As I learned to listen to God’s Spirit, He asked me the same question over and over again. “What do you want, Dwight?”

At first, I tried to say, “It doesn’t matter. Whatever You want, that’s what I want.”

But God wasn’t buying it. He said to me, “I can do anything. But I’m not going to do anything until you tell Me what you want.”

To me, this is a precious gift. In this way (and in many other ways), God has been restoring my identity as His son. As a royal son of God, I have a right to ask my Father for things. He has a right to say no, but I have a right to ask.

People tell me I could be the model employee—eager to please, compliant, bright, super loyal. But instead, God has taken me into the world of self employment where compliance doesn’t count for much. So self-employment doesn’t come naturally to me; sometimes I struggle with it. But when I get discouraged, He helps get me back on my feet and says, “Stay in the game until you win.”

That’s what we do—you and I. We win. That’s who we are.

God restores our broken identities in many, many different ways. Your story may look very different than mine, but I can guarantee you that your identity is under assault and God is in the process of repairing it.

More next time…

Bible trivia:
Answer from last time: Jesus’ first recorded miracle was turning water into wine.
New question: How is the book of Isaiah like the whole Bible?

Hi

For the next few posts, I want to focus on the topic: Reclaiming your lost identity.

But I need your help. When you hear the topic, “reclaiming your lost identity,” what comes to your mind? People talk about our identity in Christ. What is that? Is it important? Does it make any difference in the world where you really live? Do you think people believe lies about who they are? What kind of lies?

Let me know what you think.

Dwight

Bible trivia:
Answer from last time: The serpent and the donkey were each used one time to speak a message to a human.
New question: What was Jesus’ first recorded miracle?

… the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream. “Get up,” He said, “take the child and His mother and escape …” Matthew 2:13

I like to play chess with my brother, even though he is a much better player than I am. I plan out how I’m going to trap him, and sometimes he plays along. He lets me trap him. But what I don’t realize is that when the trap is over, his pieces will be exactly where he wants them to be and his position will be stronger than ever.

Herod tries to trap God’s Messiah. Sometimes you wonder how people can get these ideas in their heads. Herod genuinely thought he could eliminate God’s Son?

God brings the Magi along to finance a trip to Egypt. He lets Herod spring his trap, and the outcome puts everything exactly where God wants it to be.

How much notice did Joseph get? About 20 minutes. Joseph didn’t need to know any sooner. Sometimes it will be the same with us. God has a plan, but He might not tell us what it is until He’s ready for us to do something. God has already done the hard work. He’s figured out the winning strategy. All we have to do is join the adventure when He taps us on the shoulder.

Bible trivia:
Answer from last time: At the Kerith Ravine (Cherith Brook) the ravens fed Elijah.
New question: According to the Bible, what do the serpent and the donkey have in common?

“…the kingdom of God is within you.” Luke 17:21

On Christmas Day the presents were wrapped with care. Some had beautiful bows and ribbons, some are plainly wrapped. But the beauty of the outward package does not always predict the delight that will be produced by what is inside.

So also is the work of God. His most important work is hidden deep inside us. We look at each other and see the wrapping, and, most of the time, we can only guess what is inside. The scriptures tell us that the children of God will be revealed. What does that mean? That means that the great work of God inside you and inside me will someday put on display. The wonder of His love will sweep away our sins, our shame, our mistakes, our inadequacy, and who we truly are will be revealed.

To me this is a comfort. I’m sometimes misunderstood. Sometimes I stumble, sin and make stupid mistakes. But the kingdom of God is within me. And His kingdom shall prevail.

Bible trivia:
Answer from last time: The seven sons of Sceva attempted to expel a demon from someone using the name of Jesus without having a relationship with Jesus.
New question: What happened at the Kerith Ravine (Cherith Brook)?