Identity Theft

Too many Christ-followers are suffering from "Identity theft". It seems like every other commercial on t.v. is about how to keep your identity from being stolen and have your life ruined. The one that amazes me the most is the dude that drives around town with his social security number painted on the side of semi-tractor trailor. He's pretty confident. I'm nervous about putting it out there on anything let alone a tractor trailor! He's confident that with the protection of his company no one can steal his identity. But, it seems to me that too many of us have allowed someone to steal our identity. The evil one would like nothing better than for me to have the wrong perception of who I really am. So, he tries to steal my identity. He whispers in my ear, "you're not good enough"..."you're a failure"..."you're unworthy"..."you're unloved"..."you're hopeless"..."how could you keep making that same mistake over and over again? You're unforgivable." Apart from Christ, I am all of these things. But, in Christ, none of these are true. That's who I really am. In Christ I am good enough, I am a success, I am worthy, I am loved, I am full of hope, I am forgiven. And if you know Christ, so are you. "Therefore, as God's chosen people, holy, and dearly loved..." Colossians 3:12

Confidence

Have you ever tried out for something and didn't make it? I recently asked those who attend Mosaic Church this question and the response was what I expected. Everyone had a story of not making it, coming up short, or not-good-enough. Most of us have experienced it in life, being on the "B" team, the J.V., the practice team, not making the cut. Most of us know what it feels like to check the list to see if you made it, only to find your name missing. It's painful. Your confidence level takes a nose-dive. You doubt yourself whether you could ever be good enough.

When it comes to living out my life with Christ, sometimes my confidence level takes a nose-dive. Paul says to "clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience" (Colossians 3:12). Boy, I blew some of those this week. So, if I'm not careful, my confidence that Christ can live out these qualities through me, can leave me. But, I was reminded by a fellow pastor that God has confidence in me. He believes in me. He has faith in me. I have been "chosen". I am his disciple and I he chose me. That gives me confidence. I'm reminded of this every time I think of those original 12 disciples. They were all "not-good-enoughs". They were "unschooled" and "uneducated". But Christ had confidence in them. He believed in them. He had faith in them and he chose them. A group of "anybody's". He chose them to be his disciples and they changed the course of history.

What if we really believe that we can live like he lived? We've all heard it said that we must have faith in God, and correctly so. It all starts there. But, maybe what we've failed to realize is that He has faith in us.

Duane