An essential perspective in our personal life, as well as our life as a faith community, is seeing ourselves as GOD sees us. This is true for individuals, and it is true as a faith community - such as Rockhills Church. The enemy seeks to "steal, kill and destroy" (John 10:10) and tries to get us to see ourselves any other way than how God intends. Satan tries to deceive in any way possible and get us off course from living into the fullness of Christ. This can be through culture, our family of origin, our work, our education, through social media, and the list could go on and on. Where might Satan be getting to you regarding your identity? Three common areas are these: I am what I do, I am what I have, I am what other people think of me. Do any of these resonate in your life? Could Satan be using them in your life and relationships? It's an old scheme of the evil one: These are the very areas of temptation Jesus had when in the wilderness.
We tie our identity to many things - some of which can be very divisive. What authority gets to answer questions about our identity--for you and for me? Have you considered there is an eternal perspective built into these questions of who you are and why you are here? Are you ready to explore these eternal and life changing perspectives?
Our new series will be about our identity in Christ Jesus. We will discover who and why we are. This study will be based on the book of Ephesians and you are encouraged to be spending time in this powerful book in the New Testament that is written by Paul, while he was imprisoned in Rome. Imagine that: writing a letter about your true identity in Christ while being held in prison! Rooting your identity in your "true self," i.e. who you are in Christ, can be life altering in all the best ways. It revolutionizes our times of sorrow, betrayal, maybe imprisonment (like Paul), and in times spent on the mountaintops of life.
INVITATION: Our identity is not based on politics, culture, health, family or anything other than what our maker and redeemer has to say about who we are. Join in this week as we begin to ponder and explore who we are, our purpose and our mission. Engage with the Scriptures as we begin this journey through the deep, rich book of Ephesians.
MONDAY: Ephesians 1:1-3: You and I have been given all the spiritual blessings because of Jesus Christ. God does not hold back. This study will repeatedly talk about our "blessings" that are ours all because of Christ. They are NOT about what we do, or don't do, or deserve, or don't deserve. They are because we are God's beloved and it is His pleasure to bestow them on us. Sit with those thoughts today. You don't have to earn. You already have it. How does that change your outlook on your day? Your week? Your marriage? Your job? How does that change how you feel about yourself?
TUESDAY: Ephesians 1:4-8: You were loved and chosen before the beginning of time. You are holy in God's sight because of the blood of Jesus. God does not see your sins or faults, He sees Christ. You are God's beloved child......CHOSEN. Sit with these verses and these thoughts today. Have you ever pondered the idea your were chosen before the beginning of time? If God sees you in these ways, what might it look like for YOU to begin seeing yourself this way?
WEDNESDAY: When the Bible speaks of love it is more than a sentimental or romantic concept. Love reveals the compassionate heart of God for us and God's active presence with us. We recognize God's love by paying attention to what God does on our behalf. Notice the verbs Paul uses in the first few verses of this chapter to describe God's actions:
blessed
chosen
predestined
adopted
given
loved
lavished
What does each verb express about God's nature? How does each verb invite you to experience your spiritual blessings in Christ? Consider writing or journaling about what you notice.
THURSDAY: Ephesians 1:9-10: Choosing you and choosing me, and lavishly bestowing his blessings on us brings God great pleasure. What is your image of God? Is it one of him being filled with pleasure about you and how much he loves you? Sit in that thought in the presence of Jesus today: The Father in Heaven is filled with pleasure to bestow His lavish blessings on you. He doesn't just begrudgingly do it: it brings him pleasure!
FRIDAY: Adoption in the Roman culture frequently involved young adults rather than kids. They were usually adopted by well to do families to be heirs for passing on an inheritance and an identity. When adopted, you had a 1) new identity; 2) lifetime guarantee; 3) equal inheritance (as birth heirs). God, in advance of you even being born, chose to adopt you. Think about these aspects of adoption today and the TRUTH that you have been adopted into God's family. Verse 5 says "he predestined us to be adopted." How will you step into this new, forever identity today?
SATURDAY: How would it make life different if you began seeing yourself the way God sees you? You are invited to make a list of the misbeliefs about yourself that you are buying into. Next, pray and hand these over to Jesus. Perhaps it is helpful to envision laying them at the foot of the cross, or, perhaps you can do an embodiment exercise and write each misbelief on a piece of paper and burn them, or place them at the foot of a cross. Next, ask the Lord to help you live into who GOD says you are - perhaps the list from Wednesday will be helpful.