Believe Week 5: I am gifted!
Devotions this week based on the Message: “BELIEVE: Week 5: My Identity as a Child of God!”
(NOTE: This sermon series and devotional series is based on a book by Randy Frazee entitled, “BELIEVE.”
You may choose to download or purchase the book as a supplement to your worship and devotional emails.)
Tests. Class ranks. Scholarships. College acceptance. Graduation with honors.
Are you smart enough?
Perhaps.
There are many brilliant people in the world today. You may be one of them. You may be extremely knowledgeable and gifted. You may be the one to whom people come to solve problems or give sound advice. You may be known for solving some of your company’s or individual’s greatest problems. Perhaps you received the highest accolades your field gives.
But you could still feel, “I am not smart enough.”
The pursuit of intelligence is never ending…that’s OK. Finding my identity, value, and worth in my intellect has got to stop. It too is never ending and leaves us empty. There will always be more to learn. There will always come someone more brilliant.
Are you smart enough?
If you ask this question, how do you protect your mind and heart from building your identity, value and worth on your smarts?
According to God, you have the intellect he desired to give you. According to God, you have the gifts he intended you to have.
Consider these two scriptures:
Ephesians 4:7 But to each one of us grace has been given as Christ apportioned it.8 This is why it says: “When he ascended on high, he took many captives and gave gifts to his people.”
1 Corinthians 12:7 Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good. [various gifts are listed] 11 All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he distributes them to each one, just as he determines.
We can have a life-long pursuit of knowledge, but the Lord doesn’t want us to have a life-long pursuit of identity. We don’t need a “gift envy” heart that always wishes to have gifts that other people have. (i.e. “I wish I could play that instrument like…” “I wish I could figure things out like…) Our identity is wrapped up in the reality that we ARE GIFTED people of God.
When God’s Spirit comes to live in our hearts, he settles the identity question and says, “Yes, you ARE smart enough. Yes, you are gifted perfectly!”
I begin to ask a different question. Instead of asking how do I use the current situation to build my identity, I ask, “How can I use the gifts God’s Spirit has given to me in my current situation.”
I realize I am a steward of my gifts and a steward of my identity. If I am perfect in Jesus and gifted by the Spirit, how do YOU want to live in that identity today?
2 Corinthians 5:14 For Christ’s love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died. 15 And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again.
I can live today not in pursuit of self-given identity. I can live in my God-given identity today pursuing the use of my intellect to glorify God and serve people. Enjoy the shift!
Apply: What gifts has God given to YOU? (Note: “He hasn’t given me any” is NOT an acceptable answer. He has…what are they?) What is one way today you can use those gifts to glorify God and be a blessing to people?
Prayer: Lord, thank you for sending us your Holy Spirit to give us gifts. Help us each day to realize we are gifted people given the ability to use those gifts to serve you and others. Open those doors of opportunity for me today! AMEN.
Believe Week 5: I am perfect!
Devotions this week based on the Message: “BELIEVE: Week 5: My Identity as a Child of God!”
(NOTE: This sermon series and devotional series is based on a book by Randy Frazee entitled, “BELIEVE.”
You may choose to download or purchase the book as a supplement to your worship and devotional emails.)
Can I brag for a moment?
I am a proud dad of my two daughters. Both are amazing, beautiful young women.
They both are gifted in many ways. Last night our youngest was inducted into the National Junior Honor Society and the oldest a couple weeks ago was accepted into Texas A&M University. Both excel at their school work and, as parents, we’ve been blessed that they have a personal desire and drive to do their best and be their best.
As proud as I am of them, I have a bigger prayer than continued success in their academics and life ahead (although I desire that for them as well). My prayer is this: that they would always find their identity in Christ, not their performance.
It is tempting, because I know I can struggle with finding meaning, worth and value in my performance and I unfortunately passed on my sinful nature to them as well.
When one has performance identity, it is hard to fail or admit failure. Even though in a practical way failure is a step forward to success, it can be crushing if I allow a failure in performance to define who I am.
It comes out this way, “I’m no good.” “I will never be as good as…” “I should just quit because I can’t do it.”
These phrases are indicative that HOW well I do at what I am doing is defining or at least beginning to define WHO I am. As yesterday’s devotion stated, basing our identity on our performance, will always leave us lacking.
So what happens when we allow Christ to define our identity? Here’s what we discover:
- I am not just good…in Christ, I am perfect!
Hebrews 10:14 For by one sacrifice he has made perfect forever those who are being made holy. No one has ever been perfect at life except Jesus Christ. The amazing thing is, he has given to us his perfect record. We stand before God, not as failures because of sin, but perfect because of forgiveness.
“I failed” and “I am a failure” are two very different phrases. One is a reflection on an activity, the other a reflection of my identity. When I look to Christ, I realize I may fail, but I never have to buy the lie of Satan that I am a failure…because Jesus gave me perfection!
- I can perform without the pressure of being perfect.
1 Corinthians 10:31 So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.
When I don’t have to prove my worth or secure my value because of my performance, it frees me up simply to perform at my best to the glory of God. The pressure of perfection is off…and is often the case when the pressure is off, I perform even better.
As I said, I am proud of my girls, but my prayers is that they, my wife and I would always find our identity in the perfect performance of Christ and then continue to spend our lives glorifying our Savior who redeemed us with his perfect life!
Apply: What changes today if you start knowing you are already perfect in Christ and can spend your day simply doing your best to the glory of God?
Prayer: Lord, thank you for giving us perfection in Jesus. Shift our drive in life to always perform at our best knowing you are the giver of all our abilities. AMEN.
Believe Week 5: Who Am I?
Devotions this week based on the Message: “BELIEVE: Week 5: My Identity as a Child of Godd Word!”
(NOTE: This sermon series and devotional series is based on a book by Randy Frazee entitled, “BELIEVE.”
You may choose to download or purchase the book as a supplement to your worship and devotional emails.)
Who am I?
I’ve never been an avid watcher of Saturday Night Live, but watched a “few” years ago in college. The comedian turned politician, Al Franken played the role of Stuart Smalley. The segment was called, “Daily Affirmation” (Here’s a short clip of a segment with Michael Jordan if you are curious! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xNx_gU57gQ4) As part of the segment, the mantra he would repeat is this, “I’m good enough, I’m smart enough, and dog gone it, people like me.”
What SNL used to do well (not sure anymore) is capture parodies on every day occurrences and thought. They would accentuate various aspects to make it funny, but in reality it would touch on what many if not most people were thinking. I believe this is the case with Stuart Smalley. It is the search we all have for significance, affirmation, and value.
And if we can’t get it anywhere else, we take it upon ourselves to give it to ourselves.
But even that can be tough.
Because we soak in our identity from the situations, people and circumstances around us.
Consider Smalley’s phrase, “I’m good enough…”
How do you determine that? Is it based on a grade you receive? Is it based on a promotion you obtain? Is it based on a blue ribbon achieved? Is it based on a proficiency better than most?
Being “good enough” can be an endless pursuit.
What about “I’m smart enough…”?
Who sets the standard for that? Are you smart enough when you are the “go-to” person for everyone’s questions at work? Are you smart enough when you get 100’s on all your assignments? Are you smart enough when you figure out the answers to life’s toughest problems? Are you smart enough when 100 or more people agree with your on social media?
It’s hard when there is no objective standard of being “smart enough.”
What about, “Dog gone it, people like me”?
Do they? How many do? Do the right people like me? If I have over 500 friends on social media, am I liked? What if someone yells at me, do they like me? What if a person I really care about doesn’t care about me any more? What if someone gets busy and doesn’t give me the attention I want?
It’s hard when some people don’t like you.
So where does that leave us? I suppose sitting in front of a mirror like Stuart Smalley just giving ourselves our own daily affirmation – just to make sure SOMEONE does!
But that too feels a bit empty, doesn’t it?
The truth is Satan loves to get us to find our identity, value and significance from outward circumstances. He loves to let us buy into what others think of us and embrace that as our own identity.
But God has given us a different plan to explore this week.
“Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God” (John 1:12).
What happens when God’s Spirit leads me to embrace an identity not found in others, or myself, but in Christ? It is an amazing transformation! Do not miss the rest of the devotions this week!
Apply: What are you allowing to mold your identity? Who do you look to to tell you if you are good enough? Smart enough? Who are you wanting to like you?
Prayer: Lord forgive me for molding my identity on outward circumstances and people’s opinion. Mold my identity around who you have made me…your child!
Believe Week 4: Secular Support for Scripture
Devotions this week based on the Message: “BELIEVE: Week 4: The Bible: God’s Inspired Word!”
(NOTE: This sermon series and devotional series is based on a book by Randy Frazee entitled, “BELIEVE.”
You may choose to download or purchase the book as a supplement to your worship and devotional emails.)
Friday’s question: What “nonbiblical” evidence do we have to support the credibility of the Bible?
(If you have a question, please email to pastor@crossandcrowntx.com. I look forward to sharing a devotional thought on it on Fridays)
Are there reasons that we can trust the Bible outside the Bible’s testimony of itself? The Bible says, “All Scripture is God-breathed…” (2 Timothy 3:16). It also says, “19 We also have the prophetic message as something completely reliable, and you will do well to pay attention to it, as to a light shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts. 20 Above all, you must understand that no prophecy of Scripture came about by the prophet’s own interpretation of things. 21 For prophecy never had its origin in the human will, but prophets, though human, spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.…” (2 Peter 1:19-21)
Can we see evidence of these realities in the Scripture itself?
Here are three “arguments” that support the conclusion that the Bible is the true, credible Word of God and useful for all things of faith and life.
- Consider the challenge if you were to orchestrate a writing of a document using multiple authors over the course of 1400 years. The fact that this reality is true of the Bible and yet its message is clear and focused throughout on the plan of God to save the world through the person and work of Jesus is testimony that it is a special and credible book.
- Consider the mathematical challenge of having every prophecy about a person come to reality in one person. There are different calculations, but conservatively over 300 prophesies were fulfilled by Jesus. Here’s the numbers and conclusion:
According to Peter Stoner in his book, Science Speaks, the likelihood of a person fulfilling just eight of the major prophecies would be 1:1017. Josh McDowell, well-known apologist who became a Christian after setting out to disprove Christianity, shares the following explanation:
“To help us visually comprehend the staggering odds of this probability, Stoner proposed that we take that many silver dollars and lay them across the state of Texas. In doing so, we’d find they would stack up across the state two feet deep. But wait; there’s more! Now mark one of the silver dollars, and stir up the entire mass of coins. Then blindfold an enthusiastic volunteer and tell him that he can travel as far as he likes across Texas, but that he *must* pick out the marked silver dollar. THAT is how difficult it would be for one man to fulfill these prophecies. Unless, of course, he did so because of divine appointment.” (josh.org/jesus-fulfill-prophecy/)
McDowell further shares that Stoner goes on to calculate that the odds of any man fulfilling 48 of the more than three hundred Old Testament prophecies would be 1:10157 (that’s a one followed by 157 zeros!!!). To me, this represents the beautiful world where Biblical integration meets mathematics curriculum. Students get to look at empirical evidence that validates their faith in Jesus Christ as the Messiah, the Savior of the world. (https://www.northhillschristian.com/about/what-child-is-this/)
- The third aspect is the historical congruency with secular sources that reference leaders, places, and events. The Bible is not a book of fiction, but a book of historical facts intersecting with other world events and eras. While not every event and person is referenced in secular sources, many are. Here’s one list: https://drivethruhistory.com/biblical-figures-found-through-archaeology/
The Bible is one of the most attested to books of ancient literature. With confidence we can hold the conviction Jesus makes of the Word of God and the Word of God makes of itself. The Bible is God’s Word for you!
John 17:17 Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth.
Apply: Which of these three reasons is most convincing to you? How could you use it when discussing the credibility of the Bible with others?
Prayer: Lord thank you for recording and preserving your Word for us to read, believe, and put into practice. As always you prove your love and your faithfulness to us! AMEN.
Believe Week 4: Correcting and Training…
Devotions this week based on the Message: “BELIEVE: Week 4: The Bible: God’s Inspired Word!”
(NOTE: This sermon series and devotional series is based on a book by Randy Frazee entitled, “BELIEVE.”
You may choose to download or purchase the book as a supplement to your worship and devotional emails.)
One of the first motorized cars I remember driving was the antique car ride at Disneyland in Anaheim, CA. I don’t remember how old I was, but I remember stepping on the gas and taking off. At that age, I embraced the challenge to keep the car from bumping on the center rail that guided you around the course.
This was fun when I was young, but as I got older, similar rides at other amusement parks began to be a bit boring and frustrating. Why? Because the car was too limiting. The speed would only go so fast…no matter how much you pressed on the accelerator. The car would only turn so far left or so far right before you would bump up against the rail.
But why wouldn’t they let me drive the car all over the park? Why couldn’t I go wherever I wanted?
“All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for…correction.”
The Scriptures provide the limits on faith and life where God says, “To this point you shall go and no further.”
We can look at that in two ways. Either we will appreciate the safety of limits or rebel and do all we can to get around, avoid, or run over the limits.
But like the ride in the park, it might seem fun, but will not end well.
The servant of God desires and welcomes correction. Giving correction is loving to protect our soul and our lives from unnecessary hurt and burdensome and eternal consequences.
Consider this wisdom of God through the pen of King Solomon: (Proverbs 12:1-3)
Whoever loves discipline loves knowledge,
but whoever hates correction is stupid.
2 Good people obtain favor from the Lord,
but he condemns those who devise wicked schemes.
3 No one can be established through wickedness,
but the righteous cannot be uprooted.
Want to be thoroughly equipped for every good work? Allow the Scripture to be the rails that guide you through life. Welcome the correction for it keeps you on track.
And finally, “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for…training in righteousness.”
Training is intense. Ask any athlete who desires to perform at the top of their sport. Training takes commitment…daily. Training takes sacrifice. Training takes focus. Training is not easy. Training takes stamina. Training takes mental grit to not give up.
Now apply that to our lives of faith.
Do we approach it with the same intensity as athletics, or a passive hobby we engage in on weekends? I’m afraid it’s more the latter than the former (Forgive us Lord!).
The Apostle Paul put in this way:
1 Corinthians 9:24 Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. 25 Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last, but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. 26 Therefore I do not run like someone running aimlessly; I do not fight like a boxer beating the air. 27 No, I strike a blow to my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize.
Satan is looking to devour us. The Spirit of God is looking to equip us. Choose the Spirit of God as your trainer! Accept his correction and daily spend time in the Scriptures…let God’s Spirit be your trainer in righteousness…so you might be thoroughly equipped for every good work.
Apply: Simply make a commitment to take in the Word of God daily to prepare you for the opportunities of the day and take another step in the lifelong training regimen to be a servant of the Lord God.
Prayer: Lord, thank you for calling me to serve you. Thank you for the correction your word of Truth gives and the training in righteousness you provide. AMEN.