He created them male and female, and blessed them and called them Mankind in the day they were created.

Genesis 5:2

“How do you identify?” is the hot question of the day.

Everyone is talking about it. It’s trending everywhere. Our nation is embroiled in an identity crisis. Never has identity been more controversial than in the 21st century. Ironically, the question is as old as dirt.

And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground.

God formed man from dirt and breathed life into him. He created them male and female. Men and women. Not men or women. Created things have no choice as to what they were created to be.  The sun is not the moon, oranges aren’t apples, lions are not elephants. Men are not women. Straight up. To the point. No choice. Men and women were created. Not self-made, not man-made, but God-made. And Satan twisted God’s plan.

He attacked Eve’s identity.

“For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” Genesis 3:5

Satan cast doubt on the goodness of man’s identity. He tempted Eve to believe God held out on her and made her less then she could be. B-list creation.

Eve fell for it—and we’ve been falling for it ever since.

Sin entered the world and everything was skewed, even identity; we are left wondering whose we are and who we are. Not knowing our true identity,  we won’t become what we were created to be, or fulfill our calling in Christ. We will only accomplish all that God has planned for us when we are what He created us to be.

Satan also attacked Jesus’ identity.

Read his words:

Where can we learn the truth about our identity?

The world cannot be trusted. Friends often lead us astray. Our heart is deceitful above all things. Our identity is found only in Christ. He is the way, the truth and the life.

1. Children of God. John 1:12
2. Accepted in Christ. Romans 15:7
3. The image of God. Genesis 1:27
4. Known by God. Jeremiah 1:5
5. Chosen by God. 1 Peter 2:9
6. One in Christ. Galatians 3:28
7. A temple of the Holy Spirit. 1 Corinthians 6:19
8. Seated at the right hand of God and our life is hidden in Christ. Colossians 3:1-3
9. Redeemed from our sins. Ephesians 1:7
10. Restored, strengthened and established. 1 Peter 5:10

There is blessing in being who God created us to be. Through Him we learn the truth about our identity so we may walk, live, look, and act like Jesus.

Final Thoughts:

1. We do not create our identity but discover it. Pray and read God’s word. Take special note of any references to who we are in Christ.
2. The more we learn about God, the more we learn about who we were created to be. Since we are created in the image of God, we are to be like Him. we can learn more about God by attending a Bible-based church, by doing Bible studies, and by listening to sound Bible-based podcasts.
3. A picture is worth a thousand words. To see a diagram on how our identity in Christ is formed, click on this link: Identity In Christ

Resources:

If you are struggling with gender identification, there is help and hope! Please click on the link below for  information.

Focus on the Family: Transgenderism Series

For further Bible study information, please click on any of the following links:

To Do-ers List: Study

To Do-ers List: Word in Me

Walking With God

Life is sweet!

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Coffee must be some powerful stuff.

Let’s take a close look at two important words in the verse, live and keep.

In the original language, live transliterates as chayah, which means among many things, to live, to prosper, to revive, to restore, to heal, to live prosperously. Man does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God. God’s word is literally dripping with life — physical and spiritual. He resurrects dead things (relationships, dreams, and marriages)  and restores broken things (hearts, souls and spirits).

To keep transliterates as shamar.

.Shamar means to guard, to protect, to watch for, to wait for, to treasure, to celebrate. Do you protect God’s word in your heart by refusing to watch, read or listen to media that contradict the truth of His word? Do you wait for and watch for His word as you go through your day? Do you long for your Quiet Time or just endure it? Do you treasure His word by collecting it in your heart, displaying it on your walls or speaking it in your conversations and prayers?

If you are like me, there have been seasons when you could have answered no to some or all of these questions. If you are in one of those seasons now, there is hope! Verse 18 gives us the answer.

Open my eyes, that I may see wondrous things from Your law.

4 Ways to Live for Jesus and Keep His Word:

1. Tell Jesus about the dryness of your heart.
2. Ask Him to help you long for His word and a deep relationship with Him.
3. Pray to Jesus to open the eyes of your heart to the truth of His word.
4. Carve the time out of your busy schedule and spend consistent time with Him everyday.

Life is sweet. Live for Him and keep His word.

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8 Then Hilkiah the high priest said to Shaphan the scribe, “I have found the Book of the Law in the house of the LORD.” And Hilkiah gave the book to Shaphan, and he read it. 9 So Shaphan the scribe went to the king, bringing the king word, saying, “Your servants have gathered the money that was found in the house, and have delivered it into the hand of those who do the work, who oversee the house of the LORD.” 10 Then Shaphan the scribe showed the king, saying, “Hilkiah the priest has given me a book.” And Shaphan read it before the king. 2 Kings 22:8-10

I found it crammed in a dusty corner of my bookcase.

I had lost books before, but this incident took my library crimes to a whole new level.  My stomach churned and my hands shook when I unearthed a library book. I blew away the dust, opened the cover and discovered it was overdue. Not just overdue but OVERDUE — by about 5 years. The penalty would probably be huge. Probably jail time. Orange suit. Shackles. I’ d most likely get out about the time I’d be ready to enter high school.

They found the Book of the Lord.

After years of neglect and idolatry, Israel has a good king; one who follows God with all his heart. Repairs were being made in the temple, a biblical “Fixer Upper.” Suddenly, Hilkiah discovers the Book of the Law. The high priest gives the Book to Shaphan who reads it to King Josiah. And a nation is turned upside down.

I found the book of the Lord.

I remember very vividly, many years ago, the night I found the Book.  The evening I became a Christian, in my bed with a flashlight, I opened my heart to God and He opened my eyes to His word. I wish I could say I had never lost the Book since that time, but there have been seasons when His word lay in a dusty corner under the rubble of my broken life. Then God sent His worker, a “Hilkiah” to help me rediscover His word.

Have you found the Book of the Lord?

Do you remember the day you found the Book of the Lord? Where is your Bible right now? What place does God’s word hold in your life? Does it keep you up at night wondering what will happen next? Do you swipe and click the moment you have a question or need counsel? The Book is not meant to be kept on a shelf or returned by a certain date. There is no penalty for keeping the Book, but there is a penalty for not following the Book. Even then, the fine has been paid in full by the blood of Christ.

Is your life in shambles? Is it a pile of rubble, or a fixer upper? God is in the renovation business. His tool is His Book. Renovation is a process, but if we cooperate God will give us beauty for our ashes.

Action Points:

1. Get in the Book. Read His Book. Study His Book. Join a Bible study. Add an extra study time to your daily routine. Download an e-version of the Bible on your device and study when you are waiting in line or in traffic.
2. Get the Book in you. Memorize Scripture. Commit to memory verses that deal with temptations or problems you face. Go big and memorize a whole book!
3. Get the Book in others. Who can you invite to church? Who can you invite to do a Bible study with you? Who needs you to send them a text with a verse today?

PS: In case you are wondering, I received a full pardon from the librarian when I confessed my crime and returned the goods.

Leave me a comment below about your adventures in the Book.

Life is sweet when you are in the Book.

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Even as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

Mathew 20:28

Why did Jesus have to come to earth, to be born as a man and die?

For as long as I can remember, I’ve known about the crucifixion of Jesus. The church we attended prominently displayed a large crucifix. Jesus on the cross—front and center. The matter of His death was a bedrock issue, but I had never stopped to ask why.

Why did Jesus have to die?

This question had been blowing around the corners of my mind since I became a Christian many years ago, but I never gave it serious consideration until recently. It came to the forefront when one of my students, a new Christian, asked me, “why did Jesus have to die?”. Good question.  Couldn’t God save people without Jesus dying on the cross?  Salvation would so much easier to accept if we could skip the whole crucifixion process.

I do not claim to have deep theological or exhaustive information, but my answer comes straight from Scripture. Please, like the Bereans, search the Bible for further insight.

5 Reasons Jesus had to die:

Reason 1: Jesus had to die because the wages of sin is death. “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Romans 6:23.  Since the fall of man in the Garden of Eden, God covered man’s sin with a sacrifice of an innocent life. Jesus came to be our sacrifice—the Lamb of God.

Reason 2: Jesus had to die because God cannot die. “Behold, God is exalted, and we do not know Him; The number of His years is unsearchable.” Job 36:26. God is not flesh and blood; He is Spirit and therefore eternal. Since He cannot die, God had to send Jesus to the cross.

Reason 3: Jesus had to die because redemption requires blood. “Indeed, under the law almost everything is purified with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins.” Hebrews 9:22. Since God is not flesh but spirit, He has no blood. Therefore, God took on flesh, tabernacled among us, walked the road to the cross and shed His blood.

Reason 4: Jesus had to die because prophecy must be fulfilled.  “Therefore will I divide him a portion with the great, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong; because he hath poured out his soul unto death.” Isaiah 53:12. In total, 28 prophecies were fulfilled on the day of Jesus’ crucifixion. For more information on prophecies fulfilled by the life, death and resurrection of Jesus, please see the following link: Prophecies

Reason 5: Jesus had to die because God needed a perfect sacrifice. “For by one offering He has perfected forever those who are being sanctified” … “Now where there is remission of these, there is no longer an offering for sin.” Hebrews 10:14, 18.

Jesus had to come. He is the only One who could live a perfect life, pay the wages of sin by shedding His blood upon the cross and thereby fulfill the Old Testament prophecies. One question remains then …

Why did Jesus want to die?

Because God so loves us that He would rather die than live without us. Sometimes I have days when I wonder if anyone truly cares. Does anyone see my hurts and my wounds? Then I remember, there is no greater love than this, that a Man should lay down His life for a friend. Jesus died for me. He died for you. He loves us.

He. Loves. You.

 Action Points:

1. Knowing that Jesus has given His life for you, how can you give your life back to Him? Where can you plug-in?
2. Who in your life needs to hear about the life, death, resurrection, and love of Jesus? How can you begin to witness to this person?
3. Look for three different people to bless today. (How about the busy clerk at the store … the person who is going to cut you off in traffic today … the elderly neighbor who is aching for someone to visit.)

Life is sweet because Jesus died for you.

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“In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.”

Genesis 1:1

Creating is a very godlike thing to do.

I like creating many different things such as scarves, hats, home decor, watercolors, blogs, skits and memes. I am also legendary for creating my delicious  secret-recipe Fresh Strawberry Cream Cake—made from scratch. Despite my many creative endeavors, God is the master creator. In fact, we can say, creating is His specialty.

In the first book of the Bible, front and center, we learn of God’s penchant for creating … God created the heavens and the earth. Bara’, the Hebrew word used for create in verse 1 means “to shape, fashion or create, always with God as the subject.” Only God has the power of creation. 

And every time God creates, man is the beneficiary.

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What does He create?

Planets, galaxies, flowers, mountains, animals and oceans. He also creates relationships, opportunities, legacies, covenants, circumstances, dreams, hope, love, joy, peace and faith … the list is as endless as He is eternal.

From what does God create?

I like to create with the freshest ingredients, the finest fabrics, and the most vibrant watercolors. But God can create from nothing; the Great I AM simply speaks and something is. His Words drip with life and overflow with the breath of the Spirit. At other times God gets His hands dirty and creates beautiful valuable things from common ingredients like dust, dirt and clay … things such as man. This is good news for those of who’ve felt like dirt, or have been treated like dirt or who’ve been the dirt beneath someone’s feet. God creates beautiful things from dirt.

Bara’ also means to create by cutting away.

At first glance creating and cutting seem to be inharmonious. Can these two concepts possibly complement each other? Think for a moment. We can cut away activities from our schedule to create room for God. God creates in us a clean heart by cutting away sin and sickness. God cuts covenant with us and creates a way for us to be with Him forever in eternity.

The Creation Remix

God speaks His Word and scatters seeds of life into the dirt and clay of our hearts and souls. Damaged marriages, broken relationships, forgotten dreams, and tired ambitions receive new life from a fresh sowing of God’s Word. Will we nurture the seeds with Living Water?

God speaks and dead things spring forth with new life.

Nothing becomes something. Ugly becomes beautiful. Useless becomes useful.

Shadows to substance. Death to life …  a Lazarus awakening.

He is the potter and we are the clay. He forms, shapes, smooths, and fires us in the furnace of adversity until we emerge, covered with the fingerprints of God. Pure. Beautiful. Useful.

Action Points:

1. Speak His Word. God has instilled His Word with life and power and has given us the privilege of speaking His Word into our situations and challenges. What area of your life needs a redo? Your relationships? Your career? Find a Bible verse that applies to your current situation and pray it forward.
2. Create some margin. OK, you need this one … we ALL do. Stop saying you’ll be there in 10 minutes when you know it’ll take 20. Stop adding more stuff to your already too long to-do list. Everything takes longer than you think. Add ten minutes to every task on your list for today. If you have children add 20 extra minutes — for each child ; ).
3. Create something. Take some time today to create something. Create a poem, sketch a picture, write a blog post, try a new recipe, or create some time to take a nap, a walk or an afternoon off. And after you have created something, step back and say, “It is very good!”

Life is sweet. Create!

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We live very close to Lake Michigan.

While we go to the big lake most often in the summer months, we enjoy it best in the fall and winter, after the tourists have gone home for the season. This winter the Midwest experienced days of turbulent wind, especially along the lake shore. The waves reached incredible heights, crashing the coast and pounding the beaches. Churning. Tossing. Stirring.

Big storms mean big change.

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They reshape and sculpt the landscape. Yards of beach can be gained or lost during the stormy season. Houses built too close to the shore are at risk. Every year some are lost to the lake. Expensive, beautiful homes tumble down to the surf like so many houses of cards. Why? Poor construction? Cheap materials? No, wrong foundation – they were built upon the sand.

Sand is unstable—it shifts beneath our feet causing us to stumble and trip. Sand stings and whips as it is whisked away by the winds.

I have built upon the sand:

Crumbling castles of pride and foolishness.

Misplaced trust.

Wrong motives.

False doctrines.

A relationship that never should have been.

Habits of sin.

 Dreams I built upon the sand came tumbling down.

I stood among the rubble, thinking all was lost—not realizing the false had been washed away by the waves to make way for the True.

Storms of life reshape the landscape of our existence—sculpting the substance of our souls. Underneath all the turmoil God is at work. The Holy Spirit, the breath of God, blows away the sand and reveals a Rock—a firm foundation.

While the wind and waves bring devastation to the house built upon the sand, we see a strange phenomenon for the house upon the Rock. The house is not wrecked or ruined by the waves—it is refined. Jagged edges smoothed. Rough surfaces polished. Sharp corners chiseled.

The storms no longer destroy—they transform.

We no longer have to fear the storms. God uses them as an effective tool to conform us into the image of His Son. We can stand upon the Rock with the assurance that because He stands, we also will stand.

On Christ the solid rock I stand, all other ground is sinking sand.

²⁴ “Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. ²⁵ The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. ²⁶ But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. ²⁷ The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash.” Matthew 7:24-27

3 signs you are building on the Rock.

1. Are you building on the Truth? Can everything you are doing be traced back to Scripture? Is God’s Word at the foundation of all your decisions and actions?
2. Do you have a good supply of building materials? Are you filling your mind and heart with God’s Word? What needs to go? What do you need to add?
3. Are your current projects, relationships, and ideas built upon rock or sand? Will they stand the storms of life or are they destined to fall with a mighty crash? It’s never too late to make a change.

Life is sweet. Build on the Rock.

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