Identity

THE WORLD’S MESSAGE IS SIMPLE: YOU ARE ENOUGH. ALL ON YOUR OWN, you are enough. But that mantra fails us—either because, deep down, we know we aren’t enough or because our self-esteem inflates us to the point that we charge through life independent of God and people. Either outcome leaves us lonely and disappointed. Self-esteem is not the answer. So why are we working so hard to do life, to make a difference, and to be great all on our own? Scripture describes Jesus as the light shining into the darkness and becoming the light of men.1 When I think about light, I realize that every single light humans have ever built requires energy or some force to light it. Flashlights, car lights, lamps—they all pull energy from some other source that can become drained or depleted. Then I think of the light God creates. Fire, the sun, the stars all burning with great force—all the light He creates needs nothing to exist. It needs no other energy source. It just is. When we find ourselves striving so hard to make a difference, to be enough, and to be important, it’s as though we’re trying to produce light on our own. And guess what happens when people try to produce anything in their own strength? We get tired. We experience a drain of energy, just like every man-made light that has ever been created. So what if instead of trying to create light, we simply received light? That sounds so much more fun to me—and so much easier. We make lousy lights because we were built to enjoy and reflect light, not to produce it. The vision of God for our lives is that we would receive His light and then give light to the world. In Matthew 5:14, Jesus says, “You are the light of the world.” Most of the time the New Testament refers to Jesus as being the Light, but when His Spirit lives in us, we are the light of the world. We receive who Jesus is and then give that away. The degree to which you believe and embrace your identity as a Spirit-filled child of God will be the degree to which His light shines through you. You are God’s and He is yours. He is in you and through you and with you. That is your identity. And when you choose to embrace it, it changes everything. If you embraced your true identity, you wouldn’t just be able to rest from striving to do impossible things; you would be able to sit in awe of this fierce, crazy, awesome, and uncontainable Light that is fully accessible to you. With Jesus as your light source, you can stop spinning, and simply reflect the light He gives. MEDITATE The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. (John 1:5) REWIRE THE SPIRAL I can rest from striving, and God can still move through me. PRAYER God, I want to know what it is to enjoy and reflect Your light, rather than trying so hard to create my own. Please shine on and through me today. Amen.”   To grab your copy of Jennie Allen’s devotional, Stop the Spiral, click here. Excerpted from Stop the Spiral Devotional by Jennie Allen. Copyright © 2024 by Jennie Allen. Published by WaterBrook, an imprint of Penguin Random House, LLC. Used by permission.

When you’re under thirty, it’s easy to think you are always on your way to someplace else. You plan to graduate and move on. College is just what you’re doing for a set of semesters. Working as an assistant isn’t the career goal—this is what you’re doing until you have an assistant of your own. Someday, when you’re the boss or married, you’ll settle down and make an impact. Someday, you’ll finally reach the place where God can use you. But if you focus only on the future, you could miss what God is doing right now. God had a purpose for putting you in your current workplace, with your current roommates, in your current sorority, or on your current team. Right where you are, people need Jesus, and they could encounter his love, compassion, and grace through you. You are not where you are by accident. He chose this place for you and you for this place. In Jeremiah 17:7-8, the prophet describes an opportunity—a choice, to thrive by trusting in the Lord. “But blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence is in him. They will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream. It does not fear when heat comes; its leaves are always green. It has no worries in a year of drought and never fails to bear fruit.” (NIV) In this passage, let’s find the vision to believe your present place is as essential as the down-the-road destination. You have been planted right where you are—for a purpose. Planted So People Can Watch You Love Jesus The star of the Jeremiah passage isn’t the tree; it’s the water. After all, the gospel life isn’t, “Try hard to be a better tree.” The gospel life is, “Send your roots into the stream.” Jesus is our living water. Delight yourself in the Lord. Abide in him. Soak in his word and spend time in worship. Then, show up to the meeting, apartment, or rehearsal with a full and satisfied heart. Mention how glad you are to know Jesus. Give him credit for answered prayer. Openly love him, thank him, and live the truth of Colossians 3:4, that Jesus is your life. Find your confidence in him and grow like Jeremiah’s tree—tall and healthy, a spreading canopy loaded with leaves, heavy with fruit. Planted So People Can Watch You Endure Heat Plans change, layoffs happen, rent goes up, and cars break down. Do not fear when the heat comes. With Jesus, nothing is wasted. A challenging season can be a fruitful season. If life takes a turn, be real about the disappointment while showing how a Christian holds on and endures. The scripture promises that the stream keeps the leaves green. Your green leaves become shade for others going through their own experience of heat. So, if things at work go sideways, or if a roommate announces they are moving out, do not fear. Quiet trust and steadfast hope persuade those watching that heat hits differently for followers of Jesus. Bad things still happen, but the foundation holds. Maybe God planted you where you are to give hope to those who will see him carry you through. Planted So People Can Watch You Trust God in a Drought A drought means waiting for much-needed rain. Waiting on God is difficult. It’s tempting to drift toward worry and panic, but God has a purpose in the delay. Your drought might be waiting to secure the internship required by your major. Or you’ve been waiting for that first promotion since getting hired. Or you’re waiting for your forever person, without a cloud in the sky, to suggest the dry spell will end soon. When your confidence is in the Lord, and you work to stiff-arm worry and resist panic—God is glorified. Let people around you see contentment and peace with God’s timing and plan. Many are also on their way to a future beyond graduation, into family life, and ascent through the workforce. Talking about your trust while waiting could help them meet Jesus. Planted So People Can Enjoy the Fruit God Produces This is the final part of our Jeremiah passage. The one who trusts in the Lord, whose roots rest deep in his life, becomes a bountiful source of good. Abide in the Son and keep in step with the Spirit where the Father has planted you—then watch him produce the fruit (John 15:5,8; Galatians 5:22-25). Fruitfulness glorifies God and blesses fraternity brothers, coworkers, group project teammates, and your weekend friend group. Part of why God planted you is to let others taste the goodness of what his life produces. So serve them, humble yourself, and do good for them. Demonstrate the unselfish love Jesus is growing in you. Show them honor—let them go first and choose to go last. Be generous and self-sacrificing—give them a ride, help them move, or cover this month’s grocery bill. If they share news of some difficulty, show up as a friend with care and support. And pray for them. Let them know you will ask God to respond to their needs. The Time is Now Kingdom influence and gospel impact are not someday opportunities. God wants to use you before you get the degree, the official title, or your own family. Trust Him. He will shepherd your steps into the future and work through your relationships right now. Put your confidence in him. Partner with the Father to bring glory to Jesus and to see lives change. Give thanks for this current season and thrive where you’ve been planted, making the most of every opportunity.

Dan and Jo Watson converse with Andrew Scott about identity, purpose, and sharing the Gospel. If we operate out of our purpose—to make more of Jesus—and live lives that show the fruit of the Spirit, we can point those around us to God’s glory and live on mission for what matters most.

Join us this week as Jacob Harkey walks us through 1 Peter 1, teaching us God’s desire for us as we live in a world that is not our home. He helps us see who we are as believers, how we are meant to operate, and why it’s worth it.

Camilo Buchanan reminds us that when we know whose we are, we can then know who and why we are, and we can live out our purpose of proclaiming His name to a broken and lost people.

Ben Stuart launches us into a new series through the book of Daniel. We will look briefly at the book’s layout and then settle in the first chapter, where he helps us answer how we live as believers in Christ in a world trying to squeeze us into its mold.

Scrolling isn’t the same as sympathy. Followers don’t compare to fellowship. And the art of aesthetics pales in comparison to the art of authenticity. You have influence right now, right where you are. With algorithms forcing influencers and too-relevant reels to interrupt our screens constantly—the temptation to believe that your following is equivalent to the capacity of your calling is ever-present.  But the invitation to step into your influence right where you are for the sake of the Kingdom is trajectory-shifting. If we were face-to-face right now enjoying your go-to drink order in your favorite hometown coffee shop (can never go wrong with an almond milk cappuccino), I would look you in the eyes and tell you this in love:  You don’t need a huge following to make a difference; you just need to tap into the influence God has given you today.  This is something so counter-cultural to what we see happening online, but here are a few practical ways you can tap into your influence right where you are. 1. Share the gospel. I once heard Jonathan Pokluda, Lead Pastor of Harris Creek Church, share a leadership nugget in a podcast I loved. He was in a team meeting and asked the people around him if they had shared the gospel lately. They all hadn’t, so he encouraged them to share the gospel and come back to work once they had done so. Those people weren’t the lead pastor preaching each Sunday, but he wanted them to share the gospel regularly. Not because they had growing platforms or countless followers—but because they had influence and it was essential to their mission. As believers, we have the invitation to share the gospel right where we are.  Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age. Matthew 28:19-20 We’re told to share the gospel.  We’re not told to share the gospel only if… We have __ amount of followers. We have an audience. It’s convenient. We have the right blog. We have a book publishing deal to share it in. It fits into our schedule. Somebody puts us on a platform. We feel like it. We’re told to share the gospel…no asterisk attached. 2. Ask yourself the question, “How am I stewarding what I’ve been given?”  It doesn’t matter how big your following is as much as it matters what you’re doing with the following you have. Whether you have 3 followers or 3 million, how are you bringing hope, light, and the power of Jesus to the people in your sphere of influence? At the end of the day, we’re all responsible for stewarding what God has given us well, regardless of our social networks. Luke 16:10 says, Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much.” Are you being faithful with what God has given you?  If you don’t aim to make an eternal significance with the influence you have now, what will make you decide to make an eternal significance with a bigger audience? 3. Recognize your influence instead of focusing on the influence you wish you had.  When I think of somebody who shared their influence regardless of the cultural barriers around her or the lack of followers she had, I think about the Samaritan woman. She didn’t go to Jerusalem to get a huge following—she went to her hometown and told as many people as possible about Jesus and what He had done. Why? Because she was so overwhelmed with awe and wonder she had to share it with as many people as she could.  She told the whole city about the One who knew everything she had ever done but saved her anyway. The best part? It led to much of that town being saved. Who has God put in front of you to connect with? Let’s be intentional with the friends surrounding us. Let’s share endless hope with the people at our gyms. Let’s be a light to the other parents at our child’s school. Let’s cultivate the art of authenticity in our lives to propel others into the mission and vision of the gospel. Let’s ask God to clarify who our people are to pour into, and let’s watch Him show up above and beyond what we’d imagine.  The Enemy would love for the influence you don’t have to distract you from the influence you do have.  It’s his low-hanging fruit plan we saw play out in the garden. God abundantly gave to Adam and Eve—but the Enemy distracted them with what they didn’t have. You’re not missing out on anything. 2 Peter 1:3 tells us, “His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness.” The season, people, and influence God has intentionally placed right in front of you is too good to miss.

One thing that muddies the water of modern Christianity is entitlement. It’s the priority of self. It’s serving to be seen. It’s the disciples walking with Jesus towards the cross, arguing over who is the greatest and missing who was in front of them. If left unchecked, this spirit of entitlement will breed comparison, insecurity, divisiveness, and spiritual exhaustion leading to burnout.  Rather, the Scriptures make clear that we are to forgo a spirit of entitlement as we realize that God has entrusted his great promises to us. Living entrusted helps counter the lies of entitlement and helps us celebrate others, live secure, be unified, and find fulfillment and rest in Christ.  In this article, we will examine the key differences between living entitled and living entrusted. To do so, we’ll look to Numbers 16.  “Now Korah… took 2 two hundred fifty prominent Israelite men who were leaders of the community and representatives in the assembly, and they rebelled against Moses. They came together against Moses and Aaron and told them, “You have gone too far! Everyone in the entire community is holy, and the LORD is among them. Why then do you exalt yourselves above the LORD’s assembly?” When Moses heard this, he fell facedown. Then he said to Korah and all his followers, “Tomorrow morning the LORD will reveal who belongs to him, who is set apart, and the one he will let come near him. He will let the one he chooses come near him. Korah, you and all your followers are to do this: take firepans, and tomorrow place fire in them and put incense on them before the LORD. Then the man the LORD chooses will be the one who is set apart. It is you Levites who have gone too far!”  Numbers 16:1-7 The story goes on to make clear that Moses was the one called by God while Korah and his followers were swallowed up by the earth (Numbers 16:22-48). Five key takeaways rise to the surface in response to this text.  Entitlement is the fruit of a low view of God. Walking entrusted is the expression of a God-sized view of God.An inflated view of self starts with a deflated view of God. We see this in the difference between Korah & Moses. In the story, Korah’s low view of God expressed itself in his rising up. Yet, Moses, in view of the Almighty, fell facedown. They had different standards of holiness because they had different views of God. In a day where it’s celebrated to fight for what we think we deserve, Scripture tells a different story. In view of the beauty of Christ, God’s people are compelled to live in humility. We will serve wherever, whoever, and however long because in living before God, we’ve made our lives about God. We’ve found the One who life is about—and it’s not us. Walking as those entrusted must begin with a high view of God and freedom from self.Entitlement obsesses over position. Walking entrusted is expressed in contentment regardless of position.Korah wanted the position of Moses, so he wrongfully accused his motives. Take note of how Moses responds. He doesn’t clap back. He doesn’t defend himself. He submits to the authority of the Lord. He defers to God’s judgment, not his own. Moses was content to be wherever the Lord placed him, whether low or high. His goal was God, not a position. Our job titles are getting longer. Our profiles are growing. It’s easier than ever to be concerned about what position we have. Yet, God doesn’t seem to take the same interest that we do with our titles. Paul’s job title was tentmaker, but his assignment was to be an Apostle. Luke’s job title was doctor, but his assignment was to be a Gospel author and missionary. Mary’s job title was stay-at-home mom, but her assignment was to carry Christ into the world. We know these people, and many more, not because of their titles and positions but because they said yes to their assignments. Chances are the people who have made the biggest impact in your life aren’t those with the longest titles but those who said yes to the Lord in investing in your life. Don’t obsess over position; be content to walk in the assignment God’s given you. Entitlement focuses on growing a following. Walking entrusted focuses on following faithfully. “Korah’s followers” are referred to 3 different times in this chapter. It’s interesting that nowhere in the Bible is it said that Moses had followers. Moses was a follower. His obedience was emphasized. His goal was not to gain followers but to see those entrusted to Him follow the Lord. Moses viewed leadership as being before God on behalf of his people, but Korah viewed leadership as being above people. There is a thin line but a drastic difference between these two kinds of leadership. To walk entrusted, the goal must be helpfulness over impressiveness. Entitlement grumbles. Walking entrusted is expressed in intercession. Korah rose and complained, but Moses fell and prayed. The truth is, the Lord is more concerned about many of our problems than we are. We can talk to him about them. We know our boss’ boss. We have access to the Almighty. Pray to Him. The highest power does not lie in the meetings of leaders and the elite but in the authority of the King. Oswald Chambers says it well when he writes, “God never gives us discernment in order that we may criticize, but that we may intercede.” Entitlement is concerned with what we deserve. Walking entrusted is concerned with what’s best for our people.When God proved Moses to be the leader of the people, the Israelites still grumbled against him. Even when the Lord crushed Korah and his followers, the people treated Moses and Aaron poorly. What was their response? Moses loved those who spoke against him. He forgave them and fought for their good.  How can we love those who mistreat us? How can we be faithful when what we do goes unseen? How can we do good to those who don’t like us? By looking to our true High Priest. His name is Jesus. Jesus is the greater Moses. He is the One who was not entitled but walked entrusted for us. Jesus had a proper view of God and made a way for us to come to the Father.Jesus didn’t obsess over position. He gave up his position so we could have position with Him.Jesus never grumbled but lived to intercede for His people.Jesus didn’t get what He deserved but embraced what we deserved because He was concerned with what was best for us.  We don’t have to be like Korah; we know Jesus. We don’t have to fight for us, He fights for us. His love frees us from us and invites us to walk with Him. Here, in his love, we can walk as those entrusted and not become entitled.

Grant Partrick joins us for a special talk on Father’s Day, reminding us that few things are more powerful than a father’s words. Though everyone’s experience as a father or as children of fathers varies, we can ultimately find confidence knowing that the love of our heavenly Father meets our greatest needs.

Camilo Buchanan opens up Hebrews 1-2, encouraging and reminding us to keep our faith anchored in Jesus, our High Priest, who is superior overall.

Ben Stuart continues our “Why does God…?” series by leading us through two psalms. The enemy is coming after our sonship, and it’s time for us to be honest, get curious, get serious about the cure, and take hold of God.

Continuing in our Epicenter collection, Louie Giglio shares more on Romans 8, highlighting the importance of our minds being transformed by the power of the Word rather than the pattern of the world and emphasizing the importance of knowing and understanding our identity in Christ.