Please watch the video below from Steve Mcvey over at gracewalk.org and then read my comments below…
Why is your identity so important? Why do Steve and I think these popular catch phrases aren’t harmless and are outright LIES?
It’s because everything else in your life is largely a result of your self-image… who you believe your identity to be.
Scientific PROOF…
This has been proven by science over and over again. See the works of Dr. Maxwell Maltz and Psycho Cybernetics to see how big a role your self image plays in your life. You’ll actually ACT OUT who you truly believe you are.
Like a person put under hypnosis and told they are a dog and they start barking like a dog… it’s the same way… by referring to yourself as a sinner who is saved by grace, you will act out the role of a SINNER.
Which is not what you want to be doing at all right?
So if your self image is so important, who ARE you really?
Well now that you’re saved, you’re no longer a “sinner”. So you can’t be a “sinner saved by grace”.
You are in fact a totally NEW creation in Christ. You are now a saint… as Steve points out the new testament alone calls you, the Christian, a saint over 60 times!
So if you want to be more Christ like… if you want to be happy as a Christian, like Christ… love people more like Christ… and fulfill the great commission like Christ… start referring to yourself as who you REALLY are and your behavior will follow suit.
One of my favorite copywriters is a guy named John Carlton, here’s an example of how important your identity is to your behavior…
“The last time I did this kind of challenge in a big way was decades ago, when I quit smoking (for the final time). The point of real change came when I stopped saying “I’m quitting smoking” to myself and others… and, instead, said “I don’t smoke.” And meant it.
There’s a difference. A guy who’s “quitting” (or, worse, “trying” to quit) is still in the act of “being” a smoker. He smokes, but he’s forcing himself to stop. It’s a battle.
Most people lose, too. That’s well known.
For me, that moment of Zen calm — when I realized I’d become a guy who didn’t smoke — was a watershed event. Trying to quit doing something is like “trying” to eat a sandwich — you’re either eating, or not. You’re either a guy with a mouthful of food, or you’re doing something else.”
You see how the key to overcoming his habit of smoking was to stop refferring to himself as a “smoker who was trying to quit” and instead to his new identity as “a guy who doesn’t smoke”?
You can have the same victory in your Christian life just as easily! If you simply BELIEVE what God says about you in His word… even if… you dont’ feel like a saint (this is called Faith, remember, and it’s the only thing that pleases God)… that’s the SECRET to constant victory in the Christian life!
Oh sure, you’re going to slip up and sin. But because you’re not a sinner (and you BELIEVE now that you’re a NEW creation, in Christ), you’ll just be like…
“Man, I slipped up there, I realize it was a sin God and I’m gonna refocus on doing what comes naturally to me–not sinning and pleasing you–thanks so much for your Holy Spirit residing in me and empowring my life!”
… and you just get back on track living a life of JOY… a Great Christian Life!
( I absolutely LOVE Steve’s explanation of Paul’s verse “I am the chief of sinners” by comparing it to the way Muhammed Ali talks about himself being “The greatest boxer in the world”… this is a perfect analogy!)
==> Read Galations 2:20 and Ephesians 2:10 for yourself, me and Steve aren’t just putting you on–this is the truth, the Good news of the Bible!
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5 Things I’m grateful for today:
- I got a pipe and now my house smells like cherry tobbacco goodness
- I’m figuring out how to edit this blog
- I’m excited about this new movie about scientific proof for intelligent design – http://www.expelledthemovie.com/
- You can sign up for my e-newsletter now! Just put your name and email into the box on the top right of this page!
- God’s plans for my future relationships are more thought out than my own
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