"Who We Are Instead" pt.5

Called to be Saints

I urge you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God, your spiritual worship. Do not conform yourselves to this age but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and pleasing and perfect.
-Romans 12:1-2

The Christian life isn't just about "fire insurance", or doing the "bare minimum" to make God happy so He doesn't send us to Hell. God has brought us into His family, made us sharers in His divine nature. He has made us New Creatures--and those New Creatures ultimately will look like Christ. God wants us to be like Him! Our Christian faith, then, is the process by which He makes us more and more perfect in Him--so that, when all is said and done, when we arrive before His throne, we will be saints!

God doesn't want any less than that from His Children. He tells us in 1 Peter 1:13-16, that we must, "therefore, gird up the loins of your mind, live soberly, and set your hopes completely on the grace to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ. Like obedient children, do not act in compliance with the desires of your former ignorance, but, as He who has called you is holy, be holy yourselves in every aspect of your conduct, for it is written, 'Be holy because I am holy.'"

In the above passages (Romans and 1 Peter) we are encouraged to live our lives as a sacrifice. It is no longer our own, but belongs to God, because He bought us with a price: His blood shed on the cross! In repayment for His sacrifice for us, we need to offer our lives to Him, to live completely sold-out to Him! We owe Him nothing less! Both St. Peter and St. Paul say that we must not conform ourselves to the ways of the world. We have to live a cut above! How do we accomplish that?

"Be imitators of God, as beloved children, and live in love, as Christ loved us and handed Himself over for us as a sacrificial offering to God for a fragrant aroma. Immorality or any impurity or greed must not even be mentioned among you, as is fitting among saints, no obscenity or silly or suggestive talk, which is out of place, but instead, thanksgiving. Be sure of this, that no immoral or impure or greedy person, that is, an idolater, has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God" (Ephesians 5:1-5).

This is a daunting word! This is a hard instruction! Who can accomplish such a thing, and live such a life?! How can God expect this from us? This is how! He asks us first to yield to Him, and then He Himself makes us able to live the life! St. Paul writes, "I am confident of this, that the one who began a good work in you will continue to complete it until the day of Christ Jesus" (Philippians 1:6). God starts the work in us, and works in us to complete it. But we have an obligation. We have to work at this new life, to attain salvation. St. Paul says later on in Philippians, "So then, my brethren, obedient as you have always been...work out your own salvation with fear and trembling" (2:12). But this work is only a result of God's grace in us, and is only done through Him, as the very next verse says: "For God is the one who, for His good purpose, works in you both to desire and to work" (v.13).

God calls us to live holy lives, worthy of the name Saints, and then He Himself causes us to be able to live that life! He, in us, makes us holy as we cooperate with the graces that He gives us. This is what St. Augustine meant when he wrote, "What merit, then, does a man have before grace, by which he might receive grace, when our every good merit is produced in us only by grace and when God, crowning our merits, crowns nothing else but his own gifts to us?" (Letters, 194:5:19).

So then, let us take up the call, and live the life of obedience to and imitation of God! Let us fulfil our destiny of sainthood, as we yield to God's work of Holiness in our lives!

And now, to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling,
And to present you unblemished and exultant,
In the presence of His glory,
To the Only God, our Saviour,
Through Jesus Christ our Lord
Be glory and majesty,
Power and authority
From ages past, now, and for ages to come.
Amen. -Jude 24,25

This concludes our series, "Who We Are Instead." I pray the truths here will help you to live the abundant life that Jesus has for all of us, so that we may one day stand in His presence as saints! Amen.

"Who We Are Instead" pt.4

Life to the Full

We had a bigger turn-out Sunday. That was cool. We had fun, too, since that was the theme. I was a little disorganised, though, because Melissa and I had just got back from a wedding in Whitby that weekend. I thought it went well, though.

A lot of people get the impression that Christianity is a bunch of rules, a bunch of do's and don't's. They think it's no fun to be religious.

Jesus, on the other hand, has this to say:

"Truly, truly, I say to you, he who does not enter the sheepfold by the door but climbs in by another way, that man is a thief and a robber; but he who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. To him the gatekeeper opens; the sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has brought out all his own, he goes before them, and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice. A stranger they will not follow, but they will flee from him, for they do not know the voice of strangers." This figure Jesus used with them, but they did not understand what he was saying to them. So Jesus again said to them, "Truly, truly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep. All who came before me are thieves and robbers; but the sheep did not heed them. I am the door; if any one enters by me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture. The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly. I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep" (John 10:1-11).

What is He saying? He's saying that He didn't come to bring us rules and boredom, but life--abundant life! Jesus offers us peace and joy through His Spirit in our lives!

In verse 10 Jesus says, "The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy." This is Satan, and that is all that he wants to do with our lives, destroy them, and make us as miserable as possible. Like we talked about last week, the Christian life is a war, a war against this thief, the destroyer of our lives. He promises us happiness, life, and freedom. But his version leads only to pain. Yes, sin can bring momentary pleasure, but it only lasts for a moment, then comes guilt and pain and sadness. It is never fulfilling. Even when Satan offers something that is in and of itself good, when we seek that as the ultimate Good, it leaves us wanting.

In our lives, we search for happiness, joy, peace, and meaning. Many people go through their lives trying to fill a void in their hearts with different things, like sex, alcohol or drugs, parties, popularity, success, money, and many other things. But only Jesus can bring us true fulfilment. Blaise Pascal once remarked that every heart has a God-shaped void, or as St. Augustine put it, "Thou hast made us for Thyself, and restless are our hearts until they find their rest in Thee."

Jesus says, "I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly. I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep." Jesus never promised us an easy life, but He did promise an abundant life, a full life. I believe that that means in this current life as well as in eternal life with God in Heaven!

Sin blocks us from the Truth, but God has reached out to us through this barrier. When we seek happiness or meaning from a source other than Jesus, it is ultimately temporary and unfulfilling. Jesus says we need to go to Him for fulfilment. God didn't set up the rules to keep us from the fun, but to protect us from harm. It is said that telling the truth is easier, because you don't have to remember what you said. In the same way, in a sense, living a righteous life is easier, because we're saved from the regret and guilt that come from sin. On the other hand, it is the harder road, because the sinful things seem so tempting, so rewarding. This is why we need to stay close to Jesus, our only true source of fulfilment. When we stay close to Him, we'll see all those other things for what they are.

"But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things shall be yours as well" (Matthew 6:33).

When I was in high school, I went to a few parties, and more than once there was a lot of drinking going on. For myself, I don't drink (mainly because I can't stand the taste of alcohol). But a lot of my friends drank, heavily. It was as if they didn't know how to, or couldn't, enjoy themselves when they were sober. I hated those parties, because I would see good people making asses out of themselves, because they were no longer in control. And this was supposed to be "fun". It made me so sad.

God has made us for so much more! St. Paul writes, "And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery; but be filled with the Spirit" (Ephesians 5:18). I think many times people try to have "fun" in order to escape themselves. But through Jesus' Spirit, we know who we are! There is no loathing, no condemnation, but joy! We don't need to go get wasted to have fun, to be happy!

Just a reminder: We're heading down to Wonderland on Saturday. I need to know today that you're going! Post here (with an email address) or email me directly at watchman317ca @yahoo.ca if you're interested in going, so I can email you a permission form. If I don't hear from you by 5, you missed the boat.

God bless you abundantly!

"Who We Are Instead" pt.3

History Makers


Sorry it's been so long since I've posted. Last week was really busy. Here's the talk from May 1st on being History Makers. This week was Mother's Day, so we took a week off of Youth Group so you could spend it with your mom. God bless!

In part 2 we talked about how our identity in Christ is based on His Grace that He freely gives us. It's His Grace that saves us and makes us members of His Covenant. It's His Grace that makes us New Creatures. And more, according to Ephesians 2:10, He has made us His Workmanship, His poetry!

For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.

Later on in Ephesians, St. Paul tells us why it's so important that we understand God's Grace in our lives. The Christian life isn't always all peace and roses. It's War!

Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we are not contending against flesh and blood, but against the principalities, against the powers, against the world rulers of this present darkness, against the spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. Therefore take the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. Stand therefore, having girded your loins with truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and having shod your feet with the equipment of the gospel of peace; besides all these, taking the shield of faith, with which you can quench all the flaming darts of the evil one. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. Pray at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints. Ephesians 6:10-18

In the Book of Revelation (chapter 12), the Devil is said to be full of rage, and has gone off to wage war on Mary's "other children", those who "Keep God's commandments and bear witness to Jesus" (v.17). That's us! That's why Jesus has given us His Armour!

Now before you run to your closet to see if you might have missed the shiny metal outfit, let's break down what St. Paul is talking about when he discusses the Armour of God. The first thing he lets us know is that it's a Spiritual armour for a spiritual battle: "For we are not contending against flesh and blood, but against the principalities, against the powers, against the world rulers of this present darkness, against the spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places" (v.12).

Pope John Paul 2, when he was living, spoke out often against the Culture of Death that dominates our society. This Culture of Death is the physical, earthly manifestation of the Devil's spiritual power. He seeks to destroy God's creation, especially the New Creation! We must answer the Call to promote the Culture of Life in our world. We aren't talking about killing the unbeliever or somesuch. This isn't about waging literal war on sinners, or bombing abortion clinics, or crazy psycho stuff like that! St. Paul tells us plainly, the flesh and blood people aren't the enemy, even when they seem like it. Why? Because behind that opposition lies the real enemy, Satan, and his powers and spiritual hosts of wickedness. The people are the victims, and need Christ's grace and salvation as much as any of us. That's why we have to wage the spiritual war! So how do we do that? Let's look at the Armour.

1: The Belt of Truth--This is the foundation to the entire armour. It holds the rest of the pieces in place. Knowing the Truth will set us free, according to Jesus (John 8:32). He promised that He would send us His Spirit, the Spirit of Truth, who would guide us into all truth! God's first gift of Grace to us is to know His Truth to establish our way. He did this by sending us Jesus, the Way, the Truth, and the Life! That's why it's so important that we stick close to the Spirit inside us, and to the Church, "The Pillar and Foundation of the Truth" (1 Timothy 3:15). Just like belts hold our pants up, the Belt of Truth holds the rest of our armour in place!

2: The Breastplate of Righteousness--When we know the Truth, we have to act on it. That's being righteous or just. We need to live the truth, otherwise, what good is it? Jesus said, "If you love Me, you will keep My commandments" (John 14:15). When we live out our Christian beliefs in a spirit of charity, people will notice the difference it makes. When we stand up for the truth, for what's right, people will pay attention. They will ask us about it, and as St. Peter writes, we must always be prepared to give an answer to the hope that is in us (1 Peter 3:15). This brings us to the next part of our armour...

3: The Shoes of the Gospel of Peace--Before Jesus went up to Heaven, as we celebrated at Mass today (Ascension Sunday) He gave us the Great Commission: "Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, to the close of the age" (Matthew 28:19-20). This going is why St. Paul equates the Gospel with Shoes. And for someone who spent his Christian life as a missionary travelling throughout the Roman Empire, St. Paul knew what going was all about! He tells us that the same must be true of us, that we must be prepared to Go where God sends us, and tell others about Him!

4: The Shield of Faith--If we're going to be a witness to Christ, we need to believe in Him (I hope that's obvious!). But faith here is more than mere acceptance of Christ--it's a lifestyle of reliance on Him. It's presented as a shield that deflects Satan's attacks, because it is our faith, lived out, that reminds us of the truth that God loves us and has made us new creatures! The Shield of Faith is our greatest defence against sin, because we can hold it up when the Devil tries to tell us the lie that we are worthless, that God doesn't really care about us. It defends us from sin, because we believe that God has something greater for us than the momentary pleasure that sin has to offer! The Shield gives us a reminder of why we wear the Breastplate--our Faith and our Righteousness are our protection against Sin.

5: The Helmet of Salvation--Protecting our head, our most vulnerable and most vital part of us, is Salvation! It is our Helmet, because it comes directly from Christ, the Head of His Body, the Church. Our Salvation is what gives us life, it is the life of Christ in us--the Life that makes us New Creatures!

6: The Sword of the Spirit--Our primary weapon in this fight is the Word of God, called a Sword. Knowing the Word is our best offence against the Devil. When he comes to tempt us, we parry with the Shield of Faith, knowing God has something better, and we thrust with the Sword, His Word, to drive back the Devil. The greatest illustration of this is in Matthew 4, where Jesus Himself teaches us about the combat. When he is tempted by the Devil after 40 days of fasting, He resists the temptation by quoting the Word of God at the Devil until the Devil has to flee! But in order to wield the Sword, we need to know it, to practice with it. We need to read the Word of God, to memorize portions, to allow God's Spirit to speak to us through it! A man with a sword he cannot wield is just as useless as a man with no sword, and possibly more dangerous to himself and those around him! We must know God's Word intimately, because that is why He gave it to us!

7: All Prayer and Supplication--Our other weapon is just as important and just as powerful, and it is one that can be used by anyone, in any situation! Prayer expresses our dependence on God, and invites Him to come and fight with us and for us! All prayer is powerful, and we need to practice it, to make it a habit. Otherwise, we may forget this valuable weapon until it is too late! Prayer is our contact with God; it is our lifeline to Him. That relationship is vital to our survival in this war! Do not neglect this gift, this weapon, especially the prayer of the Mass! It is the most powerful form of prayer, and we do major battle with the heavenlies when we participate in the Mass! Jesus defeated Satan on the Cross, and in the Mass, we unite our sacrifices to His in the Eucharist, claiming His victory in our own lives, and tag-teaming the Devil as it were!

Don't kid yourself. The battle is real. The early Christians were persecuted and killed for their beliefs--and that didn't end a thousand years ago. It still happens today. Sometimes we are blind to it, here in Canada, because we live in such a free country. But not all countries have the same luxury. The Church in China, for example, is illegal because of the Communist Government. Christianity is outlawed and persecuted in Islamic nations such as in the Middle East or Pakistan. People are arrested, beaten, and even killed for their faith! Yet it is there that the Church thrives and is powerful! Think for a moment about this. This Easter Vigil, at St. Andrews, 5 people became Catholics! Glory to God! But think about this--in Communist Hong Kong, 100,000 people were baptised as Catholics at the Easter Vigil! Why, in a country where faith is outlawed, is it growing so astoundingly? Because they are aware of the War!

We here can be comfortable, complacent, and apathetic! We don't see the war, because the Devil has lulled us into a false sense of security. But little by little, he takes away our freedoms, and we let him! Abortions have no restrictions in this country, and haven't for 30 someodd years! Gay Marriage is being recognised and legitimised all over! Euthanasia is becoming more widely accepted! "Tolerance" is the buzzword when it comes to religion, and people are happy to be tolerant of everyone but Christians, because we dare, we have the audacity, the gall, to assert that there is an absolute truth, and His name is Jesus!

We need to wake up, to rise up, and to realise that God didn't give us His Grace for nothing. He didn't make us into New Creatures for nothing! He made us His Warriors, His Soldiers, and we need to take a stand for Him! We need to become History Makers for His Kingdom!

History Maker
Delirious? Words by Martin Smith

Is it true today
That when people pray
Cloudless skies will break
Kings and queens will shake?

Yes it's true and I believe it
I'm living for You

Is it true today
That when people pray
We'll see dead men rise
And the blind set free?

Yes it's true and I believe it
I'm living for You

I'm gonna be a history maker in this land
I'm gonna be a speaker of truth to all mankind
I'm gonna stand, I'm gonna run
Into Your arms, into Your arms again
Into Your arms, into Your arms again

Yes it's true today
That when people stand
with the fire of God,
And the truth in hand
We'll see miracles,
We'll see angels sing
We'll see broken hearts
Making history

Yes it's true and we believe it
We're living for You

I'm gonna be a history maker in this land
I'm gonna be a speaker of truth to all mankind
I'm gonna stand, I'm gonna run
Into Your arms, into Your arms again
Into Your arms, into Your arms again

"Who We Are Instead" pt.2

Living By God's Grace

Last week we began our series on "Who we are instead", by talking about how God has given us the grace to become His children, His princes and princesses. This week we're going to look at what exactly God's grace is, how we get it, and what it does for us.

The Bible says that when we are baptised, God fills us with His Spirit and makes us completely new creatures. "Therefore, if any one is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has passed away, behold, the new has come" (2 Corinthians 5:17).

This recreation into new creatures is accomplished when God fills us with His Holy Spirit, His very life! That is what Grace is—God's very life being given to us! Without this grace in our lives, nothing we could do would really mean anything. We could live better lives that Mother Teresa or Pope John Paul the Great did, but it wouldn't mean anything. Only by God's free gift of His Grace are our lives transformed.

This Grace comes to us through Jesus' sacrifice on the Cross. Then, in the sacrament of Baptism, we unite ourselves with Jesus' sacrifice, by dying to our old life of sin, being cleansed and filled with the Holy Spirit, and rising again to the new life of Grace. This is how our lives as sons and daughters of God begins. This is how we originally become His princes and princesses!

CCC1997 Grace is a participation in the life of God. It introduces us into the intimacy of Trinitarian life: by Baptism the Christian participates in the grace of Christ, the Head of his Body. As an "adopted son" he can henceforth call God "Father," in union with the only Son. He receives the life of the Spirit who breathes charity into him and who forms the Church.

2 Peter 1:2-4—May grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord. His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence, by which he has granted to us his precious and very great promises, that through these you may escape from the corruption that is in the world because of passion, and become partakers of the divine nature.

But God's Grace is not a one-time deal. Being a child of the King isn't the sort of thing you do just when you feel like it. It has to be a 24/7 reality in your lives. When you fight with your parents about their rules, they might give you the line, "As long as you're under my roof, you're gonna follow my rules!" God's not too much different...except He's everywhere, so we're always "under His roof" so to speak.

In the Old Testament, He gave Moses the Law, and the Israelites were supposed to keep it. Problem is, they couldn't. No one could. They could do their best, but they'd always fail. That's called sin—and it's still true of us today.

But with Jesus, He came and was able to keep the Law perfectly, because He was God. But because He was also one of us, a human being, He represented us to God. He paid the sacrifice that we could never be able to. Because of this, He gave us the opportunity to experience a new kind of Law, the Law of Grace.

On the outside, this Law seems not too much different from the Old Law. We still have to follow a bunch of rules, and by ourselves, these rules seem impossible to keep. But because of Jesus, we have a secret weapon! That's Grace!

Grace not only forgives us our sins when we do fail. Grace makes us entirely new creatures, and when we surrender to that Grace, we will actually fail less! This is because God fills us with His Holy Spirit, His own divine life! That's what Grace is! It's the actual, literal, powerful ability to live for God! It's not just a metaphor to say that we're new creatures! We may not look different. We may not always feel different. But we are!

CCC2000 Sanctifying grace is an habitual gift, a stable and supernatural disposition that perfects the soul itself to enable it to live with God, to act by his love.

Sometimes we can think of God's grace as "fire insurance" or a "get out of hell free" card. But Grace is so much more than merely getting to go to heaven when we die, or not having to go to hell. We limit our understanding of the infinite love of God when we treat it like an escape hatch from eternal torment! Grace is for us now! It makes us part of God's family now! It gives us power to live for Him now! It makes our lives fuller now!

Grace is completely a gift from God. Nothing we could do would be good enough to earn this precious gift—that's why it's called Grace! But at the same time, God's Grace actually makes us worthy of God's Grace! Think about that for a second!

CCC2009 Filial adoption, in making us partakers by grace in the divine nature, can bestow true merit on us as a result of God's gratuitous justice. This is our right by grace, the full right of love, making us "co-heirs" with Christ and worthy of obtaining "the promised inheritance of eternal life." [Council of Trent (1547): DS 1546.] The merits of our good works are gifts of the divine goodness. [Cf. Council of Trent (1547): DS 1548] "Grace has gone before us; now we are given what is due. . . . Our merits are God's gifts." [St. Augustine, Sermo 298,4-5:PL 38,1367.]

Just like living the life of God isn't just a one-time or occasional thing, receiving God's Grace isn't just a one-time thing, either. That's why God has given us the Sacraments, which are physical things that bring us God's Grace.

What are they?

Baptism
Confirmation
Eucharist
Confession
Anointing of the Sick
Holy Orders
Matrimony

Some of these are 1 time dealies: Baptism and Confirmation, for example. Some of them seem like one-time dealies: Holy Orders and Matrimony—because the people only receive them once (well, with marriage, it's ideally only supposed to be once), but in reality, the sacrament isn't in the ceremony, but in the life that's lived as a result.

Finally, three of them are supposed to be received as often as necessary! Confession and anointing of the sick are ones that we should freely receive whenever we need them. The Eucharist, which is by far the most important sacrament after Baptism, should be taken all the time, as often as you can get it! That's because we're renewing that family membership that we get through Baptism, and at the same time, we're receiving Jesus into our lives, and His grace continues to transform us more and more!

God gives us these gifts of His Grace to enable us to live in Him and live for Him. Without these gifts, our spiritual life is stunted and we don't grow as well—just like when physically we don't eat right. At the same time, we need to receive the sacraments properly, with a correct disposition or attitude. And we need to put that grace to work. We need to actively serve God, making use of the gifts of Grace that He gives us. Otherwise we get spiritually "fat" and "bloated", and become unhealthy—just like if we didn't eat properly and never exercised!

Think of it this way: In the Middle East, there is a sea called the Dead Sea. It's called this because all the adjoining rivers flow into it, and none flow out. Therefore it has collected salt for centuries, without being able to filter any out. It could almost be more accurately described as "wet salt" rather than salty water! This area is dead. Nothing grows, because there is no fresh water.

Spiritually speaking, our lives can be "dead seas" if we never live out the life of Grace in us. If we never give the Grace we have received away, as God intended, then we are not giving His life! Look at the example of our Blessed Mother, the Virgin Mary. The angel Gabriel described her as "Full of Grace" (Luke 1:28). Since Grace is the life of God in our lives, the Church rightly declares that Mary was Immaculate, since Grace and Sin cannot mix. But if Mary was Full of God's Grace, that He continues to bestow on her, then she would either become a dead, bloated Christian (which is surely not the case for our Mother!) or the Grace that God bestowed on her would pour over into the lives to whom she bestowed it!

It should be the same with us, according to the measure of Grace that God has given to us! We need to respond in obedience, and live that life of Grace. We need to bestow it on others through service, evangelisation, and prayer!

When we're living in God's Grace, we are new creatures, and we have a new purpose! God created us as His Workmanship (Ephesians 2:8-10—For by grace you have been saved through faith; and this is not your own doing, it is the gift of God—not because of works, lest any man should boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.). The Greek word for "workmanship", poena means masterpiece, and it's where we get our English word, "Poem". We're God's poetry, and we're created to actually change the world we live in! That'll be our talk next week!

"Who We Are Instead" pt.1

Our Identity In Christ

The Bible says that when we are baptised, God fills us with His Spirit and makes us completely new creatures. "Therefore, if any one is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has passed away, behold, the new has come" (2 Corinthians 5:17).

But a lot of the time we don't act like glorious new creatures. The Devil hates that God has done this for us, and so he tries to convince us that we haven't been changed. Too often we believe his lies, and when we do, we can act as though they are true, and we live defeated, depressed, insecure lives unsure of who we are and what our purpose is.

My favourite band, Jars of Clay, put out an album called "Who We Are Instead" (from which the name of this series comes). On the album they have a song called "Trouble Is", which basically describes the Christian who doesn't realise who God has made him or her into.

Trouble Is

My wings don't sail me to the sky
On my own these wings won't fly
Jesus told me so
Still I'm not so sure that I know

Can't find no rest for my soul
Can't find no rest on my own
Jesus told me so
Still I'm not so sure that I know

Chorus
Man, the trouble is
We don't know who we are instead

I'll keep runnin' the other way
My heart ain't built to stay
My heart ain't built to stay
And the world just ain't that way

Chorus
Man, the trouble is
We don't know who we are instead

My heart ain't built to stay
My heart ain't built to stay
Jesus told me so

Satan knows the wonderful life of Grace that Jesus bought for us on the cross, and, as the Father of Lies, and the enemy of our souls, he wants to destroy that life in us. So he attacks it by telling us that it doesn't even exist. He tells us lies about our worth, our loveliness, and even our identity. When we begin to believe those lies, we begin to tell them to ourselves. Satan is so crafty, that he can make his ideas seem like our own! We need to defend ourselves against these lies--but to do that, we need to know what they are.

Satan's Lie
You are a sinner because you sometimes sin
God's Truth
You are a saint (one who is made righteous by God) who sometimes sins

Satan's Lie
You get your identity from what you have done
God's Truth
You get your identity from what God has done for you

Satan's Lie
You get your identity from what people say about you
God's Truth
You get your identity from what God says about you

Satan's Lie
Your behaviour tells you what to believe about yourself
God's Truth
Your belief about yourself determines your behaviour

God has given us a new identity in Christ. The Catechism of the Catholic Church says:

1265 Baptism not only purifies from all sins, but also makes [us] "a new creature," an adopted son of God, who has become a "partaker of the divine nature," member of Christ and co-heir with Him, and a temple of the Holy Spirit.

Here's what the Bible says about it:

We are children of God and brothers and sisters of Jesus!

John 1:12-13--But to all who received him, who believed in his name, he gave power to become children of God; who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.

1 John 3:1--See what love the Father has given us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are.

Ephesians 1:5--He destined us in love to be his sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will.

Romans 8:15, 28-30--For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the spirit of sonship. When we cry, "Abba! Father!"...We know that in everything God works for good with those who love him, who are called according to his purpose. For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the first-born among many brethren. And those whom he predestined he also called; and those whom he called he also justified; and those whom he justified he also glorified.

We are Christ's friends!

John 15:11-17--These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full. "This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. Greater love has no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. You are my friends if you do what I command you. No longer do I call you servants, for the servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you. You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide; so that whatever you ask the Father in my name, he may give it to you. This I command you, to love one another.

We are justified--our sins are forgiven!

Romans 5:1-11--Therefore, since we are justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Through him we have obtained access to this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in our hope of sharing the glory of God. More than that, we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not disappoint us, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit which has been given to us. While we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. Why, one will hardly die for a righteous man--though perhaps for a good man one will dare even to die. But God shows his love for us in that while we were yet sinners Christ died for us. Since, therefore, we are now justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God. For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life. Not only so, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received our reconciliation.

Colossians 1:13-14--He has delivered us from the dominion of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.

We are Redeemed by Christ to be the Temple of the Holy Spirit!

1 Corinthians 6:19-20--Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, which you have from God? You are not your own; you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.

We are Saints!

Ephesians 1:1-6--Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, To the saints who are also faithful in Christ Jesus: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. He destined us in love to be his sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace which he freely bestowed on us in the Beloved.

We share in Christ's divine glory!

Colossians 2:9-15--For in him the whole fulness of deity dwells bodily, and you have come to fulness of life in him, who is the head of all rule and authority. In him also you were circumcised with a circumcision made without hands, by putting off the body of flesh in the circumcision of Christ; and you were buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through faith in the working of God, who raised him from the dead. And you, who were dead in trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, having canceled the bond which stood against us with its legal demands; this he set aside, nailing it to the cross. He disarmed the principalities and powers and made a public example of them, triumphing over them in him.

So yeah, I know that was a lot of Bible! But it's important. The Bible has been called God's love letter to us, and from the above passages, we can see why! God loves us a whole lot! He's made us a part of His family, He's called us His friends, He's made us holy, and best of all, He lives inside each of us, making us sharers in His divine life of Grace and Love!

Seriously, let that sink in for a moment! Infinite, holy, almighty God cares enough about YOU to make you like HIM! That's unbelievable! God, the King of the Universe has made you His son or daughter!

Guys, that makes you princes!

Girls, that makes you princesses!

Think about that the next time you're feeling down. Post it on your mirror. Say it to yourself when you look at yourself in the mirror out loud! This is your identity! Own it!

God bless!