In our advanced society, there is an embedded cultural arrogance. This natural independence has instilled in us a sense of personal sovereignty. We must reject this notion and come under God’s authority as his creation.

We have a tendency to abandon God, distance ourselves from him, and try to create and adopt new identities for ourselves.

Scripture tells us that we are created by God, in his image, and for his purposes and glory. We must give ourselves back to God because we are his.

There are some things we determine in life, and there are some things we receive from God. However, our small level of responsibility often feeds our sense of sovereignty and power. This is when we mistakenly claim responsibility for our life and abandon our position as created beings.

In the grand scheme of the universe, we are small players. It is a privilege to be a small part of this much bigger story of God’s love for his Son, his grace towards us, and Jesus’ honoring of the Father through our redemption.

There is nothing more important for us than to understand the distinction between God as our Creator and ourselves as created beings. Clarity or confusion around our identity will have lasting effects for generations to come.

Through Adam and Eve’s sin in the garden, we have been condemned and are objectively guilty before God. However, God’s plan for redemption and restoration was already in place from the beginning.

Another result of the fall is the curse of death. God put death into place in order to limit evil in the world and to instill in us a desire for a better world.

Each one of us is corrupt from within—even our good deeds are not worthy to be compared to God’s holiness. But we can take hope in that fact that our fallen nature drives us towards the merciful redemption found in Christ.

While the world tells us to “believe in ourselves,” we must embrace our limitations as created beings, be humbled by our fallen nature, and look to our Creator for hope of a better world.

We must own our createdness and our fallenness in order to experience what it means to be recreated.

Being recreated by God is a reorientation—to his family, his culture, and his plans for the future. When we struggle to come under his authority, it raises questions about our understanding of our position as created beings.

When we are reborn, the Holy Spirit gives birth to spiritual life within us, and we can live in expectation of a priceless inheritance in eternity.

We are all looking for a sense of transcendence, often in worldly things like power, influence, and earthly relationships. However, our future with God should not only provide us with that transcendence, it should orient our entire lives.

Just as intense heat can remove the impurities from gold, so also can trials in our lives purify our souls and draw us closer to God. We should not waste our trials, but embrace them as God’s tool for growth.

Whether we struggle with crippling guilt and shame over our sin or self-righteousness in comparison to others, we must all humble ourselves to receive God’s mercy.

We were created and recreated to be holy—set apart by God. However, many of us think of holiness merely as the absence of sin. Rather, holiness is the presence of something uncommon, distinctive, and utterly unique.

God is radically distinct from us as creatures. He is the uncreated One in a category all his own. This is why we worship him and not ourselves.

When we get a glimpse of who God really is, it brings stability to our souls. We realize his sovereignty over the universe and can rest in his control.

Isaiah’s encounter with God transformed how he viewed himself. He realized that he was both a creature and sinner. We must likewise seek to encounter God so he can orient us to reality.

Part of growing in holiness is regular confession of sin—this should be part of the Christian experience.

Our pursuit of holiness is a response to the fact that we’ve been made objectively holy. It is not a performance to earn holiness—it is an outpouring of a grateful heart.

When we are recreated by God, we must come underneath his authority and release control of our lives to him. Our new lives will look different, and God may call us to do things that we wouldn’t have chosen ourselves.

All throughout Scripture, God has sent his people to reach and bless others. Ultimately, God sent Jesus to redeem us and the Holy Spirit to sustain us. Now, we are the sent ones.

God sends because he is kind, benevolent, and generous. We cannot simply follow some rules or a formula around the mission of being sent. We must allow God to instill his kindness deep within our hearts

Making disciples involves going, baptizing, and teaching. This means we must be in personal space with people, explaining who God is, and calling them to live in accordance with his Word.

Ironically, we as Gentiles were originally outsiders—we are not God’s chosen nation. However, God in his mercy has extended the gospel to us, and we now live in a place and time where we feel like insiders. We must remember our status and strive to reach those outside the faith with the gospel.

We all have opportunities to connect with others and share our faith. We must be willing to take the relational risk, verbalize the gospel to those around us, and call for a decision.

God’s call to Abram was extreme. However, he also extended a promise of comfort and blessing. We must likewise be willing to answer God’s call at great personal cost, for this is how God will bless others through us.

When we become followers of Christ, we gain the right to be in God’s family. We also receive a new birth that will begin to restore and reshape us into who God wants us to be.

There will be many who believe they are in God’s family but have not truly answered the call to follow Jesus. We must carefully examine our souls and consider whether we are true members of God’s family.

Knowing that we have an inheritance from God should bring us a sense of security, freedom and peace.

As believers, we are also privileged to have confident access to the throne room of our gracious God

Submitting to God’s discipline through trials and as a result of our sin is a formative element of our family identity. Because of God’s discipline, we know that we are his children.

When we are squeezed by the brokenness of the world, we have such intimacy with God that we can cry out to him as our Father.

God makes it clear that we are “temporary residents and foreigners” in this world. However, we very easily forget who we are and where we come from—we over-identify with and over-invest in this world.

God calls us to live solid, credible lives that are above reproach. In this way, even when we are accused of wrongdoing, people around us will see how we honor God.

While human authority is often corrupt, we must submit to it, believing and trusting that God is sovereign over all things.

We are born slaves to sin. However, because of Jesus’ sacrifice, we are made free from the power of sin. This does not give us personal sovereignty—as believers, we are slaves to our benevolent, compassionate Father.

There are many good and noble things that God gives us here on earth. But, we must guard our affections and not become overly attached to these things.

Just as Jesus suffered for all mankind, we must suffer for those around us. This is how we expand God’s kingdom.