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Loved this book and its focus on identity in Christ from the book of Ephesians. 

Today in our Sunday School class, we looked at Ephesians 3:14-21.  I love these verses!  What a powerful statement of the importance of prayer and experiencing God's love.  Mark Driscoll has great thoughts in his book, Who Do You Think You Are? I encourage you to read Ephesians 3 and then think and meditate about the verses and then these quotes: Paul didn't doubt that God loves you, but he did doubt that you'd truly know it, really believe it, and deeply receive it in a passionate, experiential, and personal way. The truth is that there is one answer to all our problems--a full understanding of God's love for us. The true test of your theology is not just what you say, but also how you pray.

Mark Driscoll reminds us we are in a spiritual battle in the final chapter of Who Do You Think You Are? But the good news is that we are winners not losers.  Be encouraged by these quotes about our victory in Jesus. Have you ever wondered why life is so hard, suffering is so painful, agony is always near, and God seems far away? It's because there's an enemy who hates God, hates you, and has set his army against you because you're in Christ. The trouble in our life is sometimes partially the fault of our sin or someone else's sin, but it's never the fault of God, as he is good and does not cause sin. Behind all sin, however, is Satan. People are not ultimately your enemy; rather, they're held in captivity by your enemy, and they need to be set free. You must never forget that you're saved and assured victory in Christ. Remind yourself daily. You're saved from Satan, sin, death, hell, and God's wrath. The last thing the church needs is cowa...

I finished two books I have been reading on our identity in Christ.  They are Who Do You Think You Are? by Mark Driscoll and Identity by Eric Geiger.  Both have been great summer reads.  I quoted from Driscoll last week so today I am sharing quotes from the last four chapters of Geiger's book which are the titles above.  Unfortunately many Christians forsake the serving high to sit and observe. Statistics tell us that the majority of "Christians" never get in the game. Instead they choose to be spectators to the work of God. The bottom line is an intimate relationship with God. Being a Christian has always been about following Christ. . . We have confused information with transformation. The law of the Spirit requires the discipline to seek God, the sensitivity to listen to His voice, and the faith to be led by Him. As an alien and stranger, you have a new law, which is simply to heed the language of the Spirit of God who lives within you. To abstain form ...

Yesterday, I was at my Thursday morning office, Lincoln Perk.  For those who don't know, I have chosen to set aside Thursday morning for reading.  I have also made a choice to do this reading at a local coffee shop instead of my office where I could be distracted to do other work.  It also allows me to bump into people from the community and church. I was reading Mark Driscoll's book, Who Do You Think You Are? I will be posting more about this book in posts next week.  But I was also watching some kids whose moms had gathered for coffee.  They were having a great time going from chair to chair.  It was not distracting, but fun to watch.  As I was going back and forth between reading and watching, I read the following quote from the book by Karl Barth.  Barth was asked what was the single most important theological discovery he'd made.  Barth replied, "Jesus loves me. This I know, for the Bible tells me so." A few minutes later, one of th...

We know that Christ saved us.  But many times we have a small view of that salvation.  Mark Driscoll shares in Who Do You Think You Are? six things we are saved from.  He writes: "In Christ, we're saved from six things: sin, death, worldly living, Satan, our old nature, and the wrath of God." Today, be thankful and encouraged knowing that salvation is more than just dealing with your sin.  Because we are in Christ, we have been saved from so much more!

Today's quote comes from Mark Driscoll's book, Who Do You Think You Are? This is another great book on our identity in Christ.  Hopefully, you are encouraged to encourage.  "The point is clear: we're to thank God for being faithful to his people and to thank his people for being faith to him. . .The truth is that God appreciates everything good that every one of his children does by the power of the Holy Spirit. In Christ, you're appreciated."

This is the title of chapter 3 of Mark Driscoll's book, Who Do You Think You Are? I am thankful for this chapter as it repeats much of what I have been thinking about who we are in Christ and who God is.  Driscoll does a great job of explaining this from God's Word.  Here are several quotes that I highlighted from the chapter: "Rather than sinners, the Bible overwhelmingly calls us "saints," "holy," or "righteous" more than two hundred times. Biblically, then, the primary identity of a believer in Christ is not as sinner but as saint. While we still struggle with sin in this life, as Christians, our identity is not found in our sin but in Christ's righteousness."   "Sin may explain some of your activity, but it's not your identity. Your identity is in Christ, and because of your new identity, by God's grace through the Holy Spirit's power, you can change your activity. Because you are a new person posit...