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Kindle Notes & Highlights
by
Chris Hodges
Read between
January 5 - February 13, 2018
us.
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You can also rest in the knowledge that within your unique identity, you have a very specific purpose.
Not only did God create you to live in this particular season,
but he gave you just the right personality, abilities, talents, and gifts to accomplish...
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Your awareness of being the person God made you to be permeates everything you do, every decision you make, and every risk you take. Purpose is your identity in action. It reflects your identity and helps you understand it more clearly.
Purpose is your identity in action.
Have you seen your purpose, your true identity, emerge yet? If you already know your God-given purpose, then I celebrate with you and encourage you to press on.
Take comfort during challenging times and trust God to see you through them, knowing you are exactly
where he wants you to be, doing what you w...
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Finally, to own the fullness of your identity in Christ, consider how you can help the people around you be true to their own God-given identities.
Jesus set us free so that we can help liberate others, but often this means beginning more subtly instead of storming in like soldiers on a black ops mission.
we all struggle to remember our true identities.
We don’t want to force ourselves on them and intrude, but we can make ourselves available to listen and to care. Listening and caring are fundamental building blocks we must have if we’re ever going to establish a strong, respectful relationship in which to share God’s truth.
No one can name you, or rename you, no matter what. God knows who you are. But you need to know too. And now you can help remind others who they really are as well.
Sir, my concern is not whether God is on our side; my greatest concern is to be on God’s side, for God is always right. —ABRAHAM LINCOLN
culture will always try to tame us into compromise and compliance with its fast-moving trends. Culture grinds against our values until either they crumble or we stand up and counter the cultural erosion. If we want to live a godly life in the middle of all this friction, we must determine our core convictions according to the Bible and know how to live them—before we face the weight of social pressure from the people around us. It’s always easier to resist the winds of change if your roots run deep in God’s truth.
It’s always easier to resist the winds of change if your roots run deep in God’s truth.
When you know what’s in your core, you don’t struggle to decide.
That’s why you have to know what you stand for before that moment comes when you’re offered that hit, that drink, that touch, that glimpse, that purchase, that taste. Pre-decide what you will do when those temptations come your way—and they definitely will come your way, often when you’re at your weakest or when your
defenses are down. Settle your core convictions and use them as anchors when everything and everyone around you wants to sweep you away.
Ultimately, each one of us is responsible for what we hold true within our hearts.
If we want to stand for our beliefs, especially when it’s not easy or politically correct to do so, then we must have a firm grasp of the foundation of our faith and why we hold to increasingly unpopular convictions.
No one was ever won to Christ because they lost an argument. Jesus told us to share the good news of the gospel throughout all the world
35). We have the privilege of loving others and offering them God’s truth: that we’re all sinful and in need of a Savior, which is exactly why Jesus came to live as a man and die on the cross.
The way we do this without being swallowed up by cultural forces is by anchoring ourselves to a worldview based on God’s Word. Knowing what we believe and why we believe it is foundational to our ability to be people of positive influence.
your worldview is the set of beliefs that you base your life on.
We don’t see things as they are, but as we are—through
But here’s the problem: our worldviews are profoundly influenced by the worldviews of others.
Our worldviews require truth, and if we haven’t based them on God’s Word, the ultimate truth, then our worldviews rely on false and negative contributions of the world.
operating system. If we accept the world’s worldview, it will mess up our lives here on earth.
Convictions require you to decide what’s right ahead of time.
WORSHIP, or placing worth and value on who God
When we worship God, we embrace his attributes.
Worship is surrendering yourself to the power, majesty, and goodness of your Creator, letting God be God—even when you don’t understand what he’s doing or when you disagree.
GOD’S WORD,
“What makes you think my opinion matters? It’s what God thinks that counts.”
HOLINESS raises the standard of personal purity as we honor the lordship of Christ.
Holiness prevents us from conforming to cultural changes and moral relativism. 4. FAMILY carries worth and value as a sacred institution created by God.
One relationship that is central to the family is marriage.
Strong families grow out of strong marriages in which husbands and wives love and respect each other, serve and honor each other. 5. LIFE has intrinsic value in all forms, reflecting this most precious gift from God.
God knew each person even before he or she was conceived, so we must value each life as a gift from God.
Life is precious, and only God has the right to control when we live and when we die—not human beings.
HUMILITY reflects an attitude of service, compassion, and strength.
Humility keeps our hearts tuned to God and not ourselves.
So just because we read something in the Bible about violence or some sexual deviation, it doesn’t mean the Bible approves it. It’s just accurately reporting the brokenness of humanity.
So why do we call it the Holy Bible then? Because this book tells the truth.
It reminds us to return to our roots, our core beliefs, based on God’s truth and not our own preferences.
Every test, every trial, every heartache that’s been significant, I can turn it over and see how God has turned it into good no matter what. —CHARLES STANLEY
Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain. (vv. 55–58)
You see, the problems we face in this life are not circumstantial or random—they are opportunities to grow stronger in our faith.
