Who are you...really?
If you watch people, and watch what they do and why they do it, often times you find that their actions, all be some of them good, are basically a desire to develop an identity, and then to nourish by doing/not doing certain things, saying/not saying certain things, wearing/not wearing certain clothes, etc...
At the end of the day, if we are not rooted in an identity that goes beyond ourself, we will become the slave to the identity we seek to create. Sure, we might claim that our culture is forming our identity, but I've never seen someone with a black shirt and white lettering that reads, "CULTURE" come and tackle you to the ground and force you against your will to listen to a certain song. I've never noticed someone at Old Navy, The Gap, American Eagle, etc. with the black shirt and white letters that read "CULTURE'go out into the store, drag you into their store, hold you at gun point and force their products on you. I've never seen a person in a black shirt with white letters that read "BRIAN RULES" (o.k., so i was trying to trip you up on that one, but you know what the white letters are) that put a gun to your head, drug you to a movie, forced you to watch a television program (even ducktaping your eyelids open so as not to miss a single moment). You see, we like to blame the culture for the slavery we find ourselves in. But, if we are honest, ultimately, when the "chain" of the culture was wrapped around our ankle, listening to the sound of the lock closing, you look down and see it's your hands that are closing the lock to the chain around your ankles that makes you a slave to the culture.
So, how do you avoid the self-imposed slavery of the culture? How do you avoid the trap that everyone (and I do mean everyone) falls into of being the playthings of the culture that dictates what we do, say, wear, enjoy, etc.? It begins and ends with finding an identity that is not conjured up by someone/something already hip deep in this culture. It happens when we find our identity in Christ, not in a magazine. It's when we are rooted in Christ, not in a self-glorifying concoction that someone hands us on a silver platter.
You've probably come across something like this before. It's scriptures that show us what our identity is when we find it and root it in Christ Jesus. Before passing it over as just another one of those "who I am in Christ" sort of things, stop and think..I can either accept an identity that comes from God and was made availabe through the scarred hands of Jesus Christ, or I can accept an identity that never finds itself attached to anything deeper than what the eye can see. It's an identity that takes brokenness and makes it whole, or its an identity that takes brokennes, and shatters the pieces till someone/something comes along, sweeps them up and proceeds to tell you what the pile that was once you, is now...according to them/it.
Who I am in Christ
I am Accepted in Christ
John 1:12 I am God's child
John 15:15 I am Christ's friend
Romans 5:1 I have been justified
! Cor 6:17 I am united with the Lord and one with Him in spirit
1 Cor 6:20 I have been bought with a price, I belong to God
1 Cor 12:27 I am a member of Christ's body
Ephesians 1:1 I am a saint
Ephesians 1:5 I have been adopted as God's child
Ephesians 2:18 I have direct access to God through the Holy Spirit
Colossians 1:14 I have been redeemed and forgiven of all my sins
Colossians 2:10 I am complete in Christ
I am Secure in Christ
Romans 8:1-2 I am free forever from condemnation
Romans 8:28 I am assured that all things work together for good
Rom 8:33-34 I am free from any condemning charges against me
Romans 8:35 I cannot be separated from the love of God
2 Cor 1:21 I have been established anointed and sealed by God
Colossians 3:3 I am hidden with Christ in God
Philippians 1:6 I am confident that the good work God has begun in me will be perfected
Phil 3:20 I am a citizen of heaven
2 Timothy 1:7 I have not been given a spirit of fear but of power love and a sound mind
Hebrews 4:16 I can find grace and mercy in time of need
1 John 5:18 I am born of God and the evil one cannot touch me
I Am Significant in Christ
Matt5:13-14 I am the salt and light of the earth
John 15:1,5 I am a branch of the true vine, a channel of His life
John 15:16 I have been chosen and appointed to bear fruit
Acts 1:8 I am a personal witness of Christ's
1 Cor 3:16 I am God's temple
2 Cor 5:17-20 I am a minister of reconciliation
2 Cor 6:1 I am God's co-worker
Ephesisans 2:6 I am seated with Christ in the heavenly realm
Ephesians 2:10 I am God's workmanship
Ephesians 3:12 I may approach God with freedom and confidence
Philippians 4:13 I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me
So...who are you...really?