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Authentic Versus False Identity

Joe Killian • Oct 16, 2020

The story continues...I'm still working on the pondless waterfall in our front yard. I shared this project with you two weeks ago in Playin' In the Dirt. Since then I've had to rework sections of the stream three different times because we were losing too much water. I am now an expert on evaporation rates and excessive splash, two causes of water loss. This morning I tore the whole thing apart and I'm starting over.

I am not only really frustrated but I've been getting down on myself. As I mentioned in Playin' In the Dirt, I love the creative side of these kinds of projects. However, I am sometimes prone to making mistakes when it comes to the details and it's hard not to blame myself. There is an inner dynamic that I'm experiencing that illustrates a profound truth about our identity. We can be our own worst enemy when we believe lies about who we are. We doubt ourselves and this can lead to a spiral of negative thoughts. But this is not of God!

Our authentic identity is rooted in Him––from the very beginning:

"Let us create them in our image after our likeness." Genesis 1:26

We also find the roots of false identity in the beginning as well:

"Did God really say" and "you will be like gods." Genesis 3:4-5

God desires that we journey through life with Him as He created us to be. Satan, our enemy, twists God's truths in ways that tempt us to doubt God and ourselves. What doubts do you have about your identity? What lies do you believe about who you are?

Life can be messy, just like my waterfall project. It can be hard enough without us beating ourselves up or allowing the enemy to do so.

Here are a couple of verses to rely on when you find yourself challenged with doubts and lies:

Take every thought captive in obedience to Christ. 2 Corinthians 10:5

Submit therefore to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. James 4:7

Your story continues...God is still working on you which can be painful and frustrating. By focusing on your relationship with Him, God can help you to recognize your false identity. When He does, you can trust that He wants you to know and embrace who He knows you to be in your authentic identity. Remember Jesus' words:

A thief comes only to steal and slaughter and destroy; I came so that they might have life and have it more abundantly. John 10:10

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Kung Fu Panda

By Joe Killian • 08 Oct, 2020

Have you ever watched DreamWorks Animation's Kung Fu Panda? I stumbled across it recently and thoroughly enjoyed Jack Black's performance as a bumbling, noodle selling, kung fu enthusiast, giant panda named P o. Set in ancient China, it is more than a humorous slapstick comedy. The core message of the story jumped out at me as I have been focusing recently on the concept of being. Po is shockingly identified as the Dragon Warrior and he reluctantly enters training. The goal of the training is to receive the Dragon Scroll, which is believed to hold the secret to limitless power. Now I don't want to spoil the big reveal but I will say that what Po realizes is the same as what I speak to in the concept of being and authentic identity. So, where do we find the secret to our "power?" I praise You, because I am wonderfully made; wonderful are Your works! My very self You know. Psalm 139:14 God knows it; and we must seek Him with all of our hearts in order to find it. As it was in the movie, the answer is stunningly simple. Our authentic identity is already within us. The challenge for Po in the movie was in seeing himself accurately and not the way others saw him. Even his teacher scoffed at the idea that Po was anything more than an underachieving dreamer who overate when he was anxious. Po's problems are rooted in the fact that he believes the lie of his false identity much more than he does his authentic one. Is it possible that you do the same? Who could have imagined that beneath all of Po's girth lived the Dragon Warrior? What's hidden from view in you? Seek God for understanding as to who He created you to be. Spoiler Alert: the secret of your limitless power is already in you. God placed it there and He wants you to be who He authentically created you to be.

Playin' in the Dirt

By Joe Killian • 02 Oct, 2020

Maria and I have been playing in the dirt a lot recently. First we replaced our French drain and then we embarked on a creative project intended to change the entire look of our front yard. My brother Jeffrey and I installed a new front step.

The Acorn and the Oak

By Joe Killian • 25 Sep, 2020

On a recent walk with Maria, we picked up an acorn lying near the road. It looked different from the ones we were most familiar with but looking skyward there was no doubting where it had come from. The majestic one-hundred-foot oak tree towered over us. Having grown up with two oak trees in my back yard, each more than a hundred years old, I have always loved acorns. Within the acorn is a tiny embryo that bears the potential to become a mighty oak tree. In fact, that is the only thing an acorn can become. That is God's design. Then God said: Let the earth bring forth vegetation: every kind of plant that bears seed and every kind of fruit tree on earth that bears fruit with its seed in it. And so it happened: the earth brought forth vegetation: every kind of plant that bears seed and every kind of fruit tree that bears fruit with its seed in it. God saw that it was good. Genesis 1:11-12 Take some time to reflect on the acorn and the oak. My question to you is do you know who you were created to be? There is no doubt in God's mind who you are. Can you embrace the idea that God has placed in you all you are meant to be? You are full of potential. That is God's design. "Faith sees a beautiful blossom in a bulb, a lovely garden in a seed, and a giant oak in an acorn.” -- William Arthur Ward