{"id":21423,"date":"2017-07-01T00:10:02","date_gmt":"2017-07-01T07:10:02","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/lccredding.com\/lcc\/?p=11036"},"modified":"2017-07-01T00:10:02","modified_gmt":"2017-07-01T07:10:02","slug":"july-1-2017","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lccredding.org\/church\/2017\/07\/01\/july-1-2017\/","title":{"rendered":"July 1, 2017"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\u201cAnd do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind\u2026\u201d<\/em> Romans 12:2<\/span><\/p>\n

Identity<\/span><\/strong><\/h2>\n

It took me far too long to figure out who I was. I did not know my own identity. I would try on one persona and then another as though shopping for new clothing. All of them were ill-fitting and discarded in due time.<\/span><\/p>\n

It was not until I saw who God was that I began to understand who I was. Finally coming home to the heart of the God I was running from and seeing His great generosity toward me was revolutionary. There was the dawning in my mind of His majesty, His might, His wisdom, His beauty, His utter holiness. And yet, He welcomed me as though He had been waiting all along for this moment of glad reunion. I knew I had nothing to offer. I knew I was in a desperate state and had no hope of recovery. And yet, God had pursued me, God had beckoned me, God had won me at great cost and sacrifice. God had loved me all along.<\/span><\/p>\n

It was from the heart of God I began to learn that I need not be ashamed of who I was. I had no need to pretend to be other than me. I did not need to play a part or imitate who I saw others to be. It was all right to be just me. It was more than all right\u2014it was who God wanted me to be. He had made me just this way for His purposes. Because God had so wonderfully and fully accepted me, I could finally accept myself. Over the years He has developed my identity and shown me things I never knew about myself. I am comfortable now in who I am and who He is making me to be. I have found my true identity.<\/span><\/p>\n

And perhaps that is why Daniel so impressed me. He was certain of his identity. He never wavered. He never compromised.<\/span><\/p>\n

He was taken captive at a young age and removed from his nation, his family, his culture and customs. He was educated in a foreign language, forced to comply with alien customs, and taught the tenets of a pagan religious system. All these were designed to mold him into one who conformed to the common culture. It was a calculated process to strip him of his unique identity. Yet Daniel held fast to God.<\/span><\/p>\n

His captors changed even his name. Daniel means \u201cGod is my Judge.\u201d Belteshazzar means \u201cLady Protect the King\u201d referring to the goddess Sarpanitu, the wife of the god Marduk. Daniel\u2019s true name was a constant reminder of his God and now he was called by a strange name that spoke of idolatry. Daniel had no choice in this matter, but he knew who the one true God was and because of that he knew who he was. They changed his name, but they could never change his heart.<\/span><\/p>\n

Our culture constantly broadcasts its philosophy, politics, and opinions. We are inundated with mass media. In the midst of this world, stand strong and remain faithful. Remember who your God is. Remember who you are.\u00a0 Be the woman you were called and created to be.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me\u201d<\/em> (Galatians 2:20).<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cFather, You are my identity. You are more than education, culture, philosophy, finances, personality, or family history. My roots are in You. I am, simply because You created me, loved me, redeemed me. My future and my hope are in You. May I live unto Your glory, just like Daniel. Amen.\u201d<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u201cAnd do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind\u2026\u201d Romans 12:2 Identity […]<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[47],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-21423","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-women"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p92wjD-5zx","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lccredding.org\/church\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21423","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lccredding.org\/church\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lccredding.org\/church\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lccredding.org\/church\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lccredding.org\/church\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=21423"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lccredding.org\/church\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21423\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lccredding.org\/church\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=21423"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lccredding.org\/church\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=21423"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lccredding.org\/church\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=21423"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}