READ: Exodus 3:1-14 and 4:1-11; 1 Peter 2:9; Philippians 4:13, Ephesians 2:10; SOAP: Exodus 4:11
THE TRUTH: The Lord said to him, “Who gave a mouth to man, or who makes a person mute or deaf or seeing or blind? Is it not I, the Lord?
Exodus 4:11
A lie we often believe about ourselves is that we are not enough. You are not_______ enough. Immediately, a little lie probably crept into your mind. Inadequacy, incompetency, insufficiency.
THE TRUTH: The godly grow like a palm tree; they grow high like a cedar in Lebanon. Planted in the Lord’s house, they grow in the courts of our God. They bear fruit even when they are old; they are filled with vitality and have many leaves.
Psalm 92:12-14
THE TRUTH: Let no one look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in your speech, conduct, love, faithfulness, and purity. 1 Timothy 4:12What do you think?
Does your age make you feel inferior?
How can God use the young and the old?
Have you ever put an age limit on God’s plans for your life? We often feel that our age restricts us from accomplishing our goals or dreams. Like the height restriction at a rollercoaster, we stand stretching to see if God will let us on the ride.
The devil will tell us over and over again that we are too old or too young to serve Him. He will make you doubt your ability, your capacity, and your skills.
THE TRUTH: Trust in the Lord with all your heart, don’t depend on your own understanding. Seek His will in all you do and He will show you which path to take. Proverbs 3:5-6
We live in a world that values individualism. Asking for help appears weak.
Read: Hebrews 13:20-21; Philippians 4:13 and SOAP: Hebrews 13:20-21
THE TRUTH: Now may the God of peace who by the blood of the eternal covenant brought back from the dead the great shepherd of the sheep, our Lord Jesus, equip you with every good thing to do his will, working in us what is pleasing before him through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever. Amen. Hebrews 13:20-21
Sometimes we experience something that grasps hold of us and we can’t seem to shake. We begin to believe the lie that we cannot change. We will always be a victim. We will always struggle with the addiction. Yet, God’s Word powerfully refutes these lies.
But you belong to God, my dear children. You have already won a victory over those people, because the Spirit who lives in you is greater than the spirit who lives in the world.
1 John 4:4 NLT
Reflection Questions:
How are you empowered to fight against the enemy’s schemes every day?
How can you overcome the enemy through the power of Christ?
Through our time together in this study on identity, we have learned that who we are is not about anything we have done, but who God is and what He has done for us.
For I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength.
Philippians 4:13 NLT
ReflectionQuestions:
What does it mean that we are able to do all things through Christ?
How can you find peace in your weakness or in difficult circumstances knowing He is always working, even in your weakness?
In God’s kingdom, we are at our strongest when we are weak, and we are our most independent when we are dependent on God. Our verse today does not mean that we should do all things, but that we can find joy as we rely on God to empower and equip us to do the work He calls us to do.
God decided in advance to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ. This is what he wanted to do, and it gave him great pleasure.
Ephesians 1:5 NLT
Reflection Questions:
Being an adopted child of God means He can never disown you, no matter what you have done or may do. Do you believe this is true?
Why or why not?
In love and in accordance with God’s will, it was decided that we would be adopted into His family through Jesus Christ.
If I could speak all the languages of earth and of angels, but didn’t love others, I would only be a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. 2 If I had the gift of prophecy, and if I understood all of God’s secret plans and possessed all knowledge, and if I had such faith that I could move mountains, but didn’t love others, I would be nothing. 3 If I gave everything I have to the poor and even sacrificed my body, I could boast about it; but if I didn’t love others, I would have gained nothing.
Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud 5 or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged. 6 It does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. 7 Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance.
Prophecy and speaking in unknown languages and special knowledge will become useless. But love will last forever! 9 Now our knowledge is partial and incomplete, and even the gift of prophecy reveals only part of the whole picture! 10 But when the time of perfection comes, these partial things will become useless.
When I was a child, I spoke and thought and reasoned as a child. But when I grew up, I put away childish things. 12 Now we see things imperfectly, like puzzling reflections in a mirror, but then we will see everything with perfect clarity. All that I know now is partial and incomplete, but then I will know everything completely, just as God now knows me completely.
Three things will last forever—faith, hope, and love—and the greatest of these is love. 1 Corinthians 13 (NLT)
We all need to be reminded that if we truly love our friends – then we will treat them the way true love does.
Me From the Inside Out 