IDENTITY THEFT!

 A great reminder to every Christian from Dave Kraft!

Someone is trying to steal your identity!

More and more we are being warned to be on heightened alert for someone trying to obtain our credit card, driver’s license, pin numbers,  passwords in order to get enough information to steal and use our identity.

A saw a TV commercial with a dude driving a bus saying someone had tried to steal his identity. He was encouraging all of us to get insurance so we would be covered should it happen.  

Several years ago, at Christmas, one of our daughters was with her family shopping in a San Francisco store, and her wallet was lifted from her purse, subsequently causing major issues.

A DIFFERENT KIND OF IDENTITY THEFT

Let’s talk about another kind of “identity theft”…one that is far more serious, with longer and more significant consequences…your identity in Jesus.  

Satan is always trying to mess with my identity in Christ by telling me lies…by accusing me of things that cause me to question where I stand in relationship with Him. Two of Satan’s names are “Father of Lies” and the “accuser of the brothers.” Some of the words of the old song “Before the Throne of God” read: “When Satan tempts me to despair and tells me of the guilt within.” That’s what he does…pulls on me/you and drags us down in guilt, and despair; trying to get us to doubt or question our secure identity in Christ.

A second way we can have our identity in Jesus compromised is to substitute it with a false Savior, an idol…depending on something/someone else to give us what only Jesus can provide.  My heart is an idol factory and any number of potential idols can replace Jesus and provide a false identity that just won’t cut it. Financial security, good health and being well thought of are three idols that can easily take the place of Jesus in my heart and life…things that begin to mean more to me than He does.

Jeremiah 2:13 (ESV) captures this thought well,

“For my people have committed two evils; they have forsaken me, the fountain of living waters, and hewed out cisterns for themselves, broken cisterns that can hold no water.”

Idols are broken cisterns, buckets with big holes.

The biblical truth is that I don’t need insurance to protect my identity in Jesus…my identity was purchased on the Cross and I don’t need any other insurance/assurance. “On Christ the solid rock I stand, all other ground is sinking sand.”

So, yes, be careful of who has your social security, driver license and credit card numbers; but be equally protective of your identity in Jesus, which is far more precious.