Learning to Abide in Your Christ Given Identity Sample

Thank you for joining me on this devotional journey. I have written this study with the purpose of helping you abide in your identity in Christ. The phrase “abide in your identity in Christ” may seem a little strange to you, but through my studies of the Bible, especially John, I have learned that it is the key to a thriving relationship with God. This study is a slim volume, but I hope that you will find it packed with truth that will help you understand what it means to abide in your identity in Christ. 

If you are a new believer, this study is intended to provide a Bible-based introduction to the new life you have in Jesus Christ. If you have been a believer for many years, my intention is to help you see your salvation and God’s promises from a new angle, grow in your knowledge of Him and abide in your true identity. I refer to many Bible verses in this study, but unlike in its lengthier companion volume, Abiding in Identity, I have not copied out most of those scriptures here. Instead, I encourage you to open your own Bible alongside this book and study the verses for yourself. If your desire is to abide more fully in your identity in Christ, you’ll find that self-feeding on Scripture is an invaluable habit. As you read this book, pray over Scripture and ask God to speak to you. I encourage you to journal about what you are learning. My prayer is that God will use His Word and the concepts introduced in this book to change your life and help you develop a deeper relationship with Him.

Journaling 101 (Used with permission from Rocky Fleming)

On your journey to intimacy with Christ, one thing that can significantly assist you is journaling. This is a foreign concept to most people. However, journaling can be a gift from God to you. Often, we learn to internalize our thoughts, keeping them hidden in the deep recesses of our minds. Journaling is a way to help you get those issues out of your heart and onto the altar before God. God wants us to slow down, be still for a few moments with Him, and just like He instructed countless people from Moses to Paul, He wants us to write down the revelations He gives us.

In the pages of this study, there is a lot of information for you to prayerfully navigate. We have included this simple journaling template to use each day to help you record some key things that may be speaking the loudest to you. When you write something down, there is a tendency to remember more and create further action steps to implement the learning pieces. If you are going to invest the time to read this study, it would greatly benefit you to utilize journaling throughout. It also works well with others as you share journal entries each day. 

STAR Journaling Exercise Template

#1 Scripture Read/Promise Given/Question Asked

Read the verse and/or question. Pause and prayerfully meditate on what is being said, read, or asked.

#2 Thought Conveyed

Write down what this means to you to clearly understand the question, Scripture thought, or promise. Make it personal to get the most out of it.

#3 Application Made

How does this teaching apply to me right now? How does this apply to my leadership context?

#4 Response Given

What can I do to immediately apply this to my life? How should I respond/react to this promise or instruction now and long-term? 

There is much more to be said about this topic than can fit in these pages, and so I encourage you to get the full book, Abiding in Identity if what you read here blesses you. 

Pick a verse from the ones shared at the beginning (Romans 8:14-17) and use the STAR Journaling exercise process.