February 12 - Who Are You?

 Read today’s texts first: Leviticus 18 & 19; Psalms 13; Acts 19

MAXIMize YOUR DAY

It’s not about who I am; it’s about whose I am,
and about who’s “I Am!”

Talk about your identity crisis.  The seven sons of Sceva were so impressed with Paul that they all tried to be like him, attempting to cast out evil spirits in the name of Jesus whom Paul preaches.  The demons saw the incongruity: we know Jesus, we know Paul, but who are you? (15).  If you know the rest of the story, you can add one more “s” to the usual alliteration - the seven “streaking” sons of Sceva.  When you don’t know who you are, you have good reason to be running scared and naked!

We can only discover who we are when we know the One who created us.  He alone knows us fully - past, present, and future.  He is our Way, our Truth, and the Source of abundant Life.  Sceva’s kids represent those who know about God, but have never taken the time to know Him personally.  They are posers, hitchhikers on the road of life, relying on someone else’s faith to make things happen.

David, a man after God’s own heart, knew how important it was to stay connected to the source of His identity.  When he felt separated from God, his enemies, like the demons of Acts 19, exalted over him (Psalm 13:2).  But when he trusted in God’s lovingkindness, he experienced salvation (5).  God says to His people, in the Leviticus reading, that the only way to truly live is my way – I am the Lord (18:5).  That phrase is repeated over and over again.  The “Great I Am” has no identity problem.  When Jesus declared He was the “I Am,” the power behind that declaration knocked His enemies on their backsides (John 18:6).

“Lord, I long to know You more, and to discover more about my own identity in the process.  It’s not about who I am; it’s about whose I am, and about who’s ‘I Am’!”