Posts by Susan Mahaney

The concept of giving up our lives isn’t foreign to us. It happens most often when we embark upon new relationships. When we exchange vows with our spouse, we give up our old lives for a new one. When parents welcome a child into the home, they give up their old lives for a new…

Loving our enemies can sometimes feel as idealistic as instantaneous world peace. Still, Jesus showed that caring even for those who persecute us is a real, actionable mandate we can carry out by following His example. The paradoxical kingdom truth is that the way to deal with an enemy is to do him good, which…

God doesn’t care about the artificial lines we draw to make ourselves feel superior to others. In God’s eyes, we are all equal. God’s Word and His message of salvation are far more important than and superior to any lines we draw in the sand, any distinctions we make among us. We need to give…

Not a day goes by that something isn’t expected of you, or you expect something of someone else.  We have expectations of ourselves and God, too, and they are not always healthy.  When our expectations are based on God’s Word, they will never fail to be met. Cast aside your expectations, trust in God, and…

We are used to having control over so many things that we often fail to seek God’s will for our lives, and we try to call all the shots ourselves. Everything in culture teaches us to take control. You must take charge, make it happen, and control your destiny. But the truth behind our need…

Once you claim to be a Christian and know what it means to follow Jesus, how do you maintain that identity? How do we prevent deconstructing our faith to the point that we walk away from Christ, as others have? When we cease to believe what we once believed and are trying to figure out…

Jesus Christ alone holds the right and authority to define our identity. We are His children, made in His image, and His divine presence is actively at work within us. Discovering our true identity begins with developing an intimate relationship with Him. Our identity in Christ is rooted in God’s grace, not our achievements or…

The biblical story of Saul’s encounter with Christ on the road to Damascus demonstrates the transformative power of conversion. Before Paul’s encounter with Jesus, he over-identified with his Jewish heritage, his education, and his zealous but misguided religious fervor, positioning himself in opposition to Christ. This reflects a common human tendency to over-identify with certain…

Idolatry significantly shapes and impacts identity; causing individuals to become like what they worship. Worshiping created things over the Creator distorts our sense of self. Scripture tells many stories that illustrate how idolatry leads to spiritual blindness and the loss of true identity as imagebearers of God. What is essential? Return to God, seek identity…

There is a profound relationship between our identity and God’s intimate knowledge of us. God is omniscient; He knows every detail of our lives, from mundane actions to our innermost thoughts. We must be reassured that God loves us with an immeasurable, covenantal, saving love. We should place our identity in God’s understanding and love,…