Eric Geiger - Identity

Copyright 2008 by Eric Geiger

All rights reserved.

Printed in the United States of America

978-0-8054-4689-0

Published by B&H Publishing Group

Nashville, Tennessee

Dewey Decimal Classification: 248.84

Subject Heading: CHRISTIAN LIFE \ SELF-PERCEPTION

Unless otherwise stated, all Scripture references are taken from the Holman Christian Standard Bible Copyright 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. Other versions include New International Version ( niv) , copyright 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society and New King James Version ( nkjv ), copyright 1979, 1980, 1982, Thomas Nelson, Inc., Publishers.

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For my daughter, Eden

While I wrote this book, the picture of your ultrasound was on my desk.

And I already loved you.

Acknowledgments

I thank my wife, Kaye. While the world changes and ministry evolves, you are consistent in my life. You are my best friend, and I love you deeply. I cannot imagine life without you. Nor do I want to.

I am grateful for my family, my parents and brother. Eden is blessed to have you as Mimi, Pop, and Uncle Philip.

I am grateful for the team at B&H Publishing Group for their trust and encouragement.

I thank my pastor and friend, Rick Blackwood, who allows me to serve him and the church as his executive pastor. Each morning I wake up and wonder how two people are feeling: my wife and my pastor. I follow you, as I know you follow Christ.

I thank the staff at Christ Fellowship. Wow. God is amazing. And He is working among us. I love doing ministry with you. Specifically, I thank my phenomenal assistant, Sharon, who has served alongside me since I arrived in Miami.

I thank the people of Christ Fellowship throughout Miami. I identify with Paul, who told the church at Philippi that they were his joy (Phil. 4:1). Your commitment to aggressively advance the kingdom of God inspires me daily. Thanks for giving me permission to speak into your lives and tell your stories (special thanks to Pat).

While in this book I quote some people directly, my thinking has been shaped by a lot of preachers, teachers, musicians, and writers whom I have surrounded myself with over the years. We have never met, but I read and listen to you. So I thank Michael Card ( The Parable of Joy is still my favorite book), Kenneth Boa ( Conformed to His Image is a close second), Tony Evans, Joe Stowell, John Piper, Philip Yancey, Louie Gilgio, Caedmons Call, and the Waiting (are you guys still alive?). If I hijacked any of your content in this book without crediting you, I am sorry. It was unintentional. In heaven I will apologize to any dead guys I forgot to credit.

In other words, I admit up front that I have few original thoughts. Even that statement is not original. Most of all, I am guilty of plagiarizing the Bible. I cannot help it; I love the Bible. And it is true. I cannot hold Gods Word in me; it is like a fire that has to come out (Jer. 20:9).

See, there I go again....

Chapter 1

Moving Forward

We cannot consistently behave in ways that are different from what we believe about ourselves.

Kenneth Boa

I t is time to move on. It is time to move forward. I am not referring to a new job, a new address, a new relationship, or a new style of dress. It is time to move on in your faith. It is time to move forward in your relationship with God.

If not... then place the book back on the shelf. Dont buy it.

Maybe someone gave you the book, but youre not ready to move forward in your faith. Then fold the book a few times to give it that worn look and place it in the basket in your bathroom. Write the thank-you letter to your mom or your friend. But dont read the book. It will not be of much value to you.

Still reading?

Me too. And not only because I am writing.

I need to move on. Too often I stay in the same place spiritually. Too often I live on the truth of last months devotional thoughts. Or the buzz of last years mission trip. I keep talking about things God has shown me... years ago.

Is there nothing new?

Stuck?

I was asked to speak at a conference in Oahu. For the geographically challenged, Oahu is an island in Hawaii. After I prayed about it for 2.2 seconds, my response was, Yes, Lord, send me. After all, someone has to go to Hawaii. And it might as well be me. Kaye, my wife, joined me, and we took a week of vacation around the speaking engagement.

We rented a car so we could drive around the island. The car was great, but each day we could not find the condo where we were staying. We would leave for the beach in the morning, but in the afternoon we were lost. The map was hard to understand, and the street signs were very confusing because each sign was filled with five or six vowels.

We knew how to drive to the condo from the airport. Those simple directions were given to us when we arrived. And finding the airport was easy because of the big road signs.

So each day we followed signs back to the airport and started over. Each day we would start from the same place as the previous day.

We wasted a ton of time. We were frustrated in airport traffic. And we felt like losers driving through the terminal each day. No doubt we looked a bit suspicious.

Finally, we had enough. We were tired of wasting time. We were tired of reliving the same scenario each day. We were tired of going through the same motions each afternoon. We were stuck. It was time to move on.

Do you ever feel the same way?

Perhaps you are stuck, spiritually speaking. Maybe you feel like you have not grown much since you began your faith journey. Maybe you have been going through the same motions for years. If so, you are probably tired of the same scenario. Nothing has really changed along the journey.

If you were honest, perhaps you would even call your faith boring.

Being stuck is frustrating. So much wasted time. Same daily grind. Perhaps you keep going back to the airport because that is all you know. If you are stuck, you are not alone. If you find yourself a bit bored or even disappointed with your faith, you are not alone. But it is time to press forward.

Pressing Forward

The apostle Paul continually pressed toward his goal of being mature in Christ. He admitted that he was far from the goal, but he kept moving forward:

Not that I have already obtained all this [Christlikeness], or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. (Phil. 3:1214 niv )

While Paul confessed he was not perfect, being stuck was not an option. He painted the picture of a runner who strained toward the goal. In other words, Paul assumed responsibility for his spiritual growth.

While Paul knew that God is the one who ultimately works in us (Phil. 2:13), he challenged Christians to partner with God in the process of becoming more like Christ. He told believers to continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling (Phil. 2:12 niv ).

Work out your salvation. Not work for your salvation.

Salvation is a free gift given by God to those who trust and follow Christ; therefore, salvation cannot be earned. But once someone has received the gift of salvation, he is challenged to live it out, to mature, and to grow. The apostle Paul also wrote: