Identity Theft Review
As I wrote in Identity Theft 2: Do You Need to Recover Your Identity? the way to replace false beliefs is to:
- Know The Truth
- Speak The Truth
- Live The Truth
Here’s some more on transforming your thinking.
I am who I think I am.
I cannot be more than who I think I am.
If I do not think ‘more’ is possible, I cannot not be ‘more.’
I cannot be less than who I think I am.
Who I think I am is the basis of all my thoughts, the foundation of my selfhood, the source of my ‘being.’
I am who I think I am.
Popeye the sailorman is known for saying
“I yam what I yam, and that’s all what I yam.”― Popeye the sailorman
But I disagree with him.
What I “yam” is NOT ‘all what I yam.”
By changing my thinking, by altering my thought patterns, I can transform, I am able to modify, the ‘who I am’ (if not the ‘what I yam’).
Transformed Thinking Changes the Mind
A mind transformed by changed thinking is Biblical.
2 And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect. Romans 12:2 NASB
Paul calls changed thinking “the renewing of your mind.”
And he assures his readers that ‘renewed’ thinking will (test and) prove the “good, acceptable, and perfect” Truth of God.
Re-covering Our Christian Identity
In previous posts, here and here, I wrote about evaluating yourself and recognizing any false beliefs you may have about yourself.
So I ask now:
- Do you recognize any false beliefs that you have?
- Are you, in truth, who you think you are?
- Are you the ‘you’ who God knows and made you to be?
- Do you need to re-cover (or dis-cover?) your Identity as a Disciple of the Son of God?
The guide for your journey of re-covering (or dis-covering) your self-identity is the In-dwelling Holy Spirit.
13 “But when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all the truth; for He will not speak on His own initiative, but whatever He hears, He will speak; and He will disclose to you what is to come. John 3:13 NASB
16 “I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may be with you forever; 17 that is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it does not see Him or know Him, but you know Him because He abides with you and will be in you. John 14:16-17 NASB
You Will Be the ‘You’ Who You Think You Are
Science studies have produced data in support of the idea that human health, physical well-being, and mental/ emotional stability depends, in part, on the food we put into our bodies.
If “you are what you eat,” then certainly you are what you feed your mind.
What do You Feed Your Mind?
Are mindful about what you eat?
I try to be.
Are you more, or less, mindful of what you let enter your mind through media content?
The Media and Social Media
Here are some thoughts by Olga Pavuka from What Do You Feed Your Mind?
From morning till night, consciously or unconsciously, you fill your mind with a variety of thoughts. …
If you don’t watch what you let into your mind, then you are allowing weeds to grow and to spread. Imagine all of the negative thoughts you have about yourself or from others.
You are in control of what enters your head!
If we control our input and feed our minds with the right thoughts, everything else improves.
What you feed your mind in the way of ideas is what you become.
So you’d better make sure those thoughts and ideas are nourishing.
Why not have positive thoughts, instead of the negative?
I am who I think I am.
Are you a ‘couch potato’?
Do you binge TV?
Does your digital device monitor your time online,?
How much of your day is spent on social media?
Gina Luttrell in Social Media’s Impact on Self and Society writes:
… our personal identity is comprised of the sum of our personal social experiences, as well as the way that we see ourselves and the world.
This “self-concept” encompasses many different components, including values, beliefs, knowledge, attitudes, interests, and behaviors, but also our race, sex, gender, ethnicity and more.
I am who I think I am.
The media, especially social media, greatly impact our self-identity.
I’m not that into social media, so I didn’t even think to add that to my list of outside voices that often speak lies into our life.
From How the Internet Effects [sic] Personal Identity:
The content we expose ourselves to on the media changes the way we think about ourselves and others.
Young people are highly affected by the values embraced by media.
I am who I think I am.
The exposure to social media is, if we allow it, both insidious and relentless.
From Influence of Media and Culture on Self Image:
Having access to information twenty-four hours a day does not necessarily have a positive impact on society and self image.
Media content despite its public charge does not exactly mirror real self image.
Mass communication with television ads and movies offer an unrealistic view of the everyday person in various aspects of life.
Media can have a positive or negative influence on culture and the way people view their lives compared to those in the public eye.
Is Your Exposure to Social Media Helpful or Harmful?
Jordan Perry, in Exploring the Impact of Social Media on Identity Formation concludes with
…you are the only one who can decide if social media has positively or negatively influenced your life. Do not let others make that decision for you.
Do you need a digital Fast, a digital Sabbath?
Read:
Cognitive Behavior Therapy
I am who I think I am.
Q:
How can I think I am who I want to be?
In other words,
How can I control what I think about in order to think about – fill my mind – with the ‘who’ I want to be?
A:
By become aware of your thinking and train yourself to stop thinking that and begin thinking this.
This is the basis of Cognitive Therapy (CT), specifically, Cognitive Behavior Therapy (CBT).
CBT emerged during the 1960s and originated in the work of psychiatrist Aaron Beck, who noted that certain types of thinking contributed to emotional problems. Beck labeled these “automatic negative thoughts” and developed the process of cognitive therapy
I have had CBT counseling and it does work.
Of course, this process was not really new.
Paul taught about CBT almost 2,000 years ago when he wrote:
5 We are destroying speculations and every lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God, and we are taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ, 2 Corinthians 10:5 NASB
As in CBT, I become aware of my thinking and I train myself to stop thinking that and begin thinking this.
That is, I take each “thought captive to the obedience of Christ” and change it to a thought based on God’s Truth.
I challenge each ‘lie’ about ‘who I am’ and compare it to the Truth of God.
“as a man thinketh” Part 1
I am who I think I am.
I had heard the saying, “as a man thinketh” years ago.
When I looked it up in the Bible, it was just a phrase in the middle of a warning against dining with a rich and powerful ruler. Even in context, it didn’t make much sense to me.
6 Do not eat the bread of a selfish man, Or desire his delicacies; 7 For as he thinks within himself, so he is. He says to you, “Eat and drink!” But his heart is not with you. Proverbs 23:6-7 NASB
But in writing this, I’ve come to consider that the phase has more application than merely to relationships with the rich and powerful.
What a person thinks within themself:
- applies to the whole of their life
- applies to the very foundation of their ‘being’ and ‘doing’
- applies to the sum of themself, as perceived by themself
- applies to their identity as a ‘self,’ i.e., their self-identity
“As a Man Thinketh” Part 2
I am who I think I am.
Actually there is a book As a Man Thinketh, by James Allen.
I found it on wikisource.org for free.
The first paragraph of 1. Thought and Character showed me ‘great minds think alike.’
THE aphorism, “As a man thinketh in his heart so is he,” not only embraces the whole of a man’s being, but is so comprehensive as to reach out to every condition and circumstance of his life. A man is literally what he thinks, his character being the complete sum of all his thoughts.
Changing Your Thinking In Order to Change Your Mind
Do you ‘mind what you think’?
If you don’t think with your mind, then you don’t mind what you think. – TLThomas
I indicated in Identity Theft 2: Do You Need to Recover Your Identity? the way to replace false beliefs is to:
- Know The Truth
- Speak The Truth
- Live The Truth
Therefore,
- Speak and affirm Biblical Truth into your life by speaking personalized Scripture – Scripture you have personalized with your name, with ‘I’ and ‘me’ pronouns, and made applicable to your circumstances.
- Speak and affirm Biblical Truth into your life by speaking these personalized Scriptures into your life, into your mind, and, with help of the Holy Spirit, into your soul.
- Speak and affirm Biblical Truth into your life by speaking to yourself.
So,
Be careful how you talk to yourself because you are listening. – Tiffany Hoxie
Remember,
‘You are who you think you are.’
Affirming Our True Identity
Q: How do we affirm our true Identity?
A: By affirming the Truth of God, by affirming the Truth as revealed in His Word, the Holy Bible.
Your brain believes what you tell it. – Tiffany Hoxie
Tell yourself:
‘I am who I think I AM.’
Q: What are Affirmations?
A: Again, from Your Brain Believes What You Tell It by Tiffany Hoxie
If you are unfamiliar with what are affirmations are they are phrases which you repeat to yourself that are filled with positivity.
Know the Truth: Know Who You Are In God’s Eyes
Affirm God’s Truth by speaking aloud His Word.
- It is very important to speak the Word out loud
- When speaking out loud, we are inputting new messages to our brain
- We are ‘transforming our mind’
Ms. Hoxie also writes
… affirmations need to be practiced over and over.
Therefore,
- ‘Rinse and Repeat’ regularly and repeatedly
Speak the Truth: Declare God’s Truth into Your Life
Ms. Hoxie concludes with
Remember, the first step to truly accomplishing anything is realizing whether you want to first believe it to be true.
Decide,
Do you want to believe God’s Truth, or the lies of the enemy?
Speak and Affirm These Truths:
I AM created in the Image of God
I AM a Child of God
I AM Loved
I AM Forgiven
I AM Saved
I AM Righteous through Christ
I AM Alive through the Messiah
I AM Promised Eternal Life
I AM Transformed
I AM Full of Peace
I AM a Citizen of the Kingdom of Heaven
I AM a member of the Body of Christ, the Church.
See Identity Theft 2: Do You Need to Recover Your Identity? for Scripture sources.
It’s Your Identity – It’s Your Choice
What now?
If you won’t think with your mind, then you won’t mind what you think. – TLThomas
It’s up to you.
- Will you decide to take to heart the Truths about your identity, as written in the Bible because “Your [the Father’s] word is truth”? (John 17:17)
- Do you have faith that these Truths have been, are now, and ever will be true for you because “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever”? (Hebrews 13:8)
- Do you know “the truth” and believe “the truth will make you free”? (John 8:31-32)
- Will you join with the Holy Spirit, “He, the Spirit of truth” who “will guide you into all the truth” (John 16:13) in order to manifest this Truth in your life?
- Will you partner with the Holy Spirit to transform your mind to “the mind of Christ”? (1 Corinthians 2:16b)
- Will you, in trust and obedience, commit to work with and in “the Spirit of truth,” who “abides with you and will be in you” who “will teach you all things,”? (John 14: 17, 26)
- Will you “learn from Me [Jesus]” (Matthew 11:29) how to live out your identity as a disciple of Yeshua?
Something to Consider
Your mind is like a garden.
You can grow flowers…
Or
You can grow weeds…
You will always have weeds that you need to deal with… and, once you get rid of one kind of weed – another type of weed will show up!
One good way to have fewer weeds – is to grow more flowers.
The more flowers you grow – the less space for the weeds!
The Way You Think Determines the Way You Feel published by Adam Franklin
Preventing Identity Theft.
more about that …
…next time.
Blessings,
TLThomas
Do you agree?
Start the discussion in the comments!
© TLThomas 2022