IDENTITY THEFT

John 10:1-10
1 "I tell you the truth, the man who does not enter the sheep pen by the gate, but climbs in by some other way, is a thief and a robber. 2 The man who enters by the gate is the shepherd of his sheep. 3 The watchman opens the gate for him, and the sheep listen to his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. 4 When he has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice. 5 But they will never follow a stranger; in fact, they will run away from him because they do not recognize a stranger's voice." 6 Jesus used this figure of speech, but they did not understand what He was telling them. 7 Therefore Jesus said again, "I tell you the truth, I am the gate for the sheep. 8 All who ever came before Me were thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them. 9 I am the gate; whoever enters through Me will be saved. He will come in and go out, and find pasture. 10 The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full."

In 2002, the US Federal Trade Commission received more than 160,000 complaints about stolen identity information such as a driver's license, credit card, or social security number, which are then used to steal money or commit fraud. It costs the average victim $1,000 to try to undo the damage to credit accounts and personal reputation.

Identity theft is the fastest growing crime in the US. An Associated Press article reports: "In November (2002) federal authorities broke up what they called the biggest identity theft case in US history and charged three men with stealing credit information for 30,000 people."

That's huge, but there's an even larger and more destructive scheme for robbing people of their identity. And it's been around for a long time. When Jesus called Himself the Good Shepherd, He also described the enemy of the sheep as the thief who "comes only to steal and kill and destroy" (John 10:10).

Have you ever thought that one thing Satan wants to steal from you is your identity? Instead of your being the unique person God created you to be, the enemy of your soul seeks to reduce you to a one-dimensional cardboard cutout with no spiritual life or power.

In his book Be Yourself and God's, the late Richard Halverson said, "Man was made to have fellowship with God, to be ruled by God, and man is never himself until he submits to this Divine rule. The harder a man tries to be himself without being right with God, the less like himself he becomes and the more like everyone else he is." Dr. Halverson's insights are true.

After Jesus described the thief who comes to steal, He went on to say, "I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full" (v.10). As you give yourself to Jesus, you become the one-of-a-kind person you're meant to be. --Dave McCasland

DESTINATION POINTS

* Who am I? Would I like to be someone else?
* What would I like to tell Jesus about the person I want to be?

LINKS:
How Powerful Is The Devil?
http://www.questions.org/answer/bible/satan/devilpower.xml

bottom line: Look to Jesus to know your true identity.

soul journey