When
it comes to devotionals, my preference is for simple and straightforward with a
sharp point. With Identity
Crisis: 21 Days of Discovering Who God Says You Are by Michael Perkins, I got all three.
Perkins,
who’s pastor of Trinity Church of the
Nazarene in Corpus Christi, Texas, has written a simple devotional guide
with a thematic point. Based on what he experienced in his own life, he learned
that his understanding of himself was not the same as God’s understanding of
him. He echoes what may be almost universal thinking for all of us: “I’ve never
felt like I was good enough. I never felt like I was smart enough. I never felt
like I fit in.”
I’ve
followed Michael’s blog for more than four years, and those words in his
introduction took me aback? This is Michael Perkins, the guy who has pastored churches,
is married to a wonderful wife and has a great kid?
Yes,
this is Michael Perkins.
His
devotional guide is simple. Identity
Crisis includes 21 short devotionals to cover a three-week period. Each
devotional deals with a specific characteristic of who God says you are. And
then there are two prompts – a prayer and a challenge.
The
entries include friend, child, forgiven, valuable, purchased, masterpiece, accepted,
chosen, and more. One of my favorites was “letter” – did you know that you were
a living letter, an epistle to be read by everyone?
Identity Crisis is a wonderful
devotional guide, simple, written in easily understandable language, and
speaking directly to hearts. Ours and God’s.
Photograph: Michael Perkins speaking at
a church retreat.
Thanks. I liked this the way you shared it. And, as I've already said, Thanks.
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