IDENTITY is my Authoritative —  All identities start as something I yield to.   Self, God, a mindset, a belief; there is always something leading us to make decisions.   We need to identify what that is. 

I nner voice, constantly — this reminds us that our identity speaks to us in our mind through ‘self-talk”.   Even the Holy Spirit seems to operate in this way.   Building a better awareness is key.  

D efending my sense of self through —  Every identity is built upon feeling safe and secure.   We will do whatever we can to avoid rejection, hurt, and conflict.   Some identities are built better for this.  

E xperiences of personal reinforcement; shaping a — Every experience we have is used by our mind and emotions to validate who we are.   Here we realize that actions and inaction are just as important. 

N arrative filter that establishes my understanding of value by — Over time our identity will filter life events and interpret things according to who we are or think we are.   Only Christ can properly interpret the world around us.

T urning my current thoughts, desires, and actions into an — Once we have a filter we see that our thoughts are either acceptable or unacceptable to our identity.   Some of us cannot believe that God loves us because our identity will not allow us to believe it.  

I rrisistable personal label, creating a — Identity loves to summarize us in short phrases to provide quick and easy responses to life around us.  Labels shape what we do and don’t do.  

T ether for my future thoughts, desires, and actions for a — With a label comes a tether for our minds and such.  There are only certain things we can do, not do, and attain to if we buy into the label.  

Y ielded response to gain satisfaction.  —  Every identity is seeking to be satisfied.   Even someone battling anxiety can be satisfied by what they don’t do.  This isn’t healthy, just a possibility Satisfaction is meant to be found in Jesus and him alone!