Looking at three examples in the Bible of people who abandoned their previous group identity to join God’s family, we see a pattern to emulate. Rather than thinking of yourself as an American or a businessman or a student who goes to church, think of yourself as a child of God who is also an American or a businessman or a student.

Joshua 2:1-21 Rahab took a huge risk protecting the Israelite spies. She had heard about Yahweh who had demonstrated his power in Egypt and she wanted in.

Joshua 6:15-25 She abandoned her Canaanite group identity to become an Israelite herself. She and Salmon had a son called Boaz who became a man of integrity and compassion.

Ruth 1:7-9, 18 Ruth responded to Naomi’s immense suffering through a self-sacrificial act of loyalty. She abandoned her Moabite identity to care for her mother-in-law, taking on her religious beliefs and practices.

Ruth 3:10-11 Rahab’s son, Boaz, took note of Ruth’s character and loyalty. He married her and their child was the grandfather of the great king David.

Philippians 3:4-6 Paul was a man of religious fervor and zeal. As a Pharisee, he adhered to the strictest sect of Judaism. That was his identity.

Acts 9:3-6 When Jesus presented himself to Paul it resulted in his sudden abandonment of his previous group. Henceforth he threw his lot in with the Christians, the very people he had been persecuting.

Philippians 3:7-9 Rather than mourning the loss of his old group identity, Paul now considered all his previous accomplishments as trash in comparison to “the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus.”

What is your group identity? Do you first think of yourself as a child of God, part of his family, or does your identity lay elsewhere?

Luke 15:7 lost sheep; 10 lost coin; 20 lost son – God is our joyful Father

Numbers 6:24-27

Psalm 89:14-16 “countenance” in Hebrew is paneh – “face”

Psalm 16:11 “presence” is again “face”

1 Thessalonians 2:7-8 joy is experienced in a relationship when someones face lights up when they look upon you with love

Neurologists and psychologists often distinguish:

• Pleasure — brief sensory enjoyment
• Happiness — a broader emotional condition
• Joy — a deeper, often relational or meaningful, positive emotional state that can coexist even with hardship

Psalm 31:16, 19-20 You hide them in the secret place of Your presence

Psalm 67:1 cause His face to shine upon us

Psalm 80:3, 7, 19 when Yahweh shines His face upon us we experience joy; thus enjoy stability, balance, peace, and well-being

Zephaniah 3:17; Psalm 149:4; Jeremiah 31:3; Micah 7:18; Nehemiah 8:10; 1 John 3:1

Two great ways to fill your joy tank are fellowship with fellow believers and practice gratitude.

Acts 2:41-47 face time at church, prayer partner, mentor, socialize

Gratitude – increasing your joy capacity

• think of a memory that makes you feel grateful and connect with God in that memory
• give the memory a short title
• what do you think God might have been wanting to impress upon you by the memory
• start a list of grateful memories with the goal of having ten
• use this list to go into five minutes of nonverbal gratitude every day

Acts 2:1-4 When the wind and fire came, it got everyone’s attention. God had appeared in fire before (Exod 3:2-5; 14:24; 19:18; 40:33-38; Lev 9:22-24; Deut 4:24; 2 Chron 7:1-3). Speaking in tongues is a miracle wherein God’s spirit enables someone to speak a foreign language without learning it (1 Cor 14:2, 14).

Acts 2:5-11 Pentecost was a major Jewish festival that brought pilgrims in from all over the surrounding regions. Although God always cared about the nations (Gen 10), he confused their languages at the Tower of Babel (Gen 11) and began working with Abraham and his descendants (Gen 12). Now that Jesus had brought salvation, God was taking the nations back—all who call upon the name of the Lord.

Acts 2:12-21 Peter pointed to Joel’s prophecy to answer the question, “What does this mean?” The spirit of God had gone public—and it happened prior to the end of the age!

Acts 2:22-24 Finally, Peter gets to talking about Jesus. He tells them two accepted claims followed by two startling claims.

Acts 2:25-33 Looking to David’s prophecy in Psalm 16, we see that this event was predicted centuries before. That the spirit has been poured out is now proof that Jesus indeed is the messiah exalted to God’s right hand in heaven.

Acts 2:34-42 When he boldly confronted the people for crucifying their own messiah, they asked, “What should we do?” Peter told them to repent and be baptized. If they did, they would receive forgiveness for their sins and the gift of the holy spirit too!