Day 1 – BELIEVE

If you have seen the Disney movie The Lion King, remember how Simba left the pride land after his father died? His father, Mufasa, was the king of the Pride Land and he died saving Simba from the hyena stampede. Simba is supposed to be king but runs away because he is scared. The best part of the movie is when Rafiki tells Simba that his father, Mufasa, is alive. Simba looks at his reflection in the lake, but is disappointed that he only sees himself. When Rafiki says “look harder,” Simba looks and sees his father in his reflection. Rafiki explains to Simba that Mufasa is alive inside of him. To get back to the place were Simba belonged, He had to believe that His father loved him and was alive inside of Him.
Read Galatians 2:20
When you believe in Jesus, who is alive inside of you?
Do you think Jesus living inside of you is a part of your identity?
What did Jesus do for you according to this verse?
How should you live for Him?
Your true identity can be found when you decide what you believe. God made your identity to be in Christ. When you believe in Him you will start to see your true identity.

Day 2 – BELONG

In the Disney movie Toy Story, the main character Woody is a toy owned by Andy. In all three movies, Woody knows where he belongs because his owner’s name is written on the bottom of his boot.
Read 2 Corinthians 1:21-22
When you believe in Jesus, what does God give you to show that you belong to Him?
Andy wrote his name on the toy he loved so Woody and everybody else would know who Woody belonged to. God, through the Holy Spirit, has done the same for you. He loves you and wants you to see how He has created you a place to belong. When you believe in Him, he gives you the Holy Spirit. You will learn more this year about how the Holy Spirit is your “sidekick” in the journey to find your identity in Christ. The Holy Spirit is in your heart helping you and showing the world you belong to God, who loves you.

Day 3 – BE YOU

In the movie Frozen, Elsa was born to be Queen of Arendelle, but she was born with a gift that she didn’t know how to use. Instead of facing her fears to figure it out, she hid her gift… which didn’t turn out so well. After Elsa turned the summer to frost, her sister, Anna, goes after her. Anna accidentally gets struck by Elsa’s frost and learns only true love can save her heart from freezing. At the end of the movie, Prince Hans is about to kill Elsa when Anna sacrifices her life to save her. It took Anna’s sacrifice for Elsa to finally believe in her love for her sister… she now understood the she belonged as queen of Arendelle. Elsa was finally okay with being herself.
Read Romans 8:28
What does God do for those who love Him?
God made you “you” for a reason. This year you are going to learn how it is awesome to be you and only you get to do it. God made you a certain way, with unique gifts and circumstances to do great things with Him and for Him. The most important thing you will learn is that to be the best “you” can be, you must believe in Jesus, find where you belong and then all that God has for you to “be you”… will start to fall into place.

Day 4 – BEWARE

In the movie The Little Mermaid, the thing that made Ariel unique was not that she was a mermaid. It was that she had a beautiful voice. She had big dreams of growing up to be a human. Instead of telling her father about these dreams, she goes to the evil Ursala for help. Ursala wants power, so she tempts Ariel to trade her most precious part of her identity, her voice, to get what she wants. Because Ariel gave up her identity for something she wanted, she was facing a future that she was not meant to live. Her father saved her identity by sacrificing himself and taking her place. The good news was Ursala was defeated and when Ariel trusted her father… she didn’t have to give up her identity.
Read John 10:10
What does the enemy come to do? What does God come to do?
As you begin the search for identity, you need to beware of people trying to steal your identity for selfish gain. You are going to learn about all the things the world will do to keep you from recognizing your true identity in Christ. Ursala’s offer to Ariel seemed really great during the moment, but it had consequences that would keep Ariel from being who she was meant to be. The same is true with Satan. He will use your sinful self and the world’s temptations to steal your identity. God cares about who you are and has only the best for you in mind. If you trust Him, you can avoid the damage of identity theft!

Day 5 – BE STRONG

In the Disney movie The Incredibles. The Parr family had to protect their identity when the evil Syndrome tried to destroy them. The Parr family are secretly superheroes who have been born with gifts that could help make the world a better place. To fight Syndrome, they had to work together to use all the strength they had to win.
Read 1 Corinthians 16:13
What does this verse ask you to do?
Being “alert” means paying attention and being ready.
Why is this important to stay strong? What should you stand firm in?
The Incredibles had to be strong to fight Syndrome. There will be many things in life that will cause you to question who you are. If you believe in Jesus and understand where you belong, your faith will help you be strong in who God meant you to be!