A Look at a Book
by Gail Bedell

A Review: Who you really are… and not who you thought you were
Author: Jackie Ginn

A couple of years ago, I wanted my teenage son to know that he was not a "just me" but a spirit person operated by another. The tool I used to help explain the concept was Who you really are… and not who you thought you were.

This eight-page booklet uses cartoons to illustrate in an unforgettable way that the human spirit is not a "just me" but linked to Satan (from birth) or Jesus Christ (when a person becomes a Christian). Fully written out Scripture verses accompany the simple drawings to clearly lay the Biblical foundation of "no independent self" and the believer’s spirit-union with Jesus Christ.

Who you really are… and not who you thought you were is ideally suited for children, beginning believers, or Christians looking for a SIMPLE answer to the "two natures" or "human nature" myths. I realized just how effective the visual approach of this booklet is when my son recently said in passing conversation, "I know Mom, I remember the story: It’s either Christ or Satan–not "just me.’"
 
Questions & Answers

Q: I believe that I am Christ in my form, but people in my life sometimes tell me that I am getting hyped up or frantic in certain situations. At the time I am told that, I do not realize that I am frantic. How can I trust that I am Christ going on in these situations, or should I?

A:All we are ever called to do is to do all that we know to do at the time and to be comfortable with that as long as we are not in any known Biblical sin. Then if someone points out behavior that we are not aware of but that they are aware of, the thing to do is to be open to the suggestions (not necessarily immediately taking their view), avoid all defensiveness, take a deep breath, and give our insides a quick check. By doing this we can see if we are in some kind of unnecessary panic or if we are simply expending energy that is necessary for an immediate task.

If the former is true it is good to stop for a short time-recognize who it is going on (Christ)-and know that He will get the job done when and how He wants to. Proceeding in this mode should put an end to the franticness. If the latter is true simply proceed, keeping in mind it is Christ going on in and as you.

Q: How can Christ be living my life right after I’ve been in unbelief?

A: Whether our believing is right or not does not alter our oneness with Christ. That union with Christ is never broken. He is always our life even when we are in sin. Sin (unbelief) simply gives Satan a temporary power to do his misdeeds. He does this on the soul level-our members, as Paul says. There is no spirit take over that puts us back in the state we were in before we became born again. Once we admit or confess our sin of unbelief and its fruits, God’s light and life are again free to flow through us and from us. As a result Satan is eclipsed by God’s cleansing and piercing light. Satan-who is darkness posing as light-cannot co-exist with God who is the Light.

Q: My sister and I each received a similar gift. I was very grateful for my gift, but I soon began to want her gift because I thought it was better than mine. How do I keep from wanting what she or someone else has and be satisfied with what I have received?

A: We can never stop our wanting of things. Wanting (desire) is a very
important part of our makeup. Desire is the very warp and woof of personhood. It’s not our wanting that is wrong. Like all things in right use it is right. Right desiring is the beginning of our having for ourselves the right things God intends us to have. Our problem is the wrong use of our desire. The Bible calls this misuse covetousness. Not that I want a thing but that I demand to have it for myself. I will have it for myself. Once this believing takes us over, "alone I" becomes our choice. "We" (really Satan misusing us) will go to any length to make the coveted thing (or person, or place) ours.

Q: Why did our "word of faith" about establishing the center in Boone/Blowing Rock take so long to come to pass?

A: Man was not the one establishing a center. It was God. He knows when and how He will get done what He wants done. So at the perfect time He brought it into manifestation. We have been merely the instruments He has worked through.