Identity Theft Protection
April 26, 2012
Matthew 16:18 - “And I say also unto thee, that thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it”.
Identity theft, where someone “steals” another person’s identity and pretends to be them, is one of the fastest growing crimes in the 21st century. Typically the one doing the stealing does so in order to access resources or obtain credit card, bank account or other financial and personal information in that person’s name. How do they do this? Through hacker friendly software, dumpster diving through discarded documents and mail, retrieving personal data through PC’s, mobile phones, and carelessly disposed USB memory sticks and hard drives, pick pocketing, burglary, observing others type their login information or shoulder surfing, advertising bogus job offers to accumulate resumes, impersonating trusted organizations, browsing social networking websites for personal details, and the list goes on and on.
Though the term “identity theft” was first coined in 1964, the first incident dates back to the Garden of Eden in Genesis 3:1, when Satan successfully coerced Eve to question what God had said about her identity as His child and about her rights and privileges in His kingdom. And he’s been at it ever since. He tries to get us to question God’s love for us because of a sin we committed 10 years ago, or to steal the health that was made ours at the cross and belongs to us. Satan tried the same tactic on Jesus in the wilderness, in Matthew 4:6, when he said “If thou be the Son of God”.
Practically speaking, more than ever, we need to keep a close eye on our personal information and important documents and completely protect, sanitize or destroy any devices that store critical data. People of all ages need to use common sense when divulging the latest details of your life on social media networks and other public sites.
But most importantly, when it comes to protecting our identity in Christ, we need to spend most of our time hearing what God has to say about who we are through His Word and by His Spirit. In Matthew 16:18, Jesus said to Simon, “I say unto thee”. He was saying to him, listen to Me! We need to study God’s word on a daily basis with the same determination that government agencies train banks to detect counterfeit money. They study the real thing so that they can instantly recognize the counterfeit when it passes through their hands.
Then, Jesus told Peter “you are Peter”, or you are a piece of the rock. You are created like God, you have a piece of me on the inside of you! Hallelujah! He said to him, you are no longer Simon, your past does not dictate who you are, your actions don’t dictate who you are, I say who you are!
The Word tells us who we are, and the Word says we are healed, we are victorious, we are delivered from the curse of poverty and lack, we are restored, we have a future, we are above only and not beneath, the head and not the tail, we are overcomers, more than conquerors through Christ, we have the peace of God that passes all understanding, we are patient and kind, we are beautiful in His sight and so much more. Don’t let any devil, or any circumstance, or any person steal your identity in Christ, you are who God says you are!
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