Do You Believe What God Says About You?: How a Right View of Your Identity in Christ Changes Everything

by Stephen Viars

See Yourself Through God’s Eyes

Who are you? You carry your answer to that question around your home, community, workplace, and church. But how does your self-image compare to God’s perfect understanding of you?

In Do You Believe What God Says About You? , pastor and Christian counselor Stephen Viars encourages you to trade misgivings about your identity for the Bible’s life-changing affirmations of who you were made to be. You will
Perfect for personal use or group study, and an ideal resource for biblical counselors, this book offers 31 chapters that feature inspiring insights, practical illustrations, helpful journaling questions, and guided prayers that will help you define your identity as God does.

Genres: Christian Non Fiction, Christian Living, Counselling

208 pages, Paperback

Published February 15, 2022

Reviews

[Maggie - Busy Moms Read Too · Rating 5 out of 5]

Every one of us goes through life wondering, "Who am I? Am I what my profession trains me to be, what the mirror shows I am, or what others say I am?" Relying on our own (or outside) opinions of us will always lead to a broken and misguided self-image. Thankfully, we have God's perfect word to tell us exactly who we are. In thirty-one short, yet detailed chapters, this book beautifully covers all the things that God says about us.

At the beginning of reading, we are introduced to a small group of diverse people struggling with various issues. We follow alongside these relatable people throughout the book, as if we are in their small group going through our identity in Christ. This small group quickly grows on you because they remind you of the lovely, imperfect people that surround us. Their struggles and insecurities are sure to hit you close to home as you intentionally examine yourself.

Each chapter talks about one thing that the Bible says about us. For example, the first chapter is titled "You Are Created." There are relevant questions at the end of every chapter for personal reflection and group discussion. I found these questions to be extremely helpful in focusing ourselves on who we truly are in Jesus and how we should strive to act after meditating on our identity.

Rich with biblical wisdom and insight, Pastor Stephen Viars writes a simple to read yet theologically solid guide on how we should view ourselves in the light of scripture alone. You will get some laughs and may shed tears while reading this. Overall, this is a wonderful book that will be one of my favorites to reference back to. This is a book I would choose to read together with a friend, family member, or a small group. Definitely consider choosing this when you are discipling a new believer.

[Kori · Rating 2 out of 5]

Putting Your Past in Its Place was instrumental in helping me overcome the bitterness and victim mentality related to painful situations from my past. I had hoped that this book would be the same way in terms of helping me understand my identity in Christ, but in comparison, it’s superficial. There is way too much of the book spent on a scenario involving characters a Bible study group when it really should be focused on exposition of scripture and how to apply it, and the dialogue comes across is tilted an overdramatic. Bad Christian fiction doesn’t belong in this kind of book. There’s also a very bizarre obsession with food and other attempts of humor that detect from the seriousness of the topic. Very off brand for this author.

[Blake · Rating 3 out of 5]

Viars newest book is an encouraging book that one can find helpful for daily devotions as Viars provides an evaluation of the many indicatives (positional truths) for the believer. With each chapter comes encouragement for the Christ-follower to understand who he/she is "in Christ." The book is built around a story line of a group that meets for a study. The dialogue of the group is the weakness of the book as it seems somewhat far-fetched, but it does illustrate perfectly the normal struggles of people, the normal thought patterns behind such struggles, and how the many indicatives within the pages of Scripture can be helpful to bring hope to the believer. I was encouraged by it and think most people who love Jesus would find it encouraging as well.

[Ashlee Schmidt · Rating 3 out of 5]

The indicatives offered in this book center around a (rather awkward and distracting) dialogue between members of a small group that is woven throughout each chapter. I think it would have been stronger resource on the believers identity in Christ if this small group narrative would have been removed altogether. There were some really encouraging insights throughout the book, but they felt somewhat muddled and muted behind the additional cast of characters that kept making their appearance. It’s a 2.5 for me.

[Andrew · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think this is a helpful devotional. Probably more of a 3.5 than a 3.
I found the advice given on each day extremely timely and good for my soul to be reminded of my positioning before God.
The thing that irked me was the ‘made up group’ that you were meeting with each chapter. The fake conversation pieces got old after day 10.
However, other than that, I thought this was a really helpful reflection on who you are in God’s eyes, if you’re a follower of Christ.

[Tricia · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sound biblical teaching on our identity in Jesus. Solid 3.5 stars mainly because the role playing was too much for me. I would’ve given it a 4-star review if not for the role playing. 🙈 Rather, I prefer stories being used as examples in non-fiction books. This would still be a great resource though for counseling or small group usage!

[Marney Rausch · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent excellent book. Easy to read, helpful, thought provoking. I learned a lot - about myself but mostly about our amazing God. So much to think about but a too lol amazingly practical. Read this!!!

[Dawn · Rating 2 out of 5]

Content good, deliver eh.

[Darcy Schock · Rating 4 out of 5]

It’s easy for me to know what God says about my identity and struggle to truly believe it. This book held many great reminders to help the truth sink deeper into deep rooted belief.

[Dawn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cheesy approach would make it hard to recommend, but biblical content is really good.