Reagan's Roundup

Reagan’s Roundup: June 5th, 2025

June 5, 2025by Reagan Rose6 min read

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Your weekly roundup of insights and resources to help you get more done for the glory of God.

In Today’s Issue:

Habits Are Downstream of Identity
2 Samuel 24 on Boasting in Success
The Subtle Seduction of Self-Reliance
An App for Weekly Planning
Anthony Hoekema on Bearing God’s Image

Dear steward,

Lately, I’ve been thinking a lot about the topic of habits—in fact, that’s kind of going to be the theme for this month. Throughout June I’ll be sharing resources to help you to develop your habits this summer.

Thinking about this subject, had me revisiting some of the popular books on habits. And there’s soemthing that struck me afresh this week that I wanted to share. In his mega-best-seller, Atomic Habits James Clear discusses what he terms “identity-based” habits.

“The key to building lasting habits is focusing on creating a new identity first. Your current behaviors are simply a reflection of your current identity. What you do now is a mirror image of the type of person you believe that you are (either consciously or subconsciously).”

Clear doesn’t come at this topic from a Christian perspective. But reading those words, I couldn’t help but be reminded of Solomon’s words is Ecclesiastes 1:9, “there is nothing new under the sun.” Because the idea that our behavior flows from our identity is precisely what God’s Word teaches. What Clear observed by common grace, we have by divine revelation.

The truth: We live like who we believe we are.

Which means habits are downstream of identity.

Here’s one example from Scripture:

To overcome sin consistently, we don’t start by targeting the behavior. No, we are called first to “consider yourselves to be dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus” (Romans 6:11). Identity precedes the habit.

If we think of ourselves as no-good sinners who are powerless to overcome sin’s temptations, then we will give in to every lust. But if we believe *what is true about us—*that we are actually dead to sin and alive in God—we will find ourselves fighting temptation and winning in God’s power. We are operating out of our identity.

But this goes beyond just the fight against sin in our lives.

If you really believe that your identity is in Christ, that will result in behavior and habits that befit a child of God. You will subtly be asking yourself:

“How does a person live who has been crucified with Christ, have Christ dwelling in them, and lives by faith in Jesus Who loves him?”
“What are the habits, practices, and daily routines of a Christian who is cognizant of the truth that ‘therefore if any man is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come?’” (2 Corinthians 5:17)
“What specific disciplines should a redeemed child of God be cultivating in mind, body, financial dealings, work, etc.?”

It is who you are that fuels what you do. And for believers the key is to recognize that who we are is in Christ. When we take hold of that truth by faith, amazing things begin to happen.

Habits are downstream of identity.

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Weekly Word

“So the king said to Joab, the commander of the army, who was with him, ‘Go through all the tribes of Israel, from Dan to Beersheba, and number the people, that I may know the number of the people.’”
– 2 Samuel 24:2

David sinned against God when he arrogantly counted, and (by implication) boasted in his heart about the great number of people he ruled over.

There’s a fine line between taking pleasure in the fruits of our labors and taking credit for them. Whatever you achieve this week, it’s not ultimately a result of how great you are, your hard work, or your fine-tuned systems. The fruit of our labors is a grace-gift from God. So let’s remember to humbly give thanks to Him for any and all success we enjoy.

Worth Your Time

Fight the Subtle Seduction of Self-Reliance (5 mins) Brandon Cooper exposes a heart sin that can be all-to-common, especially for those of us who pursue personal productivity. If you want to hear my thoughts on this topic, check out The Idol of Competence.
The Enormous Significance of Small Tasks (3 mins) This one is directed at parents. Melissa reminds us that the bulk of the impact we will have on our children happens during the mundane tasks. Godly influence is a game of nudges.
My Good Week: a Goal & Weekly Planning App This is a cool little productivity app I came across this week. My Good Week is designed to help you craft goals, then create a plan for the week to get you closer to those objectives.

Words of Wisdom

“Our goal is to help others not only to see Christ but to reflect the beauty of God in every aspect of our lives.”
– Anthony A. Hoekema, Created in God’s Image

P.S. For the month of June, we’re running a super-sale on POWER Mornings, my course that helps believers build unbreakable daily habits for spiritual and personal growth.

Get the complete course for just $19 when you use the code JUNE2025 at checkout.