Skip to main content

Newness of Self

Philippians 3:11
“if by any means, I may attain to the resurrection from the dead.”
Everyday is victorious in the Lord because of the ultimate sacrifice of His dying on the cross for my sins. Because of the love He has shown me, there is no length I should not be willing to go to achieve dying to myself, being risen up a new creation in Christ. There are thousands of opportunities presented throughout the day to choose the Lord, but yet, I constantly choose myself. Of course, it is more convenient for me to ignore my teammate in the morning because I woke up aggravated than put my own feelings aside and love her the way Christ has loved me. Of course, it is more convenient for me to hide away in my room after breakfast and place the responsibility of doing dishes onto someone else, but the Lord has called me to be a bondservant. Although acting in anger, selfishness, and the many other sins I have fallen into is not of the Lord, I do not have to walk in defeat because He has already overcome on the cross. However, the choice to walk in His victory is always mine as I am able to decide what path I want to be centered on: mine or His. In my own strength, I am incapable of accomplishing anything for anyone other than my own fleshly desires. This, in turn, only leads me down a path of destruction and emptiness where the bonds I am bound to are only strengthened and my walk with the Lord suffers. However, with Christ, all things are possible as He gives me the ability to walk in newness of self, in the Spirit of life, and the chains in which I have been bound to are broken; I am set free. Dying to self is a daily, moment by moment choice and by doing so, I am able to put my desires, needs, and wants aside to fulfill the purpose He has placed on my life for my good and His glory. 

Application
Today, I will wash the dishes after breakfast.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Off Balance

1 Corinthians 12:14-15 “ Even so the body is not made up of one part but of many. Now if the foot should say, “Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,” it would not for that reason stop being part of the body.” Simply spoken, even when we feel as though we do not belong, that does not mean we are allowed to quit. Each one of us has a vitally important role in the body of Christ, just as the foot plays a vitally important role to the body. Without the foot, the body would be off balance and we would not be able to walk. Without the ability to walk, how would the will of God be fulfilled? It wouldn’t. Similarly, we must be willing to submit to the calling the Lord has placed on our lives without being quick to reject it. His plan is perfect, and even if it is something we are not accustomed to, if it is in His will, it will pan out for our good and His glory. I despised the majority of my time as a nurses aide, and looking back, I realize now that I was relying on stre...
Post a Comment
Read more

The Remedy

1 Timothy 4:8 “For bodily exercise profits a little, but godliness is profitable for all things, having promise of the life that now is and of that which is to come.” To be disciplined in exercising our physical bodies, we must push ourselves everyday to do more, to be better. We must endure the pain that follows if we want to remain fit but after a while, it becomes routine and though the pain might still be evident, it is no longer bothersome. It becomes so routine that it feels odd when we do not do it, as if we are breaking a law that we ourselves have put in place. In the same way, we must exercise our faith in the Lord on a daily basis to remain in His will for our lives. Our Father strives to have that personal relationship with us, but like any earthly relationship, it takes effort; it takes prayer, reading, and listening to what the Father is conveying to us. Though exercising our physical bodies may give us relief for a short while, spending quality time with the Lord is...
Post a Comment
Read more

Vertical Identity

Psalms 139:13-14 “For You formed my inward parts; You covered me in my mother’s womb. I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; marvelous are Your works, and that my soul knows very well.” It is so easy to get caught up in the lies of the enemy who whispers in my ear that I am not good enough. It is so easy to look to the left and to the right at my sisters in Christ and compare myself to their seeming flawlessness, forgetting that Jesus died for their sins, too. Sure, I am louder and more outspoken than most, but this by no means indicates that the Lord loves me any less because He created me to be that way. It is only when I come to accept these aspects about myself that I consider to be so detrimental that the Lord can use them for His glory and my good. Does this mean that I will assume perfection? Absolutely not, but it does mean that I no longer have to be a slave to self-hatred. It means that I no longer have to rely on horizontal approval when my identity...
Post a Comment
Read more