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new life in Christ

You Are A New Creation

by GOD TV May 3, 2022

written by GOD TV

Did you know that when you accepted Christ, you became an altogether new creation? The old has passed; you became something that didn’t before exist. Let me just read the scripture with you in 2 Corinthians 5:17, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.” Why is this important? If we don’t recognize that we’ve become a new creation, our inclination might be to actually try to revamp the old version of ourselves. We might try to take the version of ourselves that had no hope and no future and just incrementally get better.

The old me was a slave to sin. I don’t want that guy hanging out anymore. This new creature that God has created in me, doesn’t walk in the ways of the old. So I have to learn the new ways that God has given to me, that He has created for me to walk in. In Christ, we have the freedom to be all that He paid for us to be. So what do you do when you come across something that’s entirely new? Do you treat it like something you’ve seen before, or do you try to learn everything about it? I remember the first time somebody gave me a pomegranate. I’d never seen it before. Never had it before. All I knew was it was a fruit. What if I had tried to take a pomegranate and treat it like an apple? That would have been horrible. What if I would’ve scooped out all of the seeds, like you do with an orange? Again, not a great experience.

So I encourage you today to learn all about who God says you are as a new creation. What does this new creation look like? He says that we’re His children, that we are justified. We’re redeemed. We’re holy, we’re blessed with every spiritual blessing, and we are chosen and blameless. So I’d love to pray for us today. God, I thank you for the price that you paid for us to be brand new. God, I thank you, that you just didn’t slap on a coat of paint and leave us as we were. God, I pray that you reveal to us all of the ways that you have created for us to walk in, in the new ways in Jesus’ Name, we pray. Amen.

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You Can’t Lose

by GOD TV March 16, 2022

written by GOD TV

Galatians 2:20. I love that scripture. I remember the first time that I read it, I’m like, “Oh my gosh, that is so wonderful.” I am crucified with Christ; it’s no longer I that live, but the life that I now live, I live by faith of the Son of God who died for me and gave himself for me. Think about that. I am crucified with Christ. Everything that I was before I said, “Yes,” I don’t have to worry about that anymore. You don’t have to worry about that anymore, because the life that you’re now living, you’re living by faith, not by your faith only, but we can actually live our lives by the faith of Jesus. Go read that scripture, go meditate on that scripture, go look at it because it lets us know that we can step into a faith that is so much higher, so much greater than what we know, what we have, or we can even understand.

And so step into that. Step into the life that you now live. You live that life according to the faith of Jesus. Lord, I thank you that we would understand I am crucified with Christ is no longer Peggy that lives, but the life that I now live, I live by faith in Jesus, by the faith of Jesus who died for me, who gave Himself from me.

So, you know what? Everything becomes available to me. Everything is available to me. I don’t lose. And I don’t know who needs to hear this this morning, but the Lord says that your life is in Him and you can’t lose. He’s never lost a battle and He never will lose a battle. The victory is yours and start looking from the way that you’re looking, and look back into the things that God has for you.

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We Are All Heirs To The Monarchy

by Corine Channell September 4, 2019

written by Corine Channell

You have heard the expression “Never judge a book by its cover.” What about “never judge a butterfly by its cocoon!”?!

Seriously, if you know anything about butterflies you know the cocoon houses a beautiful butterfly. The cocoon is the most important part of developing the beauty of a butterfly. It is also the single most suffocating, dark and lonely experience a worm will have. Wait. Worm? Yes, the beautiful Monarch butterfly you see darting flower to flower was first a worm (also called a caterpillar), followed by being held captive in a tightly wrapped cocoon, of its own making. Remember that…

God always uses nature to teach us valuable life lessons.

My friend in Michigan posted these pictures that she and her son took of the actual metamorphosis of a butterfly. Remarkable to actually see behind the walls of its dark cocoon, and to get a tiny glimpse of what is happening from the inside out. Metamorphosis is one of life’s great mysteries.

The cocoon experience from the butterfly’s perspective

A butterfly cocoon is a silky case spun by the caterpillar itself, and composed of the larvae of insects or of itself. The verb definition of cocoon may surprise you, “To envelop or surround in a protective or comforting way.” The cocoon that is dark, lonely, and suffocating is actually the key to maturity and completion for the caterpillar. The cocoon is a have to thing! It is part of the process, part of the journey from an immature caterpillar to a fully mature developed butterfly.

In essence a caterpillar makes its cocoon out of its own self. It is its metamorphosis – which by actual definition is, “An insect or amphibian in the process of transformation from an immature form to an adult form in two or more distant stages. A change of the form or nature of a thing or a person into a completely different one by natural or supernatural means.” All I can say here is WOW!

What does that look like for human?

We as humans all come as unfinished, immature versions (rough drafts maybe?) of ourselves. We all need to find our own way and forge our own path. No matter what we are taught about how to live our lives the choices are still our own. Thus, we all will experience some form of self-journey or solo flight. Yes – a metamorphosis.

If you see someone struggling with any kind of life malfunction, addiction, failure, or their own mess, do not judge. They are spinning their own cocoon which though it will be dark, lonely and suffocating, it will save them. We each eventually come face to face with our own selves. This is where we grow up and mature and change. The process will always look different but the outcome or the goal is the same. We hope the outcome of the cocoon experience is the same – the goal is maturity and completion. The journey of a human is in stages from child to youth to adult, and the hope is that the journey will make us completed, mature, and whole.

What does the Bible say?

The Bible says we see “through a glass darkly…” which means we see life through a blurred vision or obscurity. This speaks of our maturity process – we can’t see the end from the beginning, and so we have to walk it out. “For now, we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face (with ourselves); now I know in part, but then I shall know even as I am known.” (1 Corinthians 13:12)

These cocoon pictures spoke clearly to me that when we view someone in their present visible state, and it appears that they are so far from success, maturity or perfection, we have no idea what kind of a dark cocoon their soul is wrapped in. We have NO idea the beauty of the monarchy that God is creating behind the scenes. We have no idea the end of their story. Do. Not. Judge. Don’t do it!

Monarch is defined as a king, queen, or emperor – a crowned head!

A cocoon isn’t like some new residence a caterpillar chooses to live in – it is in its DNA to spin the cocoon itself, one thread at a time. He invests his whole self into it – literally. He weaves it strand by strand by strand until he is so tightly wrapped in the cocoon that there is nowhere else to go. This is it for the caterpillar – endure or die. Ironically also, the caterpillar will become who he is meant to be before he breaks free! It is his journey – no one can bust open the cocoon hoping to free the butterfly earlier or quicker – this would cause it to die. This is all attributed to the perfect timing of a loving Creator. “He has made all things beautiful in its time.” (Ecclesiastes 3:11)

The ‘fight to finish’ happens from the inside out.

The cocoon though stuffy, compressed, rigid, dark and lonely is also referred to as comforting. How can this be? In my own opinion and thought process born from my own cocoon experience, the comfort is the relationship formed with the God of the cocoon itself – it will be the best and worst of times as you find yourself totally alone with Him.

If God so carefully selected a way for a simple insect to become a chief monarch among its own kind; then how much more will He transform and “perfect all that concerns us and not forsake the works of His hands.” (Psalm 138:8)

Image Source – Tatiana and Brayden Cremeans

September 4, 2019 0 comment

Articles

The Surprisingly Simple Solution to End The Mind Games

by Kyle Winkler July 12, 2019

written by Kyle Winkler

The greatest hindrance to the new life that Jesus offers, is the old life and the things of the world that tend to remind us of it. That’s why in order to have what is good, acceptable and perfect, the apostle Paul instructed, “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your minds.” (Rom. 12:2)

Certainly, those of us who have been in the church for a length of time are undoubtedly familiar with this concept of mind renewal. What we’re not all as familiar with is how to practically do it.

Your New Position in Christ

While penning my book, Activating the Power of God’s Word: 16 Strategic Declarations to Transform Your Life, I dissected Paul’s instructions, which revealed the surprising solution. The answer for “how to renew your mind” is in the word “renew” itself, which means “to resume to an original position after an interruption.”

You see, when you were born again, you were instantly positioned as a new person in Christ. That’s what 2 Corinthians 5:17 assures: “So if anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation.” As this new creation, you now possess the fruit of the Holy Spirit: “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control” (Gal. 5:22–23). Because you’re now clothed in Christ, you also get the identity of Christ: a child of God, righteous and complete, just to name a few of His attributes.

Interrupting the Interruptions

The struggle we face as Christians is that the world and the enemy continue to try to interrupt us with reminders and feelings that take us back to the old life—old ways of thinking, speaking and living—and to at least dampen God’s promises of joy, peace and patience, for examples.

The key, then, to experience the new, transformed life that Jesus died for you to have is to interrupt the interruptions with the truth of God’s Word.

Here’s how to do it:

If feelings of fear try to interrupt you, resume back to your fearless position in Christ with 2 Timothy 1:7: “God has not given me a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-disciple.”

If anxious thoughts try to interrupt you, resume back to your peaceful position in Christ with Philippians 4:6–7: “I am not anxious about anything … but the peace of God which surprises all understanding, guards my heart and mind in Christ Jesus.”

If reminders of mistakes try to interrupt you with guilt or shame, resume back to your forgiven position in Christ with 2 Corinthians 5:21: “He who knew no sin took on my sin so that I am declared the righteousness of God in Christ.”

As you interrupt the interruption with God’s Word through your mouth, your mind focuses back on your position in Christ, which in time trickles down to transform everything about you.

July 12, 2019 0 comment