Dying To Live…
2 Corinthians 5:14-15 (Amplified Bible)
14For the love of Christ controls and urges and impels us, because we are of the opinion and conviction that [if] One died for all, then all died;
15And He died for all, so that all those who live might live no longer to and for themselves, but to and for Him Who died and was raised again for their sake.
2 Corinthians 5:14-15 (New Living Translation)
14 Either way, Christ’s love controls us. Since we believe that Christ died for all, we also believe that we have all died to our old life.] 15 He died for everyone so that those who receive his new life will no longer live for themselves. Instead, they will live for Christ, who died and was raised for them.
My father’s evening rituals consist of Judge Joe Brown while he eats his dinner. Well this particular show there was a case where a person was suing another individual over lost wages. But as part of the evidence that was submitted the plaintiff had submitted a letter written by the defendant that asked did she consult God before she, quit? Judge Brown asked what she meant by the letter, the defendant simply replied that she wanted her to ensure that the young lady had consulted God and did not rely on her own will. Judge Brown replied that was archaic and that our will was what we should rely upon. He went on to rip her beliefs about total reliance on God and not will to shreds. As I sat there hearing this diatribe my heart hurt. When did it become such a crime to lean, depend and totally rely on God? When did declaring that God is our source of reliance set us up to receive a tongue lashing and being scrutinized and called archaic because we do so? My God we are so far from the presence of God, it is a shame.We are living in a time where people have become so desensitized to the things of God. We laugh and make a mockery of those who do love, rely and totally lean on God whole heartedly; we call them fanatical or backwards. We have become a people that are of the mindset that if we rely on anyone but ourselves that we are weak, gullible and stuck in a time long ago. Our country was founded on the belief of God, and freedom to worship Him, and yet here we are, in a place where we will not even honor God with our lips or our lives. We want what we want and we do what we do, because it is right in our eyes, and we do not worry about God and what He thinks about what we do, or how He sees our actions. We give no thought that God sent Christ to die for us, so that we could have a plan of salvation and deliverance that does not keep us eternally separated from God. We have not yet learned the importance of dying to self to be in right standing with God and to please Him. We do not realize that if we do not choose to allow the sin nature that we were born into to die and for God’s will and mind to resurrected within us we are bound to find ourselves living to die instead of dying to live. We do not understand that living to and for the flesh has an expiration date, but living to the spirit and for God gives eternal status.
It should not be absurd to consult God and rely upon Him. It should be a badge of honor and obedience to be seen as an individual that sees God as the greatest counsel, and the one that we need to rely upon to produce in us results that not only do well by us, but bring honor and glory to His name. You see we have a choice to live to please ourselves and to ensure that we obtain what we think we want, or we can submit our whole selves unto God, to please Him and to ensure that we are following His plan and His design for our lives. You see we can have the life we are going to have now, by doing it our way, or we can have abundance now and eternal abundance, in the very presence of God doing it His way. The choice is ours. Will we live to die or die to live?
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