Name Tags: You are… Dead, Buried & Raised
Do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death? Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.
Romans 6:3-4 (NKJV)
Knowing I was mostly dead before Christ is a no-brainer. I was barely there. Knowing Jesus raised me to a new life is a no-brainer, too. Surely, He did.
The part of this process that's hard for me is keeping “Old Carey” dead and buried:(
It can be like Night of the Living Dead, where hands and arms reach up from shallow graves. Or worse, when a corpse sits up in the dirt.
My unclean mouth poops out some unkind words, and she's NOT the lady that Jesus raised.
Actors, models, and talent for Christ:
You're new creations in a new era, un-rulish Christians of The Golden Rule,* surprising Christians in Entertainment. You're rising to perform in crucial roles. But possibly you don't feel “good” enough.
Therefore, recall: many Bible heroes (stars like Moses, David, Peter and Paul), were also tempted by their “old man” selves– old mindsets or habits not fully dead.
'For the good that I will to do, I do not do; but the evil I will not to do, that I practice. Now if I do what I will not to do, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me... O wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death?' (Romans 7:19-20, 24).
Paul's next Line? 'I thank God–through Jesus Christ our Lord!' (v.25).
Therefore, fellow Christians, I now conclude: DYING TO SELF is a work in progress– and on occasion, it necessitates the putting down of your bothersome corpse with a sharp shovel or a Bible Verse:)
Since great heroes before you lived through it, rest assured! you CAN and WILL do it, too!
Your inevitably grand conclusion?
Nurture the new you, and stomp down the old. Therein, continue to rise from the dead:)
Name Tags: You Are… Dead, Buried & Raised (Part 29)
* 'Do to others as you would like them to do to you' (Luke 6:31, NLT).
NOTE: God is my Ghostwriter. If what I write is good, it’s from God. You may see notes to 'Actors, Models & Talent for Christ.' If you think you're not in show business, think again. Shakespeare said, 'All the world's a stage and all its men and women merely players.’ Mostly true. But you're not merely players. You are messengers and ambassadors for the King of kings.