Over to Paul. “My old identity has been co-crucified with Christ and no longer lives. And now the essence of this new life is no longer mine, for the Anointed One lives His life through me—we live in union as one! My new life is empoweredby the faith of the Son of God who loves me so much that He gave Himself for me, dispensing His life into mine!” Galatians 2:20 TPT.

Are we looking to our own strength to fix ourselves or “looking to Jesus Who is the Author and Finisher of our faith!?”  So what does that phrase mean? It means Jesus Christ did not just die to get us a free ticket through the pearly gates. He died for our total transformation into His spiritual likeness as well as our restoration into real fellowship with our Heavenly Father. Now, in this life.

Here’s a question for you:  if we expect heaven when we die …. then shouldn’t we live now, today, expecting He will use our everyday circumstances to constantly renew and transform us, through our relationship with Him?  Otherwise, how do we think that transformation will happen?? By osmosis?? Somebody is going to have to die and Jesus already did …now it is over to US.

Our time away this time has been fun-filled with all kinds of medical difficulties. However, hubby and I both know personally, from experience! … That … ’we can do ALL THINGS because He will and HAS strengthened us.’ And He’ll do it again tomorrow too! We are about to go out and talk to people again, and we know we can’t, not without Him helping us. Knowing or thinking you can’t do something doesn’t negate God’s will in your life – it ACTIVATES it. 

Humanity’s destiny has always been to be restored into the image of God, like we were in Genesis …”let us make man in Our image …” In that garden of His provision, Christ Himself is our living breathing example of what God’s provision looks like. It doesn’t look like a Lear jet, or a posh house, or a fancy car, or expensive meal, it looks like the ability and the desire to love others the way Jesus did when He was on this earth. He gave His life for us, so now we can have His power to give our lives for others. And we get the power to overcome through obedience. 

Adam and Eve did not have to plant that garden … it was planted for them … their job was to look after it, to manage it. It was already established for them. I said all that to say this: GOD ALWAYS DOES THE WORK for us, but… we still have work to do. We must look after what He has given us. We need to be protective of it, by listening to the Holy Spirit, reading His word, and following His instructions.

When sin overcame mankind Jesus came to take our punishment. He came to restore our relationship with Almighty God back to the one Adam and Eve had in the garden. And we get that inheritance, which is rightfully ours, by sheer obedience. We need to manage what we have been given. This life, right here, right now, is our garden, how we manage it, matters. We may not feel anything – we simply need to live this life the way He wants us to live it – knowing He promised to help us win.

Genesis shows us that God wanted to be with humanity, but we were tricked into wanting our own way to get there. satan virtually said to Adam and Eve: ‘You will become like gods, if you eat that fruit. God is keeping something from you.’ Sin is appealing for a season … and then the consequences turn up! Unfortunately, we didn’t just want fellowship with God – we were tempted to be like God. When God told that couple they would die – it was more than a literal death – mankind’s relationship with Him died too.

Long ago, satan wanted to be like God and that’s why he got chucked out of heaven in the first place. Now he is busy trying to make people into his own image! he wants to hurt our Father, by taking away His Beloved Son’s BRIDE. The Holy Spirit is not leading us to die to self because He’s mean, or a party-pooper!  He’s teaching us these things so we can escape from satan’s lies …  “Jesus said: “I AM the Resurrection and the Life, the one who believes in Me will live even though they die.” Dying to self is the only way to escape from satan’s lies and truly LIVE. 👋🏻