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Yes, I Died To Live!

Posted on by Tangie T. Woods

How does one die to live? Do you have difficulty forgetting certain aspects of your past? For Christians, do you still struggle with your past? If so, in what way? Be mindful it is impossible to have a spiritual connection with the LORD in an unrepentance state. Do you disagree?

Do you still struggle with sins you asked GOD for forgiveness? Apostle Paul said, “Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reach forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 3:13–14).

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Perhaps, we are so busy living that we do not think much about dying to live in the spiritual context. So, I ask, which one are you feeding the most? The flesh or the Spirit? In Galatians 5:16, we are instructed to walk in the Spirit to not fulfill the lust of the flesh. At times, this is easier said than done, is it not? However, the more we feed the Spirit biblical food, the less the flesh eats and will eventually starve to death on the journey of striving for perfection in the Lord (Matthew 5:48; I Peter 1:5-9; I John 2:1-29).

I often examine my life and relationship with the Lord being mindful at all times not to allow Satan’s consumption of me to do his evil bidding with an attitude of Christ. I do not want to be one of those vying for the Christian Academy Award of Hypocrisy.

If one does not know the true transformation of Apostle Paul, it might be easy to think he was a hypocrite. I am very intrigue with life conversion from Saul to Paul. It is just amazing how he transformed from killing Christians and reaping havoc on the Church to writing the majority of the New Testament Epistles. Wow! What an amazing transformation in the Lord! In order for this to happen, one must submit to God, resist the devil and allow the Word to transform minds. Do you think Paul purged all of his past memories when he became an apostle?

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We should have the attitude of Christ. Apostle Paul so eloquently said to consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus. Regardless of how good or how bad we may have been, we must all come to Christ the same way: humble, repentant, and undeserving of His forgiveness.

Forgetting means no longer caring for and refusing to focus on. Our memories store information gained through our senses since birth. Some experiences are impossible to forget, and any effort to forget them only makes them more prominent. Therefore, we can never achieve a total memory wipe but to focus on the present and the future, rather than the past. Our minds replay past events that need to be left in the past. Forgetfulness means to count the past as nothing and the strings that tie us to bygone moments should be left where they belong, in the past.

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We must embrace our new identity in Christ “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new. And all things are of GOD, who hath reconciled us to Himself by Jesus Christ, and hath to us the ministry of reconciliation To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and that committed unto us the word of reconciliation. Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ’s stead, be ye reconciled to God. For He hath made Him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him. II Corinthians 5:17-21

We are not to forget everything, however, in the sense of being oblivious to it. In fact, there are many times God instructs us to remember. In Deuteronomy 9:7, Moses tells the Israelites to “remember this and never forget how you aroused the anger of the Lord your God in the wilderness. From the day you left Egypt until you arrived here, you have been rebellious against the Lord.” We are encouraged to remember all God has done for us (Psalm 77:11; 103:2), others who are suffering for Christ’s sake (Hebrews 13:3; Colossians 4:18), and what we were before Jesus saved us (Ephesians 2:11–12; 1 Corinthians 6:9–11).

But the remembering should be to the glory of God and for our spiritual benefit. If we are cleansed by the blood of Christ, then no judgment remains for past failures (Romans 8:1). If God chooses not to remember our past sins (Hebrews 8:12), we can choose to set them aside as well and embrace the future He promises to those who love Him (Romans 8:28; Ephesians 2:10).

To answer your question how did I die to live a new life in Christ?

First, I heard  the gospel of Jesus Christ (Matthew 7:24-27 and Romans 10:17).

Second, I believed the Gospel of Jesus Christ (Mark 16:16; John 3:16; and Hebrews 11:6).

Third, I repented of my sins (Luke 13:3,5; Acts 2:38; Acts 17:30-31).

Fourth, I confessed Jesus as the Son of GOD. (Matthew 10:32-33; Acts 8:36-37).

Fifth, I was baptized into Christ (Act 2:38).

Sixth, I am striving to maintain faithfulness unto death (Revelation 2:10).

I hope this blog is encouraging to you.

 

Author:

Christian Blogger, minister's wife, mother of three adult children and grandmother of one granddaughter

59 thoughts on “Yes, I Died To Live!”

  1. Dear Tangie,

    To die to live is a mystery that each of us has to solve. The competent Master, Christ, Rumi, Shamz e Tabres, Kabir, Sant Kirpal Singh, and many more speak about it. To die to live means also the second birth from which Jesus Christ speaks. In the Bible, we have also: “Knock at the 10th door and it will be opened…” We have 9 openings (our body) leading outward, but this opening is the only opening that leads inwards. In the Bible it is called “Single Eye”, others call it “Third Eye”, “Shiv Netra”, “Divya Chakshu”, “Tisra Ti”l, “Brahmrendra”, “Triambka”, “Trilochana Nukta-i-Sweda”, “Koh-i-Toor”, “the Still Point”, “the Mount of Transfiguration”, etc – When we meditate there in the middle between the two eye-brows with the help of God we go through the dark tunnel and come into the light when we have crossed the three worlds of matter and dust, then we reach a region of pure spirit, which is called Sach Khand. There we know that we are not the body, but spirit. The same process takes place at the time of death, all our energy coming from the extremities gather together at the eye-center, there the soul leaves the body. So once we have died during we live to surpass all inner regions, death will no longer make us afraid. This is the mystery that all competent wise men speak about and this is the purpose of our life: to solve this mystery to rise above body-consciousness…

    Thanks for sharing, dear friend 🙂
    Stay safe and healthy, you and yours 🙂
    Didi

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    1. Scriptures make all mysteries clear to us on death and everything to get us from earth to glory. Thank you for reading and sharing your thoughts on this subject. Stay safe as possible while enjoying the rest of your day.

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  3. Your faith is inspirational to me. Thank you for sharing your beliefs and passion for Christ and Christian living. Thanks, too, for following Oh, the Places We See. It’s a beautiful world out there, and you can see signs of the maker’ handiwork everywhere. Wishing you all the best.

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  7. Bonjour ou Bonsoir mon Amie

    Rêve à des jours meilleurs , cela fait partie de notre vie

    Sourie , en pensant au bonheur

    Vie ces instants en écoutant parler ton cœur

    Ton ennuie s’effacera

    Ta vie reprendra des couleurs

    Dis toi que l’espoir ressemble à un fruit

    Si ce fruit est vert il n’a pas de saveur

    Ce fruit sera délicieux s’ il est mure , savoure le sur l’heure

    le Bonheur est à ce prix , pense à ces instants magiques

    Bonne journée ou soirée

    Bisous en toute Amitié

    Bernard

    Un petit bouquet de muguet qu’ il t’apporte bonheur au sein de ta demeure et partage le avec les tiens à l approche du 1 Mai

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  8. Very well written. I once heard the idea that we retain the memory of our past sins to remind us how that felt and to keep us from making those mistakes again, though Jesus forgives all and gives us a new past as if our sins never happened. I think your example from Deuteronomy 9:7 seems to support that idea. Thank you for sharing!

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  11. This blog is very encouraging. Paul is such a wonderful example! I have a dear friend who says Paul is her favorite person from the Bible. She just loves his story, and how God changed him. Paul had zeal for God, but didn’t understand that is was being used in the wrong way. When Jesus changed his heart, he helped Paul use his zeal and love for God for good, to share the love of Jesus! Amen! Thankyou for this beautiful post my sister in Christ!

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    1. Princess Cynthia, thank you for reading and for sharing your thoughts and kind words. Stay tune for this Friday’s blog, Lord willing, titled Spiritual Supermarket. God bless you too.

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  14. Wonderfully written. Paul gives us a great example of how to forget the past and move forward. Love your thoughts and willingness to share.

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    1. Thank you so much 😊. I started blogging as an outlet for me due to many health issues to encourage others to keep the faith and hope; as well to be an inspiration for others and for me to be encouraged by fellow bloggers like you. Be safe.

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  19. I am in awe of Paul’s transformation too! It’s such an encouragement to know that God can use us no matter what our background or weaknesses. There are no limits to what His love and power working in our lives can do as long as we are willing and obedient. Thanks Tangie, excellent post! ❤️

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  21. That is a beautiful blog. It helped me so much. I have trouble sometime letting go of the past. I know if God can forget the past and forgive, I know I should be able to let go of the past and move on. I appreciate the great talent you have and using it in a way to let others know what an awsome God we serve.

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    1. Sister Carr, thank you so much for reading and sharing your comments. I think at times perhaps most us of, if not all, sometimes struggle with forgetting some past experiences. I saw this quote on Facebook that said ‘If you don’t forget the past you can’t live in the future” — Unknown. Always. thank you for your love and encouragement. Love and miss you.

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