herlucidlife

Hello naje here…dying to myself is the beginning of loving God…let’s talk about dying to self.

Dying to myself is to lie down my life for God, every fleshly desire and passion is now dead, my life is fully renewed through accepting God’s salvation. I put on new passions and new desires blessed by God, created by His character.

You took off your former way of life, the old self that is corrupted by deceitful desires; you are being renewed in the spirit of your minds; you put on the new self, the one created according to God’s likeness in righteousness and purity of the truth (Ephesians 4:22-24).

You took off your former way of life, the old self that is corrupted by deceitful desires. Willingly removing my fleshly desires and passions from my life. I have found fault in my old ways, accepting that how I lived did not glorify God. Living for God is a way of life, changing everything when He gets hold of my heart. I really struggle with allowing God to penetrate every part of my life. Taking off my former self is hard, it hurts. I tend to mistake my sins and bad behavior for who I am inside. Removing something that has been in my life for so long, I’ve grown attached. Noticing that I operate off emotion and feelings, it leaves little room for me to operate through faith. I have to make room for God in my life, I have to choose to lay down myself in order to pick Him up. 

The old self. The old self is a version of me that I’d like to never know again. She is toxic in her mannerisms, deceitful in her speech, selfish in her nature. She is a rebel in her own right defying the Father every chance. She will not leave without a fight, trying to ruin and sabotage my spirit on the way out. Fortunately, the Father loves the toxic sinner, as His Love covers all sin and hate. He is not scared of the darkness within, rather He shines His light on my life, brightening my soul for His glory. 

You are being renewed in the spirit of your minds. Taking off my old self does not happen overnight. The mind must be renewed through intimately knowing Jesus, meaning, there’s a process that takes place. The mind is a tricky field, both demons and angels dwell. My mind has created coping mechanisms to deal with sin, to deal with life I can’t control, to deal with the trauma sin created. My mind highlights the negatives while using the positives as a blanket band-aid. Understanding that the old and new self can not live in the same skull, the spirit and flesh are at war, it creates a mental environment that is in need of God’s love. God’s love is removing rearranging organizing. 

God renews my mind through reading, prayer, and creating through gifts He’s given me. Prayer and reading are the most important things when nurturing a relationship with God. Prayer and reading should grow love that is expressed through obedience. Obedience allows the mind to form new habits and behaviors. Obedience keeps my spirit safe out of harms way. Obedience creates deeper experiences with God. By creating through His gifts I keep God at the fore front of my mind. Being careful to stay close to God, because my toxic self is always waiting for an opening to drag me down. By knowing who I am who I belong too, my mind shifts; no longer acting through fear and selfish gain, I now operates through faith and selfless love. 

You put on the new self, the one created according to God’s likeness in righteousness and purity of the truth. The new self. The new self is a version of me I want forever. She isn’t bogged down with intentional sin, she gives herself grace when mistakes are made, she willingly loves God exposing every inch of her being to be transformed. She allows her love for God to be expressed through obedience. God gives me new passions new desires, all of which imitate His righteousness and purity. 

His ways are right and pure, He is truth. Sin benefits only one person, Satan, not even my own sin benefits me. On the other hand, righteousness and purity benefits everyone involved including God. God’s way of life is life changing. Sometimes, I physically feel the stress sin has created, literally chipping at my health. This weight is soo heavy, I was never created for sin. I was created to live in harmony with Jesus, don’t have to wait for heaven. Rather, God wants to bring heaven to me, so I can bring it to others. 

Righteousness and purity through truth brings the seed of salvation to people’s front door. My life is a salvation story that is on display for others to see. My life should bring others closer to Jesus. I pray my disobedience hasn’t lead anyone astray, I pray God covers those effected by my sin. 

I genuinely believe that even in my sin God is using me. Though, I’ll never walk this earth as a perfect human, all God commands is my obedience through love. He handles and controls everything, I only control my obedience to Him. I pray these words touched you.

I pray that you begin your journey with Jesus today, He’s eagerly waiting to accept you into His family. If you’re struggling with walking with God, then hold his hand tighter. Tell Him you’re struggling, be specific about the worries you carry, then read His word for assurance, conviction of the heart, and direction. God will not leave you unchanged, though it’s slow and painful. Believe me, He will open a space for you that houses every promise and blessing. Don’t give up!

*These questions are for your personal journaling. I pray God leads you to His heart.

Discussion Questions:

1. What is keeping you from shedding your old self ? How has your old self effected your relationship with God ?

2. Describe your mind renewing process with God. How has the renewing of your mind effected your relationship with God ?

3. Describe the behaviors of your new self. How has your relationship with God changed since putting on your new self ?