Food for ThoughtGalatians 2:20 Crucified with Christ
Food for Thought
An all-creatures.org Guide to Kingdom Living

By Marni Montanez

Galatians 2:20 ESV

I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.

It is a choice and a lifetime of discipline, to deny oneself.   To be crucified with Christ is to bury our old nature full of sin and eternal death so that we could live in the light of eternal life.  In this way we give up our wrong beliefs that keep us in bondage and exchange it for a freedom that cannot be achieved by self-striving.  This freedom comes when we bow to the will of God.  Living for Christ and Him alone puts us right in the center of God’s will and protection.   

In this new and God-centered life we walk a path that reaches far beyond our expectations or ability to reach.    Only God knows what He created us for and only He can get us to our destiny.  

Jeremiah 29:11 New International Version

11 For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.

It takes an uncommon determination to have faith when we are pummeled with adversity.

God offers the best to us and the only way to have His best is to live our life God’s way.   

He stands between us and possible destruction and keeps us steady on our God-ordained path.  

When we no longer live for ourselves our reputation is of no effect;   No self-protection, no self-preservation and in this freedom we are bold and courageous to live according to our convictions instead of the judgmental eye of our society.  

Dying to oneself is a painful journey marked with exhaustion and suffering.  Operations are painful and if we are not properly anesthetized, we could not live through such an ordeal.  This is the same spiritually which ushers in the emotional.  We are taken through the process of our flesh or carnal nature being cut away.  This cutting away involves letting go of all we depend on in the earth.  It is a process that is long and frightening, but in the end what is left is more precious than gold.

Challenge:  When the moment comes that leaves you feeling desperate and weary, keep believing in your heart that God has not cast you aside.  He walks with us through the fulfillment of His plans and purposes for our life.      

God bless,

Marni

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lamb-rightThe purpose of this series is to encourage people to live as loving, compassionate, and peacemaking children of God: Jesus tells us to pray, "Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven." (Matthew 6:10) God tells us through Micah (6:8), "He has told you, O man, what is good; And what does the Lord require of you But to do justice, to love kindness, And to walk humbly with your God." And we know from Revelation 21:4 that there will be no more mourning, or crying, or pain, or death. Thus, Christian living requires us to set the standards of these conditions here on earth for our fellow human beings, and for the other animals, as a witness to the rest of the world. To do otherwise is not Christian.