Dead and Raised: Monday Manna

This week, Vonnie is hosting Monday Manna, so be sure to pop over to My Back Door and read the other entries, and link up if you want to participate.

Here's today's verse.

Having been buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through your faith in the working of God, who raised him from the dead. Colossians 2:12

Looking forward to your thoughts. Mine are below.

**
I died. No--really. Kicked the bucket. Checked out of the hotel. No longer breathed. Bye-bye, Joanne.

Everything about me--everything--was gone. My desires. My skills. My interests. My relationships. My emotions. All of it stopped existing. Because I was dead.

When I believed that Jesus Christ died for my sins, I died right along with Him. Everything that was mine was buried in the ground, never to be mine again.

Yet, when I believed in God's workings--that His Son's death on the cross was sufficient propitiation for my sins--I am raised. I live again.

But, do you know what? It's not really me. I am a brand new person. My relationships? Interests? Emotions? Desires? Skills? Transformed. Everything that is mine is now His--because I am new on the inside. He dwells in me. THAT is why I live. He is my heartbeat. Because He lives, so do I.

**

Thanks for reading! Be sure to stop by Vonnie's blog for more Monday Manna.

Paving Rough Roads With God's Presence