In order to truly live…we must first die.
I know it seems crazy, but it’s true. First, we die to our sin nature as we receive Jesus as Savior of our lives. Then, we must die to our own selfish desires. We die to the opinion of others. We die to our own agenda. We die to self-centeredness. We die to our dreams, each and every one.
Then He said to them all: “Whoever wants to be My disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow Me. For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for Me will save it. Luke 9:23-24
I have died a thousand deaths in my walk with Jesus. Each one has led to a deeper place in His heart, a maturing of my heart and mind, a myriad of good things. Each death has resulted in more life. Real life. Fruitful life. Freedom in life.
We must die to truly live.
I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, Who loved me and gave Himself for me. I do not set aside the grace of God, for if righteousness could be gained through the law, Christ died for nothing!” Galatians 2:20-21
I wonder, is there anything in your life that you refuse to let die? It’s impossible to be fruitful in places where we refuse to allow things to go to seed. Multiplication only comes through the process of allowing things to go to seed. The plant must die, go to seed, then as it falls on fertile soil it produces an exponential growth. From one plant comes many.
Imagine yourself holding out your hand. Do you see any seeds in it?
If you do, then I encourage you to extend that hand to the Lord and allow the seeds to fall at His feet. There is no more fertile soil than at the feet of Jesus. Say to Jesus, “I release all of these seeds to You, and I ask that only seeds from You would come to life again.”
It’s so fascinating to me that our entire existence seems to be about death and resurrection.
Jesus died and was resurrected and it changed everything. Now, His resurrection power flows through our lives and brings what was once dead, to life. Life abundant. When we place ourselves in a position to be fully dependent upon His breath of life, then and only then, do we discover what it is to truly live.
Wouldn’t you rather live one life fully infused with the Breath of Life, than a million lives half lived?
The breath of Life is the only way.
Then the Lord God formed a man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being. Genesis 2:7
365 Days in the Presence 