A Daily Death to Self, A Daily Resurrection to New Life In Christ.

Col 2:12  Buried with him in baptism, wherein also ye are risen with him through the faith of the operation of God, who hath raised him from the dead. 

Col 2:13  And you, being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath he quickened together with him, having forgiven you all trespasses

Buried with Christ. Risen with Christ.

Rom 6:4  Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. 

Buried with Christ.  Risen with Christ.

The new life we live when we are raised from the death of our old life- it has to be different, it just has to be if we are truly brought back to a newness of life.  Too many of us take our new life and slowly watch it decay until it resembles our life prior to death, and then it is as if we'd never been brought back to life, as if we'd never died.

We need to die daily. Oh, I know we aren't baptized daily, just imagine if we were - what a recognition of our new life, but I suppose if it became a daily baptism it might become something that would lose its meaning too.  I know another recognition of our new life is the Lord's Supper, the taking of the bread and wine, the symbolic act we are to do often in remembrance of Christ's death and resurrection. And as soon as we are brought into remembrance of Christ's death and resurrection we need to be reminded of our dying and being resurrected spiritually with Him. We need to think about our baptism, and about our new life. We need to acknowledge that the old us is dead.

Luk 9:23  And he said to them all, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me. 

Deny himself. We have to deny ourselves daily. The cross we take us is one of self-denial.

Tit 2:12  Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world

Denying ungodliness- recognizing there is a lot of ungodliness in our world and denying that ungodliness. All too often we call evil good and allow ourselves to be deceived that there is nothing that is ungodly. We live in a world where lusts are accepted and encouraged as being a natural part of ourselves that we shouldn't have to deny. Wrong. The natural part of us has been corrupted and if we refuse to believe that then we are denying God, we are denying Christ Jesus, we are actually saying we have nothing to be rescued from and this is how everything is supposed to be- simply because it is how it is, that we are what we are. We call evil good. We declare that sin doesn't really exist. We says all the pain and agonies of life are fine because they are naturally occurring. WRONG! Pain should never be! It is, but that doesn't mean it SHOULD BE! It's existence is not proof that it is natural and acceptable! It's wrong and should never have existed! We need to deny all the worldly lusts, all the things that should NEVER be. Just because a worldly lust may rise up in you and you can't keep it from rising up doesn't mean you need to yield to the lust within you. If you do yield when you are striving against sin then you need to repent and seek forgiveness- every single day if need be, fighting against the world, seeking Christ Jesus persistently never giving in to despair!

Rom 6:19  I speak after the manner of men because of the infirmity of your flesh: for as ye have yielded your members servants to uncleanness and to iniquity unto iniquity; even so now yield your members servants to righteousness unto holiness. 

We know how easy it is to yield to iniquity, to worldly lusts, to sin, we need to choose to yield to righteousness and holiness instead, no matter what!

Rom 12:1  I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. 

Rom 12:2  And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God. 

A LIVING SACRIFICE TO GOD that is what we are to be! NOT CONFORMED TO THIS WORLD! TRANSFORMED! A RENEWED MIND!  A daily death to self, a daily resurrection to new life in Christ all by His grace, by His sacrifice!!!!!!!