dying to self

Good for the Goose, Not for the Gander

“In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus.” – Romans 6:11 Yesterday, we talked about how crucifying the flesh looks different for every person. Today, I want to give you an example to illustrate this point. The bottom line is that when it comes to death to self, what’s good for the goose is not always good for the gander!  I recall a story that I heard told by Joan Chittister about a super-nun, kind of like Mother Teresa, who worked every day with the poor and was therefore very frugal. One day, she was invited to have dinner at a very fancy restaurant with other people in the ministry. When she sat down, she looked at the menu and was in shock when she saw the price of the steaks, hors d’oeuvres and wine that her party was ordering. With a

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Surrendering Passions and Desires

“Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.” – Galatians 5:24 As we get down to the nitty gritty of what it looks like to crucify the flesh, I want to assert that it’s entirely a matter of the heart. This is why it’s so important to keep our eyes focused on Jesus and stay in tune with His voice, like we talked about yesterday.  In my experience, the church has often played games when it comes to the issue of dying to self, with one, two, or three things defining what it looks like. This is because it’s natural for us as human beings to want to set rules and regulations that are easy to understand and that everyone can adhere to. When we do this, we feel more in control. Perhaps this is the reason there have been entire denominations of

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