New Life

It's been a pretty crazy past few months.  Igor and I have made some major changes to our lifestyle (lots of slowing down and stepping back from activities/commitments) and yet for each thing we've given up, something else has popped up (family members needing our help in an emergency or an outside person demanding (in a stressful and not nice way!) our attention).  The other day, I asked Igor if this ride called Life would slow down and let us take a break.  Nope. But then I recieved an email from a friend and it reminded me of the New Life that is my Hope.  I'll just share her email with you, since I found it so beautifully written.

Christ died on the cross and rose again. He is ALIVE now!

I pray that you will know the power of the resurrection in your life.

Because we have been baptized into Christ Jesus we are ALIVE in him! (Read Romans 6:3-14)

Because he died we are a NEW CREATION! (Read 2 Corinthians 5:17)

Because he gave us his Spirit we are TRANSFORMED!

I have been praying that you will be confident in your identity in Christ. I pray that you will think of NEW LIFE when you see Easter eggs, chicks, & bunnies. And when you eat candy that you will- Taste and see that the Lord is good! Psalm 34:8.

Romans 6:3-14

English Standard Version (ESV)

³ Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? ⁴ We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.
⁵ For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his. ⁶ We know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin. ⁷ For one who has died has been set free from sin. ⁸ Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. ⁹ We know that Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him. ¹⁰ For the death he died he died to sin, once for all, but the life he lives he lives to God. ¹¹ So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus.
¹² Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, to make you obey its passions. ¹³ Do not present your members to sin as instruments for unrighteousness, but present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life, and your members to God as instruments for righteousness. ¹⁴ For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace.

2 Corinthians 5:17

English Standard Version (ESV)

¹⁷ Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation.  The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.

2 Corinthians 3:18

English Standard Version (ESV)

¹⁸ And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.