September 15, 2019

Rebirth: Moving Beyond the Old Self



Image Courtesy of publicdomainpictures.net

 “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.”-- 2 Corinthians 5:17 (KJV)

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Thank you very much for reading!
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Everyone wants the opportunity to begin again. Mistakes and missed opportunities haunt some of us for years. The injustices of life can also shine just as brightly from a distance.  

The problem is that beginnings often signal endings—and that hurts. Here are two cases of death and rebirth:

Baptism
The symbolism of this ordinance is clear: death and rebirth. In some churches, the person getting baptized is completely immersed under the water, and then raised up.
Phoenix Rising From the Ashes (pictured in the image above)
This is one of the most famous resurrection images in Greek mythology. Wikipedia says the Phoenix is associated with the Sun. It regenerates, and rises, again and again. Some sources say the bird dies in a show of flames. Others say it simply decomposes before rebirth. However we look at it, this mythical character symbolizes death and renewal.
Quotes about Renewing the Mind

“You see failure, but God sees potential You see the past, He sees the future You see a mess, He sees a message!” –Greg Laurie, FORGE‏ @evangelists
 “ [sic] Not be a prisoner of your past, it was just a lesson not a life sentence.”—verwayathens.com
“Don't live the same day over and over again and call that a life. Life is about evolving mentally, spiritually, and emotionally.”― Germany Kent
“If you do not see light at the end of the tunnel, consider it an opportunity to create an opening yourself, wherever you want.”― Ashok Kallarakkal
“It's the duty of every man to free himself. Never accept to live an underdog's life in god’s world.”― Bangambiki Habyarimana, Pearls Of Eternity
“Don't let anyone or anything drown out that still small voice that says, "You were made for more.”― Kirstin Leigh
**From the King James Version of the Bible
“Remember ye not the former things, neither consider the things of old. Behold, I will do a new thing; now it shall spring forth; shall ye not know it? I will even make a way in the wilderness, and rivers in the desert.”-- Isaiah 43:18-19
“Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.”-- Philippians 3:13-14
“And be renewed in the spirit of your mind; And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness.”-- Ephesians 4:23-24
My Conclusion
Renewal is possible—and expected. God didn’t create us to be trapped in a limited past.

Are you willing to start over with a fresh perspective?


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