*dead*

Can you imagine what the world would be like if everyone were dead? Or what about if every time we typed the word *dead* on Twitter we actually died? What if every time we said "I'm dead" in response to something someone said we just gave up the ghost?

Last night in church I pondered this very fact. The teaching was centered around forming and maintaining healthy relationships and one of the key factors to doing this was "dying to self."

(*side note* For some reason this has been a central theme in my life lately. I never realized JUST how self centered I was until the events of the past week or so. God is really working on that in me. No really.)

Anyway, where was I? Oh dying to self *dead*.

I couldn't figure out why it was important to "die to self" because in theory we are taught to self identify because without that we'll become lost in someone else. Then it hit me... there's NOTHING wrong with this. As a matter of fact in Galations 2:20 it tells us to do just that. For some of us this is a one time deal. We accept Christ, die to ourselves, and become a new creature in Him. For MOST of us this is a daily process. I know it is for me. I wake up and have to literally ask God to kill the ME in Him and awaken the HIM in me. It's not easy to do and for a long time it didn't matter to me one way or the other.... until I realized that DEAD PEOPLE HAVE NO AGENDA. Nothing that happens on this Earth matters to them. They are not moved by pain, strife, sickness, frustration, lack, and so on. This is important as a believer because if we die to the FLESH and accept the Him in us the "world" wont bother us. We recognize that it's not about us anyway and as such are able to carry on daily.

As I've said before there's always two ways to do what God has called you to do. One of them just hurts a little more than the other. I have an illustration that says exactly that:

1.2. 

3.4.   

5.6.

7.8.  

9.10.  

11.12.

Now what? Or even this one...

(This is one is small but the captions say "ow" when the character is hit in the head with a pebble. He then asks "Why me?" The Last one is of Jesus protecting him from the storm of rocks and Him saying "I let one slip... you sure you'll be ok?" )

If you are having trouble dying to yourself I have a small word of advice. Read this and die.

Good Day Folks,

Me. 

Galations 2:20 (The Message):

What actually took place is this: I tried keeping rules and working my head off to please God, and it didn't work. So I quit being a "law man" so that I could be God's man. Christ's life showed me how, and enabled me to do it. I identified myself completely with him. Indeed, I have been crucified with Christ. My ego is no longer central. It is no longer important that I appear righteous before you or have your good opinion, and I am no longer driven to impress God. Christ lives in me. The life you see me living is not "mine," but it is lived by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. I am not going to go back on that.
   Is it not clear to you that to go back to that old rule-keeping, peer-pleasing religion would be an abandonment of everything personal and free in my relationship with God? I refuse to do that, to repudiate God's grace. If a living relationship with God could come by rule-keeping, then Christ died unnecessarily.