My old self has been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. So I live in this earthly body by trusting in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me. – Galatians 2:20 NLT

When we accept Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior, we acknowledge that our old ways of thinking and speaking about ourselves and about others will never be the same again. Born again and saved from the ‘ash’ of our sin and inadequacy, fear and failure, we accept that Christ now lives in us and as a result, we are His representatives to our world. It’s a massive mind shift! As the days pass, we discover that our amazing God (who, lets keep in mind, is none other than the is the Creator of the universe!) actually wants to speak to us. We learn to recognise the Holy Spirit’s voice as we read His Word and talk to Him throughout the day. Once we discover this way of living- this personal, ongoing chatting to God- everything changes and our relationship with Him becomes the intimate friendship our heart was always longing for. At these times, it is important that we invite Him to reveal areas where we are holding on to our ‘old ways’… because He will! He may challenge us about who we hang out with, the way we speak to or about others, and even the way that we see ourselves. Then, as we respond to what we feel God is asking us to do, we align our thoughts and plans with His thoughts and plans. The best things is, His plans for us are always way better than any we make for ourselves! (btw- Jeremiah 29:11 is the verse to memorise if you find yourself doubting this). So TODAY… at the start of a new week, let’s ask God to reveal to us what areas of our lives we need to trust Him with and to align with His Word… letting our old ways go and allowing God to shape us every day. From the ash we are born again!