She JourneysSample

Winter - Written by Meg Cooke

Day 3 - A Time to Die, a Time to Uproot (v2), a Time to Kill (v3)

Death is a crucial part of following God.  This probably isn’t the without-context one-liner you want to use to invite your friend to Church, but it is the essential core of what we believe: death to self gives life to Jesus in us. Death to our old selves can often feel like a winter season as we are fighting the very things our flesh desire in order to feed our souls. 

Jesus speaks about this when predicting his own death:
John 12:24-25 

So, it seems death is actually crucial for new life. Jesus says, “anyone who loves their life will lose it…” Does this mean we are supposed to live in misery for our entire lives until we meet Jesus in Heaven? Certainly not, but it does mean that if you love the things in your life: material items, relationships, your career, or own ambitions, more than Him, God will interrupt your life so that your heart is directed back to loving Him more than anything else. Why? Because He knows that only this will bring us true wholeness, healing and fulfillment. God’s ‘interruption’ can often feel like a winter season as the things we love more than God fall away or disappoint us and we are placed in a position where the only thing we can do is cry out to God and have him mould our hearts once more. 

The glorious promise of God in Romans 6:5-14 is that when we die to ourselves, when we submit to God anything we love more than Him, more fruit is produced. 

Consider: 

1. What do you love more than God?
2. What do you need to do to die to the thing you love more than God?
3. What fruit or new life might God bring from death to yourself?