Life in Death by Naomi Kilungu

LIFE IN DEATH

WE DIE TO GIVE LIFE

WE DIE TO GIVE LIFE

The anecdote harnesses great scriptural evidence of benefits of a believer's death to self THE RESURGENCE

Nothing can hinder revival, the great awakening of the latter church.

NAOMIKILUNGU@PROTONMAIL.COM

LIVING OUT FOR CHRIST

WE DIE TO GIVE LIFE

By Naomi Kilungu

I know this is controversial and illogical in any normal human circumstances.Death has never been a source of life to any one or anything. In actual sense death is the opposite of life. The two don’t meet.When we talk of death we invoke fear and anxiety in a normal life as a human being.

Consequently, for Christians who are born again,this is not new. It is scriptural to die.When we accept Christ as the Lord of our lives. Him who is the way, the truth and the life, we sign up for death. In fact we embrace every days’ death.

Paul the apostle writes and says that we should crucify our flesh daily. See Romans 8:12-13 ‘So then, brethren, we are under obligation, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh– for if you are living according to the flesh, you must die; but if by the Spirit you are putting to death the deeds of the body, you will live.’

Believer’s death is not optional, but a must, if we must live.Death is only possible by the help of the spirit of God, the wise counselor. He reveals to us Christ.See Galatians 2:20 “I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me.”Death is what makes Christ alive in us.By faith we live for Him only, for we live for no one else but Him.For Christ’s fullness to be found in us, death of self, the humanism, the carnal man, has to precede a life that Christ is manifested.Hence,death of ‘us’, for Him to live is possible only for the believers who have relied, surrendered and obeyed the Lord. That can only be possible if we allow the Spirit of the Lord to lead us.

Therefore, we must become less, we must be nothing, we must die, for Christ to be great in our lives.See John 3:30 “He must become greater and greater, and I must become less and less.” We become less by putting off the old self.

Continue reading at next page >

Life in death For the old ways are daily put off by death. Colosians Chapter 3 talks of what we put off and what we put on.Putting off is painful, and that’s death.We are continually transformed to His image as we die and He becomes our lives.This deeper than it sounds.How ever, today we look at this particular verse. 2 Corinthians chapter 4 verses 11 and 12, 11 For we who are alive are always being given over to death for Jesus’ sake, so that his life may also be revealed in our mortal body.Then, death is at work in us, but life is at work in you.

Our death is life to others.The ultimate result of death is evidence of maturity or progressive change towards Christ-likeness. Death brings believers to basics of the faith.Love for others. See 1 John 2:9-11. Basics of love for others is evidence that believers walk in the light. Death shades off sophistication of the gospel and people are brought back to simplicity of the faith.We become life to others when we don’t count ourselves better than others,We walk in humility as opposed to self appropriation and exaltation. We consider others.

Christ the teacher, teaches us individually and we all express Christ through love differently based on who we are. What matters is what is driving us? It should be obedience to the Lord.

Our focus to be right and our attitude to be right.Why do we do what we do? Is it for Christ or for ourselves. When we always seek to make all things about Him, we shift our focus from ourselves to Christ. Then, we will always give life to others. Because we do not live for us but for Him.Death in us is life to others.When we are dying life is experienced by others. We will die to need of approvals, need for validation, need to be known, need to be seen, need to be heard and all those inner struggles of the soul that are self in nature.Because such bring no life to anyone.We will be driven by the desire to please the Lord Jesus. Then our focus changes. We desire what He desires,we do what He needs us to do because it is Him that lives and no longer us.

What shall we then say of such things?Are we not called to give life.That is why we exist. For Him to live through us when we make Him our life.

Living out for Christ

ISSUE 1|JULY 2020

R E S U R G E N C E

LIVING OUT FOR CHRIST.

SPIRITUAL RESURGENCE God has a way of restoring His church in seasons we least expect

By Naomi Kilungu The most obvious, most salient, and most powerful cause of the spiritual resurgence in the church, is precisely what was supposed to cause its death. Now we know, that the ubiquity of the church and its relevance has been evident, even when the gates of hell opened, they did not prevail. There is renewal and we are about to witness a comeback. The unashamed church, spotless bride who is refined for her bridegroom. These are the days when we shall walk in the volume of the book as it is written of us. How I long to see. In this century some elites have assumed that economic and social modernization would lead to withering away of the church. But, they are wrong. Indeed, such times cause great awakening. Because secularism and its modernization has risen probably with a goal of science, rationalism, and pragmatism eliminating what the church builds.

For we do not live by reason alone. We cannot calculate and act rationally in pursuit of our goals until we define our ‘self’. In times of rapid social, economic and even political change established identities dissolve, especially in this season, the self must be redefined, and new identities created. For people facing the need to determine who am I? Where do I belong?

Faith in God, provides compelling answers.

In this context we are talking about faith in God, Yahweh just to be specific. This is the time people rediscover or create new historical identities. They retrace the ancient paths. They go back to living authentic lives.This is renewal. Whatever universal goals we may all have,faith gives people identity by positing a basic distinction between believers and nonbelievers.

NAOMIKILUNGU@PROTONMAIL.COM