New Life

Rolling around in my mind tonight have been thoughts about my inadequacies. Thoughts of my sinfulness. Thoughts of my unwillingness to lay it all before Him. Thoughts of my failure to love Him with my whole heart. Thoughts of my decisions day after day to choose sin, or self, or even good things, instead of choosing His best. It is humbling to fall under the reality of our own short comings. And then I decided to (finally) listen to a song that my sister Kate had told me about a few days ago. It's called By Your Side by Tenth Avenue North. Here are lyrics to the chorus and part of a verse:

and I'll be by your side
wherever you fall
in the dead of night
whenever you call
and please don't fight
these hands that are holding you
My hands are holding you
look at these hands at my side
they swallowed the grave on that night
when I drank the world's sin
so I could carry you in
and give you life

I've been focusing on what I'm not, focusing on failing, focusing on my selfishness, focusing on what I do wrong and who I'm not -- Instead I'm going to focus on who He is, the fight He's already won, the heart that He's sanctifying, the wrong He's righted within me, and who I am in Him... I'm going to let the thoughts of His patient unfailing love and grace carry me and give me life and power!

We know that our old sinful selves were crucified with Christ so that sin might lose its power in our lives. We are no longer slaves to sin. For when we died with Christ we were set free from the power of sin. And since we died with Christ, we know we will also live with him.....So you also should consider yourselves to be dead to the power of sin and alive to God through Christ Jesus. --from Romans 6