I love this time of year!  We have so much to celebrate as children of God.  I’d like you to think about Good Friday and Easter from a different perspective this year.  As you think about Jesus sacrificial death on the cross; would you also think about your death WITH Him on the cross?  Galatians 2:20 and Romans 6:4-6 tells us that when Jesus died on the cross, we died with HIM!  What does that mean?  What is there to celebrate? It hurts to die!  God never created you with the capacity to handle this hard life, therefore, HE took the old you, the person you were in Adam, the person that was in bondage to the flesh and sin, to meeting their own needs their own way and HE crucified you, buried you and raised you up a NEW CREATION IN CHRIST!  Now HE wants to live his life through you!  HE wants to handle pain and stress through you!  HE wants to make decisions through you.  But the only way we will experience this truth is if we give up on our self strength and understand and embrace the truth of our co-crucifixion WITH HIM!  One of the biggest revelations I received over the years was that God did not only rescue me from eternity separated from HIM forever but HE rescued me from me!  The old me that was  angry, selfish, miserable and defeated!  HE wants to be intimate with me!  HE lives in me!  Praise God we can celebrate Jesus death, burial and resurrection AND ours with HIM.  And we can now walk in NEWNESS OF LIFE!