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N E I L   A N D E R S O N   D A I L Y   D E V O T I O N A L
             from Freedom in Christ Ministries

January 8

A NEW CREATURE

Therefore if any man is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old
things passed away; behold, new things have come (2 Corinthians
5:17).

Dan and Cindy were a fine young Christian couple who were
preparing for ministry on the mission field. Then tragedy struck:
Cindy was raped. As hard as she tried to get back to normal life,
Cindy couldn't shake the horrible memories and feelings from her
experience.

Six months after the tragedy, Dan and Cindy attended a church
conference where I was speaking. During the conference Cindy
called me in tears. "Neil, I know God can turn everything into
good, but how is He going to do that?"

"Wait a minute, Cindy," I said. "God will work everything out for
good, but He doesn't make a bad thing good. What happened to you
was evil. God's good thing is to show you how you can walk
through your crisis and come out of it a better person."

"But I just can't separate myself from my experience," she
sobbed. "I've been raped, Neil, and I'll be a victim of that all
my life."

"No, Cindy," I insisted. "The rape happened to you, but it hasn't
changed who you are, nor does it have to control you. You were
the victim of a terrible, ugly tragedy. But if you only see
yourself as a rape victim for the rest of your life, you will
never be free. You're a child of God. You can't fix the past, but
you can be free from it."

All of us have a number of hurtful, traumatic experiences in our
past which have scarred us emotionally. You may have grown up
with a physically, emotionally or sexually abusive parent. Any
number of traumatic, emotional events can clutter your soul with
emotional baggage which seems to limit your maturity and block
your freedom in Christ. You must renounce the experiences and
lies that have controlled you and forgive those who have offended
you.

As a Christian, you are primarily the product of the work of
Christ on the cross. You are literally a new creature in Christ.
The "old you" is gone; the "new you" is here.

Father, thank You for working all things for good in my life,
even the effects of evil attacks meant for my harm and
destruction.


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This daily devotional is published and distributed by
Crosswalk.com.  It is written by Neil Anderson at
< http://www.ficm.org >.

You can purchase "Daily in Christ" and other titles by Neil Anderson at
christianbook.com (Christian Book Distributors - CBD).
< http://shopping.crosswalk.com/bye/devo_na >

Additional devotionals are available from Crosswalk.com:
< http://devotionals.crosswalk.com >.
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