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Issue 26

By Cailin Henson Leave a Comment

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newidentitymag

We are pleased to announce the launch of our lates

We are pleased to announce the launch of our latest issue which includes some amazing content! We hope you enjoy the many thought-provoking articles inside. ⁠
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We hope you are having a wonderful summer, and that you will be encouraged and inspired through the pages of New Identity Magazine this issue. Thank you for being on this journey as we explore faith and discover more of God’s all-encompassing goodness. ⁠
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A huge thank you to our faithful contributors! We’d love for you to read their wonderful work this issue and encourage them in their craft. Check it out on our website, linked in our bio, and please let us know what you love and what you’d like to see more of in upcoming issues. ⁠
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Enjoy! ⁠

"Grace be with you” is a phrase we hear a lot. B

"Grace be with you” is a phrase we hear a lot. But what exactly is grace? Grace is kindness that we do not deserve. It is unmerited favor, never earned but simply given. It’s a hand that holds you up whenever you are falling and God’s empowerment to do good works that you would otherwise not be capable of doing. When we look out at the world and see the crime and poverty, the chaos and sadness, the perversion of our inner being and the marring of creation, our hearts can lead us to think that we are in for an inevitable fall that rings with finality. But then we see the beauty of a sunset or the crisp green blades of grass in the park and know that this world is doing more than just falling into an abyss of destruction. The taste of orange juice as it swishes in our mouth before we go out for a morning jog is a rebellious goodness in the face of every pain that we have suffered. The good news of a baby being born far outweighs last night’s bad news of killing and treachery. That’s the reality of grace. We do not deserve it, but it is every good gift from the hand of God.⁠
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The thing about grace is that it is unmerited favor that we receive not just as a one time thing. It is a constant in our lives because we are constantly falling. At our highest moments there is always the downward descent of decay and destruction that life inevitably brings. Even when our lives are filled with constant pain, there is grace in that we do not even control our own existence and that is a gift. Without grace, we would not be here. On a deeper level, followers of Christ believe that the truest and purest form of grace is in the person of Jesus Christ. It is through him and his death, burial, and resurrection that all of the goodness of God has become actualized. Every bad thing in life can bring us down and make us fall—including death. Grace is the hand that stops that fall. @mayotron #graceupongrace #grace #gracefullybroken

"This light gives us the confidence to walk into t

"This light gives us the confidence to walk into the room. Without it, we choose our steps more carefully in fear of tripping, running into something or slamming our foot against a piece of furniture. What gives us the courage to walk into a room without fear of falling is similar to the effect we hope to have on another person’s life." –Sara Napier

"The parent-child relationship between God and us

"The parent-child relationship between God and us is one that brings courage, joy, peace, safety, and freedom, no matter where you are in life." @bethany_cummins

"God created us in his image, giving us life and i

"God created us in his image, giving us life and immense value and the ability to create and have a parent-child relationship with him. Even when we disobeyed him, constantly turning to sin and deserving death, God pursued us and ultimately sent his Son Jesus to die for us." @bethany_kathleen

What would it be like if you had the chance to sta

What would it be like if you had the chance to start over again? If somehow all the filth and pain of this world could be washed away and somehow deep within your conscience everything felt…clean. This is what Christians mean when they use the term “born again”. Although it did not fall into common usage until the late 18th and 19th centuries, the phrase “born again” is derived from the Bible and a theological concept called regeneration. There is a passage in John 3 where one of the religious leaders of Jesus’s day asks him a question about being a part of God’s plan for humanity. Jesus replies that the only way to do that is to be born again.⁠
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To use a million dollar theological word, this process of being born again is called regeneration. The natural world is full of animals that regenerate. Most lower life forms are able to grow back limbs or a tail through the process of natural regeneration. It sounds weird and gross when you think about it like that, but spiritually this is what Jesus is talking about. Part of us has died. Our hearts have been cut off and disconnected from God and the remedy is for us, our hearts, to be born again. This means to be free from guilt and shame over the many wrong things we have done—whether it’s cheating on a girlfriend or stealing cable. Being born again means that, just like a lizard gets a new tail, we get a new start in life, free from the past. Not only that but we are new in our very being in a way that is indescribable. Like Neo in the Matrix we realize that it is the same “us” and yet we are not the same. We are different and are able to see the world and be in the world differently. This is what it means to be alive to God; to be born again.⁠
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You still have to live in the real world and things in the real world aren’t so born again. There is still racism, terrorism, sexism, materialism, and any other kind of -ism you want to throw in. Those things will be erased in due time although that’s another subject. The point is we have all been cold towards God and after being born again we can say with John Wesley, the Founder of Methodism, “I felt my heart strangely warmed.” @mayotron

"We are not helpless, because we’ve been given e

"We are not helpless, because we’ve been given essential tools to steer our course through these waters – the Word of God, the people of God, and the Spirit of God." –@sclimk

"Part of coming to God as a child means coming to

"Part of coming to God as a child means coming to God with wonder. Look at this world he has created! Look at the trees, the sky, the ground, the mountains, the animals. Look how many things there are to taste and smell and see! Look at the people he created, each one so different, yet each so full of value." -@bethany_kathleen

Living As A Child of God #godthefather #fathersday

Living As A Child of God #godthefather #fathersday #fatherslove #happyfathersday

Just as a father has compassion on his children, s

Just as a father has compassion on his children, so the Lord has compassion on those who fear him.” Psalm 103:13

Five years ago, I believed that only people of a c

Five years ago, I believed that only people of a certain level of maturity ought to be baptized; only those who identified as Christians and were able to clear a minimum threshold of biblical knowledge, sincerity, and a capacity to articulate those things. Last summer, we baptized our one-year-old daughter, who couldn’t clear the minimum threshold of a complete sentence! What led to that shift? What leads us to change our theology? How should we explore, assess, and continue or correct those shifts when they begin to take place? Most of us have gone through points in our lives where we began to question the way we see things. This can be a very healthy process where we refine our thinking and our lives, leading to a more coherent faith and that aligns better with reality. It can also lead to a kind of rootless wandering, where our north star is our desire and our compass is constantly recalibrated by our context. @sclimk [Continue reading on newidentitymag.com]

But to all who believed him and accepted him, he g

But to all who believed him and accepted him, he gave the right to become children of God. They are reborn—not with a physical birth resulting from human passion or plan, but a birth that comes from God. –John 1:12-13

"Praise the Lord, everything he has created, every

"Praise the Lord, everything he has created, everything in all his kingdom. Let all that I am praise the Lord." -Psalm 103:22

In 2 Corinthians 6:18, God promises, “I will be

In 2 Corinthians 6:18, God promises, “I will be a Father to you, and you will be my sons and daughters.” How has God shown his fatherhood in your life? How has your earthly father exhibited qualities that reflect the perfect Father, our God?

@the_christopherscott talks about cultivating good

@the_christopherscott talks about cultivating good character and how such character can drastically change how we impact the world and love those around us. | You can read the full article at newidentitymag.com

You may have heard Christians talking about the Ho

You may have heard Christians talking about the Holy Spirit. Many followers of Christ say things like “The Spirit led me to do this or that” or “The Holy Spirit moved in the church service.” For those who do not follow Christ this may be puzzling and a bit weird. It may seem like Christians are out to lunch. What exactly are Christians talking about when it comes to the Holy Spirit? How do we define the Holy Spirit?
We should start off with what the Holy Spirit is not. Ironically the Holy Spirit is not a “what” but a “who”. The Holy Spirit is not a ghost like Casper or Beetlejuice. Although the Holy Spirit is similar to the force in Star Wars, he is not that and yet so much more than that. The Holy Spirit is the living presence of God. The Bible says that God is Spirit. (John 4:24) Spirit is something that is invisible and yet at the same time present. In a way, this helps us understand something about the Holy Spirit because the nature of God is almost undefinable. That is why throughout the Bible, the Holy Spirit is described through metaphors like breath, wind, fire, and even a dove.
All of these things say something about the Holy Spirit but they only scratch the surface. There are a couple of things we do know about the Holy Spirit. He is a comforter and a guide. In the absence of the physical presence of Jesus, the Holy Spirit reminds followers of Christ of God’s love and guides his followers into all truth. He is as the Giver of Life. (John 6:63) Wherever there is creativity and life, the Holy Spirit is there even beyond the four walls of the church. When we are able to sense the good in this world it is because of the Holy Spirit. The next time you stand in awe of a powerful sunset or a jaw dropping mountain range, it is God as the Holy Spirit reminding you of his love and care for you and all of creation. @mayotron

For those of us who would dismiss or ignore our mo

For those of us who would dismiss or ignore our moral concerns about a situation for a variety of reasons in any given day, Franz’s piercing question is left resounding in the air: Do we have a right not to take these situations seriously? Not to follow our conscience into action in service to what we believe to be good and true and right?⠀
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✍🏽: @slimkeman in "The Hidden Life" | Continue reading at newidentitymag.com

“But Jesus deserves far more glory than Moses, j

“But Jesus deserves far more glory than Moses, just as a person who builds a house deserves more praise than the house itself. For every house has a builder, but the one who built everything is God. Moses was certainly faithful in God’s house as a servant. His work was an illustration of the truths God would reveal later. But Christ, as the Son, is in charge of God’s entire house…” (Hebrews 3:3-6 NLT)

We’ve all experienced stress at one point or ano

We’ve all experienced stress at one point or another. From being caught in traffic on our way to a job interview to dealing with the death of a family member, we’ve all been in a situation that makes us feel we’ve been given more than we can handle. Stress can also result when seemingly minor problems are ignored instead of solved right away. For instance, borrowing some money from someone to pay off credit card debt may not seem like a big deal at first. But with no real lifestyle change on your part, it’s not hard to imagine this could eventually snowball into real trouble that causes stress. It is an unpleasant feeling and one that is familiar to all of us. But unfortunately, it is a part of life. Rather than trying to avoid it completely, we are better off learning how to cope with it more effectively.⁠
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✍🏽: M Chitra in "How To Deal With Stress" | Continue reading at newidentitymag.com⁠ by visiting the link in our bio and tapping on the image.⁠

When you look at real Christianity, you’ll see a

When you look at real Christianity, you’ll see a multicultural cloud of witnesses cheering us on. This cloud of witnesses goes all the way back to the first century. Yes, before Constantine. This cloud of witnesses can be seen as a many-hued hall of faith. They are from Africa and Asia. They cannot be seen as European, although some have been represented as such. They are as African as Desmond Tutu and as Asian as Genghis Khan. ⁠
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✍🏽: @mayotron in "The Multicolored Hall of Faith" | Continue reading at newidentitymag.com⁠ by visiting the link in our bio and tapping on the image.⁠

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