New Beginnings: New Self
As the Year and new beginnings get underway, we all want a fresh and balanced start. As Christians we want to start new God’s Way!
Helping Others into the New Self
One of the most challenging tasks for a counselor is offering effective and practical steps to our clients. We want to be able to help people with new beginnings, to find their own practical solutions. Fortunately, as counselors who center our work on the Bible, we have help through the Word of God. As a therapist, I love that I can remind someone they are a new creature in Christ. It is a privilege to help someone learn how he/she can be renewed and live in this newness offered to him/her.
New beginnings are always a great time to focus on renewal; such as the beginning of the month, the year, or even the week or day! God tells us His mercies are new every morning. (The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; His mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness. Lamentations 3:22-23) With every sunrise we see, we are given a clean slate. The key is living in it. The key is to remember we are new and that old things have passed away. (Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. 2 Corinthians 5:17)
And have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator. Colossians 3:10
What does it mean to be “renewed in knowledge” at times of new beginnings?
Each of us lives with an inner monologue, a recording we play over and over. This is the knowledge of who we believe we are. Oftentimes it is full of negative statements usually related to not being good enough, not mattering or not having what it takes. This is the knowledge we live with. However, it is not the truth. The Truth is what the Word of God says about us.
When we are learning to be a new creature and live in the renewal which Christ intended for us, we must be aware of our current knowledge. For example, our current knowledge and recording might be: “I am damaged goods because I was abused. No one will ever love me.”
We are instructed to shut down those thoughts and bring every thought into captivity and subject it to the light of the Word of God. In order to renew, we are to line those thoughts up with the One in whose image we were created. God is love. We are loved!
Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ; 2 Corinthians 10:5
What does it mean to be created in the image of our Creator during new beginnings?
One of the biggest hindrances of living in the new self is figuring out who we are. So much of our identity comes from our family of origin, our life experiences, what people say about us and who we think we are. We identify more with the negative experiences in our life than the positive. We rehearse our traumas and tragedies. Those things are part of the old self. The new self is who God says we are. He says we are created in HIS image!
BUT, WHAT DOES THAT MEAN?
The Bible is full of wonderful examples, images, and analogies describing the character of God. In nearly every verse the image of the Creator is revealed to us. We must seek it, then meditate on it, then put it on as our new self. The following scripture is a great place to start allowing God to reveal His character and intention toward us.
The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love. He will not always chide, nor will he keep his anger forever. He does not deal with us according to our sins, nor repay us according to our iniquities. For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his steadfast love toward those who fear him; as far as the east is from the west, so far does he remove our transgressions from us. As a father shows compassion to his children, so the Lord shows compassion to those who fear him. For he knows our frame; he remembers that we are dust. Psalm 103:8-14
Helping during new beginnings to reveal the new self – for Counselors
Putting on the new self and being renewed in knowledge is a choice made by each individual. As Christian counselors we can offer support in the process in the following ways:
- Acknowledge and normalize that being made “new” is a process. It is not a one-time thing. It is done daily, even moment by moment. Why else would we need new mercies daily?
- Offer scripture which reveals the character of God. Give references to the way God feels about us, the way He loves, forgives and blesses His beloved.
- Support and community is key. This process happens as other supportive Christians walk with us along the journey to the new self and encourage and keep individuals on the right path.
Jesus was sent so that we would have life and have it more abundantly. Part of that abundance is to live in the new self. We are to put off the old ways and put on the new ways of Christ so we can experience freedom in life and in relationships.
Blessings,
Karen Lindwall-Bourg
“Achieve Levels of Success Worth Celebrating”
*Founder, Karen Bourg Companies http://karenbourg.com
*Owner, President {Inter}National Association of Christian Women Entrepreneurs/International Christian Mompreneur Network http://nacwe.org
*Founder, RHEMA Publishing House http://rhemapublishinghouse.com
*Founder, RHEMA Lakeside Retreat Center https://www.facebook.com/rhemaretreat/
*Founder, RHEMA Counseling Associates http://rhemacounseling.com
About Karen Lindwall-Bourg
Karen Lindwall-Bourg is the President of the {Inter} National Association of Christian Women Entrepreneurs [est. May 2010] and the new President of the International Christian Mompreneur Network [est. July 2010], both at http://nacwe.org . She and the NACWE Operations and Leadership Teams work diligently to provide
· Community
· Networking
· Education
· Missions
opportunities to Christian Women Entrepreneurs, Mompreneurs and Nanapreneurs alike all over the world!
Our Core Values are
· Community – we value Connection, Collaboration and Contribution
· Networking – we value Nurture, New relationships and New and innovative offers
· Education – we value Encouragement, Excellence and Expressiveness, and
· Missions – we value Ministry and Making a difference
Karen is wife to Fred, Mommy to 6 kids and 5 in-loves, Nana to “going-on” 12 grandchildren, and treat provider deluxe for a herd of Great Pyrenees who protect their north TX ranch! She is an entrepreneur coach, author, publisher, retreat hostess and more! Learn more about Mastermind groups and “Celebration” coaching with Karen at http://karenbourg.com .