Devotional from Pastor Tim Chalas

“Deny yourself” has often been misunderstood as a lifelong call to suppress who we are so we can become who God wants us to be. But the gospel tells a far more freeing story.

Before the cross, we lived in separation from God, defined by an identity rooted in Adam. In that condition, the only solution was death, the end of that old self. Jesus’ words pointed to that death as the pathway to life.

But now, because of the cross, that work is finished. When you trusted Christ, your old self was crucified, and you were raised as someone entirely new. You’re not the same person trying to improve—you’re a new creation, fully accepted and alive in Him.

That changes how you see yourself. You’re not called to reject who you are, but to recognize Whose you are, and who you’ve become. The real battle isn’t against yourself; it’s against the lies that contradict your new identity.

As you believe the truth, that you are new, righteous, and united with Christ, you begin to experience the freedom grace provides. So today, don’t deny the new you. Embrace who you are in Him. Walk in it. That’s where real transformation happens.

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