I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. (Gal. 2:20)
SINCE 1970 the Federal Witness Protection Program has received more than 7,500 witnesses and 9,500 witness family members. The United States Marshals Service has provided protection for these individuals, and has given each one a new name, a new identity, and a new location. Often a witness’s old identity is erased and remade because he or she supplied pertinent inside information that helped convict a suspected felon.
I can only guess how radically life changes for anyone enrolled in the Federal Witness Protection Program, but life has changed radically for every believer, too—for the good. God has saved us from our old life of sin and has given us a new life in Christ. In doing so, He has given us a new identity. We are no longer “objects of wrath” (Eph. 2:3), but are now “children of God” (1 John 3:1). Our “location” changed, too, when God saved us. We were in “transgressions and sins” (Eph. 2:1), but now we are “in Christ” (v. 6). Furthermore, He has placed us in His “protection program” (see 1 Pet. 1:5). Satan seeks to destroy us, but God has supplied effective armor (Eph. 6:11–17), the “sword of the Spirit” (v. 17) and Spirit-empowered prayer (v. 18).
Let’s walk by faith and be thankful for the brand-new life God has given us.
Tell someone today that you love the Lord because He has given you a brand-new life.
Jim Dyet and his wife, Gloria, have been married fifty-five years. They live in Colorado Springs, where Jim enjoys golf and daily walks with his three small dogs.
