Life Made New

“Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine.” (Isaiah 43:1b)
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Easter is by far my favorite “holiday”. For me, there is a sense of renewal all around me. The days are brighter and warmer. The trees and the flowers start to bloom. The birds return with their songs. There is new life everywhere. This time of year also reminds me how much my life was made new when God called me by His name.
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Stephanie Rogge

I was a student at the University of Montana at the time. Life was exciting, as college life often is. I enjoyed my classes and spending time with friends, but somehow I felt empty. My brother, Lee, who was serving in the Air Force in Germany at the time, became a Christian. When he came home on leave the Spring of 1983, he shared scripture with me, and God used His Word to draw me to Him. He gave me His name.
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As His children, God calls us by many names:
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• We are Chosen. “even as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before Him.” (Ephesians 1:4)
• We are called His Sons and Daughters. “In love He predestined us for adoption to Himself as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of His will, to the praise of His glorious grace with which He has blessed us in the Beloved.” (Ephesians 1:5)
• We are called Forgiven. “For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of His Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by His life.” (Romans 5:10)
• We are called Heirs. – “In Him we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of Him who works all things according to the counsel of his will.” (Ephesians 1:11)
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Easter is important to me because it is another reminder of the Spring when God changed my name and made my life new. My life has never been the same since then. I started looking at everything with a Christ-centered perspective, and it is still my focus to this day.

​In His Name, Stephanie