Ever wish you could wake up free from your past mistakes, shame, and guilt? The good news is—you can! In Christ, you’re not just a slightly improved version of yourself—you’re an entirely new creation (2 Corinthians 5:17). In this first episode of a special series on identity, Michele unpacks the revolutionary truth of your new creation identity, diving into the Greek word kainos to reveal why this transformation is more than a mere spiritual makeover. This week, we’ll explore personality types, spiritual gifts, self-awareness, and emotional intelligence—all through the lens of who you truly are in Christ. So, if you’re tired of striving for some distant sense of worthiness, let Romans 6:11 remind you: your old self is dead and buried. Spiritual growth isn’t about earning a new identity—it’s about aligning with the one that’s already yours. That’s real freedom!
Check out Dr. Lila Cook's new book here!
Today’s Kus Word is spiritual growth with a touch of snark! Join author and spiritual formation prof, Michele Kus, as she serves up short, powerful teachings, immersive meditations, bold declarations, and f(reedom)-bombs to fuel your faith and get you laughing. #TodaysKusWord
*There is no actual cussing on Today's Kus Word. We keep it squeaky clean!
Find us online at TodaysKusWord.com
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Episode Transcript
It's Monday, March 31st , and this is Today's Kus Word.
Welcome to Today's Kus Word,your five minutes a day, five
days a week, inspiration blast.
Join me, Michele Kus, yourspiritual growth coach, every
Monday through Friday, as I dropon you some piping hot freedom
(00:22):
bombs.
Yeah, you see what I did there.
Hello, hello, did you miss me?
I missed you.
It's been a couple weeks.
I had to take a couple of weeksoff because I needed to help my
friend, Lila, get her book up onAmazon.
I was helping her format it andget it proofread and laid out
(00:45):
all nicely and then get itpublished on Amazon, which
happened over the weekend.
So if you want to grab thatbook, I'm going to link it down
in the show notes.
Congratulations, Lila.
Dr Lila, she just got herDoctor of Ministry degree not
too long ago and her book is ALayman's Guide to the Diagnostic
(01:05):
and Statistical Manual, the DSM, of mental health disorders.
So it makes it very accessiblefor people who aren't familiar
with that terminology to getfamiliar with that.
So if you have someone in yourlife or maybe it's you
struggling with mental healthissues, this is a great book.
(01:32):
That just breaks it down andit's all through the lens of
grace and God's love.
There's helplines and hotlinesin the back, case studies.
Some of the case studies mademe cry.
I'm not going to lie.
So it's a fantastic book.
Make sure you pick it up andleave Lila a nice review while
you're at it.
That always helps push the bookup in the algorithms, cool,
cool.
(01:52):
So this week I am going to bedoing a series, Monday through
Friday, all about your newcreation identity, who you are
in Christ and what makes you you.
So we're going to talk aboutpersonality types.
We're going to talk aboutspiritual gifts, self-awareness,
(02:15):
emotional intelligence.
It's going to be good.
Well, hopefully it'll be good.
And this is good practice forme, because I'm actually
creating a course with that samematerial in it for the seminary
where I'm getting my doctorate.
So a lot of this will be alsofleshed out in that course, and
(02:37):
when the course releases, ofcourse, I will let you know
about it.
So how would you feel if youwoke up tomorrow morning totally
free from all of your pastmistakes, free from all of your
past shame, free from all ofyour past feelings of guilt?
(03:01):
How would that feel when youwoke up in the morning and none
of that was a part of youanymore.
So I have good news thatactually happened to you.
You have been completelyrecreated in Christ.
If you are in Christ, you are anew creation, not a renovated
(03:28):
you, a completely recreated youcreated you.
So we are going to take a lookat 2 Corinthians 5, verse 17,
where it says if anyone is inChrist, the new creation has
(03:52):
come.
The old has gone, the new ishere.
This is your theologicalreality.
The Greek word here for new isthe word kainos, and that means
something that is new in kind.
So we're not just talking abouta fresh coat of paint or a nice
makeover.
We are talking about a totaltransformation.
(04:14):
You were not just fixed up orrepaired, you were reborn in
Christ.
You were not just forgiven, youwere entirely recreated.
So if you think of a butterfly,a butterfly is not like a new
and improved caterpillar, is notlike a new and improved
(04:36):
caterpillar.
Right, a butterfly is anentirely different creation.
That's the kind oftransformation that we're
talking about when Paul says theold is gone, the new is here.
We're not talking about anupgrade, it's a total
transformation, and I love thistopic.
(04:57):
I know earlier in the podcast,in the life of this podcast,
when it was called New CreationMeditations.
It was actually named afterthis verse and I did a whole
episode called You Are a KainosCreation, because it's
fascinating to me that God hasmade us, divinely, regenerated
(05:22):
us, into something qualitativelybrand new that the world has
never seen before.
So you are no longer who youwere, you are spiritually reborn
.
The old self is notrehabilitated, it has been
(05:45):
terminated.
In other words, you dead, theold self, he dead Dead, he dead
dead.
So if you take a look at Romans6, verse 11, I'm going to read
this out of the PassionTranslation because it's such a
good translation Listen to this.
(06:06):
So let it be the same way withyou.
Since you are now joined withhim.
You must continually viewyourselves as dead and
unresponsive to sin's appeal,while living daily for God's
(06:28):
pleasure, in union with Jesus,the anointed one.
Wow, you are dead andunresponsive to sin's appeal.
That's the real you, my friend.
You are now joined and in unionwith Jesus with Jesus, not
(07:02):
based on your behavior.
This is not about yourself-effort.
This is all about Jesus'sfinished work on the cross.
You are entirely new.
It's not something you earn.
It is a reality that you justembrace with gratitude and
wonder, actually, andtransformation.
(07:25):
Spiritual growth happens when westart to live from our true
self, when we are daily alignedwith the truth of who we are.
That's when transformationreally starts to happen in our
lives.
It's a process of understandingwhat is already true about
(07:51):
ourselves.
So you are becoming outwardlywhat you already are on the
inside.
So you're not an improvedversion of you, you are a new
creation.
Your old self is dead andunresponsive to sin's appeal,
(08:16):
and spiritual growth is aboutaligning your experience with
your true identity in Him.
Why is this so important, like,why am I talking about this now
for the second time on thispodcast?
Because if we don't understandthat we're a new creation, we
(08:37):
will continue to live under theshadow of our old, dead self.
We'll struggle with guilt, withshame, with unworthiness, with
feeling like an orphan an orphanall of those things if we don't
(08:58):
understand who we truly are inChrist, and we need to step into
that true reality.
Scripture says you're no longera slave to sin Romans 6.6.
It says you are seated withChrist in heavenly places, in
Ephesians 2.6.
You've been adopted as a childof God in Romans 8.15.
(09:19):
And I'll give you more as we goon this week, but this is the
foundation, learning to livefrom our new identity, our
kainos, creation identity.
Living from the place of beingfully loved, fully accepted in
(09:41):
the Father, Son and Holy Spirit,embraced, celebrated.
This is who you are.
That's what I got for you today, and today's Kus Word is going
to be a very simple declarationabout your new identity in him,
(10:03):
and it goes like this I am a newcreation in Christ.
I am a new creation in Christ.
So remember you are not definedby your past.
You are a new creation.
That is the truth that will setyou free.
(10:26):
My friend, thanks for joining metoday on this foundational
episode, the first of I don'tknow how many I'm going to do
Could be a long series.
You'll have to tune in and findout.
Remember you can send me a textmessage.
Just click the link in the shownotes that says Text Michele,
(10:47):
and let me know how this ishitting you.
Is this hard to believe?
Easy to believe?
Fun to believe?
Crazy to believe.
Easy to believe, fun to believe, crazy to believe.
And remember to share thisepisode with a friend who might
be encouraged by this message.
I'll see you again tomorrow.
Have a great day.
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