.: HE IS RISEN! :.

I know this is a little late, but I want to post it anyway:

CHRIST IS RISEN!

55 “O death, where is your victory?

O death, where is your sting?”

56The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. 57But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. (1 Corinthians 15:55-57 ESV)

Let us celebrate the risen Savior, not just on Easter, but every day we live our lives! Let us live in the light of His triumph over sin and death!

1What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? 2By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it? 3Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? 4We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.

5For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his. 6We know that our old self^a was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin. 7For one who has died has been set free^b from sin. 8Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. 9We know that Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him. 10For the death he died he died to sin, once for all, but the life he lives he lives to God. 11So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus.

12Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, to make you obey its passions. 13Do not present your members to sin as instruments for unrighteousness, but present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life, and your members to God as instruments for righteousness. (Romans 6:1-13 ESV)

~Mac

God Died

As we prepare to celebrate Easter, we have special Lenten devotions that we go through as a family. During one of these, I was struck by two simple words:

God died.

That is a mind-blowing concept! An infinite, eternal, unchangeable, omnipotent, omniscient, perfect Being "made Himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness." (Phillipians 2:7) That alone is incomprehensible. Jesus, who had never experienced pain, fatigue, aging, or any of the effects of the Fall, came into this world and experienced all of them. Jesus, who had never had anything less than a perfect relationship with His Father, became the Object of His Father's wrath for all of the sins believers have ever committed in history. Jesus, who was with the Father before time, entered time and lived and died. And He did all of this for those He loves, those who have believed and will believe in Him!

Thank you, Jesus, for Your work of redemption on our behalf! Help us to live in light of that sacrifice, and to truly be thankful for Your precious gift of salvation!

~Mac