Pastor Sam's Weekly Devotionals
In Need of Grace
Verse for Meditation:
“For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God.” – 1 Peter 3:18
Christ is risen! This is the message of the Empty Tomb. But what impact does it have on your daily life? Here is a devotion that suggests 5 transformative aspects for living in the light of eternity:
IN WORD – Worshiping with other believers helps you view all of life from the vantage point of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ. It’s not just the most important miracle ever. It’s not just the most astounding event in the life of the Messiah. It’s not just an essential item in your theological outline. It’s not just the reason for the most important celebratory season of the church. It’s not just your hope for the future. No, the resurrection is all that and more. It is also meant to be the window through which you view all of life.
Second Corinthians 4:13–15 captures this truth very well: “[We know] that he who raised the Lord Jesus will raise us also with Jesus and bring us with you into his presence. For it is all for your sake, so that as grace extends to more and more people it may increase thanksgiving, to the glory of God.” But what does it look like to look at life through the window of the resurrection?
IN DEED – As I assess my life right here, right now, what about the resurrection must I remember? Let me suggest five things. 1. The resurrection of Jesus guarantees your resurrection too. Life is not a constantly repeating cycle of the same old same old. No, under God’s rule this world is marching toward a conclusion. Your life is being carried to a glorious end. There will be a moment when God will raise you out of this broken world, and sin and suffering will be no more. 2. The resurrection tells you what Jesus is now doing. Jesus now reigns. First Corinthians 15 says that He will continue to reign until the final enemy is under His feet. You see, your world is not out of control, but under the careful control of One who is still doing His sin-defeating work. 3. The resurrection promises you all the grace you need between Jesus’s resurrection and yours. If your end has already been guaranteed, then all the grace you need along the way has been guaranteed as well, or you would never make it to your appointed end. Future grace always carries with it the promise of present grace. 4. The resurrection of Jesus motivates you to do what is right, no matter what you are facing. The resurrection tells you that God will win. His truth will reign. His plan will be accomplished. Sin will be defeated. Righteousness will overcome evil. This means that everything you do in God’s name is worth it, no matter what the cost. 5. The resurrection tells you that you always have reason for thanks.
Quite apart from anything you have earned, you have been welcomed into the most exciting story ever and have been granted a future of joy and peace forever. No matter what happens today, look at life through this window. (from Paul David Tripp, “New Morning Mercies”)
Do you need a reminder of what we have from the Empty Tomb and a Risen Savior? Take time to reflect on John 20 – 21 and 1 Corinthians 15 this week. Ask the Holy Spirit to help you answer the apostle Paul’s questions to the Corinthian Christians; they are the same questions we must also ask daily if we are to enjoy the full blessings of our lives in the risen Christ. Have a blessed and joy-filled Easter! – from Singapore, Pastor Sam