Worship Devotional CXXXI
Alive In Christ
Worship Devotional from 8/7/22
Colossians 3:1-3:
“So if you have been raised with the Messiah, seek what is above, where the Messiah is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on what is above, not on what is on the earth. For you have died, and your life is hidden with the Messiah in God. When the Messiah, who is your life, is revealed, then you also will be revealed with Him in glory.”
In Christ, because of what He has done on our behalf, we are free from the chains of sin that once bound us. We are free from the condemnation we deserved for our rebellion against the Holy One, for the price for our redemption and salvation has been paid in full by the righteous blood of the only spotless Lamb. We are free from the claim that death had on our lives, for we have died to our old selves with Christ through the cross, and we have been raised with Him into new life by the Spirit who lives within us. We are free now to truly live, and this life — the only real, everlasting life — is found only in Christ Jesus our Lord and Savior.
Now what belongs to Christ also belongs to us. What a deep and glorious mystery! We who deserve nothing but death for our trespasses and iniquities have been saved, redeemed, set free, and made alive solely by the grace of God who loved us even in our rebellion. This grace is the key to real life. It is only by the grace of God that I live — yet it is not I who lives, but through Christ who lives in me. I have eternal life, joy, peace, satisfaction, hope, and glory — yet not I, but through Christ in me. It is just as the Apostle Paul said when speaking about his calling in Christ in 1 Corinthians 15:10:
“But by God’s grace I am what I am, and His grace toward me was not ineffective. However, I worked more than any of them, yet not I, but God’s grace that was with me.”
This truth gives us great hope, encouragement, and rest, for we believe and trust what was written for us in Philippians 2:13:
“For it is God who is working in you, enabling you both to desire and to work out His good purpose.”
So with great rejoicing and hearts full of gratitude toward our merciful, life-giving God, may we live our lives on this earth by faith and by the Spirit who breathes spiritual life into our hearts and minds and souls, walking in the good works which God has prepared for us and called us to. May He be glorified in everything we do as we live in the life He has given us!
Ephesians 2:1-10:
“And you were dead in your trespasses and sins in which you previously walked according to the ways of this world, according to the ruler who exercises authority over the lower heavens, the spirit now working in the disobedient. We too all previously lived among them in our fleshly desires, carrying out the inclinations of our flesh and thoughts, and we were by nature children under wrath as the others were also. But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love that He had for us, made us alive with the Messiah even though we were dead in trespasses. You are saved by grace! Together with Christ Jesus He also raised us up and seated us in the heavens, so that in the coming ages He might display the immeasurable riches of His grace through His kindness to us in Christ Jesus. For you are saved by grace through faith, and this is not from yourselves; it is God’s gift — not from works, so that no one can boast. For we are His creation, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared ahead of time so that we should walk in them.”
Hebrews 6:17-20:
“Because God wanted to show His unchangeable purpose even more clearly to the heirs of the promise, He guaranteed it with an oath, so that through two unchangeable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled for refuge might have strong encouragement to seize the hope set before us. We have this hope as an anchor for our lives, safe and secure. It enters the inner sanctuary behind the curtain. Jesus has entered there on our behalf as a forerunner, because He has become a high priest forever in the order of Melchizedek.”
Galatians 2:19b-20:
“I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.”
Themes: Life, Grace, Hope, Freedom, Christ Our Anchor, Christ In Us
Songs:
Scripture References:
Deuteronomy 8:3
Psalms 23
Matthew 4:4
John 14:6
Romans 3-6
1 Corinthians 11:1, 15:1-11
2 Corinthians 4-5
Galatians 2:19-21
Ephesians 1-2
Philippians 2:12-16, 4:12-13
Colossians 1:24-29, 3:1-4
2 Timothy 1:8-10, 4:6-8
Titus 3:3-8
Hebrews 6:17-20