Because of Jesus I Am...Sample

I Can Tell You Your Future

Verse - "and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus." (Ephesians 2:6-7)

Think - I love epic stories. Give me a rag-tag group of adventurers conquering a great evil or an underdog sports team, and I'm hooked. I will read and watch at the edge of my seat. "Can they return the ring to Mordor?" "Can small-town Hickory really win the state championship against the big city school?" I have watched both these movies - The Lord of the Rings and Hoosiers - multiple times, and I enjoy them even more, knowing the endings. I see how each event of the rising action and the climax of the plot lead to a beautiful ending. I watch with intense confidence.

Ephesians 2 is one of my favorite chapters of Scripture. I love the truths building on top of each other in the early verses. "You were dead…but God…being rich in mercy…because of the great love with which he loved us…made us alive with Christ!" Death to life! Truths and privileges we experience daily by grace through faith. But Ephesians 2 continues: we aren't just saved from the penalty of sin. The story doesn't end there. We are "raised up and seated with him" (verse 6).

Apply - We are in the middle of an incredible story with an incredible ending. And though life is still filled with real hardships and sorrow, we view it through an eternal and winning perspective. In Christ, we are already raised spiritually. We have freedom and power over sin. And in Christ, our physical resurrection is as sure as His! We live now with security, hope, and power, but still in a sin-stained world and sin-sick bodies. This tension is real, but it won't last. We see the world (even its sorrows) from the vantage point of our resurrected Savior.

In Him, we see and feel immeasurable riches of God's kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. We live in our stories having read the ending. We know what's coming. We see the world differently because of this "raised" view. Are you living and experiencing the world with this perspective?

Pray - Lord, many days in this world feel like only loss. Even in our pain and sorrow, keep the truth of a resurrected Jesus in our hearts and minds. Death does not win. In Christ, we have spiritual victory now and final victory is coming. Give us the comfort and confidence of already having read the victorious end of a great story. Amen.

Bio line - Kate Lab is wife to Joe, Pastor of Hershey Mennonite Church, and mom to two sweet kiddos. She is the Sr. Director of Communications at The Factory Ministries.