Third Day - Lead Us Back: Songs Of WorshipНамуна

HE IS ALIVE

Jesus’ resurrection means our resurrection. Death was defeated by Christ for us and now His new life is our new life. The enemy’s days are numbered and even though the battles are still being fought, victory is already within our reach. The days of trying to please God by our own human effort are over. We are new creations and as such we can live victoriously here and now.

He is alive and if we are in Him we are now fully alive. This is perhaps the single most important aspect of Christian faith in this earthly life; Christ in us, the hope of glory (Colossians 1:27). The hope that God’s glory will come about in and through us is completely contingent on the indwelling Christ. When we surrender, His life in us is made complete.

When we focus on the cross, we know that Jesus’ death brought about God’s forgiveness of our sin. When He died, we in fact died with Him. However, God did not leave it at that. As Christ was raised from the dead so were we (Romans 6:4). Our old ways of self effort and striving on our own have been replaced with a new nature, which is one of resting, trusting and surrendering to the work of Christ in and through us. Somehow, this truth is often forgotten and we’re left feeling that we owe it to God to try our best to be good for Him, as if we could ever be good enough on our own to repay the debt. The wonderful news is that there is no debt now!

If we’re not careful, obedience quickly becomes an act of striving with our flesh to honor God, rather than surrendering to the work of the Holy Spirit in us. There is certainly a distinction between living life in our own strength verses allowing Christ to live His life in and through us. By His resurrection we have been given the wonderful promise that He who began a good work in us will be faithful to complete it. (Philippians 1:6)

The price of sin has been paid. Jesus secured our souls through His death and resurrection. We ARE forgiven but apart from Him we can do nothing (John 15:5). He offers to live His life through us, if we will let Him, and thus we become conduits of His love and mercy!

Written by David Carr of THIRD DAY