July 04 – Freedom – True and Permanent

“We know that our old self 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. For one who has died has been set free from sin.” Romans 6:6-7 (ESV)

Looking back over the past six years, we notice that when July 4 is the date on our calendar, each year we have considered the truth found in John 8:31. This year we focus on Romans 6:7. Freedom is a word dear to most of us. Nobody wants slavery. We want freedom and some have more than others. But here we learn a way to be free and it’s equally available to all people. Our circumstances can block our freedom. The country, or the political powers that rule us, can’t take this freedom from us. You see, we are slaves to sin because we are born that way. No matter how hard we try to be good, we fall short of being good enough. But when we in faith believe the promise of eternal life from God, our body of sin that has us in bondage is put to death and we are born into God’s family. We gain freedom from sin. We are no longer guilty but Christ has paid the wages for our sin. This freedom matters and makes an eternal difference. We can have it wherever we are whatever circumstances of our life. 

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June 10 – It’s All On Him

 “I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me. I do not nullify the grace of God…” Galatians 2:20 (NASB)

The Apostle Paul made this statement, “I do not nullify the grace of God…” in a confrontation with those who wanted to compel new Gentile Christians to follow the Jewish Law. Paul argued that if righteousness and salvation were possible through obeying the law, then Christ died for no purpose. Being ‘good enough’ will never save anyone. We are declared righteous by what Christ did for us on the cross. Once was a young boy who was on a raft in the middle of a deep lake with his father. His father was diving off the raft to move it to shore, on one dive, the boy lost his balance and fell into the water. In a panic he tried to swim up but couldn’t. He was too far under water to reach the surface. As the boy went down a second time his father grabbed his arm and pulled him up and back onto the raft. There was nothing the boy could’ve done in that circumstance to avoid drowning. His salvation depended fully on his father. The boy added nothing – he didn’t nullify what his father did. That is the same with the grace from God that saves us. 

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October 26 – Clearing Interferences

“I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.”  Galatians 2:20 (ESV)

What are some of the interferences in our lives that are in the way of our absolute devotion to our Lord Jesus.  There may be many, and sometimes we find that we've painted ourselves into a corner of the room. How will we get a devotion that is abandoned to Him? Think who the New Testament says that Jesus Christ is, and then think of the disgraceful meanness of the unhappy faith we have — ‘Life has not been fair and we haven’t had this or that experience!’ Then shift your thinking to what faith in Jesus Christ claims — that He can present us faultless before the throne of God. (Jude 1:24) It is a day like today when all our life may seem to be threatened by circumstances beyond our control. Maybe we're anxious on the very edge of panic. We have here the truth in a promise that we can hang on to. The Son of God, Christ Jesus our Lord loves us more than we can describe or understand and that’s why He went to the cross for us. Praise God if you are not there today and remember this for when you will be.

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* This day’s thoughts came in part from: –Oswald Chambers, My Utmost for His Highest: Selections for the Year (Grand Rapids, MI: Oswald Chambers Publications; Marshall Pickering, 1986)

December 9 – In Wisdom Was Mercy

“...but we preach Christ crucified, to Jews a stumbling block and to Gentiles foolishness, but to those who are the called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God.”    - 1 Corinthians 1:23–24  (NASB)

At the time that this letter to the assembly of believers in Corinth was written, the Way of Christ was new to those who were hearing it for the first time.  There was a clear difference in how it was received between Jewish people and non-Jewish people–the Gentiles.  In  the previous verse Paul states that Jews asked for signs and Greeks (Gentiles) searched for wisdom. But he preached about Christ's death and resurrection. Both stumbled over that message and were missing the better news. The message was the promise of the power of God through His Son Jesus Christ. This good news of the gospel Paul preached needed to be heard, and once heard, received and believed.  So, the message preached to all people with no distinction is the death of the Son of God was for all sinners.  This promise was the power of God and all the sign anyone needed. It was given to us as wisdom of God.  From God's wisdom comes Mercy and the means to escape the curse of sin.

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Help from this source.

August 22 – Living Again

“I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me.” Galatians 2:20 - (NASB)

This is a verse that has a wonderful truth and promise for those who have believed in Jesus Christ as their Savior.  The Apostle Paul writes that he had been crucified with Christ.  How can that be?  It is by the work Jesus has done.  He has taken the wages of our sin upon Himself and what should have been done to us was instead, done to Him on the Cross.  So we come to believe and by we faith receive Jesus into our lives so that we actually live in Him and He lives in us.  We are bound together.  The effects of what Jesus Christ did by His free will are credited to us as if we have experienced it in Him.  Christ's crucifixion becomes our crucifixion and we no longer live as we once did, burdened with the guilt of our sinful nature, but we live now through the life Christ has given us to live in Him.  This is the secret, or sometimes called the mystery* of the Christian life is to allow Jesus Christ to live out His life through us by faith believing.  By allowing  the Holy Spirit to work in our lives, we become a vital representative of Christ.

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* Eph 3:6 - "This mystery is that the Gentiles are fellow heirs, members of the same body, and partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel.

June 13 – Completed For Us

“I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me.”  Galatians 2:20  (NASB)

When the Apostle Paul wrote these words of testimony in his letter to the faithful believers and Christ followers in the cities of Asia Minor, he was teaching them and us what our faith in Jesus means.  Believing and accepting what Jesus Christ did when he died on the cross and rose from the grave means that Christ's sacrificial action was on our behalf and is therefore counted to us as well.  Christ's crucifixion has effectively become ours and we do not face that death because Christ faced it for us and credited it to our account.  We too have been crucified with Christ – this is a promise we can cling to.  So now just as that was by faith in Christ, we now live in our mortal bodies by faith because Christ is living in us.  All these promises are true and have become real because Jesus, the Son of God sacrificed Himself for each of us who believe and receive the gift of eternal life.    

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February 27 – Not Us But Him

“I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.”  Galatians 2:20  (ESV)

In these words the Apostle Paul gave his testimony as to how he was living the Christian life.  We have selected this passage today because the words remind us of important principles in our Christian lives too.  We are not living our Christian lives by ourselves or by our own effort.  When we accept Jesus as our Savior He comes to live with us.  So then, we keep on living by faith in Him and as we trust in Him each day, He guides us in the decisions which we have to make.  Why is this worth it?  Because the Son of God, Jesus, loved us enough to give His life for each of us.   He also helps us to overcome problems and to bring glory to Him in our testimony to others.  Today and everyday these promises are for us and our Christian life is by faith in our Savior every day.  

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August 22 – Living By New Life

“I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.”  Galatians 2:20 (ESV)

When we accepted Jesus Christ as our Savior, God gave us a new life.  This is what the Apostle Paul was writing about to the Christians in Galatia in this letter.  This is his testimony and it is ours as well if we have believed in Jesus.  Because, when we do believe, at that moment, God gives us a new life.  We still live in the bodies we have, eating, drinking sleeping and working as we did before, but there is a wonderful new element in our living.  We now have a spiritual life and relationship with God which we maintain by faith.  This new life we live by faith believing in Jesus.  He died for us to give us eternal life.  We trust in His love to take care of all our needs while we're living still here on earth.  And He promises to be working in us to prepare us to live with Him forever in Heaven.  Today, we can each renew our faith and trust that God will always be with us and will fulfill this promise.  

Note: If you have found hope and encouragement in these daily blogs, please share them with your friends.  

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November 13

“Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth.”  John 17:17 (NIV)

One of the most important prayers recorded in the Bible is the prayer Jesus prayed the night before He was crucified. This verse is part of that prayer. This is a very brief request, but it is very important. Jesus knew what His followers needed. He knew that they needed to be set apart from God and for a holy purpose. They were human and were subject to worldly pressures, and He yearned to have them devoted to eternal and spiritual purposes. Jesus was praying for us, too, and He is still praying for us. Would He not still be praying the same way for us today? Don’t forget how He prayed. He said the means God would use was His word. That’s how He works in us to set us apart for His eternal purposes. Allow God to speak!