Calvary Chapel Fort Lauderdale Daily DevotionalSample

As Us When we think of the cross, we typically think of it in terms of Jesus dying for us. As we've seen, this is absolutely true. When Jesus died on the cross, He died on our behalf so that our sins could be covered and our salvation secured. But the cross represents more than Christ's substitution for us. It also represents our identification with Him. In the Book of Galatians, Paul wrote that he had been "crucified with Christ." Paul obviously didn't mean this in the literal sense. He wasn't saying that he hung on the cross alongside of Jesus. Instead, he was pointing to the fact that something spiritual happened on the behalf of every believer when Jesus died. Here's how the Book of Romans expresses it: Our old man was crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin. (Romans 6:6 NKJV) Here's the astounding truth that's being communicated to us: Sin's power over our lives died when Jesus died on the cross. How is that possible? It's possible because when we placed our faith in Christ, we became so united with Him that all He achieved and accomplished also became ours. When Jesus died on the cross, our old sinful self was spiritually crucified along with Him by virtue of our being "in Him." As a result, the sinful nature that once defined and dominated our lives was done away with. And although we still struggle with sin, we're no longer forced to submit to it. Christ didn't just die for us on the cross, He also died as us on the cross. When we believe and grab hold of this fact by faith, it frees us from sin's stranglehold. Sin's power over our lives died when Jesus died on the cross. Think about it... What does this passage reveal to me about God? What does this passage reveal to me about myself? Based on this, what changes do I need to make? What is my prayer for today?