Chris Tomlin - Never Lose Sight Devotional Mostră

“He Lives” Devotional Chris Tomlin The faith of Christianity hinges on the resurrection. Did the life of Christ end on the cross, or is he still alive today? Without Christ’s resurrection, we are left with a question mark regarding his divinity, which would negate anything he ever said. C. S. Lewis puts it this way in his book Mere Christianity: “A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic — on the level with the man who says he is a poached egg — or else he would be the Devil of Hell.” Paul stresses the importance of the resurrection when he says, “But if there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ has not been raised; and if Christ has not been raised, then our proclamation is without foundation, and so is your faith.” (1 Cor. 15:13-14) The resurrection is what proved Jesus was God. It’s what proved the power of the cross. From heaven to earth our savior came For us on a cross he bled and died And from the cross to an empty grave He rose to life The truth of the resurrection means Christ is alive today, and he is alive in us. Galatians says, “I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me.” (Gal. 2:20) As Christians who believe in the resurrection, we believe that we have also died—died to sin—and are no longer slaves, but children of God, inheritors of His kingdom. (Gal. 4:7) We now live because of and for Christ. “God of Calvary” Devotional Chris Tomlin Shame is much easier to wear than grace. Shame is what we know. We’re accustomed to its fit, its feel. We never seem to be enough. We are always falling short. And so we move through life weighed down by an unnecessary burden. On the hill of Calvary The light of all the world With the world on his shoulders The weight of all our shame Shame takes over whenever we lose sight of the cross. Without the cross, our sin defines us. No matter how long you’ve been a believer in Jesus Christ, the temptation to go back to our old way remains, the way of the law. We like the law because it gives us a sense that we’re earning our keep. Follow these rules, and you’re safe. Break them, and you’ve failed. But the gospel flips this legalistic thinking upside-down. “Therefore,” writes Paul in Romans, “there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit who gives life has set you free from the law of sin and death. For what the law was powerless to do because it was weakened by the flesh, God did by sending his own Son” (Rom. 8:1-3). When Jesus died on the cross on Calvary, he set us free from sin and shame. Isaiah 53:5 says, “But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed.” By his wounds I am set free By his blood I’ve been redeemed The great divide he crossed for me Oh, praise the God of Calvary By his wounds we were healed, and we are now a new creation, children of a God who bridged the divide between us with his son Jesus. Let’s exchange our clothes of shame and be clothed in grace instead. Walking and living in this gift given to us by the God of Calvary. "You must make your choice,” continues Lewis. “Either this man was, and is, the Son of God, or else a madman or something worse.” Choose to believe in the power of the resurrection today, that Jesus reigns on his throne and he reigns in you.