Good morning and Happy Easter! Today is a SPECIAL day! This is probably one of my favorite days all year! All the hype and all the excitement around the resurrection of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, is contagious! But as fun and inspiring as it is, there has to be more! We can’t be carried away on the excitement of it all because life happens, and when the excitement fades away by the toil and hardships of life, so will our love for God if not based on appreciation, truth, and a recognition of our need for a Savior!
I have shared many stories with you at this point and by now you may realize that I am NOT perfect LOL! And I am FINALLY OK with that! It took me such a long time to realize that I could never be AND God was not expecting me to be!
Even with all of my imperfections, I think many people would consider me a ‘good’ person. I love God, I love my wife and family, I go to church, I serve in the church, I look for opportunity to serve others, I live my life with a mindset of excellence – I mean what else could I do! Well, as good as all of that sounds, the Bible tells us that no one is righteous, not even one.
“As it is written: “There is no one righteous, not even one;”
Romans 3:10
This means that no one, if left to themselves could ever be in right standing with God. No one on this earth could ever live a perfect life according to God’s standards. If we were all honest with ourselves today, no matter how good and selfless we think we live, we still don’t get everything right! Maybe we struggle in our behaviors, maybe it’s in our thoughts, maybe it’s in our inability to trust others, and maybe it’s in constant need to satisfy our every desire. Whatever area you may be struggling in today, that is the same thing that Jesus took with Him and defeated on the cross!
Does this mean that we shouldn’t be or won’t be tempted? Not at all – but what it does mean is that when we accept the work that Jesus did on the cross and rely on God’s help, we can live in victory as we are united with Christ in His resurrection!
“For if we have been united with Him in a death like His, we will certainly also be united with Him in a resurrection like His. For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body ruled by sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin — because anyone who has died has been set free from sin.”
Romans 6:5-7
I love this! Our old self has been crucified with Christ so that we are no longer ruled by sin – we have been set free! The only reason my life has been TRANSFORMED is because of the LOVE of Jesus! He set the perfect example to show us how to live an authentic life that was completely surrendered to the will of His Father!
The problem for us sometimes is that we think we can gain eternal life with God by living a ‘good’ life. This is just not true! Jesus is the ONLY way to receive salvation! God continues to pursue the lost and His desire is that ALL would be saved.
“who wants all people to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth.”
1 Timothy 2:4
When we accept the fact that we could never live according to God’s standard apart from the work of Jesus, it should compel us to surrender our hearts to Him. Some people may have a problem with this because they don’t like to give up control, but I would argue that gaining control of our lives can only be done by living a life surrendered to God.
“What benefit did you reap at that time from the things you are now ashamed of? Those things result in death! But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the benefit you reap leads to holiness, and the result is eternal life.“
Romans 6:21-22
Surrendering our lives to God will make us better! We will do better in loving others, resisting temptation, walking in obedience, and watching God do the impossible! We are not just a better version of ourselves – we are a NEW creation!
What are you waiting for? Jesus has paid the price of the penalty for our sin (death), so that we could be united with Him in His resurrection (eternal life)! That’s right – our God is ALIVE! He is Risen and He loves you more than we could ever comprehend! The question is… will we allow Him to be the King of our heart and live to honor Him? Saying YES is the best choice you will ever make!
Heavenly Father, thank You for how You accept us just as we are! We don’t have to make ourselves right before coming to You, we just have to come! Thank You for how You help us to live in a way that aligns with Your Word and how we gain control of our lives by surrendering them to You! Help us to live in victory over sin by relying on the work of Jesus and being united with Him! Holy Spirit, TRANSFORM our lives to make us more like Jesus! In Jesus Name – AMEN!
Be Transformed 