Dead—or—ALIVE! Which are You?
The Bible records these words given to the Apostle Paul from God Himself:
“And you were dead in your offenses and sins,
(Ephesians 2: 1-7 NASB)
in which you previously walked according to the course of this world,
according to the prince of the power of the air,
of the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience.
Among them we too all previously lived in the lusts of our flesh,
indulging the desires of the flesh and of the mind,
and were by nature children of wrath, just as the rest.”
“But God,”
[!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!]
[YES! But GOD!]
“being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us;
even when we were dead in our wrongdoings,”
[Did we catch that?]
[Did we catch WHEN GOD chose to love us?]
“made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved).
and raised us up with Him,
and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus,
so that in the ages to come He might show the boundless riches of His grace
in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.”
Boundless riches of His grace!
Kindness toward us in Christ Jesus!
- That’s why God sent His Only Son to the world!
- That’s why God sent the world a Savior!
- That’s why God, from the foundation of the world, knew we needed a Messiah!
That’s why!!!
Therefore, the question becomes:
How might your reflection of your future inheritance impact the way you live today?
- Since you believed in Jesus (believed in what He did upon the cross of Calvary & in the tomb),
&
- Since you confessed your sins (confession is a daily task for we are not perfect this side of glory)
&
- Since you accepted the Mercy and Gracious Gift of God—
Then God performed a miracle deep within us!
At the time when you were decaying, when you were walking toward DEATH,
Yes, the walking dead, it was then, in that moment (because of your belief in JESUS)
GOD MADE YOU ALIVE!
(GOD DID)
GOD “made us alive together with Christ . . .”
Not only were you made alive at the moment of your belief in Jesus, but at that very moment, the Holy Spirit of God took up residence within you!
IMAGINE THAT!
YES—REALLY—IMAGINE THAT!
- GOD’S PRESENCE—
- GOD’S LEADERSHIP—
- GOD’S VOICE—
- GOD’S LOVE BECAME (at that moment) THE FOUNDATION OF EVERYTHING YOU DO!
Thus, the body is the LORD’S!
“All things are permitted for me, but not all things are of benefit.
(1 Corinthians 6: 12-17 NASB)
All things are permitted for me, but I will not be mastered by anything.
Food is for the stomach and the stomach is for food, however God will do away with both of them.
But the body is not for sexual immoraility, but for the Lord, and the Lord is for the body.
Now God has not only raised the Lord, but will also raise us up through His power.
Do you not know that your bodies are parts of Christ?
Shall I then take away the parts of Christ and make them parts of a prostitute?
Far from it!
[May it never happen!]
Or do you not know that the one who joins himself to a prostitute is one body with her?
For He says, “THE TWO SHALL BECOME ONE FLESH.”
But the one who joins himself to the Lord is one spirit with Him.”
No longer am I Nancy but one with Jesus!
I should no longer attempt to balance myself—a little me and a little Jesus.
My Mind, My Body, My Soul: All Parts Belong to God!
No longer am I the walking DEAD!
What about you?
Dead—or—ALIVE, Which are You?
The Apostle John received these words from God:
“Truly, truly, I say to you, the one who hears My word, and believes Him who sent Me, has eternal life, and does not come into judgment, but has passed out of death into life.”
(John 5: 24 NASB)
Friend do not believe my words but take up your copy of God’s Holy Word. Read from the Bible what God gave the prophet Isaiah to write. Turn to Isaiah 65: 17-25, and see what God has in store for His Children.
- It is because we choose to believe in God’s Son JESUS.
- It is because of the work JESUS did upon the cross and in the grave.
- It is because of JESUS that we are ALIVE!
THIS IS ALL BECAUSE OF JESUS!
Truly, “Thank You, Jesus,” seems so small for ALL THAT JESUS DID FOR US!
The lyrics of a beautiful melody spoke to me this morning, and maybe they will you too.
“THIS IS OUR GOD! THIS IS WHO HE IS—HE LOVES US!
THIS IS OUR GOD! THIS IS WHAT HE DOES—HE SAVES US!
HE BORE THE CROSS, BEAT THE GRAVE, LET HEAVEN AND EARTH PROCLAIM!
THIS IS OUR GOD! KING JESUS!
Who pulled me out of the pit? HE DID! HE DID!
Who paid for all our sins? NOBODY BUT JESUS!
Who rescued me from that grave? YAHWEH! YAHWEH!
Who gets the glory and praise? NOBODY BUT JESUS!
“THIS IS OUR GOD! THIS IS WHO HE IS—HE LOVES US!
THIS IS OUR GOD! THIS IS WHAT HE DOES—HE SAVES US!
HE BORE THE CROSS, BEAT THE GRAVE, LET HEAVEN AND EARTH PROCLAIM!
THIS IS OUR GOD! KING JESUS!”
“This Is Our God” by Phil Wickham
Life in heaven will most definitely be a wonderous forever!
I know that I know—I will be there!
So, I pause to ask—Will you? (be there too)
It’s not a pie-in-the-sky type of “hoping” because the Bible assures us that WE CAN KNOW WHICH WE ARE: Dead—or—ALIVE IN CHRIST JESUS!
Mind, Body, & Soul: All Parts Belong to God!
- May we walk in NEWNESS of our LIFE in JESUS!
- May we walk worthy of ALL THAT HE HAS DONE FOR US!
- May we live ANEW, knowing that one day we will arrive home into the presence of the KING of Kings!
- May we live out today, and whenever we stumble in our sin, may we confess that sin to our SAVIOR!
- May we LIVE So that the world around us will SEE JESUS—LIVING INSIDE EACH ONE OF US!
No longer can a person ever be the walking DEAD because we have been “made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved).” (Ephesians 2: 5b NASB)