Posted by 90 Days of Prayer Day Seventy-Three
Colossians 3:1
“Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God.”
A whole new life has been prepared for all who trust in Christ. This new liberating lifestyle has absolutely nothing in common with your old one! Rethinking genuine holiness and how to walk it, is a paradigm shift of biblical proportions! Connecting with Christ is at the heart of this new life.
You’re a whole new creation now, your old life has past away, and the new one is already within you. Having been freed from sin’s power to rule your life, you have been set up to enjoy the resurrection life you now have of Christ.
You Are Complete in Him
There are no trial sizes of Jesus, you are complete in Him. Christ is not a part of your new life, Paul says He is your life! (See Colossians 3:4). You are now seated together with Him at the right hand of the Father! Get used to the new you, You’ve been given a seat next to the supreme authority over all creation. I told you it’s nothing like your old life!
Think of it, whatever is true of the risen Christ is true of you and everyone else who is alive in Him! This presents a challenge to your old way of thinking, because there’s no merit system in Christ, for the simple reason that, you’re now living by grace through faith. Christ is now your holiness, your righteousness (since we have none of our own).
There Are Challenges
The challenge you’ll face is similar to the challenges the Colossian believers faced. Trying to come to grips with a new life of acceptance with God based on trust instead of trying. This new life within you literally lives itself if you’ll stay connected with Christ, as the branches are to the vine. You stay connected cooperating with Him, and His life will flow through you.
Since you died with Christ, being freed from worldly traditions and philosophies, what would be the point of setting up new regulations for your life as you did before? Aren’t these the very things we were warned about?
This would be like trading in the reality for the shadows! (See Colossians 2:17). Paul warned that adhering to a new set of moral codes might make us feel more spiritual, but in reality, we’ll be placing ourselves back under the law – walking in the flesh under our own willpower.
Only Believe
Real fellowship with Christ is all you need! The challenge is to believe that you really have died with Christ in His death, and you have been raised together with Him. These are no memory verses to make us feel good, these are facts that have power to absolutely transform you life.
Go over every passage in the New Testament that lays out who you are in Christ, and what actually happened to you when your sins were blotted by the blood of Jesus. Believe that you were called to fellowship with God to accomplish great things for the kingdom. Praise Him and thank Him now that you’re alive in Christ, and Be Encouraged!-JSP
(1) Featured Image from Robby Hare “Made Alive” https://robbyhare.wordpress.com