He has risen! Christ is alive! These words were announced at his empty tomb by an angel.
These six words changed the reality for all of the disciples of Christ and those who are not yet believers. Because Jesus rose from the dead, defeated the power of sin and death, and sent the Holy Spirit to live in us after he ascended, we can live in the love and power of his resurrection.
Even though Jesus made it possible to live in his love and power as you grow your faith, are you choosing to live in your new resurrected life, or are you choosing to live like you are under the devil’s power of sin and death?
Know Your Identity
The gift of salvation is a free gift to you that cost Jesus everything. “Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. (John 15:13, NIV) Christ made it possible for all people to believe in him and be saved.
However, accepting salvation doesn’t instantly download us with the word of God. It also doesn’t teach us that we are responsible for learning what it means to be a disciple of Christ. We learn by letting the Holy Spirit teach us by studying God’s word, praying, praising God, and learning from other mature Christ-followers.
Until you learn, understand, accept, and operate from your new identity in Christ, you will keep living in what you know, which is your old self. As you learn who you are in Christ, you will know how much God and Jesus love you. You will know that you are a child of God and a disciple of Christ.
Discover the Exceptional Love of Jesus
As you learn about Jesus and you study his life, you will discover his exceptional love. You will see how his love is all about respect, honor, healthy boundaries, and exceptional love. God sent Jesus to earth as fully man so that we would have his example of how to love God first and to love others as we love ourselves.
Jesus met people where they were and offered to show them a different way. His love was never forceful, manipulative, or disrespectful. His love and God’s love is at the core of your faith. Without knowing the exceptional love of Christ, you will continue to live in your imperfect definition and design of love. Until you learn Christ’s perfect way to love and use it, you cannot change the way you love others and the way you let them love you. Living in Christ’s exceptional love is living in the love of his resurrection.
Grow Your Personal Relationship with Jesus Every Day
These first two keys are the foundation for creating the last key of growing in a personal relationship with Jesus Christ every day. The whole reason God allowed Jesus to die for us is to show us that He wants us all to choose to live with him forever. However, we must choose to believe, surrender, obey, love, and follow Jesus.
Jesus himself told us that we will face trials and temptations in this broken world. But he came to show us that in him and through him living in us, we can overcome. The only way relationships become close and deep is by spending time with the person. Our relationship with Jesus is no different. He will meet you in God’s word, in prayer, in praise, and through other believers, when you seek him with your whole heart.
The Certainty and Faithfulness of God
As a disciple of Christ, while the world faces COVID-19 and all the uncertainties of what will come, we have the certainty of his love and who we are in him. Jesus shows us that in the end, he and his disciples win. We get to spend eternity in heaven with him and our loving Father, God.
God designed each one of us with a mission for him. All his children have the same purpose, to love him first and above anyone or anything else. And to love others as we love ourselves while we share his good news and bring him glory.
No matter what happens to us in our imperfect lives, including abuse, we have the love and resurrecting power of Christ dwelling in us. It’s time to seek and love him with our whole hearts. It’s time to live like we are the resurrected empowered children of God and share his love, hope, and salvation to anyone still in the dark!
“If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you.” (Rom 8:11, NIV)
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