Saturday, March 15, 2014

By Any Means


That by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead.

                                                            Philippians 3:11

               The verse before this ends by saying “Becoming like Him in His death”, which leads into this verse. Jesus Christ died on the cross and rose three days later. He conquered and defeated death forever, just by coming back to life. This verse reminded me of the verses in 1 Corinthians 15 saying, “Death is swallowed up in victory, O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting? The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.” Death is the ultimate payment for our sin, because of sin death came into this world. And without Jesus, death would be our beginning of an eternity in Hell. But with Jesus as my savior, death is the beginning of a wonderful eternity in Heaven with my Creator. Jesus conquered death and it now has no power over those who believe. For when we die we will get to see Jesus face to face. For me to live is Christ and to die is gain. God gives us the victory over death through the power of Jesus Christ and the victory He won on the cross. And as this verse says, I want to attain that resurrection power and victory by any means possible. Not meaning to be physically raised from the dead like Jesus was, but to have victory and power over death when I die. Knowing that when I die I will be in the loving arms of my savior. Being resurrected from this life on earth and moving to a better and more fulfilling life in heaven. As Mark Driscoll says “For those who are not saved this is the closest they will get to Heaven, and for those of us who are saved this is the closest we will ever get to Hell.” When I heard that for the first time and thought about how true it is, it brought a sense of happiness and sorrow. Because this life on earth is the closest I will ever get to Hell, for when I die I am confident I will be spending eternity in Heaven. But for a lot of people, and a lot of people I know, this is the closest they will get to Heaven, for when they die they will spend eternity in Hell. And that is a frightening thought. With that knowledge I need to reach out to those who are heading that way and show them the love and joy I have found in Jesus. For He is the only one who can save us from an eternal death.

Application- pray that the Lord would help me to grow in my boldness for sharing the gospel.

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