June 17, 2009
The Savior’s Plan
Today’s Truth
“For if, by the trespass of the one man, death reigned through that one man, how much more will those who receive God’s abundant provision of grace and of the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ” (Romans 5:17 NIV).
Friend To Friend
Yesterday, we looked at the consequences of sin. Today, let’s look at God’s plan of redemption.
Dear friend, I have gone into great detail concerning what we lost in the Garden of Eden and what we gained in the Garden of Gethsemane in the book, Experience the Ultimate Makeover. I want to encourage you to read that step-by-step explanation of the incredible transformation that occurred in you the moment you believed.
In a nutshell, the problem was this: God created man in His image. Satan deceived man with the lie that he could be like God. Man traded the truth for the lie, and while his body lived for a time; and his soul lived for eternity, his spirit died totally and completely at the very moment of disobedience. Every man born since that time has been born with a live body and soul but a dead spirit (Romans 5; 12. See also Ephesians 2:1; 1 and Corinthians 15:21-22). But just as soon as Eve’s teeth sank into the forbidden fruit, the shadow of the cross appeared on the horizon. All of the Old Testament points to that defining moment on the hill of Calvary when Jesus broke the chains of hell that had man bound, and set us free from the penalty of sin.
When we accept Jesus Christ as our Savior and make Him Lord of our lives, we experience new birth — become a new creation (2 Corinthians 5:17). Not only do we receive the promise of heaven for all eternity, we receive a new identity that day!
When we understand who we are in Christ, where we are in Christ, and what we have in Christ, we walk in victory through the storms of life, in abundance through the desert days, and in freedom in the confines of earth.
But friend, Satan does not give up on you when you become a Christian. He knows who you are, what you have, and where you are as a child of God. He knows that you are chosen, accepted, adopted, appointed, valuable, justified, reconciled, redeemed, righteous, and free from condemnation, holy, sealed, complete, and completely forgiven. His mission is to keep you from walking in the truth of who you are, and he uses the same tactics today that he used with Eve recorded in Genesis chapter three. That is why it is so important to understand what happened in the Garden. We must recognize his tactics in order to fight the battle for our minds.
A man in the Arizona desert came upon a diamondback rattlesnake. With a hoe in the back of his trunk, he killed the rattler and cut off his head. Amazingly, the headless snake continued to shake his rattle and lunge at him. “What’s worse,” the man said, “was the fact that even though I knew its head was cut off and that he was dead, I still flinched.”
Satan’s head has been cut off. He has already lost the battle but continues to shake his rattle to draw our attention away from the truth of his defeat. And while he has been defeated, he wants us to think that he is still in control.
Yes, God has a plan for you. It all starts with new life in Christ. If you have never prayed to receive Jesus as your personal Lord and Savior, please click on the button at the bottom of this devotion to learn more. If you do pray to receive Jesus today, we’d love to hear about it and pray for you in this new journey!
Let’s Pray
Dear LORD, I was a lost sinner, until You embraced me as Your child. Thank You for providing eternal life through Your Son, Jesus Christ. Thank You for His sacrifice on the cross for me.
In Jesus’ Name,
Amen.
Now It’s Your Turn
The Bible promises that “If you confess with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved” (Romans 19:9, 10 NIV).
Do you remember the day you prayed to receive Jesus as your Savior?
Today, tell someone your story. Not only will you bless someone else, you’ll be reminding yourself of the wonderful gift of God in your life.
Additional Resource New life! In the twinkling of an eye, in the time it takes to say, “I believe,” God moves us from spiritual death to abundant eternal life! If you would like to learn more about all that God has for you because of who you are, what you have, and where you are in Christ, then you’ll want to see Sharon’s book, Experience the Ultimate Makeover — Discovering God’s Transforming Power. Begin your spiritual beauty regimen today!