May 2, 2013

“So, if you’re serious about living this resurrection life with Christ, act like it. Pursue the things over which Christ presides. .. Your old life is dead. Your new life, which is your real life – even though invisible to spectators – is with Christ in God. He is your life.” Colossians 3:1-3 The Message

How do you act serious about living “this resurrection life”? In some ways, it opens up every day to incredible possibilities of Jesus working through your life. The pressure is off. Jesus isn’t telling you to work out this “new life” on your own. The Apostle Paul reminds us that this “new life” is grounded in resurrection. You died .. you surrendered .. you believed .. you trusted .. you accepted by faith that Jesus Christ rescued and redeemed your “basically pretty good but absolutely rotten” life. Your old life ended on a cross. Your new life began in Christ. HE is your life. That changes everything about how you deal with life. You’re no longer consumed with trying to put on the best face or worry about what everyone else is thinking about you. That was always a lie and a dead end. Some of those old habits or patterns will try to creep back in. They’ll even try to convince you that your old ways can be helpful toward living in this label defining world! Life in Jesus is a new way of life. You belong to Christ. His risen life is renovating every room inside of you. The world still runs on labels … desperately. Will you trust Christ for what is in front of you today? “Don’t lie to one another”. Grace never pretends or disguises itself. It doesn’t have to. Grace is what makes you real. Everything about you in Christ is ‘custom-made’. And today … only takes a moment …

“Don’t lie to one another. You’re done with that old life. It’s like a filthy set of ill-fitting clothes you’ve stripped off and put in the fire. Now you’re dressed in a new wardrobe. Every item of your new way of life is custom-made by the Creator, with his label on it. All the old fashions are now obsolete. Words like Jewish and non-Jewish, religious and irreligious, inside and outsider, uncivilized and uncouth, slave and free, mean nothing. From now on everyone is defined by Christ, everyone is included in Christ.” Colossians 3:9-11 The Message

Ken Chester: Grace-Gripped is sent M-F to Christ-defined lives and friends of Priority One (kchesterp1@gmail.com)