Truth for Life - April 4, 2017
April 4
Why Are You Upset?
For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. - 2 Corinthians 5:21
Mourning Christian, why are you weeping? Are you mourning over your own sins and failings? Look to your perfect Lord, and remember, you are complete in Him. You are in God's sight as perfect as if you had never sinned; more than that, the Lord our Righteousness has clothed you with a royal robe of righteousness, which is wholly undeserved--you have the righteousness of God.
You who are mourning by reason of inbred sin and depravity, remember, none of your sins can condemn you. You have learned to hate sin; but you have also learned how that sin is not yours--it was laid upon Christ's head. Your standing is not in yourself--it is in Christ. Your acceptance is not in yourself, but in your Lord; you are just as accepted by God today, with all your sinfulness, as you will be when you stand before His throne, free from all corruption.
So I urge you, take hold of this precious thought--perfection in Christ! For you are "complete in him."1 With your Savior's garment on, you are as holy as the Holy One. "Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died--more than that, who was raised--who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us."2
Christian, let your heart rejoice, for you are "accepted in the beloved"3--what do you have to fear? Keep a smile on your face! Live near your Master; live in the suburbs of the Heavenly City; for soon, when your time has come, you will rise up to where Jesus sits and reign at His right hand; and all because the Lord Jesus was made "to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God."
1) Colossians 2:10, KJV
2) Romans 8:34
3) Ephesians 1:6, KJV
Family Bible reading plan
verse 1 Leviticus 7
verse 2 Psalms 7, 8
Capturing God
A family photograph taken in a familiar and endeared setting often captures the essence of all that a family represents. If we sought to capture a single image of God, what would that image be? What would it look like? Author Rico Tice takes us to the cross of Christ to view the single most insightful image of God. Here we find one extraordinary picture of God: unfathomable love, unconditional forgiveness, and the depth of His longing to save His children. Rico Tice dissects the description given in the Gospel of Luke to carefully examine the astonishing events that unfold at Calvary as God incarnate suffers as a substitute for sinners.
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From Morning & Evening revised and edited by Alistair Begg copyright © 2003. Used by permission of Crossway Books, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers, Wheaton, IL 60187, www.crossway.org.
