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Day 1 - Romans 1

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Day 1 - Romans 1

Day 79 - He is Risen (Easter Sunday)

He is Risen!

Pastor Jake

Happy Easter Morning, brothers and sisters in Christ! Today, the most sacred of all days, we celebrate our savior walking out of the grave. The true height of the Christian calendar, we revere this occasion as the moment Christ conquered death and saved us from its sting. Paul aptly wrote,

And if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain. (1 Cor. 15:14 ESV)

He wrote this knowing that the risen savior is essential to our salvation story. If he did not come out of that grave, he did not fully atone for sin. But as he walked out glorified, he proved that he carried the fulness of sin and death, bearing their weight to the final and fullest degree. There remained nothing left in the cup of wrath that was owed to you and me. He consumed it all. When he walked out of that tomb, he walked out a conqurer. What’s more, that same Spirit that rose him from the dead lives in you and me. Paul writes in Romans,

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 ESV)

Therefore, with sin atoned for, Christ having been offered in our place, wearing our sin and giving us his righteousness, we now celebrate as those who walk in newness of life!

We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life. For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his. (Rom. 6:4-5 ESV)

With resurrection Sunday on our minds, I ask you to join me in Matthew 28, as we read the story of Christ’s resurrection together.

Christ is risen, He is risen indeed!

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Day 77 - Colossians 1 (Good Friday)

The Preeminent Savior

Pastor Jake

Good morning, Resurrection Church Bible readers! Today is Good Friday; the day in which we mark the sacrifice of Christ on our behalf. He bore the punishment that was owed to you and me, for sin has always demanded blood (Lev. 17:11). Thus, Christ shed his in our place on the cross. Isaiah reminds us with his potent prophecy,

But he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed. (Isa. 53:5 ESV)

We look at such a painful and difficult event in our salvation history and wonder, “How could we call this good?” The answer lies within our passage for today. As we kick off the book of Colossians this Good Friday, I want verses 19 and 20 to resonate in your heart. In this Christ hymn, Paul talks about the preeminence (a fancy way to say “the first above all else; the highest rank or dignity”) of Christ, who was preeminent because,

…in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross. (Col. 1:19 -20 ESV)

Good Friday is good because it points to Easter Sunday. It is good because by his body broken and blood poured out on the cross, you are made whole and washed clean. He stood in your place so that, by his merit, you would be transferred from the domain of darkness into the kingdom of his beloved Son (vv. 13-14). We mourn as those with great hope. I pray that you have a reflective Good Friday as you sit in the wonder of Christ’s work on your behalf.

See you tonight at 5:00pm for our Good Friday service!

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Day 74 - Staff Devotional

Staff Devotional

Pastor Jake

“Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children. And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.”
— Ephesians 5:1-2

I am an uncle 9 times over at the moment, and I love my nieces and nephews. Once, about 14 years ago, I had a chance to babysit my very first niece, Rylie. She was so adorable and very smart. On this day, we were spending time playing with some toys and I started to just talk to her. I was talking like I would to any other person, using hand gestures, and inflecting my voice. Suddenly, I looked down at her amidst her toys on the floor and she started doing what I was doing. She was gesturing with her arms, speaking in baby gibberish and even inflecting her voice. When I saw her doing this, I was overflowing with joy. She saw what I was doing and wanted to do it herself. She wanted to be more like me.

As I came across Ephesians 5:1-2 a few days ago, this story came to me while reading “Therefore be imitators of God….” I remember feeling joy at my nieces’ attempts to immitate me. Now, take that joy I felt, multiply it infinitely, and you will only come incrementally closer to the joy God feels when he sees you imitating him. Follow God’s example, as dearly loved children. The original language is written as if to say being an imitator and being loved by God are the same thing. Imitate him because you are loved by him, and know you are loved in your imitation.

“But Pastor Jake, I can’t do these things! It is just too much. I don’t want a rule list to follow because I know I will fail and I know God will be disappointed in me!”

Listen… Do you think that when my niece was trying to imitate me that I got upset and started yelling out, “No! Stop! You aren’t imitating me correctly! Go and follow my list of instructions on how to talk, then come back and show me!” Absolutely not. God’s joy is in our imitation. God’s joy is in our effort. With each passing day, God’s love is lavishly upon you before you even wake up, and it remains with you to comfort you to sleep. He simply wants the best for you – therefore, imitate.

This passage ends as all to-do lists should: with Christ

And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God. - Ephesians 5:2

This word “fragrance” is interesting. Paul uses it in 2 Corinthians chapter 2 when describing the knowledge of God being like a fragrance. Apparently, Paul was all about appealing to his audience’s sense of smell. The idea that I believe Paul is trying to recall for his audience is the idea of the Old Testament Tabernacle

When God’s people wandered in the wilderness, their one connection with God was through the tabernacle. God would descend and manifest himself above the ark of the covenant so that he could simply be with his people. When the tabernacle was set up, the different tribes of Israel would set up camp around the tabernacle, each able to have the same distance to the wall of the tabernacle. So, when a priest would offer a sacrifice, what do you think would happen? The smell would rise up, a pleasing aroma, and it would spread throughout the whole camp. Once inhaled, the tribes new that sin had been atoned for. Sin had been forgiven.

How do you smell? Does the sacrifice of Christ emanate from you into the lives of those around you? Ask yourself, “What are ways you can make the smell of hope in my life more potent?” If the answer isn’t evident, simply look at verse 1 - “Therefore, be imitators of God.” A fragrant life is a Christlike life.