FRIDAY, MARCH 1,
2013
31 Days to
Resurrection Sunday
Galatians 2:20 “…I
am crucified with Christ…”
SCRIPTURE READING: PHILIPPIANS 2:9-11
Galatians 2:20
I am crucified with
Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life
which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved
me, and gave himself for me.
REFLECTION: We began these DAILY DEVOTIONALS by speaking
of THE CENTRALITY OF THE CROSS. Next we delved into the Old Testament
PROPHECIES OF THE CROSS. We are now
examining the IMPLICATIONS OF THE CROSS.
In a few days we will begin our JOURNEY WITH CHRIST TO THE CROSS.
The Apostle Paul came to the place in his spiritual life
that he could honestly say, “I am
crucified with Christ.”It was settled in his heart. He prayed and meant
it--“not my will but thine be done.”
One may doubt that many, or any, make it to this point,
but the fact that the Holy Spirit inspired the Apostle to make such a specific
claim is confirmation that it is possible.
Paul was never physically nailed to a cross. (He was beheaded for his testimony.) But he was spiritually crucified. He died to his will, his wisdom, and his
works. The old “I” no longer
remained. He was dead to sin. To the
Christians at Rome he wrote: “Knowing
this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be
destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin. For he that is dead is freed from sin. Now if
we be dead with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with him.” (Romans 6:6-8)
Oswald Chambers, a great holiness teacher of the last
century, saw clearly the implications of this passage. He asked his students, “Has that breaking up
of… [our] independence come?” He then pressed
the point:
“All the rest is religious
fraud. The one point to decide is— will I give up? Will I surrender to Jesus
Christ, placing no conditions whatsoever as to how the brokenness will come? I
must be broken from my own understanding of myself. When I reach that point,
immediately the reality of the supernatural identification with Jesus Christ
takes place. And the witness of the Spirit of God is unmistakable— “I have been
crucified with Christ . . . .”
Only when we die, wholly surrendering our will to God’s
will, can we truly live by faith in the Son of God. You can be sure that faith in the Son is
never misplaced. He loves us more than
anyone ever has or ever will. “Love so
amazing so divine, demands my soul, my life, my all!” (Isaac Watts)
PRAYER: Our Father, We Praise you for your love and
your holiness, your grace and truth, your mercy and your judgment. We pray that we would see ourselves as you
see us. We are grieved when we disobey,
and convicted when we refuse to surrender. We give up. We surrender all. Our will is no longer ours, it is yours. We
surrender our heart, soul, mind, and strength to you. And may we so live this day, and every day,
so that in the world to come we would have life everlasting. In Jesus name, Amen.Our Father, &c.
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