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Friday, December 14, 2018

No More Death


Then, when our dying bodies have been transformed into bodies that will never die, this Scripture will be fulfilled:

“Death is swallowed up in victory.
O death, where is your victory?
O death, where is your sting?”

For sin is the sting that results in death, and the law gives sin its power.
—1 Corinthians 1552-56 (NLT)


When the time for death approaches, passing from this life to the next can become a frightening thing to those who have not accepted Jesus’ forgiveness for their sins. But for those who have accepted His love and grace, death has no sting. It has no victory. Sin is the sting that brings death of the soul, but Jesus’ grace on Calvary gives eternal life. Death is swallowed up in His victory.

The law exposed sin, and with its exposure, sin gained power. The law gave sin control and the power to destroy. But Jesus, in just one act of unconditional love, destroyed guilt, sin and death for eternity. In one moment that changed the world, grace rendered the law helpless. To those who know His grace, the law’s requirements have no power. “Sin is no longer your master,” Paul wrote, “for you no longer live under the requirements of the law. Instead, you live under the freedom of God’s grace” (Romans 6:14, NLT). True holiness of heart results from freedom in Jesus—not from the law which condemns and only offers death. Only Jesus gives abundant life here on earth, and eternal life in heaven.

This year my precious father passed peacefully from this life into the next. He made it very clear that he knew the joy in heaven that awaited him. Mary Thomas, a precious child of God, passed away on December 10th, my father’s birthday. She also knew the joy that awaited her. Do you know the joy that awaits you in Jesus? Not only in heaven, but here on earth?  You can never live up to impossible requirements that offer no hope. You can’t earn His love. And you really don’t deserve this kind of love that died for your freedom. But He gave His life for you anyway. He loved you. He chose you. He gives you the freedom to choose His love. He doesn’t demand it. He offers it unconditionally.

“I fall to my knees and pray to the Father,” Paul prayed, “the Creator of everything in heaven and on earth. I pray that from his glorious, unlimited resources he will empower you with inner strength through his Spirit. Then Christ will make his home in your hearts as you trust in him. Your roots will grow down into God’s love and keep you strong. And may you have the power to understand, as all God’s people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love is. May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully. Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God” (Ephesians 3:14-19, NLT).

Death, you have no sting. You have been swallowed up by His victory. Law, you have no power. Grace has fulfilled what only He could fulfill. 

© 2018 Lynn Lacher
www.lynnlacher.com/2018/12/no-more-death.html

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