Does Jesus live in you?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ©

I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.
(Galatians 2:20 (NIV))

What do you think of when you think of being crucified with Christ?

It is so easy to skip over hard questions such as this and simply think to yourself that you know what it means, but do you truly know? Are you able to articulate to yourself and to others just what this means to you? If you were asked to stand up in front of a group of people and answer this question, could you? If you were standing in front of the Lord and He asks you this question, what would your answer be?

We all know the standard answers to what this means, but that is only the beginning of what should be a personal response. Just as no two individuals are the same, I honestly believe that if we truly looked at ourselves and came up with our own personal response, no two responses would be the same.

It is said that when Jesus was on the cross, each one of us was on His mind. We know without a doubt that He died so that we could have salvation, but did He think of each one of us down to the individual sins that we have committed? Did He say, “I’m doing this so that Joe can be free from the power the enemy has over him and his addictions?” Did He say, “I’m here so that Mary can have freedom from the shame of her past?”

If Jesus thought of each one of us by name, what did He take to the cross on your behalf?

This is your personal response!

How can you express your thankfulness for the specific sins that He was crucified for?

Have those sins been replaced with Jesus living in you?

If you can give testimony of a personal response, then you should be able to boldly claim that Jesus lives in you! If Jesus lives in you, then you know exactly what Jesus took to the cross on your behalf. Jesus took all of our sins upon Himself when He went to the cross. The price that He paid was great. He did not walk away from the cross carrying anyone’s unpaid sins. The price He paid covered them all so that we can boldly proclaim that we have been crucified with Christ!

Does Jesus live in you?

Copyright 1998 – 2020 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
http://www.dailylivingministries.org
Subscribe to daily email delivery
Visit us on facebook

Do you long to be someone that people thank God for?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ^©

We always thank God for all of you, mentioning you in our prayers. We continually remember before our God and Father your work produced by faith, your labor prompted by love, and your endurance inspired by hope in our Lord Jesus Christ.
(1 Thessalonians 1:2-3 (NIV))

What a testimony of faith this passage is!

Paul, the man whom Jesus picked to be His messenger to the Gentiles, praises the church of the Thessalonians.

Faith, hope and love!

They held fast to these precepts and did it well enough to be lifted up to God in prayer as an example of how it should be done.

Do we live up to that example?

Would Paul thank God for us in the same way that he thanked God for the church of the Thessalonians?

In self-reflection, I find myself lacking. I find myself not always responding the way that I desire to respond. Human nature takes over just when you don’t want it to. It is a constant struggle that every person has no matter what you desire to do. Still, it is a goal that we should all have.

It is a matter of priorities!

Do you long to be someone that people thank God for?

Copyright 1998 – 2015 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
http://www.dailylivingministries.org
Subscribe to daily email delivery