My Resting Place

I love this time of year, when everything starts growing again. I love the feeling of waking up once morning to realize that the gray branches of the tree in our backyard have been sprinkled with tiny red buds of new life. I love the way the little plants around the neighborhood start poking their heads out of the ground. I love the sense of new life in the air. Because I know how desperately I need it. I am broken; living in light of the cross can be an uphill battle, and sometimes, it's so much easier not to fight. It's so much easier to entertain the distracting thoughts in my mind than to remove them. It's easier not to rest in Christ.

We're sure we can do it on our own, because we have in the past. We know we should be thinking about the cross, but convince ourselves that it's not worth the struggle, and it's okay to just think about it every once in awhile. We feel the need to reach out to others, but don't want to make them uncomfortable, so we assume they're fine.

I can say that because, so often, that is me. I know where my focus should be. But it's so easy to turn my eyes. And when I do, I can feel the Enemy's subtle lies penetrating my heart. But sometimes, I think they're inescapable, or even think that they're true. Other times, I'll find myself really enjoying the distractions he places in front of me. Often, those distractions are not even bad things, but when I don't guard my focus, good things can easily become ultimate things.

Most of you have probably heard me talk about the concept, from Ellerslie sermons, of being "In Christ". It's reflected in the Passover, when the Israelites painted the blood of a lamb on their doorposts, and the angel of death had to pass by. When Jesus paid the ultimate price on the cross, He created a resting place; a righteousness to cover his people; a house marked by the blood of the lamb. If we are in Him, we are in His righteousness.

“As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love."

-John 15:9

The cross did not just atone for our sin; it redeemed us forever from its power. On this side of the cross, we are no longer slaves to sin but sons of righteousness, and there is freedom to live as He lived. In Christ, there is freedom. In the house marked by blood, the second death and the power of the Enemy has no longer has to control you, because you are in His righteousness. We are redeemed, to live in victory, and walk a different path. Yes, it may sometimes be an uphill climb. Yes, we're broken, and we will fall. But our God is a God of redemption. Every year, right around this time, we can see reflections of new beginnings in the world as it begins to wake up from a long winter. I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that God is willing to do the same in me.

He has made a house marked by blood. In the midst of whatever struggles we face, there is a resting place. As Paul writes in 2 Corinthians 1:20, all the promises of God are "Yes", in Christ. Since this is a shorter devotional, I would encourage you to take some time to reflect on some of the promises of the life lived in Christ. Eric Ludy, pastor at the church of Ellerslie, outlines 46 of these promises, on pages 3-6 of this document, and it is incredible to think about!!

There is a resting place. There is freedom. There is new life in Christ.

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Worship Song: 

"Redeemed",
by Big Daddy Weave

(slower, quiet music)