Please make sure to read and comply with our Copyright Statement if you plan on using these devotionals for any type of publication (including websites).

PRIME DIRECTIVE

Whatever we do, it is because Christ's love controls us. Since we believe that Christ died for everyone, we also believe that we have all died to the old life we used to live. He died for everyone so that those who receive his new life will no longer live to please themselves. Instead, they will live to please Christ, who died and was raised for them. – 2 Corinthians 5:14-15 (NLT)

            The Cross Event is proof of how far God is willing to go to rescue us from our state of separation from Him. But it is more than that. In Christ's death He died for us, but in a very real sense He has also died with us. In our acceptance of Jesus as Savior and Lord we willingly obligate ourselves to die to our old nature and be recreated in the new nature He offers us. Christ is with us in both our experience of death and rebirth. His death paid for our redemption, but it also allowed us to identify with Him in an intimate way.

            It is impossible to die with Christ and not also live with Christ following the death experience. The act of spiritual identification is ongoing for all of eternity. The love that Jesus has demonstrated to us becomes our prime directive for living. It urges us on to new and greater heights of compassion, good works, and personal growth. In time, Jesus' life and our lives become so intertwined that no distinction can be made between them.

PRAYER THOUGHT: Lord, I live to please You.