For you were buried with Christ when you were baptized. And with him you were raised to new life because you trusted the mighty power of God, who raised Christ from the dead (Col. 2:12).
I’ve been living in the Cotswolds in England for the past few weeks. It has been cold and snowy but when the temperature rose to 11C we noticed buds forming on plants and trees, flowers appeared and fresh shoots were coming out of the earth.
It’s rather like that when we let our lives be overtaken by Jesus. There is a new energy in us when we apply Jesus to every part of our being. The power of sin and death has been broken in our existence and we become new people.
1 Once you were dead because of your disobedience and your many sins. 2 You used to live in sin, just like the rest of the world, obeying the devil—the commander of the powers in the unseen world. He is the spirit at work in the hearts of those who refuse to obey God. 3 All of us used to live that way, following the passionate desires and inclinations of our sinful nature. By our very nature we were subject to God’s anger, just like everyone else.
4 But God is so rich in mercy, and he loved us so much, 5 that even though we were dead because of our sins, he gave us life when he raised Christ from the dead. (It is only by God’s grace that you have been saved!) (Eph. 2:1-5).
We have security, hope and forgiveness. All our sins have been forgiven. We have been given a new heart even:
And I will give you a new heart, and I will put a new spirit in you. I will take out your stony, stubborn heart and give you a tender, responsive heart (Ez. 36:26).
Visualise yourself as that fresh new shoot coming out of the cold ground. Nothing and no one can condemn you. Your life is in Jesus, alone, and every power that wants to hurt you has been made powerless.
6 And now, just as you accepted Christ Jesus as your Lord, you must continue to follow him. 7 Let your roots grow down into him, and let your lives be built on him. Then your faith will grow strong in the truth you were taught, and you will overflow with thankfulness (Col. 2:6-7).
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All quotations are from the NLT.