Pray:
Ask God to orient or reorient you to Himself. Confess any known sin. Thank Him for His forgiveness. Be still and reflect on Jesus and His sacrifice for you. Ask the Holy Spirit to open your heart and mind to God’s Word. Pray for others in your life that they, too, would know and love God today.
Read:
Romans 4:23-25,
“23 The words ‘it was credited to him’ were written not for him alone, 24 but also for us, to whom God will credit righteousness—for us who believe in him who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead. 25He was delivered over to death for our sins and was raised to life for our justification.”
Understand:
We celebrated Easter this past Sunday.
A traditional Easter greeting goes like this “Christ is risen!” and the traditional response is “He is risen, indeed!” It comes from Luke 24 where Cleopas and another follower of Jesus were walking on the road to Emmaus and encountered Jesus after He had risen from the dead. These two were excited and amazed about what had just happened, so they rushed to find the other eleven disciples to share with them what they had experienced.
Just imagine the excitement as the two rushed into a room full of eager listeners and shared about their experiences with Jesus on the road to Emmaus. To which the disciples jubilantly announced “It is true! The Lord has risen and has appeared to Simon.”
This would not be the only time the Lord Jesus appeared after the resurrection; there were many other times. In fact, the Lord appeared to: Mary Magdalene at least twice, another woman known as “the other Mary”, the eleven disciples as they gathered together on three different occasions, Thomas, James, to more than 500 people at one time, and finally He appeared to Paul on the road to Damascus.
This same Jesus–the One who defeated death, who was raised to life, who revealed Himself alive after His crucifixion in real time and space–is the same Jesus who made Himself known to you and me!
Yes, the resurrection is evidence of God’s power and presence and His gift is available to all who believe. God has given life to the dead by raising Christ; He now supplies living power through Jesus Christ.
Apply:
What does the resurrection mean for you? How are you personally experiencing the power of the resurrection in your life today?
*From what you have just read and considered: What is a personal implication/application for your life today?
Live:
(Personalize this prayer today; make it specific to the circumstances that face you.)
Ask God to lead you through His Spirit as you go through your day. Ask Him to bring to mind the truth of the gospel and its implications for what you will encounter today. Tell Him “Yes” to His will and ask Him for His power and protection to live this “yes.” Ask God to create and reveal opportunities to proclaim the good news today. KEEP PRAYING THROUGHOUT YOUR DAY.
Inspiration and insight for the devotionals came from the following books: Reading Romans with John Stott; The Message of Romans: God’s Good News for the World (The Bible Speaks Today Series), Stott, John; Romans (The NIV Application Commentary Book 6) Moo, Douglas J.; Encountering the Book of Romans: A Theological Survey (Encountering Biblical Studies) Moo, Douglas J.; Believers Bible Commentary; The Expositor’s Bible Commentary, with the New International Version, Romans through Galatians; NIV Application Study Bible. The Pursuit of God, Tozer, A.W.