Colossians 2:13-15
Even when you were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made you alive with Christ by forgiving us all our trespasses. God erased the record of our debt brought against us by his legal demands. This record stood against us, but he took it away by nailing it to the cross. After disarming the rulers and authorities, he made a public display of them by triumphing over them in Christ.
Dear Heavenly Father,
There is no way something dead can come back to life on its own, except for your Son. Jesus took all our sins into himself to restore us to life. No one is good; we are all born in sin. David declared this when he wrote in the Psalms, “In sin did my mother conceive me.” Because we are born in sin, we are dead in our trespasses. As we go through our day, we commit more sins of thought, word, and deeds; we need to be made alive because we can do nothing to achieve life. Our debt of sin should condemn us to eternal condemnation and death.
As Paul wrote, (through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit) we were made alive with Christ by faith in Jesus. Jesus suffered the punishment for all our iniquities—every unloving word, action, and thought. You had given us your commandments as the requirement for how we love you and others, but we regularly fail in this endeavor. Every person’s iniquities have been recorded, so Jesus has nailed those lists to the cross with him. All who believe in him have complete forgiveness for all their sins, but those who reject him remain in their sins.
Through faith in Jesus, he has fulfilled the requirement of your law; he credits us with his perfection, so we now get to love you and others according to the faith you have begun in us.
Please strengthen our faith by hearing your word. Then, allow us to share the good news of our salvation with those who do not yet know you. Begin faith in them so they will realize their sins have been nailed to the cross and believe in Jesus, knowing they are forgiven and have salvation. Amen.
Written through Pastor Roger Emmons
There is nothing we can do to save ourselves. Therefore, Jesus has done it for us through his perfect life and innocent death. Through faith in him, you have eternal life.