Daily Devotionals

Stages of the Cross: Week 6 - Saturday

For God saved us and called us to live a holy life. He did this, not because we deserved it, but because that was His plan from before the beginning of time—to show us His grace through Christ Jesus. And now He has made all of this plain to us by the appearing of Christ Jesus, our Savior. He broke the power of death and illuminated the way to life and immortality through the Good News. 2 Timothy 1:9-10.

In their song "In Christ Alone," writers Keith Getty and Stuart Townsend tell of the sacrifice Jesus made on our behalf. They write that, because of His sacrifice, the hope of believers can be found in Christ alone. As they recount His sacrifice, they write the words, "No guilt in life. No fear in death. This is the power of Christ in me." Emboldened by the undeserved sacrifice Jesus made on the cross for humanity, Keith and Stuart proclaim that they live lives completely void of guilt or fear of death. This is the result of Christ's death and resurrection. They know that God is in control and that even when they die, they will experience eternal life in Him. Because of that, they do not even fear death. This concept is exactly what Paul was writing about in 2 Timothy 1.

In 2 Timothy 1, the Apostle Paul wrote about the grace, or underserved gift, of Jesus' death on the cross. "God saved us… He did this, not because we deserved it, but because that was His plan from before the beginning of time—to show us His grace through Christ Jesus. And now He has made all of this plain to us by the appearing of Christ Jesus, our Savior. He broke the power of death and illuminated the way to life and immortality through the Good News" (2 Timothy 1:9b-10). In these verses, Paul is reminding readers that Jesus overcame sin and death through His resurrection. Because of this, followers of Christ do not need to fear even death.

My friends, because of Jesus, even death has no hold on us. Only Christ can take the worst thing imaginable, death, and make it so that we don't have to fear it anymore. He "has made everything beautiful for its own time" (Ecclesiastes 3:11).

Moving Toward Action

There are so many people all around us who are hurting and longing for hope. We have the hope that they are looking for. Think of one person in your life right now. Find time over this next week to share the Bridge Diagram, which can be found on segment four here, with them. Share with them the good news that Jesus broke the power of death so that all who believe in Him can live with Him forever.

Going Deeper

Read 2 Timothy 1:1-18 (NLT)

This letter is from Paul, chosen by the will of God to be an apostle of Christ Jesus. I have been sent out to tell others about the life he has promised through faith in Christ Jesus.

I am writing to Timothy, my dear son.

May God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord give you grace, mercy, and peace.

Timothy, I thank God for you—the God I serve with a clear conscience, just as my ancestors did. Night and day I constantly remember you in my prayers. I long to see you again, for I remember your tears as we parted. And I will be filled with joy when we are together again.

I remember your genuine faith, for you share the faith that first filled your grandmother Lois and your mother, Eunice. And I know that same faith continues strong in you. This is why I remind you to fan into flames the spiritual gift God gave you when I laid my hands on you. For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline.

So never be ashamed to tell others about our Lord. And don’t be ashamed of me, either, even though I’m in prison for him. With the strength God gives you, be ready to suffer with me for the sake of the Good News. For God saved us and called us to live a holy life. He did this, not because we deserved it, but because that was his plan from before the beginning of time—to show us his grace through Christ Jesus. And now he has made all of this plain to us by the appearing of Christ Jesus, our Savior. He broke the power of death and illuminated the way to life and immortality through the Good News. And God chose me to be a preacher, an apostle, and a teacher of this Good News.

That is why I am suffering here in prison. But I am not ashamed of it, for I know the one in whom I trust, and I am sure that he is able to guard what I have entrusted to him until the day of his return.

Hold on to the pattern of wholesome teaching you learned from me—a pattern shaped by the faith and love that you have in Christ Jesus. Through the power of the Holy Spirit who lives within us, carefully guard the precious truth that has been entrusted to you.

As you know, everyone from the province of Asia has deserted me—even Phygelus and Hermogenes.

May the Lord show special kindness to Onesiphorus and all his family because he often visited and encouraged me. He was never ashamed of me because I was in chains. When he came to Rome, he searched everywhere until he found me. May the Lord show him special kindness on the day of Christ’s return. And you know very well how helpful he was in Ephesus.