Daily Bread

1. Christ's victory over death (50-57)

The resurrection is necessary for us. As we are, we cannot enter the kingdom of God. Our bodies are bound to the earthly plane. They are perishable and mortal. We must be transformed in order to go where Christ has gone. We must be resurrected and raised imperishable and immortal! It won't happen over a period of years, hours, or even minutes. It will all happen in a flash when the Lord comes again. This is the complete and total victory of our Lord Jesus Christ. Death wouldn't have any power over us if it weren't for sin and the law. But, because Jesus bore our sin on the cross and satisfied the law with a perfect life, death no longer has any power over us. Death has been swallowed up in victory.

2. Living by faith (58)

Paul says, "Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm. Let nothing move you." In other words, we are to live with resurrection faith. Our hope in the resurrection is stronger than any trial we may face and more powerful than any persecution we might endure. The resurrection gives meaning to everything we do. We can give ourselves fully to the Lord's work with no sense of loss at all. Our labor for the Lord is not in vain because he is the one we will be with forever.