Rise Daily: March 1

Rise Daily: March 1

This week’s theme and passage:

The Centrality of the Gospel

Galatians 2:11-21

MEMORY VERSE

Memorizing scripture is a way to keep God’s word close to our hearts. Each week we will select one verse of scripture to remember as a community.

Galatians 2:20

I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.

THE WORD

Each day’s devotion will focus on one part of the week’s passage.

Galatians 2:20

I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.

MEDITATION ON THE WORD

In our busyness and distraction, it is easy to skim through our reading rather than taking it in. Yet we believe this is the inspired word of God. Take a moment to pause, thank God for the scriptures and ask him to speak to you through them today.

When Paul contemplates Christ on the cross, he sees himself there as well. How might he mean this? There are two aspects to consider:

First, Paul is identifying himself with Christ. He knows that he himself should be on that cross — that he is the guilty party for whom the righteous Christ died. This is reason enough to fall down in worship.

But the fact that Christ willingly bore that judgment also implies that Christ is identifying himself with Paul, and by extension, with us. The eternal Son set his exalted standing aside and so identified with his broken people that he became one of us, and bore our judgment, to exchange our identity as fallen children of Adam to glorious children of God. See John 17:22–23 and Hebrew 2:11.

Christ became one of us so that we might become one with him.

RISE REFLECTION

God has brought you to New York for a purpose. Where he has placed you- in your neighborhood, your job, your relationships- is no accident. You are placed where you can love people and serve this city in ways no single other person in New York can.

PRAYER

For your Heart

Contemplate and give thanks for the significance of your glorious new identity in Christ. Confess the alternate ways you have sought to gain an identity.

For your Church

Pray that our church family will grow together in grace to more fully appreciate and better reflect our united identity in Christ.

For our City

Pray that the Lord would open our eyes to the ways his own image is embedded in all of our neighbors – that we would view them and treat with the honor they are due.