From the Kitchen Table

The Kitchen Table Devotions

“The Resurrection”

Day 17

that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, ¹¹ that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead.                      Philippians 3:10-11

To be a resurrection there must be a death.  It’s big and we will remember it.  Death is that way.  But this experience involves a choice and a craving to know life.  To know the life of Jesus we must follow the life of Jesus to a cross and an empty grave.  No excuses and no exceptions.  Death can’t hold back the one who wants to know life.  And Jesus holds the keys of life for anyone who wants to know Him.  We can’t know His life if we want to know this life.  His life is one that is resurrected and to know the power of the resurrection we must know the death to sin, self, sickness, and Satan believing that God in His great love will resurrect us to life.

The Kitchen Table Devotions

“The Resurrection”

Day 16

For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ ⁹ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith— ¹⁰ that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, ¹¹ that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead.                  Philippians 3:8-11

For there to be a resurrection there must be a death.  We cannot know the power of the resurrection without knowing the experience of death to sin.  And so, we can’t be afraid of death or dying to sin, the flesh, and what’s temporary if we want to have His forgiveness, freedom, and forever.  We can’t hold on to this life and have hold of His life.  For there to be a resurrection, there must be a death.  Don’t be afraid of dying, be afraid of not living.

The Kitchen Table Devotions

“The Resurrection”

Day 15

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, ⁴ to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, ⁵ who by God’s power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time            1 Peter 1:3-5

The resurrection power to live is protected by the power of the resurrection.  This life is guarded/shielded by the One who resurrected it through faith.  The power of the resurrection now rules in and over the resurrected through faith.  When we believe what He did and can believe in what He will do.  That power has been loosed in our lives and into this life.  That’s why we must not only believe in Jesus, but we must believe Jesus.  The resurrection power that acted isn’t done acting.  This is just the start.  More is in the waiting for us to access it by faith.  Don’t treat the beginning as the end, God’s not done showing us all He has for us.

The Kitchen Table Devotional

“The Resurrection”

Day 14

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, ⁴ to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you 1 Peter 1:3-4

You must be raised from the dead to reach into heaven.  The riches of heaven belong to those resurrected to life by the power of God.  Dead people can’t reach out of the grave and spiritually dead people can’t reach out of the grave of sin.  Dead people are bound by their tomb of troubles.  Live people can live and move and have their being (Acts 17:28) or live, love, and laugh with Jesus.  The life of God belongs to those who have been resurrected to life by Jesus and have received the breath of the Holy Spirit.  Religion raises no one from the dead but a relationship with God does with all His riches.

The Kitchen Table Devotions

“The Resurrection”

Day 13

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,                      1 Peter 1:3

Because He lives, we can and will live too.   We have this constant hope of living because it happened that He lives.  We can live with hope and in hope in everything and in every day.  The presence and power of God is never out of the picture.  When Jesus stepped out of the grave, hope came with Him.  Where there is hope there will be the help of heaven.  This hope isn’t a flimsy wish, it’s the pure confidence of God’s word living inside of us.  His word is His living breath living in us.  And His hope lives in our heads, not just in our hearts.  Because He lives, we think life, not death, every day and in everything.

The Kitchen Table Devotions

“The Resurrection”

Day 12

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,                      1 Peter 1:3

Because Jesus rose from the dead, we too can rise from any kind of death that plagues our lives.  We will rise from this literal death.  His resurrection and love give us that hope.  But because He lives, death is defeated and we have this living hope that no kind of death can keep us in its grip.  Life came into that tomb and then life came out of that tomb.  Life comes in and then life comes out.  That’s what begins in our hearts and then comes out of our bodies.  We have this living hope because His living love has come into our lives and lives in us today.  Don’t be afraid to live the life that’s in your heart.

The Kitchen Table Devotions

“The Resurrection”

Day 11

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,                      1 Peter 1:3

The resurrection released the power of heaven here.  When Jesus came out of that tomb, all the promises and power of heaven came with Him.  His resurrection gives us a living hope, not a lay-a-way hope for some other time on some other day.  What was once embodied in the one body of Jesus Christ, is now available for anybody who believes in Jesus Christ.  The power to live again is now living in those who believe.

The Kitchen Table Devotions

“The Resurrection”

Day 10

“Truly, truly, I say to you, he who hears My word, and believes Him who sent Me, has eternal life, and does not come into judgment, but has passed out of death into life. John 5:24

Truly, truly, I say to you, an hour is coming and now is, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live. John 5:25

Where there is redemption there is resurrection.  The heart of God is for the resurrection of life.  It’s in His words because life is in His heart.  Every time He speaks, life happens or can happen.  We must hear and honor His word.  That’s what it means to hear.  We honor what we hear to be true.  When the dead hear the voice of the Son of God they will live.  God said so!  There is life in His word but there must be honor in our hearts.  Learn to honor His word and He will resurrect your life.

Kitchen Table Devotional

“The Resurrection”

Day 9

Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life.  ²⁵ “Truly, truly, I say to you, an hour is coming, and is now here, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live                            John 5:24-25

Where there is redemption there is resurrection.  We have the power of redemption and resurrection because of what He says, not because of what we do.  We have because we hear.  Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God (Romans 10:17).  The voice of our Redeemer is the voice of resurrection.  Hear Him!  Listen for His voice, always listen for His voice.  Jesus is calling forth resurrection from the dead for the dead.  He paid the price, we just need to pay attention to His voice, His words.  It’s all in His voice because it’s all in His victory. 

Kitchen Table Devotions

“The Resurrection”

Day 8

Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life.                John 5:24

Where there’s redemption there can be resurrection.  We all can move from death to life because of Jesus.  Because He lives, we can live also.  Most of us believe in the power of redemption but not all of us believe in the power of the resurrection.  The power that raised Jesus from the dead now lives in the redeemed of Jesus.  We don’t accept death’s deception.  We’ve been redeemed to be resurrected.  Death must get out of our way because we’ve been given the same power to live that raised Jesus from the dead.  Remember, Jesus went to the cross believing in the power of God to raise Him from the grave.  We have that power through that faith.