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| The second issue of Stories Journal, a free magazine produced by Walnut Creek, is now available. Grab a copy at any of our weekend services! |
Jesus rising changes everything. As the Apostle Paul declares in 1 Corinthians 15:17, “If Christ has not been raised, your faith is worthless; you are still in your sins.” God refused to abandon us, sending Jesus to be the remedy for our sin. As He was crucified, Jesus inhabited suffering. If His story ended on the cross, we would have no reason to hope. Death would have won.
But in the three days Jesus lay in the tomb, the entire future of the world changed. Jesus rose, and as He did, so do we. Jesus is alive. The power of His resurrection is enough to remake us, redeem us from sin, and deliver us from ourselves. The resurrection gives us eternal hope.
God is in the business of resurrection in all of our lives. That’s why He entrusted the Gospel to us (2 Corinthians 5). To messed up, selfish people like us. People who get confused and afraid and intimidated. God promises to redeem our mistakes. Promises to use us to help redeem others’ lives. Promises to be with us. Promises to change us until all the threads of our lives are surrendered for Him.
That’s our hope. The beauty in His resurrection is that we can stop living for ourselves and instead give up our lives. We need to learn who the story is about. Our stories are ultimately about God. Each thread is a glimpse of how our stories fit within His story. He wrote each of us in, and all of our threads are working together for His glory.
"Let the redeemed of the Lord tell their story" (Psalm 107:2). This is why we made Stories Journal–to tell the stories of lives made new. Stories Journal is a free magazine produced by Walnut Creek Church. Grab your copy this weekend at any of our services. Check out medium.com/spring-2015 to start reading today!
By Jackie Wallentin
Walnut Creek Windsor Heights