our daily bread

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Dexu Xia

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Jun 25, 2017, 11:48:20 PM6/25/17

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Made Alive

You were dead in your transgressions and sins. Ephesians 2:1

As a young man, my dad was traveling with a group of friends to an out-of-town sporting event when the tires of their car slipped on the rain-soaked roads. They had an accident—a bad accident. One of his friends was paralyzed and another was killed. My dad was declared dead and taken to the morgue. His shocked and grief-stricken parents came to identify him. But my dad revived from what turned out to be a deep coma. Their mourning turned to joy.

In Ephesians 2, the apostle Paul reminds us that apart from Christ we are “dead in [our] transgressions and sins” (v. 1). But because of His great love for us, “God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions” (vv. 4–5). Through Christ we have been brought from death to life.

So in every sense, we all owe our life to the Father in heaven. Through His great love, He has made it possible for those of us who were dead in sin to have life and purpose through His Son.

Thank You, Father, for love that conquers sin, life that conquers death, and grace that has conquered my heart. May my life be a sweet aroma of praise to You.

We owed a debt we could not pay, but Jesus paid the debt He did not owe.

出死入生

你们死在过犯罪恶之中，祂叫你们活过来。-以弗所书2章1节

我父亲年轻的时候，曾与朋友们开车到外地参加一个体育活动。在路程中，车子却因雨天路滑而失控，酿成严重车祸。同行的友人中，有一位瘫痪，一位不幸丧命。我父亲则是被宣告不治，并被送到太平间。那时，我的祖父母在惊吓与哀伤中前去认尸，但我父亲却从重度昏迷中甦醒过来。祖父母的哀痛顿时变成了喜乐。

在以弗所书2章，使徒保罗提醒我们，若是没有基督，我们便会“死在[我们的]过犯罪恶之中”（1节）。但上帝“既有丰富的怜悯，因祂爱我们的大爱，当我们死在过犯中的时候，便叫我们与基督一同活过来”（4-5节）。藉由基督，我们已经出死入生了。

事实上，我们的生命是属于天父的。我们本应死在罪恶之中，但因着上帝对我们的大爱，使我们能藉由圣子耶稣，而拥有新的生命与目标。

天父，感谢祢，因爱胜过罪恶、
生命胜过死亡、恩典胜过我心。
愿我的生命成为甜美的馨香来赞美祢。