Made Alive!

September 10, 2026

Made Alive!

There is nothing that makes me feel so dead than sin. When sin seems to be winning, there is a darkness that surrounds me with a death-like grip. As long as I continue in my sin, a life filled with God’s peace and joy and love feels distant and unattainable.

The Apostle Paul speaks about being dead in sin (he calls it “trespasses”). In Colossians 2:13 the Apostle Paul writes; “And when you were dead in trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh…”

Sin causes separation in my relationship with the Lord, in my relationships with other people, and in my relationship with myself. That separation leaves us feeling like a part of us is dying…or has already died.

When that kind of death happens, the source of meaning and purpose in my life is more distant. The presence of Jesus’ love and the Father’s grace and the Spirit’s power seem more detached. The assurance of the Lord’s acceptance, the hope of heaven, and the promise of God’s protection, provision, and presence seem more remote.

The good news is we can be made alive again! Although we are dead in our sin, the Lord God will forgive us and make us alive.   

In Colossians 2:13-14 the Apostle Paul writes; “And when you were dead in trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made you alive together with him, when he forgave us all our trespasses, erasing the record that stood against us with its legal demands. He set this aside, nailing it to the cross.”

Paul says the Lord is “…erasing the record that stood against us with its legal demands.” The good news is the Lord erases the record of our sin. When we confess our sin to the Lord and the Lord responds by forgiving us, the record of our sin is erased, the record of our sin is gone, the record of our sin is no more.

The erasing of the record of our sin is made possible through the death of Jesus. Paul says, “He (the Lord) set this (our sin) aside, nailing it to the cross.” Through the blood of Jesus shed in His suffering and death on a cross, our sin is forgiven and forgotten. I say it again; your sin is forgiven and forgotten through the death of Jesus on a cross.

+Forgiveness takes away the darkness that covers us when we live with our sin.

+Forgiveness takes away the death that consumes us when we live with our sin.

+Forgiveness takes away the despair that destroys our joy when we live with our sin.

+Forgiveness takes away the shame and guilt that wrecks us when we live with our sin.

+Forgiveness takes away the helplessness and hopelessness we feel when we live with our sin.

The result of Jesus’s death on a cross is our sin is forgiven and we are made alive by the Lord God. We can live a life filled with the gift of God’s peace and joy and love. We can live a life filled with the gift of God’s patience, kindness, and generosity. We can live a life filled with the gift of God’s faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Forgiveness restores life and love to us!

The good news is you can be forgiven for that ugly thing in your past. Maybe it was something you did or said to another person. Maybe it was something another person did or said to you. Maybe it was something that you did or they did over and over and over again even though it was very, very wrong.

Jesus will forgive you and make you fully alive again! You can know Jesus will forgive you because He died to forgive your sin and restore your relationship with God the Father. And, because Jesus erases the record of your sin, your sin is forgiven and forgotten.

Take a little time to ask yourself a few questions.

+Is there any sin (what I have done or what someone else has done to me) that has not yet been forgiven?

+Do I believe the promise in Colossians 2:13-14 that Jesus can and will forgive that sin?

+What is preventing me from asking Jesus to forgive that sin today?

When we know our sin has been set aside and erased by the death of Jesus on a cross, delight in the Lord will overflow in our heart and in our life.   

Take Delight In The Lord!

Doug