The Resurrection: Reality, Not Dead Religion
Just as light breaks through darkness at dawn, the resurrection life of Christ breaks through every form of dead religion, ushering in a new day of power, intimacy, and divine reality.
The heart of this devotional speaks to a stark contrast—between those who live by dead religion and those who walk in the living reality of Christ's resurrection. The religious leaders in Acts were deeply disturbed not by mere words, but by the power of a risen Christ being declared through His disciples. These men weren’t teaching abstract doctrine or defending tradition—they were living out and proclaiming the supernatural reality of Jesus’s resurrection. And that supernatural reality remains the bedrock of our faith.
But Bob Hoekstra reminds us of something sobering: even those of us who claim resurrection life can slip into patterns of dead religion when we lose sight of the now-ness of the risen Christ within us. We may acknowledge the resurrection in theory, but live day by day as if it’s just history—not present reality. The Sadducees were perfect illustrations of religious hypocrisy, asking questions about resurrection they didn’t even believe in. They were wrong on two counts: they didn’t know the Scriptures, and they didn’t know the power of God.
In the same way, we can become mistaken—not in our doctrine, but in our daily dependence. We can affirm Jesus’s resurrection and yet live like those who are still striving in their own effort, disconnected from the divine life we've been given. Resurrection is not just a doctrine to defend—it’s a Person to depend on. It’s not merely an event in the past—it’s a present power working in and through us today.
Personalized Journal Entry (Holy Spirit’s Voice Through Scripture)
I am the Spirit of life, the breath of the risen Christ within you. You have been raised with Him, so set your heart on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Do not live as if I am far off or the resurrection is a future hope only—it is your present reality. I live in you. My power is not distant, not theoretical, not hidden in the pages of ancient text. It is yours, now.
You are not of the Sadducees, nor do you walk in the wisdom of this world, which denies My resurrection power. You are of My Spirit, and My Spirit gives life. I raised Jesus from the dead, and I dwell in you to animate your mortal body with divine vitality—not for self-effort or religious performance, but for the expression of Christ’s life.
You are not striving to reach Me—you are abiding in Me. You are not hoping to find purpose—I am your purpose, living My life through you. So don’t behave as if you are still in the grave of old patterns. You have been crucified with Christ, and now you live—but it is no longer you, it is Christ in you. The life you now live in the body, you live by faith in the Son of God, who loves you and gave Himself for you.
Refuse to live in dead religion. Refuse to talk resurrection while living self-sourced. I am your resurrection. I am your life.
(Scriptures woven in: Colossians 3:1; Romans 8:11; 1 Corinthians 2:12; Galatians 2:20; John 11:25)
Prayer
Father, thank You for the resurrection life of Jesus that now lives in me through Your Spirit. I rejoice that I am no longer bound to religion, ritual, or human reasoning, but walk in the daily power of Your risen Son. I rest in the truth that I don’t need to manufacture life—I already possess it in Christ. Thank You for lifting me out of the grave and seating me with You in heavenly places. Let this truth never grow stale. Let it be my every breath. I trust You to live this resurrection life through me today and always.
Devotional credit: “Day by Day by Grace” by Bob Hoekstra
Photo credit: Unsplash