The Cross and the Spirit
Freedom comes not by carrying more, but by surrendering all at the foot of the Cross.
Devotional Credit: Abide Above, April 27 — “The Cross and the Spirit”
Photo Credit: Unsplash
Today's reading from Abide Above invites us to marvel at the seamless unity between the Cross of Christ and the work of the Holy Spirit. The Cross is not only the means of our eternal position before God but also the gateway for the Holy Spirit to transform our present condition. The risen Christ entrusts the Spirit to transmit His victory into our everyday experience (John 16:15).
We are reminded that Easter and Pentecost are impossible without Good Friday. Life in the fullness of God flows only through the way of the Cross. Our old self must be reckoned as crucified with Christ, and from His resurrection we draw the roots of our new life. The Holy Spirit continues this dual work in us — leading us into death to the old and awakening us into the vibrant life of Christ within, moving us from glory to glory (2 Cor. 3:18).
To walk in resurrection life, we must first embrace crucifixion with Christ — not as a sorrowful ending, but as the beautiful beginning of a Spirit-led journey that unfolds in increasing splendor.
Personalized Journal Entry – Voice of the Holy Spirit Through Scripture
You are Mine, born of the Spirit and made alive through the Cross. You have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer you who live, but Christ who lives in you. You have been buried with Him through baptism into death, so that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, you too might walk in newness of life.
I have sealed you with My Spirit, the guarantee of the inheritance prepared for you. I am leading you daily to put off the old man, which belongs to your former way of life, and to be renewed in the spirit of your mind, putting on the new self created after My likeness in true righteousness and holiness.
You reflect My glory, and with unveiled face, you are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another, for this comes from Me. You have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. Set your mind on the things above, where Christ is seated, for the world has been crucified to you, and you to the world.
Walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. The life you now live, you live by faith in the Son of God who loved you and gave Himself for you.
(Scripture references: Galatians 2:20; Romans 6:4; Ephesians 1:13-14; Ephesians 4:22-24; 2 Corinthians 3:18; Colossians 3:1-3; Galatians 6:14; Galatians 5:16; Galatians 2:20)
Real-Life Analogy
Imagine carrying a heavy backpack filled with things you no longer need — broken gadgets, old clothes, useless papers. The longer you carry it, the more it weighs you down, keeping you from running freely. But the moment you set it down, there’s a lightness you hadn’t even realized you were missing. In much the same way, trying to live the Christian life without embracing the Cross is like carrying around a heavy weight. Only when we surrender all that belongs to our old way of living — letting it be "laid to rest" — do we experience the freedom of resurrection life through the Spirit.
Prayer of Confidence
Father, I thank You that the Cross has already done its perfect work in me. My old self has been crucified with Christ, and now I live by the faith of Your Son. I rejoice that the Holy Spirit applies this reality moment by moment, guiding me into death to the old and awakening me into the beauty of Christ’s life within. I trust Your faithful work to transform me from glory to glory, and I walk forward today in the joy of Your Spirit’s life coursing through me.