Wonder of wonders

The scripture for today, July 1 (7/1), is Leviticus 7:1f as found in the Old Testament of the Bible.

0-BK 7-ShadowOfDeath-Cover-new-Medium“These are the regulations for the guilt offering, which is most holy. The guilt offering is to be slaughtered in the place where the burnt offering is slaughtered, and its blood is to be sprinkled against the altar on all sides.”

Romans 3:23 says the wages of sin is death. The earnings are paid by Satan, the author of death.  The earnings for your sins were collected by substitute deaths of substitute perfect animals over and over in the Old Testament. But Jesus nailed the Old Law to the cross (Colossians 2:14), and with his one sacrifice made it so that no more blood sacrifices were necessary (Hebrews 8-9).

In a sense, Jesus, the perfect Lamb of God, laid down on the altar of the world where his blood flowed from all sides of the cross to all sides of the earth. Why would anyone want to rebuild the temple in Jerusalem and nullify that horribleness Jesus went through in our place?

Jesus collected your wages from Satan for your sins in your place. We can never, ever thank him enough.  Instead of temple ceremonies, he asked you to commemorate his death with the Lord’s Supper, the Holy Communion each week.  Do you?  On Sundays, the day he came back to life, do you?

I adore you, God. I look up to you in awe that you, my Creator, allow me up so close to you. I am frail. I am feeble. I am made of dust. But you breathed into me the breath of life. Just think!  I have the breath of God in me.  Oh, miracle of miracles! I will return that breath to you in songs of praise. With that same breath I will extol you to the end of my days on earth, and then resume in your world before your throne forever.  As small as I am, you take time to know me ~ the good and the bad ~ and love me still, and make me your friend. More, you have made me your child. Wonder of wonders.

.

0-BK 7-ShadowOfDeath-Cover-new-ThumbnailTHEY MET JESUS:  SHADOW OF DEATH.  Pilate was cornered by the people, Simon was cornered by the executioners. Jesus writhed in pain on the cross that should have been ours And invaded hell to provide escape for us. The thieves struggled with their mortality, Joseph struggled with religiosity, The guards struggled with impossibility.  Jesus saw the women, pursued Peter, And enlightened the depressed.  To BUY NOW, click a book cover or paste this:  https://bit.ly/ShadowOfDeath-7    https://northernlightspublishinghouse.com/historical-novel-about-jesus/book-7-shadow-of-death-adults-childs-versions/

Keep Climbing

Supper-Front Cover-MediumPraises belong to you, Jehovah. You are my father ~ my Father!  And so strong. Please win the war for us ~ the war with Satan. I am weak. We all are. You are stronger.  He thinks he is winning, but he is not. There may be more people following him on earth but they are like ants compared with the lion-like strength of Christians. Every time he thinks he has convinced one of your children to believe his lies, we rise up and say, “No”.  You give us that strength. All power and glory and majesty are yours.  Of course, you will win! You said so yourself.

Ah, thank you, my Lord, for the way you taught mankind to trust you. Over and over through the centuries and millenniums you made promises but almost always said, “Later”.  You understood we need trust and patience. We needed to know victory would eventually come. You could use your power to know the future to help us and give us a reason to keep trying, keep plugging along, keep struggling, keep climbing.  I bow before you, my gratitude spills upon your wounded feet, and I worship you.

.

Supper-Front Cover-ThumbnailTHE LORD’S SUPPER:  52 READINGS WITH PRAYERS.  Perfect for table talks or private meditation while taking the communion.  To BUY NOW, click a book cover or paste this……….  https://bit.ly/2ZvCTDS

The Lord’s Supper: 52 Readings with Prayers

Scripture for Wednesday, October 4 (10/4)

The scripture for today, October 4 (10/4), is Romans 10:4 as found in the New Testament of the Bible:

0-BK 5-FloodGates-Cover-Medium-New“Christ is the end of the law so that there may be righteousness for everyone who believes.”

When Jesus replaced the old Law of Moses Testament, it came to an end (Hebrews 8:13; 9:1f; 9:15-18). Thank God. There were over 600 commandments in the Law of Moses, not just the “Ten Commandments.” They were tedious. Try reading Leviticus and see if you can keep every commandment in it.

Jesus was the only one who ever kept the Law perfectly (Hebrews 4:15). Once that occurred, he could be the Perfect Lamb of God without blemish, and he could be sacrificed on the altar of the world (the cross) in our place ~ take the punishment for our sins. He had said the Law of Moses would last until it was fulfilled.  On the cross, one of the last things he said was, “It is fulfilled.”

And with his death came the introduction of a New Law covered in the New Testament. Read the New Testament in its entirety. It is not tedious. It is beautiful. Let us not try to dip back into the Old Law and bring back showy worship practices done back them. He put it to death and gave us a new and wonderful and simple law of grace and love.

 

Scripture for Thursday, September 21 (9/21)

The scripture for today, September 21 (9/21), is Hebrews 9:21f as found in the New Testament of the Bible:

0-BK 7-ShadowOfDeath-Cover-new-Medium“In the same way, he [Moses] sprinkled with the blood both the tabernacle and everything used in its ceremonies. In fact, the law requires that nearly everything be cleansed with blood, and without the shedding of blood, there is no forgiveness.”

We may not murder or steal, but do we omit going to see someone who is sick or needs our help? Do we sin by attitude with impatience on the highway or grocery store line, or jealousy? Sin in the Bible is always associated with blood.  When we sin, Satan celebrates by paying us all that he is and has ~ death.

The wages of sin is death (Romans 6:23). This is what we earn for sinning.  This is what we deserve for sinning.  Death means separation. In a physical sense, we are separated from people living on earth. In a spiritual sense, we are separated from God in heaven. God is life, and cannot dwell with death. It is not in his nature.

When we sin, Satan holds us hostage and dares anyone to redeem us from our slavery to him. He wants blood. Satan was not bargaining for anyone to be stronger than him. God sent his own Son to do the job. Jesus gave Satan what he wanted ~ his blood, and collected the death wage. Then he tricked Satan.  Jesus broke free.  He came back to life.  He destroyed Satan’s power over us! He not only broke free of death,  he was willing to take us with him if we will follow him out.

What power! What a mighty God we have! On Sundays, do we even care?

 

Scripture for Thursday, September 14 (9/14)

The scripture for today, September 14 (9/14), is Hebrews 9:14f as found in the New Testament of the Bible.

“How much more then will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself unblemished to God, cleanse our consciences from acts [sins] that lead to death so that we may serve the living God! For this reason, Christ is the mediator of a new covenant [testament] that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance ~ now that he has died as a ransom to set them free from the sins committed under the first covenant [testament].”

This is a very interesting passage. Just previous to this, the author was talking about the blood of bulls and goats being sacrificed for sins under the old Law of Moses [Testament]. But now that the Son of God, the Lamb of God, had been sacrificed for our sins, we no longer need any more blood sacrifices.

Further, Jesus’ sacrifice was retroactive! It reached back to the faithful who lived under the first/old covenant [Testament] and set them free from their sins too.

Aren’t you glad God did away with the old Law of Moses with all its 600+ rules and regulations, and its requirement for animal blood sacrifices, and brought us a law of grace? What a God! What a Savior! Jesus did all this to save us from hell.

What a God!

What a Savior!

He paid the ransom of death.

Jesus did all this to save us from hell.

Have a day of gratitude.

 

Scripture for Saturday, July 1 (7/1)

The scripture for today, July 1 (7/1), is Leviticus 7:1f as found in the Old Testament of the Bible.

0-BK 7-ShadowOfDeath-Cover-new-Medium“These are the regulations for the guilt offering, which is most holy. The guilt offering is to be slaughtered in the place where the burnt offering is slaughtered, and its blood is to be sprinkled against the altar on all sides.”

Romans 3:23 says the wages of sin is death. The wages of death were collected over and over by perfect animals sacrificed in the Old Testament era of the Law of Moses. But Jesus nailed the Old Law to the cross (Colossians 2:14 and Hebrews 9), and with his one sacrifice made it so that no more death sacrifices were necessary (Hebrews 8-9).

In a sense, Jesus, the perfect Lamb of God, laid down on the altar of the world where his blood flowed from all sides of the cross to all sides of the earth.

Jesus collected the wages of death—our earnings for our sins, not his—in our place.

Do you ever thank him?

 

 

website……https://northernlightspublishinghouse.com
monthly newsletter+free book……http://bit.ly/katheryn

#sin, #punishment, #wages, #earnings, #death, #souldeath, #oldlaw, #lawofmoses, #sacrifice, #substitute, #lambofGod, #altar, #cross, #blood

Scripture for Sunday, May 21 (5/21)

The scripture for today, May 21 (5/21), is 2nd Corinthians 5:21 as found in the New Testament of the Bible:

0-BK 8-ComeFlyWithMe-Cover-Medium-New“God made him [Jesus] who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.”

A lot of people do not understand what Jesus’ death has to do with escaping hell and going to heaven. The key is in Romans 3:23 that says “The wages of sin is death.” When Adam and Eve sinned, immediately their souls died, and their bodies gradually died. It’s been happening to everyone since then. But, during Old Testament times, God allowed people to make a perfect animal take their penalty, shed its blood and die in their place when they sinned.

This was only a temporary fix, however. Hebrews says the blood of animals cannot truly take away (take the substitute punishment for) sins; they are remembered again every year (Hebrews 10:3-4).

Finally, John the Baptist announced Jesus was “the Lamb of God” (John 1:29). In order to forever stop all the sacrificial substitute dying, God prepared his own perfect Lamb ~ Jesus, who never sinned. For 33 years, God’s Word took human form in Jesus and became one of us. Then he had to shed his blood and die in our place. In so doing, he took the sin penalty forever.

Jesus did two things impossible for us to do: Live a perfect life without sin, and come back to life after he died ~ both physically and spiritually. Why? So we could do another thing that is impossible for us to do on our own: Enter heaven, the home of the perfect.

God invites us to his heaven if we will just follow Jesus. We don’t even have to be perfect ~ just forgiven. Jesus was perfect for us.

What amazing love.

 

website……https://northernlightspublishinghouse.com
monthly newsletter+free book……http://bit.ly/katheryn
kdp select & discounts (Searcy)……http://bit.ly/ComeToHeaven

 

#sin, #earnings, #hell, #death, #soul, #blood, #perfection, #heaven, #sacrifice, #substitute, #lamb

Scripture for Wednesday, January 18 (1/18)

The scripture for today, January 18, is Isaiah 1:18 as found in the Old Testament of the Bible:

0-BOOK 7-SHADOW OF DEATH-Cover” ‘Come now, let us reason together,’ says the Lord. ‘Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool.’ “

When did this become possible? Revelation in the New Testament explains in 7:14 we make our robes white by washing them in the blood of the Lamb.

What lamb? John the Baptist introduced the world to the Lamb. When he saw Jesus walking toward him in front of a crowd, he announced, “Look! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!” (John 1:29).

What made Jesus the Lamb of God? Romans 6:23 says the wages of sin is death. In the Old Testament era, God allowed us to kill an animal in our place whenever we sinned. So for centuries, we would sin and sacrifice an animal, sin and sacrifice an animal and on and on, for we never could quit sinning.

Finally God offered one last sacrifice for all times. When Jesus instituted the Lord’s Supper (Communion), he did so during the Jewish Passover feast where they ate their meal of lamb. There is no mention that Jesus and his apostles ate the usual lamb. Instead, he passed around the usual wine and said from now on it represented his blood as the sacrificial Lamb. And he passed around the usual bread and said from now on it represented his body as the sacrificial Lamb. (Mark 14:12 22-25).

Sunday is the most special day of the week for Christians. Why? The early Christians under guidance of Jesus’ apostles “broke bread” for the communion every first day of the week (Acts 20:7). May we always make this the central part of our worship on this special day. We can never do it too often. We can never too often say, “I’m sorry my sins caused You to go through your terrible death.” We can never too often say, “Thank You.”

#Sacrifice, #LambOfGod, #Sin, #Death, #Punishment, #Blood, #White, #Scarlet, #BloodRed, #Forgiveness

Scripture for Saturday, October 22 (10/22)

The scripture for today, October 22, is Hebrews 10:22 as found in the New Testament of the Bible:

WORSHIP THE FIRST-CENTURY WAY-COVER-KINDLE“Let us draw near to God with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water.”

The previous verse said that Jesus is the great (high) priest over the house of God (the church). Therefore the sprinkling refers to the sprinkling of blood the high priests did on the Day of Atonement once a year. (See Leviticus 16 in the Old Testament.) Now our hearts (which we cannot see or touch) are sprinkled with the blood of Jesus.

And how are we to be cleansed from that guilty conscience with our bodies (which we can see and touch) being washed? I Peter 3:21 says, “Even so does baptism now save us, not the putting away of the filth of the flesh but the answer of a good conscience toward God.”

We do not have to guess whether we were sincere enough when we gave our heart to the Lord. Our conscience never has to wonder if we did it right. For God gave us something we can actually do to give us a good and clear conscience toward him.

From henceforth, we can draw near to God in full assurance. Full! Not partial. Not wondering. Not with ups and downs of faith. But full! God thinks of everything!

#Conscience, #Sin, #Guilt, #Blood, #Wood, #Water

Scripture for Saturday, July 23 (7/23)

The scripture for today, July 23, is 1st Corinthians 7:23 in the New Testament of the Bible.

0-BOOK 7-SHADOW OF DEATH-Cover“You were bought at a price; do not become slaves of men.”

Who were you bought from? Satan. Romans 3:23 says everyone sins and falls short of the glory of God. God, who is perfection, cannot dwell with us. It would be like light dwelling with darkness. It cannot be done.

But God loved you so much, he figured out a way to make you sinless. He sent his son, Jesus, to live that perfect life that is impossible for you to live. Romans 6:23 says the wages of sin is death. So Jesus drew those wages in your place. He took the blame for all your sins onto himself and died spiritually and physically in your place.

Then God told the world through his Bible that, if you will believe this really happened and follow his will for you, he will consider you perfect too. Until that happens, you are a slave to what men tell you to do ~ and of Satan.

You were bought at great price ~ the blood of Jesus Christ.