The scripture for today, January 18, is Isaiah 1:18 as found in the Old Testament of the Bible:
” ‘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.”
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“But Jonah ran away from the Lord and headed for Tarshish.”
“Do not take revenge, my friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: ‘It is mine to avenge; I will repay,’ says the Lord.”
“See to it that no one misses the grace of God and that no bitter root grows up to cause trouble and defile many.”
“They refused to listen and failed to remember the miracles you performed among them. They became stiff-necked and in their rebellion appointed a leader in order to return to their slavery. But you are a forgiving God, gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in love. Therefore, you did not desert them.”
“I will bring them back to live in Jerusalem; they will be my people, and I will be faithful and righteous to them as their God.”