Tag: sacrifice

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The scripture for today, April 1, is Ephesians 4:1 as found in the New Testament of the Bible:

CHANGES IN WORSHIP-COVER-KINDLE“As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received.”

Jesus sometimes offended people. His apostles sometimes offended people. Specifically, the Apostle Paul sometimes offended people, and as he wrote he told people how to get to heaven God’s way instead of man’s way (which is impossible anyway).

But did it stop the Christians from telling people about the way to escape hell and go to heaven? Never. They loved people so much, they were willing to take insults and persecution and imprisonment and even death in the hopes that their persistent love would eventually lead to people becoming Christians and being saved from eternal hell. They knew their calling as Christians.

How about us today? Do we live a life worthy of our calling as Christians by standing up for Jesus and reaching out to the lost, regardless of the cost? Or do we cower and use the excuse, “Once people see my godly life, they will ask me how to be saved”?  How many times do the lost really do that?

Let us stand tall as brave soldiers of the Lord. Let us march into enemy territory and do everything we can to snatch the lost out of the claws of Satan.

No matter what they do to us.

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The scripture for today, February 24, is 1st Peter 2:24 as found in the New Testament of the Bible:

0-BOOK 7-SHADOW OF DEATH-Cover“He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; by his wounds you have been healed.”

Many people do not understand what Jesus dying on the cross has to do with us going to heaven. Here it is. God is perfect, so cannot dwell with imperfection. God is complete love and goodness, so cannot dwell with hatred and bad.

Romans 3:23 says all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. And Romans 6:23 says the wages of sin is death. So all through the Old Testament era, whenever we sinned, God allowed us to kill/sacrifice a perfect animal in our place. This, however, was a temporary fix.

Eventually God sent his own Son to come to earth and live in a human body and be tempted in every way that we are (see Hebrews 4:15). Jesus resisted all temptations, and lived his entire life sinless. He was perfect. Then as the perfect Lamb of God (John 1:29), Jesus was the final sacrifice. He died in our place. He took the punishment for our sins. On the cross, he died spiritually (forsaken by God) and physically (blood was shed).

Then God basically told the world, “I will consider you perfect too; all you have to do is believe in and follow my Son.” It is explained further in Romans 6:3-4. Just as Jesus died bearing our sins, we die to our sinful nature ~ the part of us that sins and doesn’t care. Then just as Jesus was buried in his tomb, we are buried in the watery tomb of baptism. And finally, just as Jesus rose up out of his tomb the Savior, we rise up out of our watery tomb the saved ~ born again to a new life.

Indeed, by Jesus’ wounds we can be healed. We fall at his feet and say, “I am a sinner and so unworthy. Thank you.”

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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.”

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The scripture for today, December 2, is Hebrews 12:2 as found in the New Testament of the Bible:

0-BOOK 7-SHADOW OF DEATH-Cover“Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfector of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and set down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.”

Yes, life gets pretty rough sometimes. And the harder we try to act like Christians among non-Christians, the more difficult it can become. Did such difficulties stop Jesus? No. He was determined to save as many souls as possible. And he was determined to do the job God gave him before returning to heaven.

Where is your determination? You think you have problems? Look at the problems Jesus endured. Keep your eyes fixed on Jesus. Do not “grow weary and lose heart.” Dare to stand firm, hold fast, and do the right thing.

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The scripture for today, September 30, is Luke 9:30f as found in the New Testament of the Bible:

0-BOOK 6-PROMISE KEEPER-Cover-Createspace“Two men, Moses and Elijah, appeared in glorious splendor, talking with Jesus. They spoke about his departure, which he was about to bring to fulfillment at Jerusalem.”

Hebrews 5:7 says something very startling to most people. “During the days of Jesus’ life on earth, he offered up prayers and petitions WITH LOUD CRIES AND TEARS to the one who could save him from death.”

Jesus did not look forward to going to the cross, even though many thousands of others had died that way. Why was it different for him? Because he had to take on all our sins as though he had committed them himself ~ every lie we’ve told, every gain from cheating, every insult, every slander campaign against another, every adultery, every murder ~ everything ~ all our sins! How could he bear it?

Not only that, but he had to experience both physical and spiritual death. Spiritual death means being separated from, being forsaken by God. What a terror to experience!

And so, a few weeks before his crucifixion, as he prayed on the mountain, Moses and Elijah appeared to him and they spoke about his death. They surely gave him courage to do what had to be done to save you and me who deserve hell.

The crowning glory of this conversation is that God reassured him by announcing, “THIS IS MY SON! WHOM I HAVE CHOSEN! LISTEN TO HIM!”

Jesus was to nail the Old Law of Moses to the cross (Colossians 2:14). He had promised people, “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law and the Prophets: I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them” (Matthew 5:17).

Indeed, by the time Jesus returned to heaven, he had lived the Old Law introduced by Moses perfectly ~ something no man had ever been able to do. And by the time he returned to heaven, he had fulfilled every prophecy about his birth, life, and death, the first such prophet being represented by Elijah.

Oh the things Jesus went through for us. We fall at his feet and worship him.

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The late scripture for today, September 26, is Hebrews 9:26f as found in the New Testament of the Bible:

0-BOOK 7-SHADOW OF DEATH-Cover“Then Christ would have had to suffer many times since the creation of the world. But now he has appeared once for all at the end of the ages to do away with sin by the sacrifice of himself. Just as man is destined to die once, and after that to face the judgment.”

According to the Old Law of Moses, sacrifices of perfect animals had to be made to temporarily pay the price of death for people’s sins. (Remember, the wages of sin is death ~ Romans 6:23.) But it had to be done on a regular basis. Then Jesus became the perfect Lamb of God. In a sense he laid down on the altar of the world, and paid the price of death for our sins. Once was enough, for in his death he nailed the Old Law of Moses to the cross (Colossians 2:14). He had fulfilled the Law of Moses by living it perfectly and never sinning (Hebrews 4:15).

And so, just as Jesus died once, we too die once. Then our judgment. No second chances. No reincarnations. No going back and trying to be perfect again and failing again. Jesus released us from all of our failures at being perfect. Thank God, he was perfect for us.

How amazing God’s plan for us!

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The scripture for today, September 22 is Luke 9:22 as found in the New Testament of the Bible:

0-BOOK 6-PROMISE KEEPER-Cover-Createspace“And he [Jesus] said, ‘The Son of Man[kind] must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, chief priests and teachers of the law, and he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life.”

Jesus did not look forward to his death. Hebrews 5:7 says, “During the days of Jesus’ life on earth, he offered up prayers and petitions with loud cries and tears to the one who could save him from death….” Loud cries!

Yet, in today’s scripture, shortly after he announced to his apostles that he would be killed in Jerusalem, over in verse 51 it says, “As the time approached for him to be taken up to heaven, Jesus resolutely set out for Jerusalem.”

Jesus had to use every bit of self-determination he could muster up to face that terrible death he had to suffer for us. What kept him to his goal? He knew he would be saving us from our sins by taking our punishment for us. Then his work would be done ~ all would be fulfilled ~ and he could return to heaven and his Father.

Is it difficult for you to get up on Sunday morning to go to church? Is it difficult for you to read the Bible every day? Is it difficult for you to invite a friend to church with you? Do you love Jesus as resolutely as he loves you?

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The scripture for today, September 15, is 2nd Corinthians 9:15 as found in the New Testament of the Bible:

“Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift!”

Can you imagine dying in the place of your enemy? Taking your enemy’s punishment for the wrong your enemy did against you? Now try to imagine making your child die in the place of your enemy ~ your sinless, innocent child.

It is indescribable.

It is unimaginable.

It is unthinkable.

0-BOOK 7-SHADOW OF DEATH-Cover

But God did exactly that.

How can we thank Him for his indescribable gift?

We fall silently at His feet and worship.

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The scripture for today, May 9, is Matthew 5:9 as found in the Old Testament of the Bible:

“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called the sons of God.”

0-BOOK 7-SHADOW OF DEATH-Cover

Jesus, the only begotten Son of God (Christians are adopted sons) was a peacemaker. He came to earth to help us make peace with God. After all, “all have sinned and come short of the Glory of God” (Romans 3:23). It only takes one sin to be a sinner. And God cannot dwell with sin. What was the solution?

Romans 6:23 says the wages of sin is death. In Old Testament times, God let people kill a perfect animal in their place. But they kept having to do it. Finally, Jesus came to earth and lived that perfect life that is impossible for us to live ~ the perfect lamb of God ~ then he allowed himself to take our punishment for our (not his) sins and be killed in our place. His was the final sacrifice. Now, by following Jesus, God adopts us and makes us his children. Jesus was a peacemaker between God and man.

You, too, can be peacemakers. You can help people be at peace with themselves. You can help them be at peace with each other. And you can help them be at peace with God. Thereby, you can share in what God’s begotten Son was ~ a peacemaker.

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The scripture for today, September 26 (9/26)WORSHIP THE FIRST-CENTURY WAY-COVER-KINDLE, is Hebrews 9:26f as found in the New Testament of the Bible:

“Then Christ would have had to suffer many times since the creation of the world. But now he has appeared once for all at the end of the ages to do away with sin by the sacrifice of himself. Just as man is destined to die once, and after that to face the judgment.”

According to the Old Law of Moses, sacrifices of perfect animals had to be made to temporarily pay the price of death for people’s sins. (Remember, the wages of sin is death ~ Romans 6:23.) But it had to be done on a regular basis. Then Jesus became the perfect Lamb of God. In a sense he laid down on the altar of the world, and paid the price of death for our sins. Once was enough, for in his death he nailed the Old Law of Moses to the cross (Colossians 2:14). He had fulfilled the Law of Moses by living it perfectly and never sinning (Hebrews 4:15).

And so, just as Jesus died once, we too die once. Then our judgment. No second chances. No reincarnations. No going back and trying to be perfect again and failing again. Jesus released us from all of our failures at being perfect. Thank God, he was perfect for us.

How amazing God’s plan for us!