I’ve missed a few weeks posting on Sunday Strip I hope this may bring me and us all a bit of redemption 😇.
There are millions of us that go through life filled with guilt for things we may have done in the past. Sins we may have committed that we hold on to, even though we have asked God for forgiveness.
In the old testament the only way you could have forgiveness for sin was to sacrifice an animal. Without the shedding of blood there was no remission for sin. Every year the high priest would go into the most sacred place in the temple, he would offer a sacrifice for his sins and the sins of the people. It was called the day of atonement. If the sacrifice was acceptable their sins would not be taken away they would be covered, they were good for another year.
This was an ongoing process. The priest had to make sure everything was perfect, that the animal didn’t have spots or blemishes, that it was the right age. All of these requirements; if they didn’t meet the requirements the sacrifice wouldn’t be acceptable. They wouldn’t have Gods blessing. This was the constant pressure they lived under. Is our sin going to be forgiven for this year? Is the sacrifice good enough?
The blood of animals only gave them temporary forgiveness. God demonstrated through the event on Mount Moriah (Genesis 22), by stopping Abraham from sacrificing Isaac and providing a ram as a substitute, God foreshadowed that human sacrifice was wrong and that He would ultimately provide a substitute sacrifice—Jesus—to replace the temporary animal system. God was saying it was fine for a time but I’m going to make a new covenant to permanently take care of sin. The problem is it couldn’t happen with the blood of bulls and goats. That wasn’t good enough, it was going to take a special kind of sacrifice.
One day John the Baptist was out ministering, he saw Jesus coming and he said “look the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world”. John knew that Jesus was the sacrifice that God told Abraham about. Jesus was Gods lamb. When He died on the cross and shed His blood it says in Hebrews “He went once and for all into the Holy of Holy’s, not with the blood of bulls and goats, but with His own blood to secure a complete redemption for us all”. One translation says an everlasting release from our sins. This was the power of His Blood.
His Blood put an end to the old system of sacrificing again and again, hoping that we would be forgiven. Now we can live with the confidence that all of our sins past, presence and future have not just been covered, not just been temporarily atoned for, they have been washed away, we have an everlasting release.
When Jesus hung on the cross, suspended between heaven and earth, He took all of our mistakes, all of our failures and weaknesses, all of the times we had blown it, and the times we ever will blow it, and He forgave us. The good news is not that God will forgive you, the good news is He has already forgiven you.
Now this sacrifice won’t do you any good if you do not receive it. If you go around guilty condemned trying to pay God back for your mistakes you are disrespecting Gods sacrifice, understand the price has already been paid. Receive His mercy, receive His love. Everyday, we should say, Father thank You that I am forgiven, thank You that I am redeemed, thank You for Your sacrifice. We shouldn’t go around every day with a heaviness, with no passion for life. Do we really think our mistakes were too much for the blood that Christ shed? Do you think God says I didn’t see that one coming, I should have sent a better sacrifice. Those days are gone, you’ve been redeemed, you’ve been redeemed by the Son of the living God. No mistake you’ve made is to much for the Son of Gods Blood.
The Gospel, or Good News, is the greatest love story ever told (John 15:13). What could be more excellent news than eternal life in Jesus Christ. For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through Him (John 3:16-17).
Thank you for a true tears-in-my-eyes laugh! I found the comparison between the Obama presidential center and a garbage can to be hilariously accurate. What a perfect representation of his presidency!
Humor is always a great start to the week. Thanks for making it so! Blessings.
I’ve missed a few weeks posting on Sunday Strip I hope this may bring me and us all a bit of redemption 😇.
There are millions of us that go through life filled with guilt for things we may have done in the past. Sins we may have committed that we hold on to, even though we have asked God for forgiveness.
In the old testament the only way you could have forgiveness for sin was to sacrifice an animal. Without the shedding of blood there was no remission for sin. Every year the high priest would go into the most sacred place in the temple, he would offer a sacrifice for his sins and the sins of the people. It was called the day of atonement. If the sacrifice was acceptable their sins would not be taken away they would be covered, they were good for another year.
This was an ongoing process. The priest had to make sure everything was perfect, that the animal didn’t have spots or blemishes, that it was the right age. All of these requirements; if they didn’t meet the requirements the sacrifice wouldn’t be acceptable. They wouldn’t have Gods blessing. This was the constant pressure they lived under. Is our sin going to be forgiven for this year? Is the sacrifice good enough?
The blood of animals only gave them temporary forgiveness. God demonstrated through the event on Mount Moriah (Genesis 22), by stopping Abraham from sacrificing Isaac and providing a ram as a substitute, God foreshadowed that human sacrifice was wrong and that He would ultimately provide a substitute sacrifice—Jesus—to replace the temporary animal system. God was saying it was fine for a time but I’m going to make a new covenant to permanently take care of sin. The problem is it couldn’t happen with the blood of bulls and goats. That wasn’t good enough, it was going to take a special kind of sacrifice.
One day John the Baptist was out ministering, he saw Jesus coming and he said “look the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world”. John knew that Jesus was the sacrifice that God told Abraham about. Jesus was Gods lamb. When He died on the cross and shed His blood it says in Hebrews “He went once and for all into the Holy of Holy’s, not with the blood of bulls and goats, but with His own blood to secure a complete redemption for us all”. One translation says an everlasting release from our sins. This was the power of His Blood.
His Blood put an end to the old system of sacrificing again and again, hoping that we would be forgiven. Now we can live with the confidence that all of our sins past, presence and future have not just been covered, not just been temporarily atoned for, they have been washed away, we have an everlasting release.
When Jesus hung on the cross, suspended between heaven and earth, He took all of our mistakes, all of our failures and weaknesses, all of the times we had blown it, and the times we ever will blow it, and He forgave us. The good news is not that God will forgive you, the good news is He has already forgiven you.
Now this sacrifice won’t do you any good if you do not receive it. If you go around guilty condemned trying to pay God back for your mistakes you are disrespecting Gods sacrifice, understand the price has already been paid. Receive His mercy, receive His love. Everyday, we should say, Father thank You that I am forgiven, thank You that I am redeemed, thank You for Your sacrifice. We shouldn’t go around every day with a heaviness, with no passion for life. Do we really think our mistakes were too much for the blood that Christ shed? Do you think God says I didn’t see that one coming, I should have sent a better sacrifice. Those days are gone, you’ve been redeemed, you’ve been redeemed by the Son of the living God. No mistake you’ve made is to much for the Son of Gods Blood.
The Gospel, or Good News, is the greatest love story ever told (John 15:13). What could be more excellent news than eternal life in Jesus Christ. For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through Him (John 3:16-17).
Happy Sunday Everyone!
Thank you for a true tears-in-my-eyes laugh! I found the comparison between the Obama presidential center and a garbage can to be hilariously accurate. What a perfect representation of his presidency!
Humor is always a great start to the week. Thanks for making it so! Blessings.