And according to the law almost all things are purified with blood, and without shedding of blood there is no remission.

The idea that sacrifice is the purchase price of freedom is not new. In the book of Genesis, we grieve as Adam and Eve hide in humiliation after eating the forbidden fruit. God, in His mercy, sacrificed an animal to cover their nakedness and shame.

In the book of Exodus, we watch as God set His divine plan in motion to free His chosen people. As the Israelites packed their bags and prepared to walk out of Egypt after four hundred years of cruel slavery, God commanded a curious thing. Each family was to sacrifice a spotless lamb and apply its blood over the doorpost. God set apart and spared His own at the sight of that dark stain.

Later, as the Israelites wandered in the wilderness, God demanded that an animal be sacrificed, that its blood be poured on the altar for the cleansing of their sin. The blood was the means by which the Israelites could experience communion and relationship with God.

For those of us who did not belong to the nation of Israel, we stood outside of this arrangement that God forged with Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and his descendants. Before the cross, we were far away from God, outside of this covenant, and without hope in the world.

But Jesus Christ was our Hope! He came as the Lamb of God slain from the foundation of the earth (Revelation 13:8). When John the Baptist looked up and saw Him, he cried out, “Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world” (John 1:29). Jesus came as the sacrifice for our sin.

When He went to Calvary, He shed His blood “once for all when He offered up Himself” (Hebrews 7:27). What the blood of goats and calves could not do, His blood accomplished. He “obtained eternal redemption” for us (Hebrews 9:12). Because of that sacrifice, every barrier, every separation, has been torn in two. We now have bold access to the Father!

We now have freedom to enter where we could not go before, to receive what we could not claim before. We have hope. We have salvation. We have life. Jesus, the Lamb of God, paid the purchase price for our liberty. His is the sacrifice that won our freedom.

Today's Blessing: 

Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us.

Jesus created quite a ruckus in the Temple after being hailed with a hero’s welcome when He arrived in Jerusalem. He drove out the money changers. He turned over their tables. He reprimanded them sharply. Afterwards, Matthew 21:14 tells us that the blind and the lame came to Him there in that holy place, and He healed them.

That seems fitting to us, the perfect place for Jesus to perform miracles. However, in Jerusalem, tradition dictated that the blind and lame – anyone who had a physical impairment – were not allowed to enter the Temple. Their imperfection denied them the right to be admitted to the very place where they could receive healing.

Jesus broke through the barriers, tore through the tradition to welcome the hurting. Can you imagine the crush of the crowd? Can you see their eager faces? Here, where they had only found rejection and resistance, Jesus reached out to heal blind eyes and lame limbs. Those who had never seen before received their sight. Those who had never walked went running and leaping and praising God. The Temple walls must have resounded with exuberant shouts. Tears of joy and gratitude must have wet their cheeks.

Throughout Scripture, we see Jesus reaching out in welcome:  sharing a meal with tax collectors, pulling a child onto His lap, touching a leper, plucking Peter out of the sea, taking a dead girl’s hand, smearing mud on a blind man’s eyes.  He welcomed their questions and their complications, their illnesses and infirmities.

He is still reaching, still welcoming. His arms are open. His eyes are smiling. No fear of rejection here. We can boldly approach the throne of grace with full confidence to obtain mercy and grace (Hebrews 4:16). We are surrounded by the spiritually blind, those who have overlooked the important and cannot see what is needful. We are surrounded by the spiritually lame, those who may see what they need but are too hindered to get to it. We can bring them to the throne, too – with full confidence of acceptance and love. 

Today's Blessing: 

Then I said, ‘I will not make mention of Him, nor speak anymore in His name.’ But His word was in my heart like a burning fire shut up in my bones; I was weary of holding it back, and I could not.

Ezekiel was consumed with passion for the Lord. His zeal could not be contained. Even when he tried to control himself, the words burst past the barrier. Are you full of fiery faith? Or has your faith become so bland, benign, and boring that it is met with yawns?

When someone asks about Jesus, we must be ready to share the life, truth, and hope that has revolutionized our lives. Share the kind of Savior that no one can ignore. Proclaim a Redeemer that no one can forget. Leave them in no doubt that He is everything.

We were dead, lost in sin, bound for hell, but He rescued us. He saved us, set us free. Where there was sorrow, He gave us joy. Where there was weakness, He became our strength. When we were alone and lonely, He became our Friend. When we only deserved judgment, He extended mercy.

Jesus Christ is not some powerless, dead historical figure. He is alive. He is present. If you are thirsty, He is the Living Water. If you are hungry, He is the Bread of Life. He protects. He intercedes. He fills us up. He satisfies our souls. He is awesome in strength and mighty in power.

He is the Lamb of God.

He is the Lion of Judah.

He is the Indescribable Gift.

He is our Great High Priest.

He is our Mediator.

He is our Hope.

He is our Peace.

He is our Burden Bearer.

He is our Good Shepherd.

He is our Refuge.

He is our Strength.

He is our Rock.

He is our Sword.

He is our Shield.

He is our Way Maker.

He is our Miracle Worker.

He is our Wonderful Counselor.

He is our Everlasting Father.

He is Lord of lords.

He is King of kings.

There is no one beside Him, no one above Him. There is none like Him. He is an ever-present help in time of trouble. He is great and greatly to be praised! If we refuse to praise Him, the rocks will pipe up in our place (Luke 19:40). Stir up the embers within, and blaze forth His glory!

Blessing: 

But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts, and always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you, with meekness and fear…

Are you always ready to give a reason for the hope that is in you? We have found our hope in Jesus. Hope for salvation and strength, protection and perseverance, for safe haven and stability. This hope anchors our souls for today and gives us bright expectation for tomorrow. How do we explain the reason for this overflowing hope?

In Matthew 21, Jesus entered Jerusalem riding on the back of a young colt. An exultant crowd lined the streets shouting “Hosanna!” and threw down their coats and tree branches to line his path. Thousands of Jews from the then-known world had traveled to the city to celebrate Passover. The crowds were moved by this joyful parade. “Who is this?” they asked curiously. The multitudes answered correctly, but “just the facts” did not amount to the whole truth.

This is Jesus, a prophet. That was a fact, but it was not the whole truth. Hundreds of prophets roamed Jerusalem at that time. Some of them enjoyed fame; others ministered in anonymity. To call Jesus a prophet was to classify Him, to assign Him a place among a faceless mass of others.

He is from Galilee, a city in Nazareth. That was a fact, but it was not the whole truth. Nazareth was a hill country town in northern Israel. It was not Jerusalem, which was known as a religious center. It was not Athens, which was known as an intellectual center. It was not Rome, which was known as a political center. Creator of all…but they attempted to give Him a mailbox.

We live in a world that still wants to know Jesus. They do not know that He is more than a prophet. They don’t know the peace He brings to a tormented heart, the joy that He brings to those who are without strength. They don’t know the burdens He can lift, the yokes He can destroy, the chains He can break. When they ask, are you ready to give a reason for the Hope inside you?

Be careful not to make this great, big, beautiful Savior a small thing. Beware of putting Jesus in a box; it only gives opportunity for people to put a lid on it and push it aside. Be ready to make it all about Him, all about the Hope that fills our every waking moment and promises an even brighter tomorrow.

Today's Blessing: 

And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven. Confess your trespasses to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much.

Few pains cut so deep as that of the Christian parent whose child has wandered far from God. We raised them in the fear and admonition of the Lord, but they have rejected the faith of their youth. We trained them in the way they should go, but they have forsaken that path for their own. Like the father of the prodigal son, our eyes scan the road each day, looking for signs of our child’s return from a far country.

Too often, we run to their rescue. We defend and debate. We coax and cajole. We aid and abet. Instead, with hearts full of faith, we can relinquish them to God’s hands. We can trust His good heart towards them. He alone can stir up a hunger and thirst for righteousness. He knows how to arrest their attention. Even if their hearts are broken, He will collect all the pieces and give them brand-new hearts. Even in utter desolation, He can restore and return the years the enemy has stolen. He knows how to capture their hearts again.

Now, more than ever, we should be full of faith for our children. We do not give in to despair or defeat. Every prayer will be a sharp, pointed arrow targeted to bring down the evil schemes of the enemy in the lives of our children. Now is the time to pray in faith without doubting (James 1:6). Now is the time to hold on tight to God with both hands. Now is the time to open our hands and release our children into His hands.

He will whistle, and our children will come running to be set free (Zechariah 10:8-9). In Isaiah 43, God encourages us to trust Him – don’t be afraid. He is in our corner. He will round up our scattered children and pull them in from the east and the west. He will send orders to the north and south to send back our sons from distant lands and our daughters from faraway places. “I want them back, every last one who bears my name, every man, woman, and child whom I created for my glory, yes, personally formed and made each one” (Isaiah 43:5-7, The Message).

Full of faith, we stand in the gap for our beloved sons and daughters. We won’t give up. We won’t back down. As long as we have breath, we pray for their joyous return.

Today's Blessing: 

I wait for the Lord, my soul waits, and in His word I do hope.

Incorruptible, infallible, inerrant – those are some impressive words that perfectly describe the Word of God! Scholars have dissected and debated it for centuries.  Men and women were beheaded, exiled, burned at the stake, banished from their homelands, and labeled heretics so we may have the privilege of studying this sacred Scripture.

This Word has withstood the flames of the trial; it has been tried and been found true. Cynics have mocked it for centuries, but it has silenced its scoffers. It has been debated in classrooms, diluted in pulpits, and misused by scheming men. For all of the abuse leveled at it, the Word of God endures. It is sharper than a two-edged sword. Like a surgeon’s scalpel, it cuts through everything – all of our doubt and defenses – to open us up to believe and receive what God says. It exposes and sifts, analyzes and judges the very thoughts and purposes of our hearts. No one is impervious to its truth. We cannot escape its reach (Hebrews 4:12).

When we ingest it, this Word comes to abide in us.  It takes root in our hearts to make us strong (I John 2:14). It establishes and steadies. The Psalmist declared that God’s words were sweeter than honey (Psalm 119:103).  Jeremiah devoured the words of the Lord and declared them a joy and a delight (Jeremiah 15:16). Job said that he treasured God’s word like his daily bread (Job 23:12).

Isaiah assured us that the grass may wither, and the flower may fade, but the Word of the Lord endures forever (Isaiah 40:8). It will stand for eternity. Every jot, every tittle, every comma, every period, every letter, every line, every word – all will be fulfilled in Christ. No deception can be found in its pages.

Like Job, hunger after God’s words like the food that is necessary for life itself. Like Jeremiah, gobble them up. Take joy in all the discoveries and the mysteries that you unravel. Find the character and the promises of God in His Word. Allow its truth to become the bedrock foundation of your life. Allow that truth to transform your mind, your heart, and your very life.

Today's Blessing: 

…in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.

Here we are – miles away from Thanksgiving! Months away from turkey, stuffing, and pumpkin pie. Many miles and months to go before the calendar turns, before the leaves turn, and before we turn to a table laden with scrumptious bounty and surrounded by those whom we love the most.

For the Christian believer, Thanksgiving is not just a holiday that we tick off our to-do lists the third week of November each year. Thanksgiving – gratitude – should be hardwired into our DNA, rooted in our hearts, and evident in our everyday lives.

In today’s verse, the apostle Paul instructs us to give thanks in every single thing. It’s easy to breeze over that verse with a confident, “Of course!” But are we giving thanks in everything? When we are satisfied and safe, happy and healthy, praises roll easily off our tongues. What about the other times though?

Paul practiced what he preached. The book of Acts tells us about a particularly tough time for this Christ-follower. In the town of Philippi, Paul and Silas were attacked, stripped, beaten with rods, thrown into jail, and restrained in stocks. That’s a bad day! Deep in the night, a sound reverberated through the prison cells as the other inmates listened. Was it crying, complaining, kvetching? No, it was the triumphant strains of praise, prayer, and the singing of hymns (Acts 16).

Paul had figured out how to be content. In poverty or prosperity. Whether famished or full, abased or abounding, thanksgiving flowed from his grateful heart. He recognized his Source in every situation and shared it with us: “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me” (Philippians 4:13).

Our thankfulness demonstrates to God that we trust Him more than the affairs of the world in which we live. In everything – not for everything – but in every condition, under every circumstance, through every situation, give thanks to God.

In the big moments, give thanks. In the small, seemingly insignificant moments, give thanks. On the good days when everything goes according to plan, give thanks. On the bad days when everything seems against you, give thanks.

When you consider your past, give thanks that God carried you through it. When you are overwhelmed in the crisis, give thanks that God will never abandon you to cope alone. When you consider all of your tomorrows, give thanks that God goes before you to smooth the path.

Today's Blessing: 

I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.

The reality of this Christian life, as the hymn proclaims, is “joy unspeakable, full of glory,” and “the half has never yet been told!” Because Christ lives in us, we overflow with His life. This present life is not the one we once endured, but a sins-washed-away, guilt-free, arms-wide-open, I’m-a-brand-new creation kind of life. All the old has gone, and His life has flooded in to fill every nook and cranny with lavish love, perennial peace, and jubilant joy. We should radiate that life.

Jesus proclaimed Himself the life (John 14:6). He brings His great big presence to so fill our hearts that it must spill out into our lives. Paul pointed out that “…in Him we live and move and have our being…” (Acts 17:28). Amazingly enough, He lives in us, moves on us, and works through us. As the irrepressible genie in Aladdin declares, “Phenomenal cosmic powers! Itty bitty living space!”

No matter the circumstances around us, the joy of the Lord is our strength (Nehemiah 8:10). Too many of us are living a “someday out there” life. When things get better or when we get through this rough patch or when we all get to heaven, “someday out there,” we will live our best lives. This is a right-now kind of salvation! This is the in-the-moment life of Jesus working on the inside. When the clouds open over our heads, pop up the umbrella of joy, and dance in the rain. Under His protection and provision, we still live with gladness and contentment. Jesus inside of us brings all that He is to bear on all that we experience.

With that Life comes power. Power to live with joy. Power to live with peace. Power to live with laughter. Power to live with self-control. Power to live with hope. Dynamite power on the inside of us – impacting our families, our communities, and our world.

Jesus Christ is alive. The King of kings, the Lamb of God slain, conquered death, hell, and the grave to bring life everlasting. No need to wait and see. No need to postpone. He is alive. He is life. And He lives in us. We are filled with Life, full of life, and carrying that Life to the world. Live!

Today's Blessing: 

Likewise, I say to you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.

Whenever one individual on this earth professes Jesus Christ as Savior, the angels in the presence of God rejoice. Imagine a sinner who bows his head to whisper a “yes” to Jesus, the Friend to sinners (Matthew 11:19). Consider how God might lean down to catch that desperate plea, how all around the throne, activity ceases and silence reigns as He smiles a “yes” in response. And at that final amen, all of heaven erupts in a party of praise! Innumerable angels shout for joy as one more receives a Savior that is worth having.

Do you ever take time to think about heaven? John the Revelator describes “a great multitude which no one could number, of all nations, tribes, peoples, and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, with palm branches in their hands, and crying out with a loud voice, saying, ‘Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!’” (Revelation 7:9-10). Beyond the mysterious creatures, the crystal river, the thundering horses, and the Lion of the tribe of Judah, do you ever think of the people who might stand next to you before the Great Throne?

A nomad with stars in his eyes who believed the promise of God. A young upstart who felled a giant with one smooth stone. A woman of ill repute who hung a scarlet cord in her window. A frightened maid who unflinchingly said, “Let it be to me.” A brazen professor who nailed 95 Theses to a door. A frail woman who reached out her hand to lepers. These shadowy figures who helped to shape our faith – their faces and philosophies, their doctrines and disciplines, their treatises and tenets, their hearts and hopes – will emerge from the mist to sing the song of the redeemed alongside us.

And, of course, there will be those even closer to our hearts. A grandfather who prayed for the generations to follow. That parent who sang hymns of deliverance over her children. The lovingly-anticipated child who never knew his mother’s embrace. The pastor who sacrificed for his little flock.

Consider that moment when all those faces around you turn to the Lamb Who was slain for our sins, when the great song of redemption bursts from our lips in glorious praise, when the angels revel in silence as that melody rolls through heaven, and our faith finally becomes sight. And all because one Man emptied Himself and was obedient even to death on the cross. Jesus is a Savior worth having.

Blessing: