God’s Sacrifice and What it Means to You

In the daily quest to highlight new devotional writers to you, I often find articles which are very well written but shorter than our usual format. For that reason, today I’m introducing two new websites. Click the headers to read the respective devotionals.

The first is from the website of CTCI, Christian Training Center International.

Does Jesus innocence allow for him to sacrifice himself for us?

I have missed God’s goal for my life (aka sin). A penalty must be paid. Jesus, the innocent lamb of God, takes my place as a sacrifice. Now that is some very good news.

When Jesus is called the Lamb of God in John 1:29 and John 1:36, it is referring to Him as the perfect and ultimate sacrifice for sin. In order to understand who The Messiah was and what He did, we must begin with the Old Testament, which contains prophecies concerning the coming of The Messiah as a “guilt offering” (Isaiah 53:10).

The whole sacrificial system established by God in the Old Testament set the stage for the coming of Jesus The Messiah, who is the perfect sacrifice God would provide as atonement for the sins of His people (Romans 8:3; Hebrews 10).

The sacrifice of lambs played a very important role in the Jewish religious life and sacrificial system. When John the Baptist referred to Jesus as the “Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world” (John 1:29), the Jews who heard him might have immediately thought of any one of several important sacrifices.

With the time of the Passover feast being very near, the first thought might be the sacrifice of the Passover lamb. The Passover feast was one of the main Jewish holidays and a celebration in remembrance of God’s deliverance of the Israelites from bondage in Egypt.

The slaying of the Passover lamb and the applying of the blood to doorposts of the houses (Exodus 12:11-13) is a beautiful picture of The Messiah’s atoning work on the cross. Those for whom He died are covered by His blood, protecting us from the angel of (spiritual) death.

• Luke 23:41 —  “And we indeed are suffering justly, for we are receiving what we deserve for our deeds; but this man has done nothing wrong.”
• John 12:32 —  “And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to Myself.”
• Hebrews 4:15 —  For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin.
• Hebrews 7:26 — For it was fitting for us to have such a high priest, holy, innocent, undefiled, separated from sinners and exalted above the heavens;
• 1 Peter 2:22 — who committed no sin, nor was any deceit found in His mouth;
• Isaiah 53:9 — His grave was assigned with wicked men, Yet He was with a rich man in His death, Because He had done no violence, Nor was there any deceit in His mouth.

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The second reading for today is from Dennis at the site Luke 252. (I love the analogy here!)

Is Your Life A Derailed Train?

Revelation 3:15-16 says, “I know your deeds, that you are neither cold or hot. I wish you were either one or the other! So, because you are lukewarm-neither hot nor cold-I am about to spit you out of my mouth.”

There are a couple of reasons why God would prefer Christians to be cold rather than lukewarm: First, it is important to realize how much God loves each of us as individuals. John 3:16 teaches us that God loves us so much that He sent His only Son to die for me! When I live a lukewarm lifestyle, it hurts Him when I only want part of what He sent His Son to die for.

He came that we may have life more abundantly! But, there is even a greater reason why our lukewarmness bothers God enough that He would spew us out of His mouth. That reason is that He see a much larger picture of mankind and he sees the destruction caused by being halfhearted. Yes, Jesus dies for us individually, but He also died for all of us. 1 Timothy 2:4 says, “He desires all men to be saved.” The problem is that halfheartedness and inconsistency in our lives cause other people to fall away from God.

Let suppose we are in an area of the world where the main avenues for commerce are by rail. Suppose a train on a major railway were to halfway derail, part on the track and part off. In most cases it will take at least 3 days to get a crane to the area to clear away the wreckage, so that the track would be usable. But suppose this same train had completely derailed. Other trains could immediately continue on schedule. The first situation would probably not seem so bad, but it could cause 30 to 40 trains schedules to be cancelled and affect business all over the country. Hospitals could be waiting on blood or medications, and some waiting on food. In the second situation, although the train totally derailed, the only train affected was that one.

Your friends are watching and you cause the most harm to God’s kingdom when we are living a life that is partly on the track and partly off. In other words, are you keeping them from wanting to get closer to Christ? Live a life that would honor Jesus Christ. Reflect His glory and love to others today. God bless!

 

Christ on the Cross

This is, I believe our 6th time visiting the blog Strengthened By Grace. The first was in 2010. I really appreciate the faithfulness it takes to keep writing for such a sustained period. As usual, reading this at source sends “link love” to the various writers who appear here. Click the title below.

Take your time to read each verse, and note that unlike similar outlines you have seen, all the verse references are from a single book, in this case, Hebrews.

Why did Jesus die

At our Good Friday service, one of our pastors shared these reason, from the book of Hebrews, for Jesus’ death! May it help you focus on the purpose of Christ’s suffering and what it accomplished on our behalf!

To be crowned with glory and honor after tasting death for us!

“But we see him who for a little while was made lower than the angels, namely Jesus, crowned with glory and honor because of the suffering of death, so that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone.” (Hebrews 2:9)

To be perfected through suffering

“For it was fitting that he, for whom and by whom all things exist, in bringing many sons to glory, should make the founder of their salvation perfect through suffering.” (Hebrews 2:10)

To free us from bondage to the fear of death

“Since therefore the children share in flesh and blood, he himself likewise partook of the same things, that through death he might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil, and deliver all those who through fear of death were subject to lifelong slavery.” (Hebrews 2:14–15)

To be a sympathetic and helpful high priest

“For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.” (Hebrews 4:15–16)

To know experientially what obedience was like

“Although he was a son, he learned obedience through what he suffered.” (Hebrews 5:8)

To give us a clear conscience

“how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God, purify our conscience from dead works to serve the living God.” (Hebrews 9:14)

To be an eternal high priest

“For Christ has entered, not into holy places made with hands, which are copies of the true things, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God on our behalf. Nor was it to offer himself repeatedly, as the high priest enters the holy places every year with blood not his own, for then he would have had to suffer repeatedly since the foundation of the world. But as it is, he has appeared once for all at the end of the ages to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself.” (Hebrews 9:24–26)

To rescue us from judgment

“so Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to deal with sin but to save those who are eagerly waiting for him.” (Hebrews 9:28)

To offer a once-for-all sacrifice

“And every priest stands daily at his service, offering repeatedly the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. But when Christ had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God,” (Hebrews 10:11–12)

To make us holy, blameless and perfect

“For by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified.” (Hebrews 10:14)

To give us access to the holies place

“Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus,” (Hebrews 10:19)

To gain our joy and His

“looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.” (Hebrews 12:2)

To call us to follow His example of costly love

“Consider him who endured from sinners such hostility against himself, so that you may not grow weary or fainthearted. In your struggle against sin you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood.” (Hebrews 12:3–4)

To free us from the slavery of sin

“So Jesus also suffered outside the gate in order to sanctify the people through his own blood.” (Hebrews 13:12)

To set the stage for His own resurrection from the dead

“Now may the God of peace who brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, the great shepherd of the sheep, by the blood of the eternal covenant, equip you with everything good that you may do his will, working in us that which is pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen.” (Hebrews 13:20–21)