November 30, 2010
Donated
Around the end of the year many blood banks have a shortage of blood because donors seem to take a holiday of sorts from their regular donating. During a recent request for donors a doctor described donated blood as a ‘gift of life’. For the believer the donated blood of Christ truly is the Gift of Life. "How much more, then, will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself unblemished to God, cleanse our consciences from acts that lead to death, so that we may serve the living God!" (Heb 9:14 NIV)
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
1 comment:
Gail;
-----The priests went continually into the Holy Place where the lamp-stand, the show bread, and the altar of incense were. (The author of Hebrews placed the altar of incense inside the Holy of Holies. The instructions at Exodus 30 places it before the veil in the Holy Place. There is a reason for this difference.) Only once a year the High Priest entered the Holy of Holies to atone for the sins of himself and the people. “By this the Holy Spirit indicates that the way into the sanctuary is not yet opened as long as the outer tent is still standing (which is symbolic for the present age). According to this arrangement, gifts and sacrifices are offered which cannot perfect the conscience of the worshiper.” (Heb 9:8-9) The difference between the effect of the priests’ activities and those of Jesus’ activities indicates two powerful principles in the new life we have while we yet live in these mortal tents. Neither one should we forget.
-----The first principle is that our new birth does not put an end to our doing of sin and error. “If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.” (I John 1:8) Even though we have come to the light and seek righteousness, we are not made perfect in thought or deed. This is an important truth for the Christian to keep in mind. The boldness we have for approaching the throne is in the humility of acknowledging that the approach has been made available to us; no that it has not been made by us. The approach we have to others is that we stand beside them, not above them. And we are able to approach ourselves without putting on deceptive blinders to the truth that much of our troubles stem from the consequences of our own imperfections. With that recognition, we are able to hunt down bad habits within us and make honest decisions which put them to rest. But as the owl knows there is an endless supply of mice, this principle is our knowledge that we have an endless supply of bad habits. Therefore, as the owl is assured of prosperous hunting everyday till he dies, we are assured that our overcoming evil will occur daily until we are removed from this tent.
-----“Seek the LORD, all you humble of the land, who do his commands; seek righteousness, seek humility; perhaps you may be hidden on the day of the wrath of the LORD.” (Zeph 2:3) But, “The righteousness of the righteous shall not deliver him when he transgresses.” (Ezek 33:12) The fact that we are not without sin does not absolve us from seeking righteousness. Yet, the righteousness we find only makes the conscience more sensitive to the sin we still do. This is not a very healthy mental condition. Therefore, the second principle: “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just, and will forgive our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” (I John 1:9) If we truly make the hunt, we are seen by God as having truly completed the hunt, even though we actually still hunt. If we seek righteousness, then Christ’s righteousness will be reckoned to us by our faith in hunting with Him. However, escaping the fires of conscience while we yet err in this tent is a difficult thing. But those fires are only a tool for the hunt. They are not scorching. And they are snuffed with the capture and defeat of their respective bad habit. So, they are not for our approaching the throne. They vanish then because God sees us approaching as we will be when our hunt has ended at the leaving of this tent.
Love you all,
Steve Corey
Post a Comment