SPIRITUAL
DIARY FOR 04-24-03
My
Worship Time Focus:
Shedding of blood for remission of sins
Bible
Reading & Meditation
Reference: Hebrews
9:21-22
Message of the verse: “And in the same way he sprinkled both the
tabernacle and all the vessels of the ministry with the blood. And according to the Law, one may almost say,
all things are cleansed with blood, and without shedding of blood there is no
forgiveness.” (NASB) “And in the same way, he sprinkled blood on
the sacred tent and on everything used for worship. In fact, we can say that according to the Law
of Moses, nearly everything was purified by sprinkling with blood. Without the shedding of blood, there is no
forgiveness of sins.” (NLT)
Verse
twenty-two carries along the same idea that was in verse twenty-one, and that
is where the blood was sprinkled when the covenant of the law was given. Some of these things were talked about in the
book of Exodus. In verse twenty-three
the writer give us on of the most remembered verses in the entire book, but
first he continues writing about how these articles that were used in the
covenant of the law were purified. He
says that with few exceptions everything was purified by blood. In some cases when very poor people could not
afford even a small animal for a sacrifice they could use flour. The last part of the verse is what most
people remember and it says that without the shedding of blood there is no
forgiveness of sin. Why is this the case
and what does it mean? Blood is the life
of a person or an animal so the writer is saying that when blood is offered for
the sacrifice that the sacrifice will die, something that is innocent dies for
the guilty. In the case of the OT the
shedding of blood by an innocent animal is a picture of the innocent Lamb of
God; Jesus Christ who gave his life for the guilty sinner.
Spiritual meaning for my life today: This truth is the heart and soul of the
Gospel, that Jesus, who was innocent, died for me the one who is guilty. I learned of this truth before I was saved,
and believed this truth for my salvation.
I am reminded of this truth each month at the Lord’s Table we observe at
church each month. I believe that this
is why the Lord Jesus Christ set this up this way before His death so that as
He says, “this do in remembrance of me.”
I do not ever want to think of this in the wrong light, as to say that I
deserved it, for this was done by a loving God who knew it was the only way to
save a sinner like me.
The Word of God brought a challenge to my heart to continue
to remember His death and resurrection that was done for me, and never take
this lightly or for granted.
My
Steps of Faith Today: To
always remember the gift of salvation that the Lord gave to me through His shed
blood and broken body on the cross. To
thank the Lord for each day of life that He gives me and takes care of me
through His wonderful gifts of life including the air I breathe and the food
that I eat. To continue to pray that He
would make me more like Himself especially in the areas of being courageous and
compassionate and to give me the grace each day to deal with IBS, both the
physical and mental, and spiritual aspects of this syndrome.
No comments:
Post a Comment