Corona Devo 18
As days melt from one into the next, and the calendar becomes less important and relevant to my days, I had almost forgot that we are 2 weeks out from Easter.
I forgot. Jesus did not.
Each year I love to celebrate the Easter season and realize freshly all that Christ sacrificed for me (and you, and every human ever). But I guess it’s fair (and possibly even understandable) given the Corona situation that Easter might be approaching without our normal awareness.
But I continue to be amazed and challenged daily by the Lord’s leading (and holding me accountable) in my days and my life through His Word in the Bible. He keeps us on track, no matter what is happening in the Corona-storm around us.
The verses below remind us that Easter is coming, and that it’s not about chocolate bunnies and hidden eggs. It’s about Jesus sacrificing Himself on the cross for us, to pay for our sin, so that we can be seen as “clean” when God looks at us. If we accept the gift of salvation that Jesus gave for us at Easter, then God no longer sees our sins and what separates us from Him. God sees us washed in the blood of Jesus sacrifice.
In these verses in Hebrews, it discusses that in the old days (Old Testament, and before Jesus went to the cross for us), people (like us) had spiritual laws in place, saying that they had to bring animal sacrifices (often a lamb, bull or goat) to church. The animals had to be pure and would be sacrificed by priests of that time to “cover” the sins of the people.
The bummer of that system was that it was on-going, and never-ending. You were never “done”. There was (and is) always more sin that we are committing. And so there was always a need and guilt of having to bring more physical sacrifices to atone (pay for) it. It was a continual and conditional process.
But the Lord set that “old” system up for the Israelites to follow and understand, so that they (and their descendants---us!) would understand the amazing ultimate (and final) sacrifice that Christ made for us when He went to the cross. Christ’s sacrifice covered all of our sin, everything.
That’s my synopsis, but here is how the Bible tells the whole story.
Hebrews 10 - Christ’s Sacrifice Once for All
9 He (Jesus) cancels the first covenant in order to put the second into effect.
(Jesus cancels out the old laws of animal sacrifices by becoming our sacrifice at the cross.)
10 For God’s will was for us to be made holy by the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ, once for all time.
14 For by that one offering he forever made perfect those who are being made holy.
15 And the Holy Spirit also testifies that this is so. For he says, 16 “This is the new covenant I will make with my people on that day, says the Lord: I will put my laws in their hearts, and I will write them on their minds.”
When we accept the gift of Jesus sacrifice on the cross for us, then God does some cool stuff by putting His “law in our hearts”. We begin to want to serve the Lord, and be more like Him. He instills patience in us, and a love for others, even those that are difficult to love. We find his Word in the Bible, and by reading it, he put(s) my laws in their hearts, and I will write them on their minds.”
17 Then he says, “I will never again remember their sins and lawless deeds.”
18 And when sins have been forgiven, there is no need to offer any more sacrifices.
Please don’t miss the amazing mercy, grace and relief of these last two verses. They are powerful, and they will FREE YOU if you let them. All of the guilt that we hang on to from our yesterdays and past sins: from childhood, from our college days, from our stupid mistakes and even from this morning already—God says if we love Him and accept the sacrifice He gave for us on the cross, “I will never again remember their sins and lawless deeds.” ~Hebrews 10:17
And when we, in our human nature remember our sins, and beat ourselves up over them and our pasts, and tell ourselves that we have to try and do enough good deeds to outweigh the bad (which is impossible). God shushes us and tells us with His authority: And when sins have been forgiven, there is no need to offer any more sacrifices. ~Hebrews 10:18
THAT’S the message of Easter! If you can grasp the main gist of these verses in Hebrews, it frees you from trying to make your own sacrifices to make up for sins (we never could). It shows you the sacrifice (of His life) that Jesus made for us on the cross, and it settles our human and mental argument that we must always do more to please God. That is simply not true or possible. It has all been done by Jesus.
There it is—Easter’s purpose, in a nutshell. (In an eggshell?)
I sprang it on you a couple weeks early, but it’s the perfect time to start thinking about how much God loves you and what He did for you (sacrificed His Son).
The quote on my calendar today was by Roy Lessin, a Christian leader. I thought the Lord fit it perfectly with our Scripture for today:
“What an incredible journey Jesus made; what an overwhelming expression of love He undertook; what an awesome purpose He had in mind. You were on His heart. ~Roy Lessin
Blessings,
sarah
I forgot. Jesus did not.
Each year I love to celebrate the Easter season and realize freshly all that Christ sacrificed for me (and you, and every human ever). But I guess it’s fair (and possibly even understandable) given the Corona situation that Easter might be approaching without our normal awareness.
But I continue to be amazed and challenged daily by the Lord’s leading (and holding me accountable) in my days and my life through His Word in the Bible. He keeps us on track, no matter what is happening in the Corona-storm around us.
The verses below remind us that Easter is coming, and that it’s not about chocolate bunnies and hidden eggs. It’s about Jesus sacrificing Himself on the cross for us, to pay for our sin, so that we can be seen as “clean” when God looks at us. If we accept the gift of salvation that Jesus gave for us at Easter, then God no longer sees our sins and what separates us from Him. God sees us washed in the blood of Jesus sacrifice.
In these verses in Hebrews, it discusses that in the old days (Old Testament, and before Jesus went to the cross for us), people (like us) had spiritual laws in place, saying that they had to bring animal sacrifices (often a lamb, bull or goat) to church. The animals had to be pure and would be sacrificed by priests of that time to “cover” the sins of the people.
The bummer of that system was that it was on-going, and never-ending. You were never “done”. There was (and is) always more sin that we are committing. And so there was always a need and guilt of having to bring more physical sacrifices to atone (pay for) it. It was a continual and conditional process.
But the Lord set that “old” system up for the Israelites to follow and understand, so that they (and their descendants---us!) would understand the amazing ultimate (and final) sacrifice that Christ made for us when He went to the cross. Christ’s sacrifice covered all of our sin, everything.
That’s my synopsis, but here is how the Bible tells the whole story.
Hebrews 10 - Christ’s Sacrifice Once for All
1 The old system under the law of Moses was only a shadow, a dim preview of the good things to come, not the good things themselves. The sacrifices under that system were repeated again and again, year after year, but they were never able to provide perfect cleansing for those who came to worship.
2 If they could have provided perfect cleansing, the sacrifices would have stopped, for the worshipers would have been purified once for all time, and their feelings of guilt would have disappeared.
3 But instead, those sacrifices actually reminded them of their sins year after year.
4 For it is not possible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins.
5 That is why, when Christ came into the world, he said to God, “You did not want animal sacrifices or sin offerings. But you have given me a body to offer.
6 You were not pleased with burnt offerings or other offerings for sin.
7 Then I (Jesus) said, ‘Look, I have come to do your will, O God—as is written about me in the Scriptures.’”
(Jesus cancels out the old laws of animal sacrifices by becoming our sacrifice at the cross.)
10 For God’s will was for us to be made holy by the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ, once for all time.
11 Under the old covenant, the priest stands and ministers before the altar day after day, offering the same sacrifices again and again, which can never take away sins.
12 But our High Priest (Jesus) offered himself to God as a single sacrifice for sins, good for all time. Then he sat down in the place of honor at God’s right hand.
One time, and for all people and all time: when Christ went to the cross and was the sacrifice for (all) of our sins, it was a (high) price paid for us and our sin once and for all.
When we accept the gift of Jesus sacrifice on the cross for us, then God does some cool stuff by putting His “law in our hearts”. We begin to want to serve the Lord, and be more like Him. He instills patience in us, and a love for others, even those that are difficult to love. We find his Word in the Bible, and by reading it, he put(s) my laws in their hearts, and I will write them on their minds.”
17 Then he says, “I will never again remember their sins and lawless deeds.”
18 And when sins have been forgiven, there is no need to offer any more sacrifices.
Please don’t miss the amazing mercy, grace and relief of these last two verses. They are powerful, and they will FREE YOU if you let them. All of the guilt that we hang on to from our yesterdays and past sins: from childhood, from our college days, from our stupid mistakes and even from this morning already—God says if we love Him and accept the sacrifice He gave for us on the cross, “I will never again remember their sins and lawless deeds.” ~Hebrews 10:17
And when we, in our human nature remember our sins, and beat ourselves up over them and our pasts, and tell ourselves that we have to try and do enough good deeds to outweigh the bad (which is impossible). God shushes us and tells us with His authority: And when sins have been forgiven, there is no need to offer any more sacrifices. ~Hebrews 10:18
THAT’S the message of Easter! If you can grasp the main gist of these verses in Hebrews, it frees you from trying to make your own sacrifices to make up for sins (we never could). It shows you the sacrifice (of His life) that Jesus made for us on the cross, and it settles our human and mental argument that we must always do more to please God. That is simply not true or possible. It has all been done by Jesus.
There it is—Easter’s purpose, in a nutshell. (In an eggshell?)
I sprang it on you a couple weeks early, but it’s the perfect time to start thinking about how much God loves you and what He did for you (sacrificed His Son).
The quote on my calendar today was by Roy Lessin, a Christian leader. I thought the Lord fit it perfectly with our Scripture for today:
“What an incredible journey Jesus made; what an overwhelming expression of love He undertook; what an awesome purpose He had in mind. You were on His heart. ~Roy Lessin
Blessings,
sarah
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