Tag Archives: salvation

February 16

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Leviticus 1-4

I guess I always pictured the priests doing all the work for a sacrifice. Today when I read I noticed that the person coming for forgiveness seems to do the slaughtering in front of the Tent of Meeting before the Lord. After the animal was killed the priests took over.

If I’m reading this right, anyone who sinned… your average Joe, a community leader, a priest… was required to spill the blood of his sacrifice himself. I am reminded that salvation is personal.

When I sin I must go to God on my own behalf. I must personally lay my life at his feet and submit to Him. I need to ask for forgiveness for myself. I need to ask Jesus to come into my life. No one else can do it for me.

A Jew wasn’t forgiven if he stood next to someone who offered a sacrifice. He wasn’t forgiven if his parents did what was required. I think he had to raise that knife and slash into that animal until its blood was spilled. He had to lay his own sins upon that sacrifice in order to receive forgiveness.

Dear Father, Thank you for making salvation personal. Thank you for offering yourself as a sacrifice for my sins. And thank you for the forgiveness that is mine when I come to you.

February 11

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Exodus 28&29

While reading these chapters today I am struck by how complex was the act of sacrifice for sin. From the color of thread for the priests’ robes to the amount of grain used in an offering, the ritual had a lot of detail to follow. I sit here wondering why God demanded so much in order to forgive the sins of Israel.

Why blue robes, pomegranates, gold bells, breastplates and jewels? Why bulls AND rams AND lambs? Why blood on the earlobe? I find myself wanting to know the significance of every detail.

Jesus has become our high priest and our perfect sacrifice, according to the New Testament. His work at the cross didn’t do away with what we read today. It completed it.

Maybe God made the rituals so complicated for Aaron to show us how seriously God takes sin. God doesn’t take sin lightly… nor should we. What Jesus did on the cross was complicated and detailed. And it fulfilled God’s requirements once and for all.

We no longer need to sacrifice bulls, but blood is still required for the forgiveness of sin. No amount of bulls’ blood can wash sins away completely. It took the precious blood of Jesus to accomplish that.

Holy God, your requirement for the forgiveness of sin is complicated and detailed. I thank you that, because of Jesus, those requirements are fulfilled. May we accept your forgiveness and realize what it cost Him to provide forgiveness for us. May we not take for granted His precious blood.

February 5

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Exodus 10-12

So finally after 430 years in Egypt Israel’s family is going home. They were free. God had seen the blood on the doorposts and spared them. They weren’t sure where they were going but they had faith in God to lead them.

Yes, they left some comforts in Egypt. Yes, they left some friends there. But where they were going was so much better.

And they were going because of the blood on the doorposts. They didn’t get a free pass just because they were Jewish. Their salvation didn’t come because they were kind or gave generously to the local United Fund. They weren’t spared because their brother obeyed. Salvation came only to the ones who covered their doorposts with the blood of the sacrifice.

I bet you know where I am going with this. Jesus is our sacrifice. He shed His blood and demands that we cover the entrance to our hearts with it. There is one salvation. And it’s through the precious blood of Jesus.

I don’t know why you read this post today. And I don’t know where you stand before God. But if you have not asked God to forgive you, if you have not accepted the free gift of salvation through Jesus’ blood, I pray you’ll do that today. Yes, there might have to be some things change in your life. And yes, it’s a little scary to begin a new journey. But I promise if you do, where you are going… and the the road you will travel with the Lord by your side is so much better than what you have today.

I am praying for you.

January 18

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Job 11:27-15:21

I remember reading about Lot’s rescue before. He and his family were living in Sodom when the city was attacked and they were taken prisoner. But it occurred to me today as though for the first time, that God was revealing Himself to Lot through this event. He provided a way out for Lot and his family.

Lot was living in a sinful city. He was surrounded by perversion… and so were his wife and daughters. When Uncle Abram came to their rescue they could have, and should have, settled somewhere else. Did Lot go to God for direction before taking his kids back to the evilness in the city? I doubt it.

This is another example of God using the events of life to draw us to Himself. In this instance Lot accepted the salvation, fled the city to safety but then went right back. Lot ignored God and the end result, as we’ll see later, is he’ll lose his wife and experience how living among the perverted effected his daughters.

Some people acknowledge Jesus as Savior, then go right back to living the same lifestyle they lived before. Before long the evidence of their conversion is lost. What God is saying to me today is that sometimes, in order to be the godly people God wants us to be, we need to make some drastic changes. If we do the same things, talk the same way, laugh at the same jokes, sooner or later we put ourselves in danger of ignoring the salvation that was ours. Lot did that. And the results were devastating.

I know that our unsaved friends need the Lord. And I know that Paul said he became all things to all men in order to win some. But I guess I want to encourage all of us to tread lightly, to go carefully into situations that might tempt us to sin. And never go without going to God first. Our friends and our neighbors need to see us different… better than we were before. Not the same.

God, let me see you in the events of today. Help me recognize the many ways you try to get my attention. May I not pass up any opportunity to do the right thing and draw closer to you. Give me the ability to recognize things that would compromise my commitment to you… and flee. And may my life be such that my friends and neighbors will see You and want to know you, too.

January 2

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Gen 4-6, I Chronicles1:1-4

Reading this I might be tempted to think God was unfair to Cain. It’s not that Cain didn’t bring God an offering. He was a farmer and offered God some crops from his fields. Cain planted, watered, weeded, and harvested this offering. Why wouldn’t God be thrilled with his effort?

No wonder Cain was upset when God rejected his offering. I am sure he felt God would look at his hard work and his intentions and give him an “atta-boy”. But Cain went to God on Cain’s terms. And God rejected him.

The people at this time talked to God so it’s highly unlikely Cain didn’t know God’s requirements for an acceptable offering. And even if he did not know, God told Cain after the offering was rejected, to do what is right. God encouraged Cain to repent, to recognize sin and master it. God gave Cain an opportunity for a second chance to do it right.

But Cain couldn’t or wouldn’t do it. We need to be careful not to make the same mistake Cain made. We can’t let pride get in our way of going to God for forgiveness. Like it or not there is only one way to God. There is only one truth. I cringe when someone says they don’t go to church or pray and are comfortable living an ungodly life because “God and I have an understanding.” Yeah. God understands that unless we obey him we are lost. We just can’t go to God on our own terms.

Thank you, Lord for making your way plain. Jesus said in no uncertain terms that HE is the way, the truth and the life and no one goes to the Father except through Jesus. Forgive me when I am tempted to sidestep your requirements or think that doing good is good enough. Help me to get over myself and come to you on your terms. And thank you for second chances.