Tuesday, April 11, 2023

More Grace and Peace

Prayer – Lord God, Thank you for choosing me to be part of Your eternal holy family. By Jesus blood and the power of the Holy Spirit I have been sanctified and washed clean. I praise You, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Through Your merciful grace, I am basking in Your peace as I wait for Your return, Jesus. 

God the Father knew you and chose you long ago, and his Spirit has made you holy. As a result, you have obeyed him and have been cleansed by the blood of Jesus Christ. May God give you more and more grace and peace. 1 Peter 1:2

 

Meditate. God, The Holy Spirit.

 

Sculpture in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre
Depicting Jesus' sacrificial death on the cross
Jerusalem, Israel

The power of the Holy Spirit was released to magnify the name of Jesus and God, the Father. Peter tells us in the focus scripture passage today that when God chose us to be part of His family, it is the Spirit that made us holy. That holiness is what makes us obedient as we are purified by the blood of Jesus—once for all as described in the book of Hebrews.

In fact, according to the law of Moses, nearly everything was purified with blood. For without the shedding of blood, there is no forgiveness. That is why the Tabernacle and everything in it, which were copies of things in heaven, had to be purified by the blood of animals. But the real things in heaven had to be purified with far better sacrifices than the blood of animals. For Christ did not enter into a holy place made with human hands, which was only a copy of the true one in heaven. He entered into heaven itself to appear now before God on our behalf. And he did not enter heaven to offer himself again and again, like the high priest here on earth who enters the Most Holy Place year after year with the blood of an animal. If that had been necessary, Christ would have had to die again and again, ever since the world began. But now, once for all time, he has appeared at the end of the age to remove sin by his own death as a sacrifice. And just as each person is destined to die once and after that comes judgment, so also Christ died once for all time as a sacrifice to take away the sins of many people. He will come again, not to deal with our sins, but to bring salvation to all who are eagerly waiting for him. Hebrews 9:22-28

The author of Hebrews explains distinctly that when Jesus Christ comes again, and He will, that He brings salvation to all who wait for Him. If they don’t belong to Him, then they miss out. The blood of Jesus was shed once for all, but only those accepting Him as their Savior will be saved from their sins. He is not going to become a sacrifice again. Everyone makes mistakes, but that salvation is yours if you repent of your sin. It is God, through the Holy Spirit, that gives us more grace and peace.

 

Verse of Salvation ~ And just as each person is destined to die once and after that comes judgment, so also Christ died once for all time as a sacrifice to take away the sins of many people. He will come again, not to deal with our sins, but to bring salvation to all who are eagerly waiting for him. Hebrews 9:27-28

 

© 2023 Text, photos, and illustrations by Mickey M. Hunacek. All rights reserved. 

All scripture quoted from the New Living Translation (NLT) unless otherwise noted. 

New Living Translation copyright © 1996, 2004, 2007 by Tyndale House Foundation. 

Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

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