Prayer
– Lord Jesus, what a pure example of Holiness You’ve shown for me. Holiness is
what I long for. God's will was for us to be made holy by the sacrifice of the
body of Jesus Christ, once for all time. (Hebrews 10:10). I don’t think that the
Heavenly Father’s will has changed for us. He still wants us to be holy by the
blood that You shed, Jesus. Thank you. Purify my heart—even now—and make me
holy and acceptable to the Father.
A shadow of things to come.
This sundial relies on a shadow for time.
Manito Park, Spokane, WA
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. 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. But instead, those sacrifices actually reminded
them of their sins year after year. For it is not possible for the blood of
bulls and goats to take away sins. 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. You were not pleased with burnt
offerings or other offerings for sin. Then I said, 'Look, I have come to do
your will, O God—as is written about me in the Scriptures.'" First, Christ
said, "You did not want animal sacrifices or sin offerings or burnt
offerings or other offerings for sin, nor were you pleased with them"
(though they are required by the law of Moses). Then he said, "Look, I
have come to do your will." He cancels the first covenant in order to put
the second into effect. For God's will was for us to be made holy by the
sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ, once for all time. Hebrews 10:1-10 NLT
Meditate.
Consider God.
Jesus
Christ was speaking when He said that He Himself came to be the ultimate sacrifice
for sin, since that was the Father’s will. The Scripture passage that He was
referring to was Psalm 40:5-8.
O LORD my God, you have performed
many wonders for us. Your plans for us are too numerous to list. You have no
equal. If I tried to recite all your wonderful deeds, I would never come to the
end of them. You take no delight in sacrifices or offerings. Now that you have
made me listen, I finally understand—you don't require burnt offerings or sin
offerings. Then I said, "Look, I have come. As is written about me in the
Scriptures: I take joy in doing your will, my God, for your instructions are
written on my heart." Psalm
40:5-8 NLT
Jesus was
happy to do just what our Heavenly Father wanted Him to do and He ultimately
did it willingly and obediently. When it comes to doing something difficult—are
we obedient to the Father? Were we obedient to our own earthly fathers? Several
years ago, my mother informed me I was a rebellious kid. What? I thought I was an
obedient, people pleasing kid, although I do remember a few sullen teenage days.
I didn’t run with the wrong crowd, smoke, or drink. I got good grades. In my sophomore
and junior years of High School I got up early every morning and went to my
Uncle’s farm to change irrigation sprinklers. Then after school in my junior
and senior years I did the accounts receivable bookkeeping for my Dad’s
electrical business, to earn money for college. What did I do that was so
wrong? I guess it was my attitude. Attitude is the key in relationships. I
sacrificed my time…but that wasn’t enough. I needed to sacrifice my attitude.
Although
Jesus spent a lot of His time with friends, like His disciples and other
followers, He was often helping individuals by healing them physically and
spiritually. His attitude was sacrificial towards mankind even before He died
on the cross. What do we spend our time doing? God's will was for us to be
made holy by the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ, once for all time. How
are we doing with accepting that holy sacrifice? Does His sacrifice remind us
of our guilt? Jesus said…
"The time promised by God has
come at last!" he announced. "The Kingdom of God is near! Repent of
your sins and believe the Good News!" Mark 1:15 NLT
Verse
of Salvation ~ Cry out, "Save us, O God of our salvation! Gather and
rescue us from among the nations, so we can thank your holy name and rejoice
and praise you." 1
Chronicles 16:35 NLT
Have you prepared your tax forms? Today is the day!
© 2024 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.
Biblical search from Blue Letter Bible - http://v3.blueletterbible.org/search.cfm.
Books by Mickey M.
Hunacek
Available as e-books or paperbacks at Amazon.comGa
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