December 15
Revelation 1:4-6 (AMP) John to the seven assemblies (churches) that are in Asia: May grace (God's unmerited favor) be granted to you and spiritual peace (the peace of Christ's kingdom) from Him Who is and Who was and Who is to come, and from the seven Spirits [the sevenfold Holy Spirit] before His throne, And from Jesus Christ the faithful and trustworthy Witness, the Firstborn of the dead [first to be brought back to life] and the Prince (Ruler) of the kings of the earth. To Him Who ever loves us and has once [for all] loosed and freed us from our sins by His own blood, And formed us into a kingdom (a royal race), priests to His God and Father--to Him be the glory and the power and the majesty and the dominion throughout the ages and forever and ever. Amen (so be it).
Oh, God is so good to you and me!!! Look back at Revelation…it says, “…Who ever loves us and has once [for all] loosed and freed us from our sins by His own blood.” Jesus is the Who and He ever loves us…pause and think this over…He ever loves us. Now look at “once for all” ~ His one time sacrifice was good enough for all ~ for every one and for all times. There is no need for another sacrifice. The scripture in (Hebrews 10:3-5) is referring to the sacrifices for sins, as directed by the Law in the Old Covenant, and, in the Law, the sins were not taken away by the blood of animals. But we, under the New Covenant, are blessed to have our sins taken away because of the precious blood of Jesus…and that once for all. We have been loosed and freed from them ~ from their grip on us.
Have you been freed from sin? Have you had any sins loosed over your life…ones that were once controlling or overpowering you that now have no grip over you? What a blessing it is indeed ~ to be freed by Jesus and to walk in that freedom.
Hebrews 2:17 (NIV) For this reason he had to be made like his brothers in every way, in order that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in service to God, and that he might make atonement for the sins of the people.
Jesus had to be made like us ~ to come down to earth and be born as a human. He became a high priest and made atonement for our sins. Now think about this ~ in the Old Testament the high priest offered the sacrifice for atonement and, in the New Testament, Jesus offered Himself as the sacrifice…He was the High Priest and the Lamb for the sacrifice. What does that do for your soul? What kind of comfort do you gain from knowing that Jesus had to become a human baby to then become our sacrifice? It may seem crazy to think about this “Easter” message at Christmas…but, just as it was announced by the angel, that is why the Baby came…the two messages really do go together…the Baby Jesus is the Lamb of God!
Spend time in prayer and enjoy your forgiven-in-Christ-Jesus day!
Merry Christmas ~ Laurie Kay
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