Nothing but the blood of Jesus...

When the kids were young, I had them wear the different colors during Holy Week to help them understand the gospel. Monday and Tuesday was blue/green (creation), Wednesday was gold (God made us for a relationship with Him), and Thursday was Red....to remember the blood of Jesus. That's what's on my heart today.... the precious blood of Jesus.

My previous email spoke of death... the need to die to self.... to allow the LORD to search us, and to continue to bring forth the fruits of repentance. I told you that I have been praying for us that we would be willing to repent of any remnant of sin from the past (like skins on an onion) we may have stopped blatantly lying to others... but is there any falsehood that remains? A book I am reading (Moody Classic) by L.E. Maxwell called, "Born Crucified" discusses Paul's spiritual parenthood to the Corinthian church and the importance for us all to not love and build up other believers' when they are 'in the flesh'... Citing 2 Cor 7, "Paul therefore holds his children in his heart, not to live and die with them, but 'to die and live' with them. He knows them as Christ's. And if Christ's, they have been crucified and raised a new creation. Paul loves the Corinthians, but not 'in the flesh' He loves them through the Cross. He knows 'no man after the flesh."

So, now, having grieved over sin and death... my heart is drawn to consider Christ's blood. Please grasp afresh with me this age-old truth.... the mystery of the ages.... and the privilege that only the elect can comprehend. I'm just going to list select verses...because God's word says it all.... I hope these truths bless you today.

^{We have Redemption through his blood!}

^{Heb. 2:14} "Since the children have flesh and blood, he too shared in their humanity so that by his death he might destroy him who holds the power of death—that is, the devil"

^{Romans 3:25"}God presented him as a sacrifice of atonement, through faith in his blood.

^{Eph 1:4-8} ' to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves. In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God's grace that he lavished on us...

^{Col. 1:19}For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross. Once you were alienated from God and were enemies in your minds because of your evil behavior.

^{Heb. 9} "¹Now the first covenant had regulations for worship and also an earthly sanctuary...

^9:6..When everything had been arranged... the priests entered regularly into the outer room to carry on their ministry. But only the high priest entered the inner room, and that only once a year, and never without blood, which he offered for himself and for the sins the people had committed in ignorance.

^{Heb 9:11-21}When Christ came as high priest of the good things that are already here, he went through the greater and more perfect tabernacle that is not man-made, that is to say, not a part of this creation. He did not enter by means of the blood of goats and calves; but he entered the Most Holy Place once for all by his own blood, having obtained eternal redemption. The blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a heifer sprinkled on those who are ceremonially unclean sanctify them so that they are outwardly clean. How much more, then, will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself unblemished to God, cleanse our consciences from acts that lead to death,so that we may serve the living God!

For this reason Christ is the mediator of a new covenant, that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance—now that he has died as a ransom to set them free from the sins committed under the first covenant.

^{Heb 9:22-28}In fact, the law requires that nearly everything be cleansed with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.

It was necessary, then, for the copies of the heavenly things to be purified with these sacrifices, but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these. For Christ did not enter a man-made sanctuary that was only a copy of the true one; he entered heaven itself, now to appear for us in God's presence. Nor did he enter heaven to offer himself again and again, the way the high priest enters the Most Holy Place every year with blood that is not his own. Then Christ would have had to suffer many times since the creation of the world. But now he has appeared once for all at the end of the ages to do away with sin by the sacrifice of himself. Just as man is destined to die once, and after that to face judgment, so Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many people; and he will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him."

OH. My. I hope you noticed that last verse... and I hope this living WORD... allows you to rejoice in a deeper more profound way... because nothing but the blood of Jesus can take away our sins....