Forgiveness of Sins

Matthew 26:28 (ESV)

For this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.

“I have forgiven the killers and have no bitterness...”

These were the famous words of Mrs. Gladys Staines, the widow of an Australian missionary, Graham Staines as recorded on the front page of the country’s top newspapers. On January 22, 1999, Graham Staines and his two sons were burnt alive while they were sleeping in a van at Manoharpur, Odisha.

How could she forgive the people who mercilessly killed her family?

“God in Christ has forgiven me and expects His followers to do the same.” Was her reply.

Matthew 26:28 – “...for this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.”

The blood of Jesus was literally poured out on the Cross so that our sins might be forgiven. The Bible says that without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins (Hebrew 9:22). In the Old Testament Law, animals were sacrificed to cover sins. Jesus is the perfect Lamb of God, who does not cover our sins but takes them away. (John 1:29)

Micah 7:18-19 (GNB) – “There is no other God like you, O Lord, you forgive the sins of your people who have survived. You do not stay angry forever, but you take pleasure in showing us your constant love. You will be merciful to us once again. You will trample our sins underfoot and send them to the bottom of the sea!”.

One of the most beautiful things about God’s nature is the way He forgives. He does it so completely and in full. Every wrong thing that we have ever done, everything that could make us feel guilty, every accusation that the enemy could ever bring against us – God hurls it into the depths of the sea!

As people who have received his lavish forgiveness, God expects us to give the same away.

  

Dear Lord, thanks You for loving us. Show us today if we are carrying any offense or hurts towards others. Help us to forgive people as You have forgiven us. In the Name of Jesus, Amen.

The Exchange

1 Peter 3:18 (ESV)

For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive in the spirit.

There’s a true story of a tragic train accident that left many coaches of the derailed train in an icy lake. As rescuers tried their best to save the passengers, they came across a certain coach. A couple yelled for help from inside it and with great effort passed their little daughter to the rescuers. Sadly, they drowned but saved their daughter.

The rescuers realized the extent of the sacrifice when they saw that the child had cerebral palsy and was completely dependent on others to help her.

To the world, such a child may be a burden but to her parents she was precious and they died saving her.

1 Peter 3:18 – “For Christ also suffered once for sins, the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh”.

Here are the true meaning and purpose of the cross. On it a divinely ordained exchange took place. Christ died in our place! The Righteous One died for the unrighteous ones.

As sinners, we were lost, with no hope or future. Probably our very existence was a burden. But to Jesus, we were precious – precious enough to die in our place.

In this exchange, the evil due to us came upon Jesus, that, in return, the good due to Jesus might be offered to us.

None of us has ever done anything to deserve such an offer, and none of us can ever do anything to earn it. This is called grace.

Dear Lord, we pray that we would be Your disciple today. Help us to walk in Your footsteps and bringing glory to You through our whole life. In the Name of Jesus, Amen.

The Blood of Jesus

Ephesians 1:7 (ESV)

In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace.

There’s a story about a man who was greatly grieved when he saw people being sold off at a slave market. He noticed a beautiful girl being auctioned off. He bid on her and won her. She looked at him with hateful eyes. As he walked off with his property, he turned to the young woman and said, “You are free”. The woman was completely taken aback and replied, “What do you mean free?” He said, “It means you are free.”

“You mean I can do whatever I want to do?” He nodded.

“You mean I can say whatever I want to say?” He nodded again.

“You mean I can go wherever I want to go?” He said, “Yes”.

“Then,” said the young woman with tears in her eyes, “I will go with you.”

This is exactly what Jesus has done for us! He redeemed us, not with silver or gold, but with his own blood.

Psalms 49:7, 8  – “No man can by any means redeem his brother, or give to God a ransom for him. For the redemption of his soul is costly...”

To redeem means to buy back or to pay a ransom price.

Through sin, every human is a slave of the devil. No man can redeem or free another from this slave market of sin because his own soul is sold into sin. There is no price that can buy a human back from the slave market of sin except the blood – the precious blood of the Lamb of God, without spot or blemish.

Ephesians1:7 - “In Him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace”.

The redemption has transferred us from the devil’s hand to the hand of the Lord!

From destruction to a glorious future!

Therefore, we lovingly and gratefully say like that young woman, “I will go with you.”

Dear Lord, we praise You because You are Adonai, our loving Master. Give us the grace to serve You with joy and gladness. Help us to serve You and build up others. In the Name of Jesus, Amen.

The Cross

1 Corinthians 2:2 (ESV)

For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified.

When the Apostle Paul went to the great and intellectual city of Corinth, he said, “I determined not to know anything among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified” (1 Corinthians 2:2). 

Paul was a very learned and educated man. He was on par with the happenings around him and hence was very qualified to debate with the people of Corinth. Yet, he decided to put aside all worldly knowledge and tactics and know nothing except what’s really important – Jesus Christ and Him crucified! Why?

1 Corinthians 2:5 – “that your faith should not be in the wisdom of men but in the power of God.”

The Cross of Christ tells us a story – a love story. A powerful love story, so powerful that it has transformed millions of lives all over the world!  And still continues to do so.

To the people of Corinth, the preaching of the cross was foolishness. For us, the cross is the power of God and the wisdom of God. In fact, the answer to all the world’s problems can be found at the foot of the cross.

It is on the basis of the sacrifice of Jesus, that all our needs whether in our body, soul, mind, emotions, as well as all our material and financial needs, are met by God.

We, each of us, are burdened with our own special need, but to receive God’s solution we must all make our way to the same place – the cross of Jesus.

Dear Lord, we ask You for the grace to fast, pray, praise God and to spend time with You. Help us to work on our heart. Open our spiritual eyes so we will see what God wants us to see. In the Name of Jesus, Amen.

What’s in a Quiet Time?

Psalm 100:1 (ESV)

Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth!

I’ve always felt guilty about my morning “quiet time” because the idea of silent prayer, reading, and journaling has never inspired me. So I once asked a Jewish friend what he thought Jesus’ “quiet time” might have looked like. He laughed at the idea of a “quiet time” because for centuries Jewish daily devotions have been anything but quiet! He told me that his daily devotion included public reading of Scripture, singing in worship, and praying loudly while walking and moving his whole body. It’s anything but quiet, he told me.

So when Jesus did His “devotions,” it’s likely it would have looked less like sitting on the end of His bed with head bowed and eyes closed—and more like a worship concert.

How will this idea change your “quiet time” today?

Dear Lord, help us to have a “Quiet time” that brings us closer to You. Help us to be creative as we study and ray to You. In the Name of Jesus, Amen.

Getting Your Feet Wet

Luke 18:27 (ESV)

But he said, “What is impossible with man is possible with God.”

The Jordan River just outside of Jericho is a site most Christians know as the place where John baptized Jesus and where God’s people entered the Promised Land. But for the Israelites of the Old Testament, the Jordan was a roadblock. Decades of irrigation have left the Jordan narrow today, but at the time of the Exodus, this was a wide, fast-flowing river that stopped the Israelites in their tracks. They were on the brink of a God-sized future, but were stuck at an obstacle.

Do you ever feel like this? Like the thing God has for you is just out of reach?

God told the Israelites that the only way past the Jordan River was for them to take a step of faith into the water. He told them that only when their feet were wet would He stop the flow of the river—and this is exactly what happened. But in order for the river to stop where they were, God had to block it upstream. This means He was working long before His followers had worked up the courage and faith to move forward.

Are you facing an obstacle today? Are you stuck on the wrong side of your own “personal Jordan”? I believe that God is already working today to get you through your roadblock so He can move you from being grounded to being grateful.

Dear Lord, we pray that we would not look at the obstacles in our life as an obstacle but that we would look at them knowing You are already working the situation out. In the Name of Jesus, Amen.

Mercy and Compassion

Lamentations 3:22-23 (ESV)

22 The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases;

    his mercies never come to an end;

23 they are new every morning;

    great is your faithfulness.

There’s a verse in the Bible that talks about God’s mercies being “new every morning” (Lamentations 3:23, NIV). The word “mercy” here is the Hebrew word rachum, which means “to actively show compassion.” So this verse means that every morning, God actively shows compassion toward us.

The first believers used to teach that every night our soul goes back to God to be given wisdom and be close to its Creator ... and then God returns it every morning so we can begin a new day. While this is a great picture of God’s compassion toward us, I know some of us find it hard to start a new day because we still carry the troubles of the previous day and don’t feel we deserve God’s compassion. Sometimes we feel like the bad things that happened in your past will overwhelm you in the day ahead. There is an appropriate way to use your story, not as an excuse but as a testimony to God’s ability to free you from your past.” That is God’s mercy and compassion!

As the sun rises in the morning, may you be aware of God’s tangible compassion and mercy toward you.

Dear Lord, we pray that as the sun rises in the morning that we will see Your compassion and mercy that You show to us everyday. In the Name of Jesus, Amen.