As we come together this morning, Father, may I be focused on you and attentive to Your words…and may that be the case not just here and now but throughout our day together. Amen.

Hebrews 9:1-15 (<<click here)

Lord, for my mind to wrap itself around this passage I need to go back to the very beginning. Adam and Eve were very clearly told, in fact it explicitly states in Genesis 2:16-17,

“But the Lord God warned him, ‘You may freely eat the fruit of every tree in the garden – except the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. If you eat its fruit, you are sure to die.’”

They disobeyed and sin entered the world and according to God’s word, being irrevocably true, with sin came death. Paul’s statement in Romans 6:23 makes it clear. “For the wages of sin is death…” So for Adam and Eve’s sin to be forgiven death was required. Their death was not instantaneous but blood had to be shed. To cover their new found nakedness blood was shed – a life was sacrificed – and so it began.

So for thousands of years because sin was inevitable (and will be until Christ returns) life – blood – was forfeit for forgiveness. And that was the case still when Jesus first came to live amongst us.

Over time God set up a structured system by which sins could be forgiven. It may have provided the necessary forgiveness but it dealt basically in the realm of the physical and ceremonial. By its very nature it could not get to the core of the problem – the conscience. And there was no permanence to it – every time they sinned another sacrifice was needed. In addition every year it was necessary to offer a sacrifice for the community as a whole.

But in God’s timing Jesus came to live amongst us. He became the perfect, once and for all, sacrifice. And His sacrifice went way beyond the ceremonial and physical – it went to the very core of our being. His blood not only covers us but His very presence fills us. The conscience can be brought under control.

Lord Jesus, thank You for all You do. We no longer need live defeated lives. In You we are victorious, “In You we are more than conquerors. Romans 8:37 NIV

Apr 5th, Tue, 6:45am

A band that I really like is Rend Collective – here’s a great song by them if you’d like to check it out!