While reading 2 Corinthians 12, I was hit with the theme of authority. That word spoke to me in a deep way and I realized- if I have any authority to speak, it only comes from His word, from His Holy Spirit, gently, thoroughly pulling me into my calling. Combining my passion, my desire, my longing heart to make a difference, to write, to speak his words. I have a fire in my belly. To learn and share about the blood of Jesus, and what it means for us. Today. Right now.
So I'll go back a bit in time....
Moses carried
the laws of God on his back from Sinai. Moses spoke with God, face to
face. He wrote and proclaimed all the details that God wanted. He
outlined everything he wanted to have done to atone for sin. It's not
an easy read. He wanted his temple just so. He wanted the blood of
animals. He wanted people to understand how much sin was not to be
tolerated.
The purpose of
the offerings was for them to take the place of sin. For a perfect,
without blemish, cherished animal to take that sin. To become that
sin, so that it's death represented the death of that sin, and our
freedom to return to union with God.
He had so many
details for how to live, how to look, how to reject uncleanliness
because he called his people to be seperate. To be holy. For them to
stick out like a sore thumb among others, so that others could look
as His people and see exactly who they were, and who they
represented. A sabbath for absolutely no working. Circumcision.
Traditions like living in booths for a certain ammount of time to
remember how they had lived in booths in the wilderness. He did call
for a noticeable seperateness, to make a long story short.
The passover
lamb was established in Exodus, the blood of the lamb to be placed
over the doorframe, as protection from the angel killing the
firstborn, when the Lord was showing his glory through the plagues,
to show his power and to enable the Children of Israel to not only
leave Egypt, but to plunder it as well and let his name become known
throughout the world.
Ephesians 2:11
Therefore
remember that you, once Gentiles in the flesh- who are called
Uncircumcision by what is called Circumsision made in the flesh by
hands,--that at that time you were without Christ, being aliens
from the commonwealth of Isreal and strangers from the covenants of
promise, having no hope and without God in the word. But now in
Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by
the blood of Christ.
It can be
really easy to take it for granted, that I, a gentile, am a partaker
in the promise of the God of the universe.
1 Corinthians 5:7 says "...Indeed Christ, our Passover was sacrificed for us."
That is why he
came. He came to tell people about His Father's kingdon, to testify
what the Father put into his mouth. He came to die and to leave us
the Holy Spirit to be with us all.
1 John 1:6
If we say that
we have fellowship with Him and walk in darkness, we lie and do not
practice the truth. But if we walk in the light as He is in the light
we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ
His Son cleanses us from all sin. If we say that we have no sin, we
deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our
sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse
us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we
make Him a liar, and His word is not in us.
These are some
basic truths. I think it's really time to go to the basics because
there is an enemy spreading lies and basically it's a
really dark world out there, saying that sin isn't real. And if there
is no sin, then Jesus sacrificed himself for nothing.
May the Lord
speak directly to you and give you passion for His Word, His love, and His
presence. Amen.
Katie