There is only one way to communicate with God, though Jesus. He is the only one able to go before a perfect and holy God because he is without sin. He is our great high priest. In the past, there were all kinds of rituals and regulations for the people to show their faith in God. Killing animals and other sacrifices were able to make one temporarily able to speak to God, but this only lasted a short time. A priest would have to prepare himself for an extended period of time simply to go before God and ask forgiveness. Now, we have redemption through Jesus’ blood. He is the perfect sacrifice, not a temporary one, but a permanent solution to man’s problem, and not just for a few, but for everyone. That means anyone who accepts this sacrifice can take advantage of it’s benefits. We no longer need to worry about when the blood will run out, or how much sin our sacrifice covers. Jesus’ blood covers it all and forever. We receive it by faith, just as Abraham believed God, we believe in Jesus. He is the foundation of all of our faith and he is the one who does all the work. We need not feel exhausted because the burden is his, not ours. He will never pass away and he cannot be destroyed. We simply live out our lives as followers of Jesus, loving one another, functioning within the community of faith called the church, and doing the work of God’s mission on the earth. It is not easy, our faith will be regularly tested, but it’s only a tested faith that proves to be true. If we never faced any hardships, we’d never know if we really believed. It’s not enough to simply say you believe in Jesus, you have to actually believe. The only way to know that is if you end up living as through it’s true. If you say one thing, but do another, then you make yourself to be a lier. Worst of all, you’re lying to yourself. Just because you pray a prayer and say some words, that’s not what saves you. Faith saves you. Say the words, but mean them… how you live will reveal what you really believe.
Day 28: James 3 – 1John 1
Day 29: 1John 2 – Revelation 4
Day 30: Revelation 5 – 22
Day 31: Pray and prepare for 2018!!!
