SOME PEOPLE THINK IT’S OLD-FASHIONED
to talk about the blood of Jesus. Do
I? Not for a moment! The Word of God tells me that the blood of
Jesus is the foundation of our faith – without it there would not be a reason
for believing anything else about the Son of God. His shed blood defines Who He is. And it defines who we are in Christ. The blood of Jesus sets the believer’s future
apart from the future of all who do not believe in Jesus as their Savior. It sets apart living as a blood-bought child
of God from living without the power of the shed blood of Jesus. It’s the difference between victory and
defeat. It’s the difference between
freedom and bondage. It’s the difference
between joy and sorrow. Last night my
husband and I joined a group from our church to view “The Passion of the
Christ” – one lady had never seen the movie before. We had seen it several years ago when it was
first released, and perhaps one time since.
As the movie began and the story of the hours before the crucifixion of
Jesus began to unfold, we were once again gripped by the magnitude of such
suffering and agony … and of such love – for us! There is no holding back of tears, for such a
love is hard to grasp. Feeling as if we
were part of the group who knew and loved Him and who witnessed the events with
horror and sadness, we agonized with each word of ridicule, with each look of
scorn. We shuddered at the intensity of
the evil unleashed against Jesus; it seemed to grow greater with each thrashing
of the whip. The stripes on His back
were sliced open and deep with the anger that propelled each wickedly aimed
lash. We shivered as we saw the flesh
being shredded and Jesus looking to the Father as He struggled to stay on His
feet, and then on His knees as they beat Him within just a lash of His
life. The blood stained the courtyard …
the blood spattered in all directions and spotted the blood-thirsty soldiers
who took corrupt delight in the merciless crescendo of blows to Jesus’
back. It seemed they would never
stop. Seeing this portrayal again on the
screen, the truth struck us ever so boldly:
no wonder there is such power in the blood of Jesus … no wonder so many
miracles happen when we apply the blood of Jesus to our lives and our
circumstances. Remember what happened
when the blood was applied to the doorposts of the Israelites at the
Passover? The death angel passed over
that home and left the firstborn untouched.
The blood was the difference between life and death. It is the same for us today, in 2013! But do we apply it to our lives in obedience
to our God? Or do we just view it as
something recorded in a story that happened long ago? Have we forgotten the importance of the
sacrifice on the cross – and that we were the reason that the sacrifice was
needed? Do we set the blood of Jesus
aside? Do we diminish its relevancy in
our lives? Do we often wonder what is
missing in our sad, defeated lives? I
challenge you, though it is not Passion Week, to open the pages of your Bible in
the gospels to the account of the entire crucifixion and resurrection and read
it once again – very carefully. Walk
into the scenes as if you were there.
Ask yourself what your emotions would have been, had you stood just
steps away and witnessed the look of torturous suffering in Jesus’ eyes. Had you witnessed the look of love that shone
out of the swelling and the blood and the deformation of a face wracked with
pain. Would you have run to Him to try to stop the
ominous blows? Would you have run to Him
with a cup of cold water and a clean towel?
Would you have scattered and run?
Would you have stayed your distance?
Reading about the emotions and ensuing actions of Judas, His traitor –
of His disciples and close followers – of His mother and those He considered to
be family … what would you have done? I
had to ask myself what I would have done.
Would I have offered to show my love without counting the risk to
myself? Or would I have feared the
outcome and turned my back? You might be
saying, how would we know what we would do until that moment comes? Our actions are a choice, you know, and they
are an outward expression of what is inside our hearts. By God’s grace and with His help, my hope and
prayer is that we would run to Him without hesitation, giving to Him whatever
we could and lavishing our tear-stained love on Him as He shunned not one blow,
not one nail, not one drop of blood. You
see, He loved us that much! And the end,
His final breath – wasn’t the end! In
three days, He was alive and triumphant over His death, over the grave, and
every single death threat we will ever have!
His blood, His precious, priceless blood is ours. He shed it for us, may we never waste
it!
IN A NUTSHELL . . .
THIS SUNDAY, JUL 14:
10:00 A.M. - PRAISE & WORSHIP
10:30 A.M. - KIDZONE CHURCH
FRIDAY, JUL 19:
6:00 P.M. - RELAY FOR LIFE, a team event to fight cancer
Join your church team at the Fairgrounds and walk the path to honor both those who have lost their lives and those who are survivors! Come and support this special effort to make a difference for those who are fighting their personal battles with cancer. Most of all, be in prayer for God's divine healing touch in their lives! See Tina and Wayne & Verla for more info!
NEXT SUNDAY, JUL 21:
10:00 A.M. - PRAISE & WORSHIP
10:30 A.M. - KIDZONE CHURCH
ELEVATION
NORTH SPOTLIGHT!
We want to
ask you to include Daouda, our mission child from Senegal, Africa, in your daily
prayers! He lives in a culture without
much, even without necessities that we take for granted! We invite you to make him a part of our
church family by adding a love gift in the mission jar as often as you are
able! Our commitment to help Daouda with
schooling and medicine and clothing and food is $35 per month through World
Vision. His letters to us tell us that
our sharing and giving is making a big difference in his young life! If you want to help with the cost of shipping
small packets containing fun, inexpensive gifts once in a while, along with
photos and letters, please mark your giving that way for our church
treasurer. We thank you and Daouda does,
too!
REMEMBER . .
. Your love, O Lord, reaches to the heavens, your faithfulness to
the skies … How priceless is your unfailing love! ~ Psalm 36:5,7
Serving Christ Joyfully . . .
Pastor Doug and Debbie
