Christ’s Blood Not Only Covers, It Cleanses  

When I recently received by first dose of the Covid vaccine, I was also given a card testifying to that fact. I was told that I might want to keep it with me or even take a picture of it to have with me on my phone at all times because it’s possible I might be required to show it for entrance into certain places or to participate in particular activities. Whether we agree with the practice or not, it could become a pass we may be required to produce.

As we enter into Holy Week and especially commemorate what Christ did for us on the cross, some people tend to view the blood He shed for us merely as our free pass. It testifies that we’re in good standing with God. It’s our ticket to get into heaven one day – showing that our sins have been covered. And that is certainly true, as far as it goes. We can’t point to anything we’ve done or any goodness on our part as the reason for us to merit favor with God or entrance into the glorious place Jesus is preparing for His people. It is only through faith in what Jesus did for us as the sacrifice for our sins that we can enjoy the blessing of fellowship with God and the gift of eternal life.

However, if all we see in the blood of Christ is our “approval card” or “free pass” then we’re missing a vital part of the picture. I didn’t get my vaccination simply in order to get that card. I took the shot primarily in order to protect myself from this virus that is infecting people. Similarly, what Jesus did at the cross doesn’t only cover our sins, provide forgiveness, and get us on the road to heaven. It provides a remedy for the spiritual malady that infects the hearts and lives of fallen humanity. It not only covers – it cleanses. “The blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin” (I John 1:7). Jesus gave His life not only to get us to heaven, but also to prepare us for living for Him and serving Him as His holy people in this life. “How much more shall the blood of Christ…cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?” (Hebrews 9:14).

I like the old gospel song, “There Is Power in the Blood”. Some of us wholeheartedly sing the first part of that song – “Would you be free from your burden of sin? There’s power in the blood.” We depend on Christ’s sacrifice to free us from the guilt, shame, and condemnation of sin that has weighed us down and separated us from our Heavenly Father. But if that is the extent to which we view the power of Jesus’ blood, we’re falling short in our understanding and losing out on all the Lord wants us to experience as His followers. Other parts of that song ask, “Would you o’er evil a victory win? Would you be free from your passion and pride? Would you do service for Jesus your King?” And the repeated answer is, “There’s power in the blood (of the Lamb)”. Jesus shed His blood so that we can not only be free of sin’s condemnation, but also so we can experience a life of victory over sin’s power in our lives. The blood of Christ cleanses and changes our hearts - empowering us to overcome the evil from without and the sinful tendencies from within. 

Don’t underestimate the power of Christ’s blood. It’s more than our free pass into heaven. It’s our source of cleansing and enablement to live for the Lord and serve Him now.

 

Trust in the Lord and Rest in Him  

Last weekend when we changed over to Daylight Savings Time, I faithfully went through the process of adjusting the various clocks in our house. I moved them all forward the appropriate one hour, except for the clock radio situated beside my bed. It is supposed to automatically adjust itself whenever we go through these twice-a-year time changes. I always feel a little uneasiness about going to bed without manually regulating that device. After all, this is the one clock I depend on to wake me up at the proper time. If it doesn’t sound its alarm at the correct moment, it could get my day off to a rough start.

So when I woke up during the night and glanced over to view the time on that clock radio, I realized that it was past the official hour when Daylight Savings Time was supposed to have kicked in. I wondered, “Did my clock switch over?” So I actually crawled out of bed to check the time on my watch which was setting on the nearby dresser. Sure enough, it matched up with the reading on the clock radio. So with that confirmation, I was able to go back to bed and rest peacefully for a while longer, knowing that I would be awakened at the proper time.

As I had a hard time trusting that clock, sometimes we find it difficult to trust the Lord to take care of matters in our lives. He assures us that He’s got it under control, but it’s hard to let go of it ourselves and depend on Him to do what He says. Even when we are trying to patiently wait on Him, we are often guilty of doing it with anxious hearts rather than with the peaceful assurance that our Heavenly Father will come through at the right time and in the right way. We keep wanting to get our hands on it. It’s hard to relinquish control in the first place, but even after we do, it’s so tempting to try to take it back again. However, even if we refuse that temptation, do we wait on the Lord with a sense of quiet confidence or with nervous apprehension?

I’ve always appreciated the way the psalmist encourages us along these lines. He says, “Commit your way to the Lord, trust also in Him, and He shall bring it to pass…Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for Him; do not fret…” (Psalm 37:5-7). First we’ve got to commit our way to the Lord. Put your situation in God’s hands. Pray and cast your care upon him. Realize your inability to handle it and give it over to God. Secondly, trust Him with it. Know that the Lord who loves you and wants what is best for you will accomplish what needs to be done. Trust that He’ll do it according to His wise timetable and in the way that will be best for all concerned, including you. And then comes what may be the most challenging part – rest in Him. Don’t just wait while nervously watching the clock or the calendar. Don’t fret about if, when, or how God is going to do it. Simply rest and wait. Know that the Lord has got this. Remind yourself of how He has been faithful in the past and how you know you can trust Him yet again today. Ask Him to bless you with a sense of peace and confidence in Him.

Even though I may struggle with trusting a clock to do what it should, I certainly ought to be able to trust God to do what He says. And you can too. Whatever our situation may be today, let’s commit, trust, and rest in Him.             

 

Don’t Be Afraid to Live by Faith in Christ  

Recently one of our young grandsons came over to our house to show us that he was learning to ride his bicycle without training wheels. Admittedly, he had made some progress toward achieving that goal. He demonstrated that he could ride along without any assistance – as long as he went in a straight line and didn’t go very far or very fast. He did need a little help to get started. He wouldn’t try to make any turns. And when he got ready to stop or felt like the bike was going to tilt over, instead of putting his leg down to catch himself, he virtually hopped off the bike so as to avoid taking a tumble. It was clear that while he might still require a few pointers about riding, more than anything else he needed to build up his confidence to overcome his fears of falling.

Similarly some of us could probably use more confidence when it comes to our journey in following Christ – not more confidence in ourselves or our abilities, but more confidence in Him. We often think of it more in terms of trust or faith. We may have begun a life of traveling along that pathway with Him as our Savior, but we still tend to be very tentative about pedaling down those roads in which He leads us. We often feel incapable of obeying God’s guidance when it comes to making any significant turns or changes from the direction we’re accustomed to going. We move along very slowly, even when the Lord is encouraging us to press ahead more urgently. We’re hindered from making more progress because of our fear of stumbling and falling.

The Bible tells us that our journey through life is one of faith. “The just shall live by faith” (Romans 1:17). We need to trust that the Lord will help us to navigate those twists and turns we encounter along the way – and we’ve been facing many of those over the past year. When the Lord urges us to move forward, we don’t have to hold back. We can trust that He will be with us as we shift our lives into a new gear. And all along the way we can have faith in the One whom the Bible says is able to keep us from falling (Jude 24). We can trust that when we have to thrust our leg out to steady ourselves that He will uphold us and keep our feet from slipping. However, even when we do take an occasional tumble, He’ll be there to pick us up and help us get back on the road again.  

When some people consider the idea of “living by faith”, they imagine a life filled with constantly taking high-risk leaps of faith. They see it as being like a spiritual Evel Knievel, the famous motorcycle daredevil. Granted, there may be times when the Lord will not only get us out of our comfort zones, but challenge us to do things that seem difficult, if not impossible. He may call us to jump over some Grand Canyon in our lives. However, most of the time living by faith will simply involve the low-risk pedaling along in our everyday lives as we trust the Lord to help us maneuver over the little bumps in the road, successfully make those turns in a different direction, and climb those challenging hills – to keep faithfully following Him through our course in life.

Let’s not be afraid to follow wherever the Lord is leading us. Let’s take off our training wheels and trust Him to help us go whichever direction and at whatever speed He desires. Let’s live by faith in Him.          

 

God’s Rescue Plan for Us Involves Repentance  

You’ve probably heard about the piece of legislation Congress has been dealing with recently. It consists of an economic stimulus package of $1.9 trillion. I’m not going to use this space primarily to debate the wisdom or effectiveness of such action. You can go to the editorial pages or the blogs of political pundits to read those discussions. What I would like to focus on here is related to the official name of that legislation. It’s called “The American Rescue Plan Act of 2021”. That’s a rather ambitious title for what some people think this law will accomplish if enacted. It might provide some temporary relief that will be helpful to some people, but it certainly won’t rescue America as a whole from the main issues our nation is facing today. No amount of money and no political action will be sufficient to address our deepest needs. I believe those are spiritual, which is why I’m addressing them here.

 First of all, God has a much more effective rescue plan not only for Americans but for all people. His plan isn’t some new proposal for 2021, but it’s the same one that has been around since the beginning of time. Each one of us needs to be delivered from our sin, as well as from the condemnation, guilt, and other consequences which follow our having chosen our way over God’s will. This spiritual problem is the root of most of the other issues we’re facing. God sent His Son into this world to take our sin and its fallout onto Himself so that we who put our trust in Him as our Savior could have eternal life. God’s plan hasn’t changed. Faith in Jesus and what He did for us on the cross is still the only way for us to experience the needed deliverance.

 Therefore the main “act” that would truly rescue individuals and our nation is the same one which both John the Baptist advocated (Matthew 3:2) and Jesus Himself proclaimed (Matthew 4:17) as the remedy in their day for those who were facing the wrath of a holy God. “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” If we’re on a destructive pathway, then we need to turn around. We need to change course. That’s what repentance entails. It’s a change of mind that results in a change of direction. We need to forsake our own way and start going God’s way.

For our nation we would do well to follow the plan of rescue that worked so well for the people of Nineveh in the time of Jonah. Although warned of coming judgment, they were spared. Why? The Bible says that they believed God, proclaimed a fast, and the people were encouraged to “cry mightily to God” and to turn from their evil ways (Jonah 3:5-8). Maybe similar actions on our part would bring similar results.

It’s not just an ungodly society that needs to repent today but also those who profess to be Christians. Much of the church needs to repent of having turned away from God and the teachings of His Word. We need to repent of depending more on political leaders and government actions to save us rather than looking to God as our source of help. We need to repent of our lack of prayer, our complacency, and of letting our fears keep us from standing up for what’s right. We need to repent of our inaction and of not being a better channel of the Lord’s light and love in this dark world.

God has a way to rescue us, but we have to submit to Him and follow His plan. So let’s repent, earnestly seek God, and surrender to His will.