Bible League: Living His Word So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive his mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it most.The sacrifice of Jesus Christ was a more perfect sacrifice in comparison to the sacrifices made under the Mosaic Law. Jesus Christ's sacrifice was the reality, whereas Mosaic sacrifices were mere shadows of the reality. Under the Mosaic Law priests could only enter the earthly Holy of Holies in order to make atonement for sin. Jesus, in contrast, was the great High Priest who entered heaven itself in order to make atonement for sin (Hebrews 4:14). Further, under the Mosaic Law blood sacrifices had to be repeated year after year and could never make anyone perfect before God. The sacrifice of Jesus, in contrast, was a once for all sacrifice that could actually make people holy (Hebrews 10). Given the superiority of Christ's sacrifice, we may have great confidence in Him and His priestly intercession for us. We may come before God boldly. We have been made holy by Christ's sacrifice and, as a result, we may approach God without any doubt that we may do so and without any fear of retribution for having done so. Although once we were far away from God, we have now been brought near (Ephesians 2:13). When Christians come boldly to the throne of our gracious God we will receive His mercy. That is, we will receive His pardon for any sin that still remains in our lives. Since Jesus Christ by His sacrifice paid the penalty for our sins, we may come boldly before God and receive the mercy that is ours in virtue of Christ's sacrifice. When Christians come boldly to the throne of our gracious God we will also receive His grace. That is, we will receive His blessing and help for any needs that still remain in our lives. The grace we receive will help us "when we need it most." When we come before God we may boldly ask for help during the trials, troubles, and tribulations of life and we may expect God to help. If you have felt timid and unworthy when coming before God in prayer, then let today be the day you start to come boldly and expectantly before His throne. Bible in a Year Old Testament Reading1 Chronicles 26, 27 1 Chronicles 26 -- Divisions of the Gatekeepers, Treasurers and Other Officials NIV NLT ESV NAS GWT KJV ASV ERV DRB 1 Chronicles 27 -- Army Commanders, Tribal Officers, Overseers, and Counselors NIV NLT ESV NAS GWT KJV ASV ERV DRB New Testament Reading John 11:18-46 John 11 -- Jesus Comforts Martha and Mary, Raises Lazarus; The Plot to Kill Jesus NIV NLT ESV NAS GWT KJV ASV ERV DRB Reading Plan Courtesy of Christian Classics Etherial Library. Tyndale Life Application Daily Devotion Household gods give worthless advice,fortune-tellers predict only lies, and interpreters of dreams pronounce falsehoods that give no comfort. So my people are wandering like lost sheep; they are attacked because they have no shepherd. Insight We often create idols of money, power, fame, or success, and then we expect them to give us happiness and security. But these idols can't supply what we need any more than a stone image can make it rain. Challenge How foolish it is to trust in idols. Instead, trust God's promises for your future. Morning and Evening by Spurgeon Psalm 45:7 Thou hatest wickedness."Be ye angry, and sin not." There can hardly be goodness in a man if he be not angry at sin; he who loves truth must hate every false way. How our Lord Jesus hated it when the temptation came! Thrice it assailed him in different forms, but ever he met it with, "Get thee behind me, Satan." He hated it in others; none the less fervently because he showed his hate oftener in tears of pity than in words of rebuke; yet what language could be more stern, more Elijah-like, than the words, "Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye devour widows' houses, and for a pretence make long prayer." He hated wickedness, so much that he bled to wound it to the heart; he died that it might die; he was buried that he might bury it in his tomb; and he rose that he might forever trample it beneath his feet. Christ is in the Gospel, and that Gospel is opposed to wickedness in every shape. Wickedness arrays itself in fair garments, and imitates the language of holiness; but the precepts of Jesus, like his famous scourge of small cords, chase it out of the temple, and will not tolerate it in the Church. So, too, in the heart where Jesus reigns, what war there is between Christ and Belial! And when our Redeemer shall come to be our Judge, those thundering words, "Depart, ye cursed" which are, indeed, but a prolongation of his life-teaching concerning sin, shall manifest his abhorrence of iniquity. As warm as is his love to sinners, so hot is his hatred of sin; as perfect as is his righteousness, so complete shall be the destruction of every form of wickedness. O thou glorious champion of right, and destroyer of wrong, for this cause hath God, even thy God, anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows. Daily Light on the Daily Path Leviticus 17:11 'For the life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it to you on the altar to make atonement for your souls; for it is the blood by reason of the life that makes atonement.'John 1:29 The next day he saw Jesus coming to him and said, "Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world! Revelation 7:14 I said to him, "My lord, you know." And he said to me, "These are the ones who come out of the great tribulation, and they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. 1 Peter 1:19 but with precious blood, as of a lamb unblemished and spotless, the blood of Christ. Hebrews 9:22 And according to the Law, one may almost say, all things are cleansed with blood, and without shedding of blood there is no forgiveness. 1 John 1:7 but if we walk in the Light as He Himself is in the Light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin. Hebrews 9:12 and not through the blood of goats and calves, but through His own blood, He entered the holy place once for all, having obtained eternal redemption. Hebrews 10:19,20,22 Therefore, brethren, since we have confidence to enter the holy place by the blood of Jesus, • by a new and living way which He inaugurated for us through the veil, that is, His flesh, • let us draw near with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. 1 Corinthians 6:20 For you have been bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body. New American Standard Bible Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation, La Habra, Calif. All rights reserved. For Permission to Quote Information visit http://www.lockman.org. |
Click for Video Devotionals     |