Bible League: Living His Word For you know that God paid a ransom to save you from the empty life you inherited from your ancestors. And it was not paid with mere gold or silver, which lose their value. It was the precious blood of Christ, the sinless, spotless Lamb of God.The fact that Jesus Christ shed His blood for us means a lot. First of all, it means that Christ has paid the penalty for our sins in full and we do not have to pay the penalty. Isaiah said, "All we, like sheep, have strayed away. We have left God's paths to follow our own. Yet the LORD laid on him the sins of us all" (Isaiah 53:6). Our sin and guilt before God has been washed away by the blood. Second, it means that we are cleansed from any further sins we may commit after we become Christians. The Apostle John said that if we continue "living in the light," then it means that "the blood of Jesus, his Son, cleanses us from all sin" (I John 1:7). The blood not only cleanses us from our past and present sins, but also from any future sins we may commit. Third, as our verse for today teaches, it means that we have been ransomed with the blood from the sinful way of life we inherited from our ancestors. The Apostle Paul said, "For he has rescued us from the kingdom of darkness and transferred us into the Kingdom of his dear Son, who purchased our freedom and forgave our sins" (Colossians 1:13-14). The blood of Christ is our ticket into the new life of the Kingdom. Fourth, it means that we are able to defeat Satan, the roaring lion who seeks to devour us and who accuses us before the LORD. The Apostle John said that we "have defeated him by the blood of the lamb" (Revelation 12:11). Since the blood has washed away our sin and guilt, Satan's power has been undermined and his accusations fall flat. Finally, it means that our consciences have been purified by the blood so that we may come before God in worship (Hebrews 9:14) and prayer (Hebrews 10:19). We are no longer alienated from God and we have, as a result, access to Him. The precious blood of Jesus Christ has radically transformed the lives of everyone who believes in what He did – and we should be eternally grateful. Bible in a Year Old Testament ReadingProverbs 5, 6 Proverbs 5 -- My son, pay attention to my wisdom NIV NLT ESV NAS GWT KJV ASV ERV DRB Proverbs 6 -- If you have struck your hands in pledge for a stranger; NIV NLT ESV NAS GWT KJV ASV ERV DRB New Testament Reading 1 Corinthians 14:1-20 1 Corinthians 14 -- Prophecy and Tongues; Orderly Worship NIV NLT ESV NAS GWT KJV ASV ERV DRB Reading Plan Courtesy of Christian Classics Etherial Library. Tyndale Life Application Daily Devotion There is salvation in no one else! God has given no other name under heaven by which we must be saved.Insight Many people react negatively to the fact that there is no other name than that of Jesus to call on for salvation. Yet this is not something the church decided; it is the specific teaching of Jesus himself. If God designated Jesus to be the Savior of the world, no one else can be his equal. Christians are to be open-minded on many issues, but not on how we are saved from sin. No other religious teacher could die for our sins; no other religious teacher came to earth as God's only Son; no other religious teacher rose from the dead. Challenge Our focus should be on Jesus, whom God offered as the way to have an eternal relationship with himself. There is no other name or way! Morning and Evening by Spurgeon Mark 1:41 I will; be thou clean.Primeval darkness heard the Almighty fiat, "light be," and straightway light was, and the word of the Lord Jesus is equal in majesty to that ancient word of power. Redemption like Creation has its word of might. Jesus speaks and it is done. Leprosy yielded to no human remedies, but it fled at once at the Lord's "I will." The disease exhibited no hopeful signs or tokens of recovery, nature contributed nothing to its own healing, but the unaided word effected the entire work on the spot and forever. The sinner is in a plight more miserable than the leper; let him imitate his example and go to Jesus, "beseeching him and kneeling down to him." Let him exercise what little faith he has, even though it should go no further than "Lord, if thou wilt, thou canst make me clean;" and there need be no doubt as to the result of the application. Jesus heals all who come, and casts out none. In reading the narrative in which our morning's text occurs, it is worthy of devout notice that Jesus touched the leper. This unclean person had broken through the regulations of the ceremonial law and pressed into the house, but Jesus so far from chiding him broke through the law himself in order to meet him. He made an interchange with the leper, for while he cleansed him, he contracted by that touch a Levitical defilement. Even so Jesus Christ was made sin for us, although in himself he knew no sin, that we might be made the righteousness of God in him. O that poor sinners would go to Jesus, believing in the power of his blessed substitutionary work, and they would soon learn the power of his gracious touch. That hand which multiplied the loaves, which saved sinking Peter, which upholds afflicted saints, which crowns believers, that same hand will touch every seeking sinner, and in a moment make him clean. The love of Jesus is the source of salvation. He loves, he looks, he touches us, we live. Daily Light on the Daily Path Ruth 3:18 Then she said, "Wait, my daughter, until you know how the matter turns out; for the man will not rest until he has settled it today."Isaiah 7:8 "For the head of Aram is Damascus and the head of Damascus is Rezin (now within another 65 years Ephraim will be shattered, so that it is no longer a people), Psalm 46:10 "Cease striving and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth." John 11:40 Jesus said to her, "Did I not say to you that if you believe, you will see the glory of God?" Isaiah 2:17 The pride of man will be humbled And the loftiness of men will be abased; And the LORD alone will be exalted in that day, Luke 10:39 She had a sister called Mary, who was seated at the Lord's feet, listening to His word. Luke 10:42 but only one thing is necessary, for Mary has chosen the good part, which shall not be taken away from her." Isaiah 30:15 For thus the Lord GOD, the Holy One of Israel, has said, "In repentance and rest you will be saved, In quietness and trust is your strength." But you were not willing, Psalm 4:4 Tremble, and do not sin; Meditate in your heart upon your bed, and be still. Selah. Psalm 37:7 Rest in the LORD and wait patiently for Him; Do not fret because of him who prospers in his way, Because of the man who carries out wicked schemes. Psalm 112:7,8 He will not fear evil tidings; His heart is steadfast, trusting in the LORD. • His heart is upheld, he will not fear, Until he looks with satisfaction on his adversaries. Isaiah 28:16 Therefore thus says the Lord GOD, "Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone, a tested stone, A costly cornerstone for the foundation, firmly placed. He who believes in it will not be disturbed. 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     |