Tag: John 1:29

He Shed His Blood for YOU

John 1:29 The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!”

I am not the kind of person that you can just say, “Go do this” and I will do it. I need to understand the WHY behind what I am doing so that it makes sense to me. Today is Easter so you might ask yourself, “Why do I need Jesus?” I believe in God; I know I am filled with the Holy Spirit. But what part did Jesus play in all this?

When man first sinned, we were separated from God because of our sin. We were given laws in the Old Testament books of the Bible to follow to bridge that divide. But because we are sinful, we could never follow those laws perfectly. Everyone has lied, everyone has put something (money, success, family) before God, everyone has dishonored their parents, and everyone has had lust in their heart for another person or thing. No matter how hard we try to be good, we sin.  Because of sin, everyone has deserved death – eternal separation from God. The beginning of Romans 6:23 says, “For the wages of sin is death.”

But God does not want us to be separated from him. So, in the Old Testament he gave the people of Israel the ability to atone for their sins through sacrifices. The blood of a lamb could be shed to wipe away their sins. But then they sinned again. So, they would make another sacrifice. But then they sinned again. So, another sacrifice was made. It would never end. So, God sent Jesus. The Lamb of God. The ultimate sacrifice. The final sacrifice. Jesus lived the perfect life we could never live and then he died on the cross to shed his blood for our sins. But he didn’t remain in the grave because God accepted His Lamb’s sacrifice. The rest of Romans 6:23 says, “but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

You see, every sin ever committed by every person who has ever lived must be punished. That is required. It will either be punished everlastingly by the sinner (you) or that punishment will be borne by the blood of Jesus Christ. His death and resurrection were sufficient to pay for all your sins. 2 Corinthians 5:21 says, “God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” Trust in Jesus. Abandon all the hope you put into your good works and what a great person you are and trust in the person and works of Jesus Christ alone.

Dear Jesus, thank you for dying on the cross to save me from eternal punishment. I give my heart to you today. Please fill me with the Holy Spirit and give me the courage to tell others about you. Amen.

One and Done for You

Leviticus 1:1-2 The Lord called to Moses and spoke to him from the Tent of Meeting.  He said, “Speak to the Israelites and say to them: ‘When any of you brings an offering to the Lord, bring as your offering an animal from either the herd or the flock.’”

I’ve been reading the book of Leviticus and I struggled through the first 7 chapters because they were about all the sacrifices/offerings that the Israelites were instructed to give to God.  The verses weren’t gruesome or anything like that, but they were very detailed.  There were verses about burnt offerings, grain offerings, fellowship offerings, sin offerings, and guilt offerings. There were instructions about which animals to use and what parts of the animals to use. Some parts of the animals were to be burned, some parts eaten by the priest and some parts eaten by the person giving the sacrifice.  All in all, there are 171 verses with very specific details on how all the different offerings are to be made. 

Honestly, as I was reading these verses, I thought to myself, “Wow, I’m super glad I didn’t live 1400 years before Jesus.  There is no way I would be able to remember all this.”  I mean, it’s not like they could whip out a pen and paper to take notes.  They didn’t have cell phones to record the sacrifices so they could remember how to do them again the next time.  If I lived back then, I think I would have been terrified that I would forget something.

In the Old Testament, an animal’s life was given to save the life of a person in the form of a sacrifice. But this was only a temporary fix because people would sin again and again.  Luckily, we were born after the most important sacrifice was made. That sacrifice was Jesus dying on the cross.  In John 1:29 it says, “The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” Jesus was called the Lamb of God because he was sent to us from God to be the ultimate sacrifice so that we no longer had to sacrifice animals or grain to be forgiven.  Jesus died for us so that we could be made right before God forever and spend eternal life with Him in heaven.  One sacrifice that never has to be done again. One and done for you. 

Jesus, thank you for giving your life as a sacrifice for mine. You are the most incredible example of love.  You fill me up with joy and happiness.  Please open my eyes to see others that need to hear the good news of about your love and sacrifice for them.  Help me to be a reflection of you.  Amen.

Why Do You Need Jesus?

John 1:29 The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!”

I am not the kind of person that you can just say, “Go do this” and I will do it. I need to understand the WHY behind what I am doing so that it makes sense to me. Lately I’ve been struggling with the “why” behind “Why do I need Jesus?” I believe in God; I know I am filled with the Holy Spirit. But what part did Jesus play in all this? I’ve been reading the Bible, listening to sermons online and watching documentaries about the Holy Gospel and yesterday I finally heard something that made it all fit together for me. So, I want to share it with you.

When man first sinned, we were separated from God because of our sin. So, we were given laws to follow in order to bridge that divide. But because we are sinful, we could never follow those laws perfectly. Everyone has lied, everyone has put something before God, everyone has dishonored their parents, and everyone has had lust in their heart for another person or thing. No matter how hard we try to be good, we sin. This creates despair.

But God. God does not want us to be separated from him. So, he gave the people of Israel the ability to atone for their sins through sacrifices. The blood of a lamb could be shed to wipe away their sins. But then they sinned again. So, they would make another sacrifice. But then they sinned again. So, another sacrifice was made. It would never end. So, God sent Jesus. The Lamb of God. The ultimate sacrifice. The final sacrifice. Jesus lived the perfect life we could never live and then he died on the cross to shed his blood for our sins.

You see, every sin ever committed by every person who has ever lived will be punished. That is required. It will either be punished everlastingly by the sinner (you) or that punishment will be borne by the blood of Jesus Christ.  His death was sufficient to pay for all your sins. Trust in Jesus. Abandon all the hope you put into your good works and what a great person you are and trust in the person and works of Jesus Christ alone. This creates peace.

Give your heart to Jesus. Today! Then tell your friends and family about Jesus. Today! Without Jesus there is no eternal life with God. There is only eternal punishment. I choose life!

Dear Jesus, thank you for dying on the cross to save me from eternal punishment. I give my heart to you today. Please fill me with the Holy Spirit and give me the courage to tell others about you. Amen.