The blood of Jesus

For me it was the realisation that as powerful as His sacrifice had been, the moment of freeing all mankind (and me) from sin and death, there was more.

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It always amazes me that, sometimes things that are so familiar to us can suddenly burst into life before us just because we see it in a different way. A bit like sitting and looking at a garden or a piece of scenery we have looked at loads of times and suddenly a shaft of sunlight hits it and illuminates something we have never seen before and we become aware of its beauty and awesomeness in a whole new light.  

This happened to me recently in a church meeting. It was on a cold evening in a cold building and a small group of us had gathered to “wait on the Lord” and seek his presence. We had sung a few worship songs and had then come to prayer and seeking. A few people had prayed and then suddenly the group and the room became completely silent. A Godly silent, one where you know the Lord is there by his Spirit and you need to pay attention only to Him.  A time where each person is no longer aware of each other but is completely enveloped in the love of God and what He has to say to them.  The Lord chose to reveal to me a truth I had not before fully realised, and this is what I would like to share today.

As I was praying and sharing with the Lord all the things that were weighing heavily on me. How badly I was coping and how overwhelmed I sometimes was feeling. Then suddenly in my mind the Lord took me to the foot of the Cross, and I began thanking the Lord for His sacrifice for me. But then my worries and concerns and the things in my life that were difficult suddenly overwhelmed me again. And I said Lord I don’t know what to do?  And the Spirit of God said open your hands and look to me. 

As I did, I became aware of the Lord’s blood, the blood that flowed from Him because of all the wounds He had received both at the trial and the flogging, and from the thorn of crowns pushed down hard on His brow, and from the hands and feet cruelly pieced with nails to hold Him to the cross. But even more so, I was aware that each drop of blood, so devastatingly extracted from him, was for me, so that I might live in Him.

I have been a follower of Jesus now for 48 years, and have heard so many times about the blood Jesus shed for me, have heard comments about covering everything with the blood of the Jesus and by His stripes (wounds) I am healed.  But up until that moment I did not fully recognise the intimacy of the understanding that Jesus had shed His blood for me! And that each drop lost from His body was to both pay the eternal price to free me from my sin, to purchase my salvation, to redeem me from the power of the evil one, but the sacrifice was also to be effective in all areas of my life that I was worried and concerned about.  

As I brought all the things that needed solving or healing or whatever, it was as if a drop of blood dropped into my hand to cover each one by Jesus sacrificial blood, by His sacrificial love. It was so real, but also so full of love from the Lord, that I was so aware that because He loved me, He had poured out His life for me, and wanted to pour into my life the reality of that sacrifice, both for myself and for the ones, situations etc that I was concerned about. I realise sadly, that I cannot adequately retell the power and intimacy of the revelation of this truth. 

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As I was sitting lost in the reality of this revelation to me, the Lord had one more truth to show me. I was thanking Him for covering both my sin and weakness with His blood and for covering those I was praying for with His blood. He showed me in my minds eye His resurrection. His rising from His period of being dead (in human terms) to life and walking, in total victory over all things for all time, from the open tomb door. For me it was the realisation that as powerful as His sacrifice had been, the moment of freeing all mankind (and me) from sin and death, there was more. The realisation that the Son of God shed His blood both for me, and to be effective in all the areas and concerns of my life, - it was not a dead sacrifice, a giving up of one’s life to save many - but it was a living sacrifice! The power of which is not a lovely story from long ago, but a living and real truth for today. Jesus’s precious giving of Himself to pay for each and every one who ever would live from that day forward, is alive and effective today because He smashed through the barrier of death, and lives!

Even though as Christians we have heard and know this truth to be so, and if we do not yet know the Lord as Saviour, we may have heard that He is not dead but has been raised to life. When we get a glimpse even of a miniscule fragment of the truth of the power of the death and resurrection of the Lord Jesus, it changes every part of our life that seems dark and hopeless into a place of hope and possibilities. Because He already knows of it, and has covered it with His blood and power.

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I know that there will be, and are, dark times ahead for me and the ones I love simply because `that is sometimes the way of life`. Also, because we live in a world that chooses not to believe and acknowledge the love and power of God, this choice has consequences for us all. But I pray that I, and all of us who know the Lord will know the power of the blood of the Lord and the power of His resurrection.

Philippians 3 v 8- 11 (NLT)

Yes, everything else is worthless when compared with the infinite value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord.  For his sake I have discarded everything else, counting it all as garbage, so that I could gain Christ and become one with him.  I no longer count on my own righteousness through obeying the law; rather, I become righteous through faith in Christ.  For Gods way of making us right with himself depends on faith.  I want to know Christ and experience the mighty power that raised him from the dead!

Lord thank you today that You gave Your life, shedding Your precious life blood to save me and to cover me and all I place in Your hands. And thank You that this is a living hope, because You rose from the dead and now, I live in You. Keep me close to You today and continue to reveal to all of us the love and power we have received from You.

Author: Jan Pearson

May God bless and enrich your life

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Let our Attitude be that of God's.

What we have to remember is that when we come across people who irritate us (Christian or non-Christian) God does not love them any less or any more than us. 

When you are going through the storms of life does your attitude towards other people and God change?

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I am sure that most of us would reply “I don't think so, I would hope not, My love for God and His people remains steadfast and secure.  However the reality is often quite different.  Outwardly we may appear exactly the same but inwardly oh what a turmoil we are in. It starts with small things like I won't bother ringing or texting that person this week they have lots of friends, I don't need to give them a lift to church someone else can.  That coffee we have arranged to go for can be postponed etc. We can find lots of reasons to break fellowship and friendship. Proverbs 29:25 Fear of man will prove to be a snare, but whoever trusts in the Lord is kept safe. 

With God it's slightly different we decide we don't need to get up early today or indeed sometimes any day to pray and read the word before our day unfolds. Maybe I'll read the bible tomorrow or even next week!! I don't need to include God in all my plans just the ones I think are important. Sometimes we even convince ourselves that we are taking the higher moral ground in a given situation but have we asked the Author and Perfecter of our faith if this is true as He is the only one who can judge.  Psalm 62:7 My salvation and my honour depend on God, He is my mighty Rock, my Refuge

I have been a Christian for 35 years and have come to the conclusion that if we pray every day for a discerning spirit and an extra portion of grace it particularly helps us to discern what is happening in the supernatural so that we don't blunder through situations in the natural that are not a true reflection of what is actually happening.  Psalm 91:1-2 Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the Lord “He is my refuge and my fortress, my God in whom I trust”.

The great example for me is in the book of Esther, when Haman set up a pole of 50 cubits high by his house to impale Mordecai on but despite all his boasting ended up being impaled on it himself.  As if that wasn't punishment enough the King gave Queen Esther the estate of Haman and she appointed Mordecai over it. Haman wished to put to death all Mordecai's people, the Jews, throughout the whole kingdom of Xerxes but all he actually achieved was his own early demise and the loss of his inheritance for his family.  

What we have to remember is that when we come across people who irritate us (Christian or non-Christian) God does not love them any less or any more than us.  It says when we are lovely to the unlovely God credits it to us as righteousness I am sure this is because He realises exactly how difficult this is for us as human beings.  So next time somebody behaves badly towards you come in the opposite spirit, the spirit of kindness and gentleness and see what peace floods your soul instead of frustration or bitterness. Psalm 37:5-6 Commit your way to the Lord trust in Him and he will do this.  He will make your righteous reward shine like the dawn, your vindication like the noonday sun. Amen.

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I am certain that if we not only make ourselves accountable to God but also to one or two people of Godly counsel it will help us stay on that narrow path.  It says in the bible do not trust your own heart as it can be deceptive, Jeremiah 17:9 (ESV) The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it? And in Proverbs 3:5-6 Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways submit to Him, and he will make your paths straight.

I pray for each person reading this blog that we would allow the Holy Spirit to come into our hearts in such a powerful way that all the things which are troubling us would become insignificant as we remember that absolutely nothing is a surprise to God it is us in our humanity that gets side swiped and clobbered.  1 John 2:28 And now dear children, continue in Him, so that when he appears we may be confident and unashamed before him at His coming.

I also pray that each one of us is transformed into the likeness of Jesus more and more every day.

God's peace and blessing.

Author: Anonymous

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