His Righteousness My Defense

As I was enjoying my coffee and God time today, I happened upon something that made me literally jubilant in my heart. First of all, I think it is the greatest thing when people take the Old Testament and then show how the Old Testament law was fulfilled by Christ in the New Testament. (Matt 5:17, “Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am come not to destroy, but to fulfil.) I cannot say that I have ever had the opportunity myself to understand where there was a parallel from the Old Testament to the New before. But today, the Lord showed me something that impacted me so deeply. I want to share it with you and I truly pray that whether you have seen or heard it before, or if this is completely new to you, that you will receive as rich a blessing as I did when the Lord gave it to me. So, here goes!

I was reading in Exodus chapter 28, and for the last couple chapters, the Lord has been instructing Moses how to construct the tabernacle. Now in chapter 28, the Lord begins to describe the wardrobe for the priests, particularly Aaron (Moses’ brother). I have to admit, I was kind of just speed reading through this, until I saw verse 15. “And thou shalt make the breastplate of judgment with cunning work; after the work of the ephod thou shalt make it; of gold, of blue, and of purple, and of scarlet, and of fine twined linen, shalt thou make it.”

Now, I was not really paying a lot of attention, but when I saw “the breastplate of judgment”, I thought, hang on a second, there is no “breastplate of judgment” in the Bible! There is only the breastplate of righteousness, and that is way later. But there it was right in front of me, plain as day. And then I continued to read about it, paying closer attention. The High Priest, Aaron, was to wear this breastplate of judgment all the time. Verses 29 & 30, “And Aaron shall bear the names of the children of Israel in the breastplate of judgment upon his heart, when he goeth in unto the holy place, for a memorial before the Lord continually. And thou shalt put in the breastplate of judgment the Urim and the Thummim; and they shall be upon Aaron’s heart, when he goeth in before the Lord: and Aaron shall bear the judgment of the children of Israel upon his heart before the Lord continually.”

Now, once a year, Aaron would go into the holy of holies, and offer sacrifices for the sins of the people. So, Aaron literally bore the judgment of the children of Israel. It was his responsibility to make the payment that would atone for their sins. Then I realized, Christ, who is the new High Priest also bore the judgment of our sins. But he did not bear them in the form of a breastplate. He bore the judgment for our sins in his own body.

1 Peter 2:24, “Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed.”

Hebrews 9:24-28, “For Christ is not entered into the holy places made with hands, which are figures of the true; but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us: Nor yet that he should offer himself often, as the high priest entereth into the holy place every year with blood of others; For then must he often have suffered since the foundation of the world: but now once in the end of the world hath he appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself. And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment: So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; and unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time without sin unto salvation.”

Christ, being the new High Priest, rather than making offerings once a year from the blood of goats and bulls, offered himself as an eternal sacrifice for the atonement of every person. 

Hebrews 9:11-15, “But Christ being come an high priest of good things to come, by a greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this building; Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us. For if the blood of bulls and goats, and the ashes of an heifer sprinkling the unclean, sanctifieth to the purifying of the flesh: How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God? And for this cause he is the mediator of the new testament, that by means of death, for the redemption of the transgressions that were under the first testament, they which are called might receive the promise of eternal inheritance.”

Christ, after his death on the cross, entered into the real holy of holies in heaven to stand before God as the offering for all of mankind. As he did, the veil of the earthly temple was torn signifying that no longer would we need a priest on earth to make sacrifices for us. Christ had become the High Priest and was now our only access to God the Father. 

Matthew 27:51, “And, behold, the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom; and the earth did quake, and the rocks rent;”

1 Timothy 2:5 & 6, “For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus; Who gave himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time.”

Now, here is the exciting part. Jesus is now the High Priest. We now have direct access to God through Him. The breastplate of judgment is gone. There is no longer a need for a priestly robe, or an ephod or any of those things pertaining to the priesthood. Christ has given us a new covenant and with that, a new calling.

Ephesians 6:10- 14, “Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might. Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness.”

First, He has called us to a relationship with Him. For, only through a relationship with him can we be strong in him. Secondly, he has called us to be warriors. Through our relationship with him, he has equipped us. One of the first pieces of the armour he gives us is a breastplate. This breastplate is not one of judgment, but of righteousness. It is the gift of his righteousness that we wear and call our own. It is this righteousness that gives us the boldness to defeat the power of darkness. It is this righteousness that allows us to call out to him, “Abba, Father!” It is by this righteousness that He calls us his sons and daughters.

The Heart of a Branch

I recently acquired a box full of branches to use for craft projects. I began to cut them in pieces today, and one of the first cuts I made revealed this cute little heart! It was such a pleasant surprise! I feel like it was hidden there just for me! I love the little things that nature surprises us with! 

Dirt

I am SO glad football season has started up again! I have been increasingly interested in football over the past two or three seasons. I never really understood the game as a child and young adult, but my husband took the time to explain it to me. And I LOVE it!! Now I remind him when the games are coming on and who is playing and such. We enjoy game days immensely! And being in a new area, it is always easy to talk about the local sports when meeting new friends! It is easy to talk to people about things they enjoy. 

Something that has been increasingly difficult to talk about is my faith. To be honest, with all of the scrutiny on Christianity right now, the last thing I want to do is to start up a conversation with a stranger about Christianity- hoping they will understand and accept the Good News. I don't want to take that chance. Sure, they may listen, understand, and accept Christ, but with growing hostility towards those of us who choose to stand on the principles of God's Word, I fear that I would face ridicule rather than acceptance. I fear that I would anger those to whom I reach out, and I want to avoid that possibility at all costs.

"At all costs"- what is the cost? What is the cost of NOT sharing Christ with others? If Christ is not shared, the souls of men will not be reconciled to God, and those who have not been reconciled to God through Christ will be eternally separated from Him in a place of eternal torment (Hell). That is the cost- a cost that someone will have to pay because I feared rejection. 

How do I overcome the fear of rejection to the point where fear is replaced with motivation and mobilization? I must come to the realization that, I must share the truth with everyone regardless of how I feel they may or may not accept it. Their acceptance or rejection of the gospel will depend on the state of their heart, and only God knows the condition of each man's heart. God knows my heart better than I know it myself, and so it is with every person. 

Matthew 13:3-8 is the parable of the sower. The soil represents the heart. The seed represents the Word of God, or the Gospel. The thing that strikes me about the parable, something that I had never considered before, is that the sower just sowed. He spread the seed around obviously not considering where it went. He just worried about getting it out there. Nature would take care of the rest. The seed that fell on good soil would be nurtured and grow. In the same way, I as a Christian, am commanded to spread the good news of the Gospel. I don't need to worry about the state of the soil. The Holy Spirit is the one who works on the soil (the heart). 

Dear Lord, may I constantly be reminded of my need to share your love. May I have boldness to live out my faith, to love others as you love them. Please Lord, give me courage from a heart of passion to serve you, and to see others come to know you and live victoriously in you! Let your Word be so deeply rooted in the soil of my heart that it overtakes every area of my life. Let all glory be to you for your greatness and compassion and mercy toward me, Amen. 

Sacrifice

Remembering 9/11

Today, as I reflect on the attacks of terror from 14 years ago, I pray for the families of the victims, and I pray for our nation to become a nation of truth, justice, integrity, and a nation that seeks the One True God.

Unbelief < God

Uncommon

Last night I tossed and turned with this verse on my mind, and I almost could not wait to wake up and share my heart on this. I found it yesterday during my God and coffee time. Reading this story in the past, I got the impression that God gave Peter the vision of the animals in a sheet so we could feel better about eating bacon!  Well, I got a different impression yesterday. 

If you read the story in Acts 10, you will see that God gave that same vision to Peter 3 times. And when Peter awoke from the vision, he was informed that 3 men were looking for him (v 19). These three were not just any men. They were Gentiles (not Jews). Up until this point, Jews were not to keep company with Gentiles. (v 28) But the vision that Peter had was not about bacon at all! It was about the family of God uniting! Regardless of their physical lineage, Jewish and Gentile believers were united through their faith in Jesus Christ!

There are a couple of powerful messages this sends to me. The first is that, regardless of racial, social, cultural, denominational, or physical differences that we have, we are all equally the children of God, and equally cleansed by His blood when we accept Jesus' sacrifice as the payment for our sin. 

The second message that I receive from this passage, and one that resonates deeply within myself is that, I, as a believer in Christ, am uncommon. You and I are so uncommon in that, we have the Holy Spirit of God dwelling within our spirits. This is so magnificent to me! God, the one and only, who created the vast expanse of the universe, sends His own spirit to dwell with my individual spirit. Just stop for a moment. Stop reading this, and take a moment to think about how your acceptance into the family of God makes you completely uncommon.I hope you are catching the power in this realization. Where our strength, talent and self sufficiency are like a pebble, His within us is like a mountain. When you wake up and look at your reflection in the mirror, very often you see the flaws. You see the person who did not complete your "to do" list from the day before. You see the person who yelled at your kids or spouse. You see the person who cannot seem to get it together, the person who needs to be prettier, or smarter, or whatever it is that makes you feel like less than you are. But get this.... When God looks at you, He sees immeasurable strength, passionate love, he sees order, beauty, genius, and every good thing! Know why? Because when he looks at you, He looks past all of your imperfections and He sees His Spirit. 

Today I am determined to push aside all of my feelings of regret, inadequacy, fear, anxiety, and any other thing that tries to pull me down. I am determined to yield to the Spirit of God, and let His power be alive through me! I hope you will realize how precious you are, and that you too will determine to let Him lead you today. 

If you don't know about Jesus, or have not accepted him as your savior, please take a moment to read on. 

John 3:16, "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life."

Romans 3:23, "For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;"

Romans 3:10, "As it is written, there is none righteous, no, not one:" 
          God's standard of righteousness is perfection, and unfortunately, we all make mistakes.

Romans 6:23, "For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord."
          
          The penalty of our sins is an eternal death and separation from God in Hell. But God's gift of love, through Jesus Christ sacrificing himself, enables us to accept His sacrifice on our own behalf and restores us to a standing of righteousness in God's eyes.

Romans 10:9,10, "That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation."

Romans 10:13, "For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved."

1 John 5:13a, "These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life"

         Once you have accepted Jesus Christ as the sacrifice for your sins, you are in a standing of righteousness with God, and have the guarantee of eternal life in heaven. Therefore, you do not ever have to confess your sins to anyone as a means of justifying yourself, you do not have to pray for your salvation again, you KNOW from what the Bible says, that Christ's sacrifice on the cross and your acceptance of that has made you righteous forever. 

Hebrews 10:14, "For by one offering he hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified."

Ephesians 2:8-9, "For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast."