{"id":35723,"date":"2023-09-07T03:30:54","date_gmt":"2023-09-07T10:30:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.lccredding.org\/church\/?p=35723"},"modified":"2023-09-01T16:47:24","modified_gmt":"2023-09-01T23:47:24","slug":"september-7-2023","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lccredding.org\/church\/2023\/09\/07\/september-7-2023\/","title":{"rendered":"September 7, 2023"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/div><\/div><\/div>

Sacrifices<\/strong><\/h2>\n

\u00a0<\/em>\u201cThen He took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, \u2018Drink from it, all of you. For this is My blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many for the remission of sins.\u2019\u201d<\/em> Matthew 26:27-28<\/p>\n

Last winter, we had trouble getting our house warm enough to be comfortable with just our woodstove. It\u2019s a cranky little thing sitting at one end of our living room. It always wants to be fed, more, more, more. It requires constant attention, poking embers, moving logs around, adding even more kindling, sacrificing yet another piece of wood we had previously sweated and struggled to cut and split. We leave the door open so it gets good circulation, and it fires up nicely, but when we close the door, it struggles along until we get back to it and fiddle with it some more. The stove is sound, but the wood isn\u2019t as dry as it could be due to all the rain we had and the moisture in the air.<\/p>\n

It reminds me of the sacrifices that God\u2019s people had to make to atone for their sins. God instituted the whole system, for sins must be atoned for before a holy God. But they had to keep after it, daily, weekly, monthly, yearly: feast days, new moons, harvests, births of children, cleansing rituals, accidental injuries, and unintentional breaking of laws. There was no end of it. It required constant attention, from raising the sacrificial animals, to traveling to the temple to make the sacrifices, or just paying attention to when it was the right time to sacrifice.<\/p>\n

The system was sound, for God had provided it. And though it wasn\u2019t easy, it surely kept the sense of God\u2019s holiness, and their own inadequacy to cover their sins, ever before them. Just as our woodstove requires constant tending during cold seasons, atoning for sin required constant tending.<\/p>\n

God, in His mercy, provided a better way. He didn\u2019t suddenly decide \u201cthis system isn\u2019t working.\u201d He knew all along the original covenant was going to be replaced, at the proper time, by a better way\u2014a new covenant. He sent Jesus, His Son, to live a sinless life and be sacrificed for all sins, once and for all. No more constant tending, except to repent. No more excuses for living in sin. No further need for sacrifice. The only necessary event has taken place, and all peoples for all time benefit from His gift.<\/p>\n

If there was a stick of wood that would guarantee my woodstove would always be hot enough to save us from winter\u2019s cold, I would work hard until I had enough money to buy it. But the New Covenant is better\u2014we don\u2019t need to work for it, for it has already been freely given.<\/p>\n

Thank You, heavenly Father, for the New Covenant. In Your mercy, You gave us a better way to stand in righteousness before You. May we walk in gratitude all the days of our lives. Amen.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>

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