Friday, September 28, 2018

VOLUNTEER

Today’s Reading: Leviticus 1-2

Click scripture link to read online or HERE to listen online (then click the symbol of the audio speaker above the scripture portion on the right-hand side).

 

Inside the full-scale replica of the Tabernacle of Moses, behind the Brazen Altar and the Brazen Laver, you can see the entrance to the Holy Place. A priest would put blood on the horns of the altar (in this photo the blood is not real).  The Living Bible translation of Hebrews 10:19 says, “Now we may walk right into the very Holy of Holies, where God is, because of the blood of Jesus. This is the fresh, new, life-giving way that Christ has opened up for us by tearing the curtain…His human body…to let us into the holy presence of God.”

 

GOOGLE MAPS – To see where Reynold took the photo, click HERE.

Key Verse: Leviticus 1:3

If his offering is a burnt sacrifice of the herd, let him offer a male without blemish; he shall offer it of his own free will at the door of the tabernacle of meeting before the Lord.

 

It was a bloody, awful place of death. The fires which consumed the sacrifice on the Brazen Altar represented Hell. People make jewel-encrusted ornate crosses for decoration, but we should not mistake the fact that the altar on which Jesus suffered the fires of Hell and death was not pretty. It was an awful place! Only the eternal, infinite God-in-flesh, Jesus, could take the sins of all of us and suffer complete isolation from His Father God as sin demanded. Only Jesus could take the instrument of the most horrible method of execution and turn it into the glory of the Cross.

The word “voluntary” emphasizes, with great clarity, the under-girding reason for burnt offerings. Jesus went to the Cross as a “voluntary” Sacrifice. The Cross was the place where an eternal settlement was reached between ultimate justice and the holy, without blemish, Victim. We should meditate on this, partake in communion with other believers, and read more fully today, if possible, Hebrews 10:1-25.

PRAYER FOR TODAY:

I confess my sinfulness to You, Lord Jesus, and I voluntarily give myself to identify with Your death on the Cross. Please help me to believe and understand that I now live in the power of Your life. I’m Your volunteer for living for You. In Your Name, dear Saviour, I pray. Amen!

100 PERSONAL WORDS:

I’ll never forget the day at Expo ’92 in Seville, Spain when the Salvation Army band from Bristol, England, marched through the streets and played the hymn, In the Cross of Christ I Glory, “…towering over the wrecks of time.” That day, Sept 1st, was the day of honour for Saudi Arabia. The Saudis brought a 747 load of young men from their Imam training school in Mecca. They distributed 200,000 flags bearing the inscription in the Arabic language, “Allah is God and Mohammad is His Prophet.” At the first intersection, the band had to wait for the Saudi trams to pass. Hell knew and Heaven knew the words on the flag in Arabic and the words to the hymn the band was playing, “Would you be free from your burden of sin? There’s power in the Blood.” The second intersection where they met, the Salvation Army band got there first and the Saudis had to stop. To me the symbolism and the power of spiritual warfare was never so obvious. The “Power in the Blood” defeated the effort to convert people to Islam. The next day at our Crossroads Pavilion of Promise at Expo ’92 (photo below), there were not just 700-800 decisions for Christ, as was usual daily total, but over 1,200 precious people made first time decisions to give their lives fully to Jesus. Nothing else had changed on earth, but in the heavenlies the victory of the Cross had been clearly declared! The number of daily decisions for Christ remained at over 1,200 for the remaining six weeks of the Expo. What had really happened? I think about this often.

Yours to encourage us all to voluntarily serve the Lord,

David

The “Pabellon de la Promesa” (Pavilion of Promise) at Expo ’92 in Seville, Spain.

 

9 thoughts on “Friday, September 28, 2018

  1. Wonderful blog this morning, so reassuring that God is in control. My heart is full of love for my Lord, may He draw all our loved ones to Himself. I pray for those who are weary, sick, lonely and discouraged. Be a comfort to them dear Lord and a shield from the enemy who would try to discourage them. In Jesus Name I pray Amen.
    Blessings to all, Eleanor M.

  2. Always learning something new with this blog! I didn’t realize that the curtain torn from top to bottom represented Jesus human flesh. Thank You, David!!

    • I think it is amazing how God uses very simple acts to show us the Power of His Love and Forgiveness; for me tearing the curtain represents the end of darkness and the coming in of the Light of the World, our Lord God Jesus Christ who overcame death, went into Hell and fought the devil and Jesus won and rose and now we all heirs of His Work, His Salvation,His Forgiveness; it was a very simple act BUT SO POWERFUL IN OUR LIVES
      All Praise and Glory to our Lord God, our Lord and Saviour
      Blessings to all ….

  3. There seems to be, in my opinion and which is indicate in the blog and responses, the mistaken belief that after Jesus died on the cross He actually went into the fires of hell & further suffered there for our sins. Some even teach that in hell, Jesus also suffered at the hands of the devil until God, the Father, said that “ is enough.” So Jesus was then rescued from hell. Some even go further and say that’s when Jesus was born again. This is a terrible teaching.

    Jesus did suffer, but He suffered on the cross for our sins. He did not need to suffer further in the fires of hell for our sins. This is not taught anywhere in the bible, absolutely nowhere. When Jesus said on the cross, “ It is finished.” (or “It is paid in full.”) When Jesus said that, it meant that the debt of our sins was completely paid for there on the cross. Jesus did not need to complete our salvation by further suffering in the devil’s hell.

Leave a Reply to Eleanor M. Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.