The New Covenant was prophesied time and time again in the Old Testament, sometimes boldly, but at other times in less straightforward fashion, but the prophesy was believed nonetheless. So why is it that so many Christians today can’t see that this covenant has arrived, and that we are living under it? Why can’t we see that this prophesy has been fulfilled by God through Christ, and is ours to be followed today, and every day.
God made covenant with Israel when he led them out of Egypt, and it was written by His finger on stone, and recorded by the scribes on paper, but this covenant was broken repeatedly by them, because they were unable to live up to all that was given them. However, thanks be to God for His mercy, and the fullness of His grace that was to come. Now, through Jesus Christ, we have God’s law written on our hearts, and governed by our love for Him, and in this way our obedience to His will has become our greatest desire. No longer do we see God from afar, but we carry Him within us as He abides there with Jesus, and His Holy Spirit... always.
As we look back on our lives, even the times before we came to know God, and Jesus Christ, we recognize God’s hand moving in them. As we mature in faith we come see that His plan, and will for us, was at work long before we were able to know it for what it was. The love, and thoughts of God are surrounding us always, and He knows each of us, those who are good, and even the bad, down to our most intimate thoughts and life’s details. He asks us to humbly abandon our ways, and seek His, but are we walking this lofty road he has prepared for us? Are we seeking to know His thoughts for us?
Today is Easter Sunday, and if you have never believed in eternal life, this is the day to rethink your position because today our Lord Jesus Christ rose from the dead, and we who were once lost, have been redeemed from our sins through Him. On this day all those who heard Him speak of the resurrection and of life that lay ahead for Him, and likewise for us, can finally see the truth in His words. In as much as His resurrection has been found to be true, then so is ours, and so are the other things He has spoken to us! This day is a joyous celebration of God’s love, grace, living water, and life everlasting! Do you believe?
Today is Holy Saturday, the day after the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. This is a day when the world, during the time of our Lord, either took a breath and sighed amidst its weeping and tears, or exhaled in relief, believing the man Jesus was dead. This is the aftermath of a day that had been a whirlwind mixture of violence, sin, and God’s love. Yes, on this day long ago, many pious Jews were celebrating the death of Christ, but Christian Jews were either mourning His loss, anxious as they struggled to understand what had happened, or feared that all they once believed about this man had been lost. Then there were those who simply dispersed, and went home to resume their earthly lives. But given the historic perspective of what we know occurred during Holy Week, how do we choose to see this day?
Today is Good Friday, a day that God chose to bring His love for man to a crescendo through the sacrifice of His beloved Son. For His part, Jesus begins this day as a captive of religious men who claim to worship God, and yet whose eyes are covered, and sins are brought to the forefront through the bitter and self-serving treatment of God’s Son; their Messiah. Do we begin our day as Christians contemplating the horrors and humiliation of our Lord Jesus Christ, or the amazing love of God that His suffering reveals to us? Today the time is right, and has reached its fullness; God, after centuries of preparation, reveals His plan for our redemption to us.
Do you believe that there is any way in which you could possibly be like God? If I told you that it was more than just possible, but God’s will, and plan, for mankind from the moment of creation would you argue that we are just human beings, and would never be capable of such a thing? Then Let me ask you another question... what about Jesus, and do you believe He was, and is, like you?
When we speak with Jesus Christ, and pray to our Heavenly Father in His name, do we keep in mind who Jesus truly is? As the years of our faith go by, and we come to know Him as friend through thousands upon thousands of prayers, it is easy to lose sight of the magnificence, and dominion of Christ; replacing His kingship with an air of proforma, and familiarity. This can lead us to approach Him as if we were His equal, and thus, we should be able to make demands of Him. When treating Him in this way we are attempting to increase who we are, and diminish who He is, but lest we forget our place in this relationship we need to remind ourselves often of the respect and glory He deserves from us, and all that He is, and has done for us.
Is Jesus the most sanctified one, and the anointed one in our lives? Have we anointed Him to be our teacher, our savior, our king, the most holy one, and so much more? Today is the third day of Holy Week, and after teaching all day, Jesus was reclining at dinner when a woman approached, and anointed Him with expensive oil. This was more than a nice gesture, she was sanctifying Him, blessing Him, and awarding Him the highest honor in her life. Although we have acknowledged Jesus for who He is, and call Him our Lord, have we actually anointed Him as such? Have we bound ourselves to Him before God?
We hear the words of Jesus as He tells us to pick up our cross and follow Him, but what is He is really asking us to do? Is Jesus telling us we are to suffer and die for God, or for Him? I don’t think so, and His life, death and resurrection give us the answer. Jesus came because God loved us, and to redeem us from sin and death. He suffered and went to the cross in obedience to God’s will, but that will was for our redemption. The cross of Christ on Calvary was an unrivaled display of love for you and me; so our crosses should be a continuation of God’s love for man through us... just as it was through Christ.
Are we perfect in a sin free world, or do we suffer as we rebuff the sin swirling about us? It would be easy to do good if surrounded by nothing but goodness, and in such an environment what would be the value of the glory we assign to God in the midst of our faith? However, when sin is buffeting us from every side, we are suffering mightily, and making great efforts to resist temptation as we struggle to remain free of sin? If so, then the glory we give God is great indeed.
Good Friday, and the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. We like to focus our eyes on the resurrection story of Easter morning, and sing of the blood that has washed away our sin, but what of the body that was scourged, and hung outside the walls of Jerusalem just days prior? What of the corpse that laid in a dark tomb far from the temple mound? Do we relate to the true suffering, and understand what was required of Christ as He became our sin offering? When Jesus tells us to pick up our cross and follow Him it isn’t to the whipping post where His blood was shed... it is to Calvary, a place of ridicule, shame, and suffering unto death; a desolate place, separated from the gold candlesticks, and far from the altars of the temple.
Do you fear God when you enter your prayer closet to speak with Him, or when you feel His presence as you worship? When Jesus was a boy there was a veil in the temple that separated all men from the Holy of Holies except the high priest, and this man was only allowed to enter into this sacred place once each year. The fear of God was so great that they would tie a rope around his waist so that if he were to die while behind the curtain, they could drag his body out. Yet, today we enter in and out of God’s presence without fearing death because Jesus paid the price of our admission with His life. At the moment when He breathed His last the veil was ripped asunder, our bodies became the temple, and the divine presence of God was made available to every believer.
Before coming to know Christ, acknowledging Him as the Son of God, and accepting His sacrifice for our sins, our consciences convict us, and to ease it we seek to be moral, and do good things. We do this in an effort to please, and appease, God. Some of us want to earn His acceptance like a man gains another’s friendship... as an equal. But, our God is above all things, and only our faith in the blood of His Son Jesus Christ can redeem us, make us righteous, and bring us into a true relationship with Him.