12/06/2017
Are you in a covenant relationship with God? Have you accepted the blood of Jesus Christ as the inauguration of that covenant? Has God’s grace and forgiveness of sin through the sacrifice of Jesus become your blood offering that has sealed this covenant? We see the cross and say “this is the covenant”, but it is only a sign. We see the rending of the temple curtain and say “this is the covenant”, but it is only a sign. We see the empty tomb and say “this is the covenant”, but it too is only a sign. The covenant is forgiveness, and the blood of Jesus is the offering that seals it. Is His blood upon you?
“And God said, "This is the sign of the covenant that I make between me and you and every living creature that is with you, for all future generations: I have set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between me and the earth.”
Genesis 9:12-13 ESV
Just as with Noah, every great covenant with God has come with a promise, a sign, and then the inauguration with blood. A death is required to seal the promise.
“For where a will is involved, the death of the one who made it must be established. For a will takes effect only at death, since it is not in force as long as the one who made it is alive. Therefore not even the first covenant was inaugurated without blood.”
Hebrews 9:16-18 ESV
The covenant of Christ that was made to heal the wound of sin and repair the tear between God and man, his creation, and was sealed with the blood of Jesus. It is sprinkled upon us from heaven itself and sanctifies us. We are redeemed not by the cross, and not by the tomb, but by the blood of Christ Himself. When you look into the mirror is that blood upon you? Do others see the blood of Christ when they look at you?
Once, I was enrolled in a school that required me to wear a tie to class. One morning I had on a white tie, and as was my custom I went into a local shop to have a cup of coffee before class. I bought my coffee, set it on the table, and when I leaned forward to sit my tie went right into the cup... the end of my tie was stained brown. Quickly I went to the restroom and washed it in an attempt to remove the stain, but the best I could do was make it lighter. So I went back to my table and dunked the entire tie in the coffee, and then washed it in the water so that the tie was no longer white, but a light coffee brown. I dried it the best I could and wore it to class...
We have to accept the blood of Jesus just as I accepted what had happened to my tie. At first we have a spot of his blood upon us, but if we are to look complete we must immerse ourselves and become red in our entirety. This way we don’t appear to have made a mistake, or been saved in part... now we are without blemish because He has covered us completely. Our covenant is sealed and the blood of His death has been accepted.
What is the state of your covenant? Is your tie as yet unblemished? Do you have a stain on the end of it? Have you immersed it in the blood? Have you washed it to reveal a beautiful hue? Have you dried it and now wear it as your new look? We accept the new covenant with God in stages, but as we continue on in our acceptance we end up looking different; not blemished, but adorned in a new color... a new tie... a new covenant life.
“he entered once for all into the holy places, not by means of the blood of goats and calves but by means of his own blood, thus securing an eternal redemption.”
Hebrews 9:12 ESV
Prayer;
Father, I thank you for the new covenant that you established with me through your Son Jesus Christ. I thank you for His Blood which sealed this covenant between us, and I pray that my garments are stained in their entirety by His offering. Thank you Jesus for the life you laid upon the altar of the Cross, and thank you for the blood you shed to inaugurate the new covenant that our Father sought from the foundation of the earth to establish. You restore me Jesus, and wash me in your purity. Holy Father, I accept the covenant you offer, and humble myself beneath the price of Christ, and in the light of your grace. I praise you now, and in all of my days, for you are merciful and great beyond measure, and your grace knows no bounds. Take pleasure in me Father, and May I be pleasing to you always.
Rich Forbes