The Sacrificial Blood of Christ

Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers; but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot. 1 Peter 1:18, 19.
Upon Christ as our substitute and surety was laid the iniquity of us all. He was counted a transgressor, that He might redeem us from the condemnation of the law.
Hating sin with a perfect hatred, He yet gathered to His soul the sins of the whole world. Guiltless, He bore the punishment of the guilty. Innocent, yet offering Himself as a substitute for the transgressor. The guilt of every sin pressed its weight upon the divine soul of the world’s Redeemer. The evil thoughts, the evil words, the evil deeds of every son and daughter of Adam, called for retribution upon Himself; for He had become man’s substitute.
Behold Him in the wilderness, in Gethsemane, upon the cross! The spotless Son of God took upon Himself the burden of sin. He who had been one with God, felt in His soul the awful separation that sin makes between God and man. This wrung from His lips the anguished cry, “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?” Matthew 27:46. It was the burden of sin, the sense of its terrible enormity, of its separation of the soul from God—it was this that broke the heart of the Son of God.
“Ye know,” says Peter, “that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold.” 1 Peter 1:18. Oh, had these been sufficient to purchase the salvation of man, how easily it might have been accomplished by Him who says, “The silver is mine, and the gold is mine”! Haggai 2:8. But the sinner could be redeemed only by the precious blood of the Son of God.
By pouring the whole treasury of heaven into this world, by giving us in Christ all heaven, God has purchased the will, the affections, the mind, the soul, of every human being.
The Faith I Live By p. 101
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Prayer Requests
—-Please pray that God will guide my children in some decisions that they must make. Buck
—-I need your prayers, just lost my beloved Dad. He succumbed to diabetes. Pastor Ezra
—-Please pray for Kristen (17) who was in an accident and lifeflighted to hospital and currently in ICU. Tricia
—-Please pray for my Aunt. She’s in ICU due to heart failure and many other serious complications. Jean
—-A longtime friend just overdosed on herion this morning, he’s dead and another one shot himself in the head the other day, he is on life support, please pray he survives. I went to school with both of them. Jacob
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Dear Friends,
Yesterday, Eileen and I were in the car waiting for someone, when she said, “Mother roll down the window.” Of course, I didn’t. I just asked why. When she got out of the car and opened the door, I saw why. A wasp was on it. Wasps are always a concern ever since the time when Eileen had just turned three years old and she was playing outside on the porch one day. I was standing in the doorway watching her. It was a beautiful spring day. It felt good to have warm weather after a cold winter and it seemed like all was well with my world.
Suddenly, a wasp came from nowhere, landed on Eileen’s back, stung her, then flew away. She looked surprised and started to cry. She had not seen the wasp, but she had felt the pain. I was shocked too. That was very strange behavior for a wasp. It did not have a nest nearby, it was not being threatened, it just, for whatever reason, decided to sting my daughter. Taking her in my arms, I comforted her and attended to the sting. For as long as we lived in Pennsylvania, I had a hard time getting her to play outside. In her child’s mind, the outside world was a very unsafe place to be.
So it is. This sinful old world is unsafe without special protection for we have an adversary who strikes when we least expect it. Even when everything seems to be right with our world, suddenly, without warning, the evil one “stings” us. Just like Eileen, we are surprised and shocked. We are dismayed and fearful. We don’t know what to do. Our world has fallen apart. We wish we could escape to a place of safety, but there seems to be nowhere to turn.
Praise God, there is a place of safety! There is Someone Who cares Who will wrap His Loving Arms around us and give us comfort and protection! Indeed, He loves us so much that He was willing to leave the glories of Heaven, come to this small and corrupt planet to live a perfect life and die on the cross that we might be saved. What love! What sacrifice!
How Jesus longs to have us confide in Him. His Great Heart of Love yearns over us, longing for us to find relief from the sting of sin. He bids us, “Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.” Matt 11:28
How much He desires us to come to Him with all of our burdens, all of our trials, all of our cares. “Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you.” 1 Peter 5:7 He offers us a place of safety from all the fiery darts of the wicked one. In the very next verse, we are counseled, “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour” 1 Peter 5:8 When we feel the sting of the evil one, we have the privilege to cast our cares upon the Saviour Who loves us. We may flee into His loving arms. He will protect us in trouble. He will comfort us when our world falls apart. He will make all things right again.
“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; And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace; Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. ” Eph 6:10-17