ATONEMENT

Non-believers are quick to point out how God often punished sinners in the Old Testament as if it is still going on today.  If God used the same methods in today’s world, the atheists would not even exist.  There will be real fear in the hearts of men before they even think about committing a sin.  God was being true to His own provision of giving us our own wills, which is why Jesus was sent to us to pay for our sins and lift the veil that separated God and humankind.

Can you just imagine if the Old Testament punishments were still true?  I mean, we would have to have land to tend sheep just to offer blood sacrifice to atone for our sins with God.  We all sin intentionally and unintentionally because it is in our nature.  But God remains the same.  His standard of perfection cannot be attained even by the best of us on our best days.

The ultimate sacrifice is Jesus Christ who foreshadowed the sacrifices of the Old Testament.    He paid the debt of sin in full.  Yes, from the most egregious, to the simplest of lies.  Jesus paid for all of it.  It’s like having a partner that paid for all your basic necessities, Jesus’ treat for the things our souls need is free.  However, we have an obligation to deny sin because we are talking about respecting the fact that He died for us to be forgiven.  The only gift we can give back to Jesus is to live a life that will glorify Him.  We no longer need a sacrificial lamb to cleanse us from the sins we knowingly commit or the sins we unintentionally commit.  No other blood sacrifice will ever be required.

Instead of blood sacrifice, we can make offerings of gratitude:  Repentance, praise and service.  This blog is my service.  God has revealed this feat for me.  It is not easy to come up with messages every week and visualize it in a creative and artistic manner.  That’s always been a challenge for me.  Majority of the weeks God reveals to me what message to impart to you.  But sometimes I feel far removed from God, for maybe a sin that I have not atoned for.  So His presence is also far removed from me.  But the magic happens again when I ask Him to forgive me and I atone for my sin.  This is how our powerful and almighty God is.  He has the power out of all put together but yet acts like a true and loyal best friend when you need Him.  I am in awe of Him, always and forever.  I long to see His face everyday and finally be with Him in the most glorious way!  His love covers over a multitude of sins (1 Peter 4:8). Despair has no place here, only LOVE!

Until my next rant… LOVE ONE ANOTHER!