Where Does the Power of The Blood Of Christ Come From?

Something is influencing you! What is it that you are allowing to influence you? Is it the Truth? Do you even know what is true anymore? It's very easy to become confused in this time we live and it will become more and more confusing as time passes. So watch out dear friends!! Do you remember who Pontious Pilate was? He was the Roman Governor who asked Jesus, "What is Truth?" Here's what happened in context:

Jesus before Pilate

Then they led Jesus from Caiaphas into the Praetorium, and it was early; and they themselves did not enter into the Praetorium so that they would not be defiled, but might eat the Passover.Therefore Pilate went out to them and said, "What accusation do you bring against this Man?"They answered and said to him, "If this Man were not an evildoer, we would not have delivered Him to you." So Pilate said to them, "Take Him yourselves, and judge Him according to your law." The Jews said to him, "We are not permitted to put anyone to death," to fulfill the word of Jesus which He spoke, signifying by what kind of death He was about to die. Therefore Pilate entered again into the Praetorium, and summoned Jesus and said to Him, "Are You the King of the Jews?" Jesus answered, "Are you saying this on your own initiative, or did others tell you about Me?" Pilate answered, "I am not a Jew, am I? Your own nation and the chief priests delivered You to me; what have You done?" Jesus answered, "My kingdom is not of this world. If My kingdom were of this world, then My servants would be fighting so that I would not be handed over to the Jews; but as it is, My kingdom is not of this realm." Therefore Pilate said to Him, "So You are a king?" Jesus answered, "You say correctly that I am a king For this I have been born, and for this I have come into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth hears my voice." Pilate said to Him, "What is truth?" And when he had said this, he went out again to the Jews and said to them, "I find no guilt in Him. "But you have a custom that I release someone for you at the Passover; do you wish then that I release for you the King of the Jews?" So they cried out again, saying, "Not this Man, but Barabbas." Now Barabbas was a robber.

Are you a Pontious Pilate? Is Truth stairing you in the face and you can't see it anymore. My dear friend if so, SNAP OUT OF IT! I say this with all the compassion and love that is running through me right now. In Proverbs it says "Better the rebuke from a friend then kisses from your enemy." I am your friend. And I am not afraid to rebuke you because there is so much at stake. I am at risk of being deceived if I will not deal with what is naturally inside of me that wants to run away from the truth. I am a man as you and we have the same problem...namely pride. If we don't deal with our pride it will deal with us. So much of what I am trying to convey can only be understood if that stiff necked attitude is dealt with. My sincere question to you is, Do you have a stiff -neck, or an angry spirit, or a rebellious heart toward the One who is trying to show you the one way to live that will make you truly fulfilled and complete. I hope the following excerpt will help you see that living in the Truth will truly set you free!

The Way of The Cross:

"Let us look at the book of Revelation. in this book the blood of Christ is described as the "blood of the Lamb." (Revelation 7:14). These words give us part of the answer to our question: Where does the Power of the Blood of Jesus Christ Come From? It was not the blood of the Lion or the Fighter, but the blood of the Lamb. The power of the blood comes from the lamb-like nature of the One who shed it. That is why it is so powerful with God for men. It was in His death that the Lord Jesus showed most completely His lamb-like nature.

Why is the Lord Jesus described as the Lamb? First of all, it is a description of His work. He came to be the Sacrifice for our sin. What did an Israelite do when he knew he had sinned and needed to get right with God? He would bring a lamb (or goat) as a sacrifice. The animal would be killed and it's blood sprinkled on the altar. The Lord Jesus, the Son of God, was the One who showed the true meaning of all the lambs which man had sacrificed. "Here is the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world." (John 1:29)

But the name " the Lamb" has a deeper meaning as well. It shows us His nature. Like a lamb, He is gentle and humble in spirit (Matthew 11:29) He did not take revenge. He Himself said, " I have come down from heaven to do the will of Him who sent me, NOT MY OWN WILL" (John 6:38). He came so that men might be blessed and saved. If his nature had not been that of the Lamb, He would have had hard thoughts when men treated Him badly. But "He was humble and walked the path of obedience even to death--His death on the cross." (Philippians 2:8) He loved His Father and He loved us, and so endured it all to save us. Men did what they wished to Him. For our sakes He gave Himself into their hands. " When He was insulted, He did not answer back with an insult; when He suffered, he did not threaten." ( 1 peter 2:23) He did not claim His rights. He did not hit back. He had no hard thoughts. He did not complain. He was very different from what we are! When He knew it was God's plan that wicked men should put Him on the cross, He bowed His head to death. He was put to death like a lamb. Isaiah prophesied about Jesus as the Lamb: "He was brought as a lamb to the slaughter; and as a sheep before its shearers is silent, so He stood silent before the ones condemning Him" (Isaiah 53:7) men flogged Him with a whip. They laughed at Him. They spit on Him. They pulled the hair from His beard. They laid the cross on His back and made Him carry it to Calvary. There they nailed Him to the cross. he was lifted up to die. After he died a soldier pierced His side with a spear, and His blood flowed out. All these things happened because the Lord Jesus was the Lamb. He did all this to pay the price of my sin. It is true that He was the Lamb because He died on the cross, but it is also true that He died on the cross because He was the Lamb.

Let us always remember this fact about the blood. Jesus' blood shows us the humbleness and self-sacrifice of the Lamb. This is what gives the blood its wonderful power with God. Look at Hebrews 9:14. There the writer links together the blood of Christ and His offering Himself as a sacrifice to God. "How much more is accomplished by the blood of Christ! Through the eternal spirit He offered Himself as a perfect sacrifice to God." This is why the blood has such power with God. God the Father places great value on that which is offered to Him. He wants to see in men the nature of the Lamb. He want men who will humbly obey Him. He wants men who will give up their will to do His will. That was why God made man in the first place. Man sinned when he refused to walk in the path of obedience to God. This has been the real heart of sin ever since. The Lord Jesus came to earth as a Man to live in obedience to God. When the Father saw His Son always obeying Him He said, "This is my dear Son, with whom I am well pleased." (Matthew 3:17) In obedience to the will of the Father, Jesus shed His blood on the cross. This is why His blood is so precious to God. This is why His blood can wash away all the sins in our hearts." p84-p87

I pray you can understand this, and I pray you will want to get to know Jesus by reading the Bible. More than that I pray that you would ask Jesus Christ to save you from yourself and your sin nature. What a wonderful act of love he performed for you!!! He proved His love for you by going to the cross even while you were sinning against Him. He knew that if He did not die for you that you would not have a chance to choose Him and His forgiveness. The Lord Jesus is not willing that anyone should perish, but that all might have eternal life in Him. I have written about Hell, a most unpopular subject, because it is becoming the eternal reality for all those whose sins have not been covered by the blood of Jesus. It is real place and people are falling into Hell right now. One by one souls are falling into this aweful place forever. It is beyond words and not one of us could withstand the sorrow that God feels for these souls especially when He has provided a way of escape. The alternative is true as well. Right now souls are entering into the presence of God because they have received His free gift of eternal life found in His Son Jesus. They will be in paradise forever.

Trade

I just read the email from Ryan regarding our martyred brothers' trial in Turkey. In case you have not read it, many aspects of the trial are covered up, hiding key evidence and indentities of those responsible for the murder of these brothers. And, perhaps, the motive behind the murder, which was their faith in Jesus the Christ.

Sometimes it is so foreign a thought to me that life is extremely difficult for people in other countries, under other governments and cultures. I comprehend it, but I do not know it. Likewise I comprehend other's struggles, yet I do not know exactly what they go through, experience or feel. Sometimes I try to let my heart imagine another's perspective and feelings, but it seems I still easily get in the way. And, if I am not careful, I speak in ways that do not communicate compassion for any who seek forgiveness, even those willing to confess and repent of arrogant pride, condemning words or abusiveness.

Recently I viewed the movie "Trade" which came out late in 2007. Trade is a movie made to expose human trafficking, also known as modern-day slavery, where mostly boys, girls and women are forced or deceived into enslavement and sold to provide some form of service whether manual labor or sexual. Jan 11th 2008 was the first annual Human Trafficking Awareness Day in the US. My heart was wrenched and empassioned as my wife and I watched the story unfold.

One response I have to the experiences represented in Trade is this poem - a feeble attempt at expressing my heart both to Trade and to the One who traded Himself for us.

Victim's Compensation
we give, you break
you lie, we take
our kiss, you snake

thrusting ebb, ruptured thread
dripping red, daggers said
hue wanes, paling wake

lifeless beat, rancid feet
yearn to cheat, mortal defeat
hope to scar, cease visitation

stifled Lamb, fraud's entraption
revived I AM, life's inception
Love's participation, agony's compensation

"My beloved Son with whom I am well pleased."

Jesus began His earthly ministry by being baptized. He did not need to do this from the standpoint that John was baptizing people who were repenting of their sins. Jesus had no sin to repent. But He was baptized anyway, “to fufill all righteousness.” He was beginning His ministry in the same way that He finished it at the cross, by submitting His will to His Father’s.

His Father, who loved Him, affirmed Jesus by sending the Holy Spirit in the form of a dove and openly declaring His pleasure in His Son. This is the love that was to sustain Jesus in the next 40 days as He fasted in the wilderness. This is the love that enabled Jesus to suffer and die for our sin…so that we might know the same love.

The Father loves all of His adopted children with the same love that He does His only begotten Son! It the power of His wonderful love that changes us, that draws us into Him and satisfies our souls. He created us to be loved by Him. In return, we are compelled to love Him back and live our lives in holiness. All we have to do is follow Jesus’ example of submitting our will to the Father’s. The first time we do this we receive the forgiveness of our sin and life eternal. After that, daily submission as we journey in this amazing relationship experiencing the love of God.

“Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God. So we have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us. God is love, and whoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him.” 1 John 4:15-16 (ESV)

ARE YOU AWAKE?

I read a devotional recently titled: The Test of His Coming. To sum it up would be to say that when Jesus arrived on the scene the first time not many people were in the right heart and mind to recognize who he really was. After reading this devotional my mind went directly to the few who were waiving palms around Jesus as he was riding into Jerusalem on the donkey. Can you see this picture! To understand the picture is important. On that day of arrival, very few people recognized that Jesus was indeed the Messiah that all the prophecies were pointing to in the major prophet’s writings. It’s obvious that these people were reading their bibles and were waiting and watching for the prophecy to unfold. I imagine that these people were familiar with the heart beat of the word of God. How else could they be at the gate worshipping and praising Jesus as King already, especially if he was on a donkey? Yes, they recognized Jesus by all the miracles he had done for the 36 months prior, but because they were in the word watching and studying and putting the signs together they were at that very special place; the place where Jesus rode into Jerusalem. I often ask myself and I ask you also: Would we have been one of those at the gate welcoming Jesus as the Messiah, as King of Kings and Lord of Lords, as the Long Expected One? Or would we be at church, eating dinner at home, at the local bar, or living in sin? Whatever the case I hope we would be quickened to be AWAKE so we could see where we really needed to be which is at the gate with a palm and a voice proclaiming his praise! Something inside me says we can answer that question now and it’s dependant upon how we are preparing and expecting for his second coming. You see we are now in the same scenario awaiting Jesus’ second coming as the people were in Jesus’ time awaiting his first coming! And now our minds should flash to the story of the Ten Bridesmaids in the gospels. If you don’t know this parable please work to understand it, because it reveals the heart and mind we must be working for in these last days before Jesus returns.

Matthew 25

Parable of the Ten Bridesmaids

1 "Then the Kingdom of Heaven will be like ten bridesmaids* who took their lamps and went to meet the bridegroom.2 Five of them were foolish, and five were wise.3 The five who were foolish didn't take enough olive oil for their lamps,4 but the other five were wise enough to take along extra oil.5 When the bridegroom was delayed, they all became drowsy and fell asleep. 6 "At midnight they were roused by the shout, `Look, the bridegroom is coming! Come out and meet him!' 7 "All the bridesmaids got up and prepared their lamps.8 Then the five foolish ones asked the others, `Please give us some of your oil because our lamps are going out.' 9 "But the others replied, `We don't have enough for all of us. Go to a shop and buy some for yourselves.' 10 "But while they were gone to buy oil, the bridegroom came. Then those who were ready went in with him to the marriage feast, and the door was locked.11 Later, when the other five bridesmaids returned, they stood outside, calling, `Lord! Lord! Open the door for us!' 12 "But he called back, `Believe me, I don't know you!' 13 "So you, too, must keep watch! For you do not know the day or hour of my return.

Are you AWAKE? Is your Lampstand trimmed with OIL? If you are not careful and proactive to study the scripture and know its heart beat in context the world we live in today will speak in your ears loudly, flash in your eyes brightly, and will fill your other senses completely drowning out the urgent call to prepare yourself for your Bridegroom. The time is nearly hear when Jesus will ride into this world again. Let’s be AWAKE and TRIMMED with OIL for the Long Awaited One. Do not let your heart be moved or shaken when the things Jesus warned of begin to shake this world. Only let your heart be moved by Jesus Christ through the Holy Bible and the Holy Spirit.

Jesus the Rabbi

Listening to the Rabbi’s heartbeat is immediately a Trinitarian experience. The moment you press your ear against His heart, you instantly hear Abba’s footsteps in the distance. I do not know how this happens. It just does. It is a simple movement from intellectual cognition to experiential awareness that Jesus and the Father are one in the Holy Spirit, the bond of infinite tenderness between them.

Second, we realize that we are not alone on the Yellow Brick Road. Traffic is heavy. Fellow travelers are everywhere. It isn’t just me and Jesus anymore. The road is dotted with the moral and the immoral, the beautiful and the grungy…and the Rabbi’s word, of course, is to love each person along the way.

Third, when we recline at the table of Jesus we will learn that the recovery of passion is intimately connected with the discovery of the passion of Jesus. The vulnerability of God in permitting Himself to be affected by our response and the heartbreak of Jesus as He wept over Jerusalem for not receiving Him are utterly astounding. When God comes streaming into our lives in the power of His Word, all He asks is that we be stunned and surprised, let our mouths hang open, and begin to breathe deeply.

Fourth, the awareness dawns that God is totally Other. We are in the magisterial presence of God. Faith stirs and our fear and trembling find their voice once more. In worship we move into the tremendous poverty that is the adoration of God. Let the Great Rabbi hold you silently against His heart. In learning who He is, you will find out who you are: Abba’s child in Christ our Lord.
-excerpt from The Rabbi's Heartbeat by Brennan Manning

Preparing our Hearts

Who Can discern his lapses and errors?
Clean me from hidden and unconscious faults.
Keep back your servant also from presumptious sins;
let them not have dominion over me! -Psalm 19: 12-13

Search me, O God, and know my heart;
Test me and know my anxious thougths.
See if there is any offensive way in me,
and lead me in the way everlasting -Psalm 139: 23-24

It appears to me that David understood the importance and necessity of setting aside time to allow God to search us and reveal to us the conditon of our heart, mind, and soul. A Mentor once related our need for God to bring His calm and peace to our souls that our often 'bleeding' from the ways that this culture bombards us with messages and images that embody the darkness of this world. He painted the picture of a shallow pond that is unsettled by multiple rocks that are thrown into it and once they hit the bottom cause the muck,and mire to rise up to the surface bringing debris and cloudiness. For the water to once again become clear and settled takes time. This is true for the condition of our souls and we need to learn to dwell in the healing and calming silence of God and endure through the cloudiness and confusion of our inner world, to receive the gift of peace and purity that God brigns forth in us.

PSALM 128

The way for me to get out of a bout with discouragement or to break a bad habit or to eliminate unbelief in my life is to open up the bible and start reading it and to start talking to God about my problem. That's because God's word is like water and it has never failed me. But even when I know this I continue to neglect it more than I would like to admit. The truth is I'll never know how much the words of the bible will FULLY cleanse me until I dive into it. I mean like dive head long into it without any string attached without anything competeing against it in my heart! I desperately need to start reading the bible like I read my favorite magazines, or like I watch my next blockbuster movie, or search the internet for the latest current events around this tumultuous world. How passionate are you towards your media entertainment compared to God's word? What's the quantity and quality of time that you spend in the bible vs your media or shopping? If you're like me your quantity and quality time is spent away from God's words doing other things. This is called idolatry and it is a serious problem. Idolatry is a serious problem because it removes God's rightful place in our lives, and the result of this is disastrous. So even though I have been convicted about this in my walk with God I haven't done too much about it. God has allowed me to do this media thing and at the same time he is allowing me to experience the disastrous consequences of it. Which could be described as a very subtle and slow chipping away of all that is good. It's like nicotine or caffeine quick addiction but slow health decline. As a Christian, I hate that I have something inside of me still that won't prioritize my time with God and give him complete Lordship of my life. This is something God is still working out of me. So I finally decided to shut my door and start reading and praying to God to help me come out of this media thing and back to him in a right relationship. And God in his faithfulness sang a song to me in Psalm 128. I have to say that all along this journey of putting things before God that he, in his caring faithfullness, has shown me exactly what is at risk of being eroded away. All of which are the most important things to me: My relationship with Christ emotionally, spiritually and physically, My relationship with my wife and children and their health and quality of life, my work, the bride of Christ, Jerusalem. These are truly the things in my personal life and heart that matter most. And so this song God sang to me was Psalm 128 and it is a song that consists of everything that is crucial to me but in its right condition. The word of God has started cleansing me because it brings hope. Everything he told me I was slowly losing by putting this media thing before him will be restored IF I do my part. My part is the first verse of Psalm 128. It says it all and it is where I am going to plant my heart. Please pray for me if you are one who can identify with this struggle. I don't want anything to be before God's rightful place in my life.

1 How joyful are those who fear the LORD— all who follow his ways!2 You will enjoy the fruit of your labor. How joyful and prosperous you will be!3 Your wife will be like a fruitful grapevine, flourishing within your home.Your children will be like vigorous young olive trees as they sit around your table.4 That is the LORD's blessing for those who fear him.5 May the LORD continually bless you from Zion. May you see Jerusalem prosper as long as you live.6 May you live to enjoy your grandchildren. May Israel have peace!