“But if we confess our sins to Him, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness.” (1 John 1:9 NLT)
After a long, hard day of working in the hot summer sun, nothing is quite as refreshing as a drink of cold water and a long, relaxing shower. To literally watch the dirt run off and into the drain as you lather your body is on some levels a metaphor of what Christ’s cleansing blood does for us spiritually.
Blood, in the Bible, is the seat of life. Without blood there is no life and without the gift of the cleansing blood of Jesus there is no forgiveness of sin; no newness of life in Christ. Redemption is what Jesus accomplished on the Cross when He gave His life’s blood in our place. We deserved to be on that Cross, not Jesus, but He saw such value in us He believed it would be worth the sacrifice of His own life, so that we might be with Him forever, not only in heaven, but even during our time on this earth.
Each morning as I walk my pups, my neighborhood becomes my cathedral of praise to my Savior. Part of my prayer every morning is filled with gratitude for all God has done for me in Jesus. I follow the outline of the Lord’s Prayer, praising God for His Holiness and my desire to see His Kingdom come and His will be accomplished on earth as it is in heaven, not only in my life, but in the lives of each of His children worldwide. I thank Him for providing everything I/we will need (He alone knows what that will be) to do and be everything He will lead me/us to do and be to His honor.
I’m not just praying for my literal food, but that with which I will need to feed my soul. Things like a keen mind and alert and sensitive spirit, that I may commune with Him throughout the day, drawing sustenance and strength for whatever He has planned for me, and for whomever He will put in my path.
Then I thank Him and praise His holy Name for His cleansing and purifying forgiveness. Because of Christ’s shed blood, I, and every other “blood washed” brother and sister, can walk in newness of life. We’re filled, fed, and led by the Spirit as sinless, spotless children of the living God, able to maximize our usefulness to God as we continually yield our will to His.
One of the miraculous and very practical aspects of Christ’s cleansing blood is not only our personal forgiveness, as vitally important as that is, but God’s equipping us to forgive those who sin against us. Over and over in the Bible, what Satan intended for evil, God worked for good and for His honor.
When I question whether I can forgive someone who has deliberately sinned against me in some way, all I have to do is think of the leading priests’ spit sliding down my Savior’s cheek, His priceless blood flowing from His crown’s cruel thorns, or the nails being driven into His holy hands and feet. What can anyone ever do to me to compare with what has already been done to Jesus?
His life-sustaining blood has washed every stain from our heart and life, enabling us to do and be for Him and with Him anything He desires us to do and be. Yes, but what about my ongoing sin patterns?
We’ll look at that tomorrow.
Blessings, Ed 😊
Walking With Jesus 