Daily Encounter: A Week-day Devotional by a staff of ACTS International.

Monday, August 31, 2009

"How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God? ... And almost all things are by the law purged with blood; and without shedding of blood is no remission [forgiveness of sins]."¹

I can certainly identify with Dr. Paul Brand who said, "I used to think it strange that the Bible keeps talking about the cleansing power of the blood.² It seemed to me that blood was messy stuff. I needed to wash my white lab coats if they became stained with blood. Today, I love the analogy; it is so true of the body. The blood is constantly cleansing every cell, and washing away all the debris that accumulates all the time. I like Paul's phrase in Hebrews.³ 'How much more shall the blood of Christ purge [cleanse] your conscience from dead works?'"⁴

God's Word also says, "The life of the flesh is in the blood."⁵ When Jesus died on the cross on Good Friday so long ago, he gave his life and shed his blood so we could be cleansed from every sin and stain and made pure in God's sight—so we would be able to live with him forever in Heaven.

Suggested prayer: "Dear God, how can I ever thank you enough for dying on the cross and shedding your blood so I could be forgiven of every sin and stain and made pure in your sight and thereby qualified for Heaven. Because you gave your life and died for me, I give my life to live for you. So help me God to do this. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus' name, amen."

Note: If you have never accepted Jesus Christ as your Savior and received God's forgiveness, please read: "How to Be Sure You're a real Christian Without Having to Be Religious" at: http://tinyurl.com/real-christian.

1. Hebrews 9:14, 22 (KJV).
2. 1 Peter 1:2.
3. Hebrews 9:14.
4. Dr. Paul Brand in God's Forever Feast, Discovery House, 1998.
5. Leviticus 17:11 (KJV).

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