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And remember"); document.writeln("that the heavenly Father to whom you pray has no favorites. He will judge or"); document.writeln("reward you according to what you do. So you must live in reverent fear of him"); document.writeln("during your time here as temporary residents. For you know that God paid a"); document.writeln("ransom to save you from the empty life you inherited from your ancestors. And"); document.writeln("it was not paid with mere gold or silver, which lose their value. It was the"); document.writeln("precious blood of Christ, the sinless, spotless Lamb of God. God chose him as"); document.writeln("your ransom long before the world began, but now in these days he has been"); document.writeln("revealed for your sake.¹

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Bloodshed is"); document.writeln("essential to the Christian faith: without a sacrifice, no one can come to the Heavenly"); document.writeln("Father. For that reason, God wove together the story of death, renewal, and"); document.writeln("reconciliation from Genesis to Revelation.

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The Lord"); document.writeln("designed redemption in a way that demonstrated the connection between the"); document.writeln("shedding of blood and deliverance from sin. In the Old Testament, He gave"); document.writeln("instructions that only flawless animal sacrifices be offered. God wanted"); document.writeln("everyone to understand that sin brought terrible consequences and resulted in"); document.writeln("death. The first death recorded in the Bible was that of the animal whose skin"); document.writeln("became the covering of Adam and Eve after they sinned (Genesis 3:11-13, 21)."); document.writeln("Later, the Israelites had to make sacrifices to be absolved of their sins,"); document.writeln("whenever they brought a lamb or a pair of doves to the priest, they recognized"); document.writeln("that the wages of sin is death (Romans 6:23). But God, out of His goodness,"); document.writeln("sent His Son to pay the price for our sins once and for all.

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The passage"); document.writeln("above says that we were ransomed, not with perishable things... but with the"); document.writeln("precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish. Let us"); document.writeln("always remember to be thankful for His sacrificial gift.

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Suggested"); document.writeln("Prayer: Dear Heavenly Father, I want to thank You for the precious blood of"); document.writeln("Your Son, Jesus Christ. Thank You for Your sacrificial gift on the cross. Thank"); document.writeln("You, Beloved Father, that out of Your goodness and love for mankind, You sent"); document.writeln("Your Son to pay for our sins once and for all! In the name of Jesus I pray,"); document.writeln("Amen.

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1. 1 Peter 1:17-21 (NLT).

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The Encounter"); document.writeln("for today was written by: Rosina N.

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