There's an interesting thing about the ordering of sacrifices listed in Leviticus. Aaron was to offer a sin offering for himself, then a burnt offering for himself, followed by a sin offering, then a burnt offering for the people, followed by a grain offering.
It was only after the sin offerings that he was to offer the peace offering. It's a picture of a profound truth.
Peace only comes when we have dealt with our sin.
The topic of sin is not popular today, but it is no less pertinent. Scripture tells us that we have all sinned (missed the mark of the call of God). (Romans 3:23)
Something had to be done, because mankind could not pay for all the sin that piled up.
That "something" was the sacrificial death of Jesus. The penalty for that sin is death, but we can have life through the free gift of God in Christ Jesus. (Romans 6:23) His blood paid the penalty once and for all and He "made peace through the blood of His cross". (Colossians 1:20)
Jesus bought our peace, in effect paying our ransom.
If we put out trust in the saving power of the blood of Jesus, we will have more than salvation. We will have peace with God. (Romans 5:1)
Remember the woman who washed Jesus' feet with her tears and dried them with her hair? Jesus said, "Your faith has saved you. Go in peace." (Luke 7:50). The peace He gave was not just reconciliation with God. He gave her freedom from the power of her past and the power of her sin, as well as peace with her future. She would no longer have to be afraid of the days to come, because God would be with her. (You can read her story by clicking here.)
We, too, can have peace with God and the freedom it brings, but only through the cleansing power of the blood of Jesus.
We can embrace the sin of this world and all the temporary pleasure it brings, or we can have peace, but we can't have both. The choice is ours.
Choose peace.
Remember the woman who washed Jesus' feet with her tears and dried them with her hair? Jesus said, "Your faith has saved you. Go in peace." (Luke 7:50). The peace He gave was not just reconciliation with God. He gave her freedom from the power of her past and the power of her sin, as well as peace with her future. She would no longer have to be afraid of the days to come, because God would be with her. (You can read her story by clicking here.)
We, too, can have peace with God and the freedom it brings, but only through the cleansing power of the blood of Jesus.
We can embrace the sin of this world and all the temporary pleasure it brings, or we can have peace, but we can't have both. The choice is ours.
Choose peace.
In case you missed one of the past week's posts, here are the links: Hand Washing and Heart Cleansing, The Wonder Dogs Run In Circles, Cutting Edge Prayer: The Power of Fasting, Changing the World: The Example of Kid President, The View from the Inversion Table: When Christ Upends Your Life, A Royal Priesthood: Preparing to Serve, We Won't Be Baptist (or Methodist) in Heaven, and Friday Night With Friends: Between the Frying Pan and the Fire.
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