November 27
The Blood
How much more, then, will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself unblemished to God, cleanse our consciences from acts that lead to death, so that we may serve the living God! ––Hebrews 9:14
“Oh! Precious is the flow that makes me white as snow; No other fount I know, nothing but the blood of Jesus.” ––“What Can Wash Away My Sin?” by Robert Lowry, 1876
Blood is life.
In other words, blood is fundamental to existence; it is what procures and sustains life. It contains the whole story of creation, man, faith, and meaning all in one. Thus, blood is life.
God’s man has an even deeper attachment to blood because faith in Christ brings him face to face with the blood of Christ. In short, no blood, no forgiveness, no heaven. Theologians call this substitutionary atonement; His blood for your sin. I call it mind-blowing.
The blood is what allows for our instant fellowship with other Christians and our common sense of gratitude to God. We are in the deepest possible debt to God for the blood of His Son on our behalf. That’s why we cry and sing the old hymn at the same time: “What can wash away my sins? Nothing but the blood of Jesus.”
Similarly, guess what you and Satan have most in common? The blood. But that’s where the common ground stops, because you could not have a more inverse relationship to anything than you have here:
- Satan was defeated by the blood, you were cleansed by it.
- Satan was betrayed by it, you were rescued by it.
- Satan was humiliated by it, you were exalted by your trust in it.
The mention of the blood is repellent to Satan. That’s why Scripture says that what secured our initial victory over Satan on the cross is a weapon to secure our ongoing victory over him as believers.
Don’t water down the power of His blood by undervaluing it or discounting it. Invoke His name daily, in every struggle and temptation. That’s how we overcome.
Father, You cared enough for me to give Your ultimate. My heart is to love You for it.