March 24 Leap For Joy

Hebrews 10: 17b-18 "Their sins and lawless acts I will remember no more." And where these have been forgiven, there is no longer any sacrifice for sin.

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There's so much in these verses related to things I have been meditating on.

God will remember my sins no more! (Help me not to dwell on them either). Yippee!

AND when these sins have been forgiven, there is no longer any need for further sacrifices. Once and for all. The book of Hebrews makes that so clear. Christ doesn't need to die again and again. And that lamb that is leaping? Well, he will never need to be a sacrifice on the alter for someones sins.

Shout to the Lord! Leap for joy! My sins are forgiven, and it is no small matter.

http://www.spiritandsong.com/jukebox/songs/66872

This photo was taken last week a block from our home. This was the only successful photo that captured the spring in the step of the lambs. They jumped straight up. They kicked their hind legs. They ran into each other and butted heads. What an example of sheer joy to be alive.

March 23 Far and Away

Psalm 103:12 As far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us...
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Sometimes I just can't let go, Lord. When I am called up short I feel just terrible. I am a people pleaser. I think I am a God pleaser too. I really, really want to keep in Your favor and live right.

But that means letting go and feeling the freedom of forgiveness when I've told You I'm sorry for my sins. Sometimes when I've gotten angry, or done something else that displeases You... I ask for Your forgiveness. Then I just can't let go. I keep thinking about it.

I must believe YOU when you tell me these sins are now GONE!

Song by Audio Adrenaline

They're all behind you

They'll never find you

They're on the ocean floor

Your sins are forgotten

They're on the bottom

Of the ocean floor

http://www.jesusfreakhideout.com/lyrics/OceanFloor.asp

Childhood song:

Gone, gone, gone, gone
Yes my sins are gone.
Now my soul is free
And in my heart's a song.
Buried in the deepest sea
Yes that's good enough for me
I shall live eternally
Praise God
My sins are
G-O-N-E, Yes my sins are gone.




I took this photo about 2 weeks ago in a town on the Mosel River in the region of Bernkastle-Kues. I took it from a castle on the hill. Looking over the hills and the river is a small reminder of how far the east is from the west - the great expanse.

March 22 Whiter than Snow

Isaiah 1:18 "Come now, let us reason together," says the LORD. "Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool.

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Once again, late March, I awoke to snow coming down. Changing my selected verse for today to Isaiah 1:18, I ran outside to find a fresh illustration.

What do you think about the garbage cans? You can see the snow coming down... the patterns of the white stuff dancing around them and settling on the lids. Snow makes even garbage cans look interesting.

Similarly Christ covers our garbage with His purity. But He does more than cover it. He transforms it to be whiter than snow. Like it is no more.

This photograph was taken in our neighborhood a few minutes ago.

March 21 Once and For All

Hebrews 10:10 ...We have been made holy through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.
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"Jesus, could you die on the cross again? My friend just sinned again."

How preposterous!

Yet why doesn't Jesus need to die each time someone becomes a Christian, or each time someone sins? If you read the verses before this verse, you find that Jesus came voluntarily as God to the cross. (Hebrews 10:5-10)

A blood sacrifice for sin was required by God in Old Testament times. A sheep, pigeons, or even a young bull. It was like a temporary patch on a tire. Jesus, being fully God, and fully man, was a perfect person without blemish. His sacrifice on the cross was considered supreme. God. The perfect sacrifice. Once and for all.

Testament also can mean covenant. Have you ever thought why they call the two parts of the Bible the Old Testament and the New Testament? It is about the covenants God makes with man.

When Christ came, and sacrificed Himself, a new covenant was established that wiped out all the old ones. The old ones merely give us the history and the need for the new one.

Jesus. The New Testament.

This photo was taken recently in the field about a block from our house.

March 20 You Light up my Life

I John 1:7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin.
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I have always loved kaleidoscopes. Last year my husband gave me one for Christmas. If you don't look at the light, you can barely see the vibrant colors in it.

Jesus, the Light of the World, brings vibrancy to my life when it seems darkest. Yesterday several issues made me feel very heavy. But I started the day with devotions and extra prayer. As the day wore on, it became obvious that in the difficulties, He was with me. Unexpected things happened to make it better... mainly from that "fellowship" with others.

Thank you Lord. You transform my life everyday! Help me to walk in the light, expecting to see you brighten my path.

This photo was taken through my kaleidoscope looking out the window into the sun.

March 19 Tulips in Snow

Ps 51:7 Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.
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Snow fell while the sun was shining as I awoke this morning. The tulips bursting with color peaked out and inspired me with their hardiness. They seem to be enjoying it!

That coat of snow makes everything look like a fantasy world that's clean and fresh.

Hyssop, referred to in my verse of the day, is what the Old Testament priests used to sprinkle the blood on items in the temple to symbolically cleanse them. (See blogs of last week)

I'm made whiter than snow. Hard to imagine. With the sun shining on it, it makes my eyes hurt.

That's pure. You are doing that for me, Lord?

For me.
For you.

This photo was taken this morning about an hour ago. The one on the bottom is what I saw opening my window this morning.

March 18 What Love Is

I John 3:16 This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers.
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We all know John 3:16, but who looks at I John 3:16? It, too, is about Jesus' supreme sacrifice on the cross. It goes further.

Amazing. Lay down your life for your brothers following My example.

Lord, it is hard to love like You do, sometimes. People disappoint me. I disappoint me. We're not perfect by any stretch of the imagination.

I guess that's the point. I wasn't perfect when You died for me. That was why You did.

Help me to love others who fall short of my expectations.

This photo was taken in the Catholic church near our home. The Jesus and friend in the stained glass panel illustrates today's verse.