When I was a child growing up in church, I was so put off by all the bloody sacrifices required in the Old Testament. From Abraham splitting animals in the covenant ceremony, to the blood covering doorposts in the Exodus story, to the many burnt offerings in Israel’s worship services in the temple. So much death! So much blood.
Even as an adult, I’ll admit that I spent years utterly confused (and honestly, a bit bored) when my Bible reading plan took me through the sacrificial system in Leviticus. I’d sigh, I’m glad we don’t have to do that anymore, and then I’d move on with my to-do list for the day.
It wasn’t until a few years ago that I finally understood the point of all those bloody sacrifices: they all point to Jesus.
For thousands of years, faithful men and women worshiped with a deep longing for salvation (Psalm 14:7). Every time a Jewish worshiper brought a lamb to be sacrificed, he or she enacted a colorful prophecy of the future sacrifice of the Lamb of God. Every drop of blood predicted the blood of Jesus that would be shed on the cross. Every gasp as the sacrificial animal drew its last breath foretold the moment Jesus would cry out, “It is finished!” as He gave up His spirit and died (John 19:30).
One sacrifice to replace them all.
Jesus, the perfect Lamb of God, forever fulfilled the need for sacrifices. So we now receive forgiveness by the work He finished on the cross. He died once, and was raised back to life so that someday soon, we will also be raised with Him for all eternity. And while Jesus’s sacrifice was necessary only once, we need to avail ourselves of it daily.
While faithful Jewish people would buy their doves or lambs to be slaughtered, we receive forgiveness as a gift from our God, “who is rich in mercy” (Ephesians 2:4–5). So we come to Him, boldly and confidently, confessing our sins and receiving divine pardon because of what Jesus did on the cross. (1John 1:9–10). We keep confessing, and we continue surrendering ourselves to God, walking in obedience just as Jesus Himself obeyed all the way to the cross (Philippians 2:8).
And we wait…with deep expectation and with hearts filled with longing—we wait for the day when we will be raised with Jesus to His glorious throne. We wait for the day when we will be set free from our nature of sin and death. We wait for the day when we will finally see our precious Savior face to face, the joy of our longing hearts.
“Come, Thou long-expected Jesus / Born to set Thy people free!” We wait for You.
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51 thoughts on "By Thine All Sufficient Merit, Raise Us to Thy Glorious Throne Day 33"
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Face to face with Christ my savior, Face to face what will it be…another great hymn is brought to mind.
These lyrics came to mind: Jesus, paid it all, all to Him I owe, sin has left a crimson stain, He washed it white as snow! Glory’s to the Lamb and to our Heavenly Father!
Prayers for you all!
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Rhonda J praying for this whole family ! Kimberly Z praying also for you.
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The readings in John really struck me as very sad today. A sense of sorrow lingers in the words, but I have to believe that even amidst his human feelings, Jesus didn’t see it that way. He knew the greater plan. He knew that he was the promise that had existed since the very beginning. as more than human he could see past the sorrow and the fear that we see as broken, fragile humans. When we look at it from His point of view we see the beauty of the moment in the fulfillment of scripture but also in a forever promise that we will be given hope and mercy by simply showing up to Gods alter, empty handed.
In suffering Jesus learnt obedience (Hebrews 5:8). Learnt, learnt, learnt.. meaning it’s not natural, even for Jesus. In our suffering, we tend to let go of hope instead of holding on to hope. Suffering is a process, same for learning, same for healing from such suffering. Good things take time. May the God of mercy help us in the learning process. God is in the business of changing hearts. Heart circumcision hurts (amen to figurative knife churchmouse), and it takes time…until we get a new heart after the Lord’s own heart. We are being perfected for the King of Glory.
@Kimberley Z: praying for you as you navigate this season. Be strong girl. You got this, and God got you.
@Rhonda J: praying for your neighbour friend & family & baby, may salvation and grace come. What you described was just like in a movie.
@Michelle Patire: how are you doing sister?
Only a few more days until the New Year of 2023 dear shes. What an eventful year, yet God is the same, and the paths He took us to for His name’s sake (Psalm 23:3) are different for each of us. The lessons & reflections you have shared from where God took you have enriched me greatly. There is no debt except the debt of love we owe to one another as Paul says. I am grateful and indebted to you. Thank you for being here … learning obedience through the Word, through joy and suffering. Be blessed dear sisters. Hugs and best wishes to you all.
@kimberly I am
I pray I would never take Jesus’ sacrifice for granted.
Praying for you Kimberly. The end of relationships can hit hard, especially when we’re hoping and waiting for it to turn into something more permanent. I’m praying God meets you in each one of your desires, and I encourage you to keep brining each of your feelings, desires, and disappointments to Him. Pour out your heart to Him, and wait on Him for your comfort. And know that He is a good father who loves you and WILL comfort you! This building of endurance in you will have its perfect work, and endurance truly is a gift. A gift you will be glad to have when your season of singleness is over.
Praying for comfort and strength for you.
@Kimberly Z nothing is too small or big for God! Praying that He will comfort and encourage you and give you peace. ❤️
Praying for you Kimberly. The ending of relationships can hit hard, especially when we’re hoping and waiting for it to grow into something permanent. I’m praying the Lord will meet you in each of your longings, and encourage you to just bring all
Praying for you Kimberly. The ending of relationships can hit hard, especially when we’re hoping and waiting for it to grow into something permanent. I’m praying the Lord will
Thank you Jesus for making the ultimate sacrifice to redeem my soul. Praise and honor to you. Have a good day sisters and prayers lifted for requests mentioned and for those on hearts.❤️
“Wait” — when many people hear that would they be come anxious, upset, worried and/or irritated. For me, most of the time, I have no problem waiting. Now that wasn’t always the case, I started to have patience when I started to raise my two AD/HD boys on my own. But my ability to really wait came about on August 31, 2003 when I found out my older son was trying to swim in a creek that was way out of it’s banks (later in a newspaper article I found out the current was running at 85 mph). No one knew where he was, if he was still alive, or how far down stream he had been carried. I would have to say it was the longest 23 hours of my life — that’s hour long it took them to find his body.
Yes, there are times when I get impatient, usually when I’m short on sleep or sick, worried or upset (the last two have become fewer and further in between), but with the help of my Lord, Jesus and the Holy Spirit I usually don’t have a hard time waiting. That also may come from being a nurse, I don’t know.
Christ Jesus, as we wait for You to return, help us to be patient with those around us, to do good and to show we HAVE the Holy Spirit in us by our actions, words and loving-kindness. Watch over us as we prepare to start a new year and maybe even a new us. We patiently await Your second coming with open arms, minds, hearts and especially souls. Come Lord Jesus, come.
Sisters, I just found out a very dear friend of mine’s (Lynn) ex-husband died in October and her brother-in-law — the brother of her ex — is coming into town this weekend; the b-i-l and Lynn are close. Please pray for them to have strength to get through this. Lynn is a Christian woman, she stayed by my side through the whole ordeal when my older son drown.
Be blessed and try on some patience and kindness, it might fit to your liking sisters.
To be fully known and fully loved is one of the core desires of my heart. As my restless and seeking heart fell upon God Himself truth came like rain upon hard ground, and my heart has been softened. Seeking for peace and joy with God has brought me into a new kind of knowing and being known. He is the One we should know more, and love more. My heart was made after God’s own heart. And like David, I am going after it. I am not alone in the seeking. God is with me. “…The heart is not alone in seeking, for God has elected the heart as the holy ground of encounter. It is the place of His indwelling.” (Illumined in the Spirit). “When we are in the heart, we are at home; when we are not in the heart, we are homeless.” (The Art of Prayer). We are to guard this place within us. And I believe the best and first way is through prayer. True, deep prayer. If necessary, using words. (Borrowed from St. Francis of Assisi on the Gospel). I am learning to navigate the geography of my heart better, using prayer as my compass. Jesus taught us how to pray. And through prayer my heart is purified. “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God” (Matthew 5:8). Purify my heart Lord, I want to see You, I want to know You more. Until… Maranatha. “…We shall see You face to face” (1 Corinthians 13:12).
@Kimberly Z, There are no silly prayer request. We are here to lift one another up. No matter what the prayer request is, it’s important to God and it’s important to us. Praying for your heart sweet girl.
Good morning sweet sisters. Pretty much every morning I’ve been starting my devotional listening to “Come Thou Longing Expected Jesus” And then switch to instrumental while I’m reading scripture. This has been such an amazing time. Loved how the our Devo ended this morning: “We wait for You!”
Hallelujah ❤️ Thank you, Jesus, for the cross. You’re grace & mercy! Amen
@Rhonda J. Praying for your friend and the arrival of her sweet baby. What a whirlwind yet an amazing Christmas miracle from God.
As I reflect back on this past year I would say this is the hardest year of my life. More times than not I’ve been angry and questioned the Lords plan for my life. After my dads accident I was angry yet grateful the lord didn’t take him from us. As I’ve said many times before I am in a season of feeling inpatient as I long to be a wife and mother. I feel silly asking for prayers as I navigate heartbreak from a six month relationship that didn’t go how I had wanted it too. People have such bigger issues than mine and I pray to always see that but yet my problems have seemed to make me hard and selfish at times. I pray the timing of this relationship ending came at a good time with the new year starting. Praying for all of you ladies.
7 Oh, that salvation for Israel would come out of Zion!
When the Lord restores the fortunes of his people,
let Jacob rejoice, let Israel be glad. – Psalms 14:7
Prayers for your neighbor @RhondaJ!
As I sit here in the comfort of my humble home, I can see the opened gifts under the tree and feel the love they represent by my husband and children. Yet today I am reminded yet again of my most precious Gift- Jesus. “For you are saved by grace through faith, and this is not from yourselves; it is God’s gift!(exclamation point mine)—not from works so that no one can boast.” Ephesians 2:8-9
Have a thankful Thursday Shes. ❤️
Thank you Jesus!❤️
I have learned so much through SRT studies. I as all of you, skimmed some of Leviticus. So hard to read, but I see the connection to Jesus final sacrifice. We are so blessed to have the Holy Spirit guiding us through life. To know that we will be raised with Jesus! To see our Savior face to face!!! I cannot imagine anything better.
No
Good morning She’s!
Can I ask for prayer for my neighbor/friend, she just had her first baby on Dec 20th, but had some complications, and needed her gallbladder removed. She had only been home for several days and she is back in the hospital this morning, I do not really know why, but if you could say a prayer that she leans on God in this trial, to show that we are not in control and must find our reliance on God alone! We found out she actually went into labor and on the way to the hospital had to pull over and the baby was born in their truck!! Crazy! Her first baby wanted to come quickly! The father is a fireman so actually pulled into a lot of a walk-in clinic and went in and got the tools needed I guess to cut the cord or something! I haven’t heard the whole details! This couple I have asked to our church, but they have not come yet, the father isn’t really a believer, so I am hoping they will be guided to God. This morning in a text she put that “God had been preparing her,” so that was wonderful to hear!
Have a good day She’s! And remember, we have a field ripe for planting…and God will grow those seeds!
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Thank you Jesus
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Even though the love of God for me/us is more than I can truly comprehend, I am so thankful!!! What an amazing plan, fulfilled through the ages, resulting in Christ’s sacrifice so that we can be saved. Many times I have difficulty even coming up with a plan, much less carrying it through. As TINA says, But God …
J M – praying for comfort, the losses and empty chairs amid celebrations are so painful ❤️
When Jesus completed His work on the cross, He said, “It is finished,” and gave up His Spirit. He sanctified His people through the offering of His body once for all time. For by one offering He has perfected forever those who are sanctified. God has now put His laws on the hearts of His people and has written His laws on our minds. He will never remember the sins of His people or our lawless acts. He has forgiven His people of these things, so there is no longer an offering for sin. Salvation is by the grace of God through faith. It is not from humans; it is God’s gift. It is not a work we can accomplish to receive salvation for ourselves. Therefore, we cannot boast about our salvation. Jesus, who is very God, humbled Himself and left the splendor of heaven and took on human likeness and became obedient to the point of death. Thus, after offering one sacrifice for sins forever, He sat down at the right hand of God and is now waiting until His enemies are made His footstool. God will highly exalt Jesus. He has given Him the name that is above every name. One day, every knee will bow before Jesus and every tongue will confess that He is Lord over all.
Beautiful scriptures & writing today ❤️
Good morning She’s!! Last day of work before I have another long weekend! Can’t believe it’s the end of 2022. I need to journal and reflect on this past year. It was a very hard year, but I know the Lord was using it for a reason. I wrestled with who he was in the midst of unanswered prayers, and I have realized that even though he doesn’t always change my circumstances, he is still constant. Nothing can snatch me out of his hand. Thankful for the hope of heaven and that Christ’s sacrifice once for all covers me! He is with us!
All the sacrifices and sprinkling of blood on doors, alters and people would gross me out too. I could just picture the people like ‘ewwww’. I am so grateful that we don’t have to do that, Jesus’ sacrifice was the final one so I could live. Thank you Jesus!
AMEN!!!!! All I brought to the table was an evil heart bent on my own way. JESUS accomplished what I never could do and didn’t even want to do- He OBEYED God to the point of His own death. I am clothed in HIS righteousness, by NO merit of my own. Thanks be to God!!!!!
So thankful for Jesus’s sacrifice that He made a way for us to commune with God and have the Holy Spirit dwell inside of us. We are sealed with the Promised Holy Spirit. The sacrifice we must make daily is to sacrifice our desires, our will to follow Jesus who has a perfect plan for each of us.
You are worthy and deserving of all of my praise, yet you died for me. To sanctify me. To graciously welcome me to spend eternity with you. Love this hymn line and scriptures.
Amen!
I daily sacrifice my fleshly nature in order to become more like Jesus. My desire is to reflect my Savior in my thoughts, words and deeds. I do not need to take knife to an animal. Jesus shed His blood once and for all. I take a figurative knife to my sinful desires, not out of obligation in order to BE saved. I take the figurative knife because I AM saved. The Holy Spirit enables me to surrender my will to His. No animal sacrifice required any longer because I believe in the final sacrifice of Jesus, the Son of God, on my behalf.
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As I wait for Your return, Jesus, may I indeed “keep confessing, and . . . continue surrendering
. . . to God, walking in obedience just as [You] obeyed all the way to the cross.”
Come, Lord Jesus, Come! Amen
I too felt the OT and Leviticus was just a bloody mess! Gross! But after doing the study, the NT and things about Jesus make SO much more sense. Leviticus is probably one of my favorite OT books! (Who am I kidding! The Bible is my favourite!)
I am so thankful for my Savior! He has set me free!
I completely understand this writing today. I am turned off by Leviticus too. I skimmed that book. I felt so awful for the animals and then thought how gross the altar must be. It was a blood bath. I am so grateful that Jesus died for me. He knew I was coming and wouldn’t be able to sacrifice animals for my sins. He gave a new way to be with Him forever. He gave the ultimate sacrifice, Himself.
What a great devotional. I felt the same about Leviticus until SRT did a study on the book recently and I really enjoyed it. I always felt that the animal sacrifices described were so far removed from Jesus that I didn’t connect that they in fact point to Jesus.