At the first Passover (Exodus 12) a lamb was killed and its blood was placed on the doorframe of every Jewish home. This was so God would “pass over” the homes of his people and spare the lives of their firstborn sons. The day God passed over the Jewish homes in Egypt has been celebrated for thousands of years. It is a story that was meant to be told from generation to generation. Grandparents were to pass the story to their grandkids…parents to their children…and so forth from each generation to the next.  

It was a Story of God’s Mercy

The passover was not a reward for righteousness. The Israelites didn’t deserve it. They hadn’t done anything to earn it. Rather it was a gift of Gods’ mercy. God’s mercy came through the blood of a lamb. They were slaves that were set free by the mercy of God. 

It was a Personal Story

Each family was intimately involved. You could not experience passover from a distance. Each person HAD to participate. Five days before the lamb was to be sacrificed, each family was to be chose a lamb without defect. They had to inspect the lamb, care for the lamb, and they each had to kill their own lamb.

It is Connected to a Bigger Story

“The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Look! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!”- John 1:29

“It was the precious blood of Christ, the sinless, spotless Lamb of God.” – 1 Peter 1:19

The cross is THE story of God’s mercy. Jesus came into the city of Jerusalem five days before the lamb was killed in the temple as the Passover sacrifice for the sins of the people of Israel. Good Friday was the day of the Passover celebration and the day that the Passover lamb was to be sacrificed. For the previous 1,200 years, the priest would blow the shophar at 3:00 p.m. – the moment the lamb was sacrificed, and all the people would pause to contemplate the sacrifice for sins on behalf of the people of Israel. On Good Friday at 3:00, when Jesus was being crucified, He said, “It is finished”- at the moment that the Passover lamb was sacrificed and the shophar was blown from the Temple. The sacrifice of the lamb of God was fulfilled at the hour that the symbolic animal sacrifice usually took place. At the same time, the veil of the Temple (a three-inch thick, several story high cloth that demarked the Holy of Holies) tore from top to bottom- representing a removal of the separation between God and man. Jesus is the Passover lamb for all of God’s people and His blood made the final atonement for the sins of the world. He was sacrificed so his people could experience God’s mercy and be saved from sin and death.

Yes, it is true that ‘God so loved the world’ – that Jesus died for the entire world. But the cross is also very PERSONAL. Just as each Israelite household had to kill their lamb, so my own personal sin was responsible for Jesus having to go to the cross for my redemption. Jesus died for me and He died for you.

That is why the life you see me living is not “mine,” but it is lived by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. (Galatians 2:20)

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Romans 5:1, “Therefore, since we have been made right in God’s sight by faith, we have peace with God because of what Jesus Christ our Lord has done for us.“

Our faith produces two things in us:

• It justifies us
• Gives us peace with God

God credits us with righteousness when we believe in Him who raised Christ from the dead. Therefore we are justified before God. Our faith makes us right with God. It gives us access to Him and we are at peace with Him. We are no longer His enemies because of our sin…we are forgiven and made right in our relationship with God.

Many people wish to live at peace with the universe. Yet, ultimately peace comes through a relationship with Jesus Christ. Only when we place our faith in Him are we relationally at peace with God.

This is the source of our hope. This is the source of our life. This is what sustains us…knowing that we are at peace with God through Jesus Christ.

The question we all have to ask is this…am I experiencing peace with God? Some of us are robbed of our peace because of humanity. Anxiety, depression, fear, sin – all rob us of peace. Some of us are robbed of our peace because of our theology. We are holding onto a theology of condemnation and worry. We believe one false move and God is coming after us. This belief system makes it impossible for us to live at peace with God.

Jesus Christ died and rose again so we can experience peace with God. In order for me to realize this and live a life that was at peace with God I had to deconstruct much of my belief system. Growing up in a church that preached condemnation over grace, wrath over love, worry over peace – made this a difficult process. 

I now know that I am free in Christ. Free to experience the peace of God. Free to live a life of love and grace. Knowing that Christ died for the ungodly set me free and brings me hope. Knowing that the result of Jesus’ act of righteousness brings life, grace, and peace to all who believe allows me to live at peace with God.

So, are you experiencing the peace of God in your life?

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Genesis 12:4

“So Abram left”…

Abram took the risk. He exercised his faith and left Haran for Canaan. God made 3 promises to Abram: 1) He promised a great land, 2) a great nation, and 3) a great name. God promised to bless Abram and promised that Abram would be a blessing to others. On one condition…that Abram would leave. 

The blessing and promises of God would not come if Abram didn’t first take action. He had to take the risk of faith to realize God’s blessing. He had to step out on faith and do what God said. 

Many times we miss out on God’s blessing because we are not willing to obey what God says. We want God to bless our families, our careers, our finances, and our personal lives…but we don’t want to follow his principles. 

What blessing are you missing out on because of a lack of obedience? What are you not experiencing because you haven’t taken action? We expect God to bless us, we ask Him to bless us…but we fail to obey what he has asked us to do. 

If you want to experience God’s blessing then start following God’s principles. 

Following God’s Principles = Receiving God’s Blessing

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I was reading through Matthew 5, the beginning of the sermon on the mount and discovered a connection between Matthew 5:3-12 and the remainder of the chapter.

Jesus begins the sermon with the beatitudes – they show us who we are to be, our character, what’s on the inside. Then he lays out examples of how we are to live – our conduct, our lifestyle, our actions. In other words, out of our character flows our conduct.

After delivering the Beatitudes, Jesus uses the remainder of the passage to explain and give examples of living out the Beatitudes.

In Matthew 5:13-16, Jesus teaches us to be salt and light. He is teaching us to live in such a way that people will want the life you have. What better way to live as salt and light then to live a life that:

1) realizes that only the redemptive work of Christ can change their spiritual condition. Blessed are the poor in spirit.

2) understands that God comforts the broken and therefore live a life of repentance. Blessed are those who mourn.

3) is truly honest them about yourself and has a correct view of who they are. Blessed are those who are meek.

In Matthew 5:17-20, Jesus shows us that he came to fulfill the law. Jesus came to fulfill the promises of the Old Testament. He came to fulfill God’s plan of redemption. We know that true righteousness comes through Jesus fulfilling these promises. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness.

In Matthew 5:21-26, Jesus calls us to a higher standard when it comes to our attitude of anger and our intent to hurt someone. He calls us to extend God’s mercy to others. Blessed are those who are merciful.

In Matthew 5:27-37, Jesus calls us to live pure lives in our thoughts, actions, and words. Blessed are the pure in heart.

In Matthew 5:38-42, Jesus tells us to turn the other cheek and to go the extra mile. Blessed are the peacemakers.

Finally, Jesus teaches us to love our enemies in Matthew 5:43-47. Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness.

He concludes with the admonition to be perfect as our Heavenly Father is perfect. This passage teaches us that to live a blessed life…a life pleasing to our heavenly father comes from within (the beatitudes) and flows through our conduct (the rest of chapter 5).

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Read through Genesis 3 today. According to the passage temptation begins with a question: What will it hurt?, Did God really say “no” to this?, Why?, Who will it hurt?

Questions raise Doubt

Doubt produces Deception

Deception changes Perspective

Perspective increases Desire

Desire leads to Action

Action results in Shame

Shame causes Cover-up

Cover-up forces Hiding

Thankfully, God offers redemption when we cross the line between desire & action. 

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I’m using the reading plan from www.youversion.com to read through the Bible this year. You can follow my journey here.

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1 Corinthians 8:1-3, “Knowledge puffs up, but love builds up. 2 The man who thinks he knows something does not yet know as he ought to know. 3 But the man who loves God is known by God.”

It’s not a matter of what you know. simply having knowledge allows pride to enter in. On the other hand, love builds other up. What’s important is that you love God and that you are known by Him.

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