Jesus Christ

The Blood of Goats and Calves

emilyb123Leave a comment

I used that title because I’m a former 4th grade teacher who knows about GRABBING the attention of the reader. Unfortunately, because it’s gross, it may also have the ability to send any potential readers running for the hills! Since I was a little girl I’ve had a curious heart for a big God. I had exposures to Him in varying ways (summer camp, sleepovers that led to Sunday morning church, etc.), but I did not understand the true Gospel until I was a grown woman. With that understanding (that continues to grow regularly as I learn more about the Bible), came a connecting of the dots between the Old and New Testament. Jesus Christ, the son of God, is woven through the entire tapestry of the Bible in a truly amazing fashion. The title of this blog comes from Hebrews 9:12. It’s one I did not know until this past week’s sermon and it felt so powerful.

“With his own blood-not the blood of goats and calves-he entered the Most Holy Place once and for all time and secured our redemption forever.”

If you are new to the Christian faith or curious from afar, let me do my best to briefly explain the whole bloody animal bit. Back in the OT times, we had prophets throughout history that God would use as His mouthpiece for the people. The Creator God is SO big, perfect, powerful, etc. that a regular human couldn’t even look at Him because of His glory. Because of His perfection, our sin nature had to be atoned for (or cleansed) and back then, God allowed people to use an innocent lamb or calf as a sacrifice on their behalf. This served as a way to temporarily cover their sins. This does sound strange, but back then, it was a completely acceptable way to use symbolism to show substitution and cleansing. They had numerous, elaborate and very decorative ways to worship and honor God. One example of that was the creation of the Most Holy Place, the fanciest and most important section of the Tabernacle/Temple, that was symbolic for being “set apart” as God had to be because of the sin of mankind.

Now, the weirdly beautiful part about it is that throughout the Old Testament, there were prophecies (many VERY specific) that told of someone coming that would become a ONCE AND FOR ALL sacrifice to cover sin. So, throughout the OT, the people were living and recognizing their sin, seeing that it was impossible to be perfect and recognizing their need for atonement (cleansing) in order to come in contact with the Holy God. They hoped and waited, explaining this hope throughout generations, and then FINALLY, the prophecies come true with the arrival of Jesus Christ that we read about in the New Testament. This was the plan all along. God always intended to send His Son, who came as both fully God and fully Man, to die as the ULTIMATE sacrifice. Three days later, Jesus rose up from the dead, was seen by hundreds of people, and then went up to Heaven where He is now, sitting at the right hand of God. He’s there thinking of us and praying on our behalf.

I’ve been particularly emotional and sensitive to this Easter season and feeling especially grateful for all that Jesus Christ did for us. God is alive. When we repent (recognize our sin nature) and choose to trust and put our faith in Christ, we are FOREVER safe and can rest in Him. He’s preparing a place for us to spend eternity in Heaven, where there will be no more pain and heartache. He delights in us NO MATTER WHAT. He loves us so much that He planned all of this FOR US. That is news that my deep-down soul needs to hear on an everyday basis.

If you are curious, even a little bit, about a higher power of some sort, I encourage you to reach out and pray. You don’t have to speak in fancy words. You just start talking and asking Him about whatever you wonder, doubt, or need. He already knows you. He loves you. The Gospel is beautiful in a million ways, but it can also seem rough around the edges to some that look from afar; the bloody animals, the bloody death on a cross…it’s powerful. It’s intriguing. It’s curious. It has the potential to knock your socks off. Don’t shy away from taking a look. As my pastor said on Easter Sunday, this truth demands our response.

You are loved, dear reader. I thank God for the HOPE of Christ.

Jesus Freak

emilyb123Leave a comment

This blog title is the name of a song from the mid-90s that has long since given me the heebie jeebies. I didn’t want to be associated with those types of Christians; the ones who wore black t-shirts with a cross made of big nails (no offense if this was or is your jam). When they put their hands in the air, to me, it made the Christian life appear easy and seem like there was zero room for doubt. More than that, they wanted to share this good news with a passion and that seemed uncomfortable. I don’t like uncomfortable and especially don’t like to make others feel it. So, any expression of faith that I’ve ever had, for the most part, has been timid. As I’ve said 2,001 times on this little blog, I tend to be a people pleaser. Honestly, I have cared way more what the humans around me think of me than I do the big God I believe is the Creator of all things. That’s a big embarrassing. 

Just like with politics, religion is a sticky topic and ripe for ugly discourse. I poked my little nose into a faith-based or political hornet’s nest a couple of times and ran away with my tail between my legs because I hate the feeling of disapproval. One of these times was several years ago when out of nowhere, I had the notion to “share the Gospel” with a few family members that do not believe the God of the Bible to be real or relevant. This was very unlike me and because I felt such a strong feeling in my gut about it, I thought it was possibly the Holy Spirit nudging me. (Yes, I said it. Holy Spirit. I also refer to Satan, the Deceiver, from time to time, too. He’s a nasty one). I wrote a letter and, along with a Lee Strobel DVD (because I thought the idea of watching something would be easier than reading an actual book), I mailed them to a handful of these family members that repeatedly came to mind. It was terrifying. For you Jesus Freaks out there, this is a piece of cake, but you could call me a Jesus Wimp! I had sweaty palms as I dropped them at the Post Office.

Sometimes when I think of it, I’m proud of myself for having the balls (“yikes. should she be using the word balls in a post about Jesus, for crying out loud?”) to send them in the first place, but other times I just feel icky. The response was mixed reviews. One led to a VERY high-stress (I’m talking really sweaty palms here) string of email communications to debate the issues, which was ultimately ok with me because it meant dialogue. The most difficult response came in the form of a stern letter (unopened DVD included) that advised me to not push my beliefs on them. Although I wouldn’t call it fruitful, any potential behind the scenes heart and mind changes are things that only God will know and ultimately (and thankfully) not my responsibility.

I’ve read a lot of stories of other believers that have prayed for years and years for their loved ones’ salvation. This encourages me to continue to pray for those people that come to my mind; that they would have softened hearts and minds towards Jesus. In an attempt to be actively praying this for my family members and friends, I created an alert so that their initials pop up on my phone each Friday as a reminder to pray. I may never see changes in my lifetime, but I’m believing that I’m honoring God by praying and maybe He’s working on me through it.

Praying has been as far as I’ve gone in recent years in an attempt to help others know God. I don’t have the natural boldness that others have, but I think a big misconception I’ve been carrying is that we should feel bold in order to be bold in our faith. My current bible study (through BSF) is on the New Testament Book of Matthew and I’m learning so much on this topic. It’s encouraging me to practice loosening my fear of looking like a kooky Jesus Freak and moving toward my confidence in Christ. Faith is not simply a soft and cuddly positive outlook that everything will be ok. My BSF notes on Matthew Chapter 8 boldly define biblical faith as, “relational trust in God – not just that He exists, but that what He has promised is true and worthy of personal commitment”.

As we dive headlong into the Christmas season, it is easy to glide along listening to carols, frantically shopping for gifts, or cursing the loneliness with bottle in hand. Then there’s the mall Santas telling us we better be good and the damn Elf on the Shelf reminding us that we can never get our act together in remembering to move it (I banned the Elf on Day 2 of Christmas 2015). Mindlessness and avoidance can be the name of the game and before we know it, the season is over and it’s back to “normal”. I don’t want that. There just has to be more to this life. Thank God, there is. It’s Jesus.

Questions to ponder this Christmas season: Is Jesus really the “Reason for the Season”? Is the Christmas Story fact or fiction? The history, the archaeological evidence, the supernatural occurrences…What would it mean for you, in your everyday life and for whatever happens after you stop breathing, if Jesus Christ truly is the Son of God? It could be a Game Changer. Worth the ponder, but don’t stop there. This evidence demands a response, one way or another. My Christmas prayer for you, dear reader, is that you would know God’s love for you and that your heart and mind would be softened to hear and trust in His truth.

Love, Emily