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For Christ did not enter a sanctuary made by human hands, a mere copy of the true one, but He entered into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God on our behalf. Nor was it to offer himself again and again, as the high priest enters the Holy Place year after year with blood that is not his own; for then He would have had to suffer again and again since the foundation of the world. But as it is, He has appeared once for all at the end of the age to remove sin by the sacrifice of Himself. And just as it is appointed for mortals to die once, and after that the judgement, so Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to deal with sin, but to save those who are eagerly waiting for Him. (Hebrews 9:24-28)
We pray you have made plans to vote if you haven't already done so, dear Friend. Being of a certain age, I can vote by mail way earlier than most regular voters, so I have voted and that was a long time ago. (Wait, should Lincoln have been on the ballot? Hmm.) Pray before you go, then vote.
The results of today will not in any way provide any final solutions to the issues and problems we face; the only final solution we have readily available is the removal of our sins by Jesus Christ. His life and death so moved the author of today's passage, that as he prayed and wrote, his mind received the insight and thoughts that have led to the powerful words quoted above. Jesus Christ is our only High Priest. While you and I may not be from a tradition acquainted with priests, we do know their purpose was to be the bridge-builder between God and humanity. No one has done that better than Jesus! And the sanctuary in which Christ entered was Heaven itself, the holiest of holy places; the place where God resides. And Jesus' death was once and for all. Jesus does not have to sacrifice Himself year after year - that one offering of Himself, to die on the cross, was the final solution of sin. Jesus took our names and our sins with Him to that cross. When He died, our sins died with Him; never to return to haunt our lives. We are the ones who sometimes call us memories of past sins, and that only clouds our minds and torments our lives. The FINAL, which means last, ultimate, nada más, solution is that our sins were taken away. In The Message version, verse 26 reads, "But instead He sacrificed Himself once and for all, summing up all the other sacrifices in this sacrifice of Himself, the final solution of sin."
Jesus will come again. This we affirm every first Sunday of the month in our tradition when we celebrate Holy Communion. "Christ has died. Christ has risen. Christ will come again." It's simple but powerful; it moves me every time I say those words as it should bless you. Our faith affirms the closing of the above passage, "So Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to deal with sin, but to save those who are eagerly waiting for Him." That would be us. We should live our lives as those who know that one day, and no one knows the day, Christ will return for you and me. We shouldn't worry about the day, we should just be ready.
PRAYER: Heavenly Father, come into my heart again, and remove once more the sins that have crept in since the last time I prayed asking them to be removed. They have no place in my heart, nor mind, nor soul, nor life. Make me a new creation right now. Let me live a life that affirms that You will return for me. Let me help prepare others for that day; and this I pray in Christ Jesus' strong name, amen.
Have a great and blessed day in the Lord! Glorify God in your heart and life today in ways that shine brightly!
Eradio Valverde
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